How is Your Relationship With the Lord?

     Can you talk to the Lord like a best friend?  I'm getting there.  I grew up just following directions at church like stand, kneel, repeat after me, etc., and for years that was my only involvement with God.  So, I didn't have a clue what a personal relationship with God was 
about until I got saved.  But looking back over the years from when I received the Lord in 5th grade to now it has definitely been an ongoing process.  

    Through hearing or reading messages from more advanced believers I learned that God wants to have a personal relationship with man.  To me that's a bit mind boggling.  Have you ever considered that the Creator of the universe wants you to talk to Him and He wants to know you personally?

    Last week I was listening to a message under the Webcast Subscription Service on Living Stream Ministry's website, and the brother brought up this matter of having a relationship with God.  I often type out what touches me when I'm listening to something, so here is an excerpt from my notes:

"...To love the Lord with the first love, to give Him the first place in all things is to have a personal, private, and spiritual relationship with the Lord. We've shared this a lot, but what  I underlined here is--relationship with the Lord.  I like to say again, relationship with the Lord.  How is your relationship with the Lord?  I am so concerned for you….I say this very seriously--How is your relationship with the Lord?  Do you have a relationship with Him like you do with your best friend?"

 Did you count how many times he used the word relationship in this short paragraph?  

    Then he went on to talk about how the seeker in the Song of Songs is a picture of the believers having a loving relationship with the Lord. You can see in her seeking that her relationship was personal, affectionate, and intimate. You can see it's personal because she said, "Draw me, and we will run after you."

    You can see it was affectionate because she said, "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth." And finally, you can see it was an intimate relationship because she said, "The king has brought me into his chambers."  The brother shared that the chambers are symbolic of our human spirit where the Lord dwells in us. In the same way that the Lord went off in the gospels to pray to the Father, we also need to have some alone time to pray, sing, and just talk to God about what's going on in our life. It's good to be reminded that God doesn't want a routine, He wants a relationship! 

Blog Update 7/25/13:  I was working today and heard this song, and it touched me, it's called Recover My Heart .   

Other blogs about spending time with the Lord:

Coming to the Lord in His Word - Taking a Look at John 5:39
Getting Spiritual Food From the Word
Hearing God in His Word - Dinner Fellowship with College Students