A Presentation on Intimacy with God Through Prayer

 A TALK ON INTIMACY WITH GOD THROUGH PRAYER PRESENTED AT THE 2ND SESSION OF 6TH SYNOD OF THE DIOCESE OF ISIALA NGWA FROM THURSDAY 19TH – SUNDAY 22ND OCTOBER, 2023 AT ST. JAMES CHURCH, UMUAKWU.

Gratitude: It is not in doubt that Synod remains the highest meeting of any Diocese, hence I remain eternally grateful to our Father in God, the President of the Synod and the Bishop of this great Diocese, His Lordship, Rt. Rev. Temple O. Nwaogu PhD and his dear wife and Mother of the Diocese, Mrs. Jane C. Nwaogu (Nneobioma) for giving me this rare privilege. On a special note, I equally express hearty thanks to my own Bishop, Rt. Rev. Christian C. Ugwuzor for releasing me to come. May the good Lord bless their ministries continually, Amen.

To all the revered clergy and distinguished delegates, I salute you all. May this Synod bring greater blessings to each and every one of us. Above all, draw us nearer to God, Amen.

Introduction: It may not be out of place to say that Prayer is the greatest need of the Church today. We often crave for revivals and great moves of the Holy Spirit where souls are saved, the sick healed and the demon-possessed delivered, but those things won’t happen without prayer. As men of old prayed and things turned around so shall it be if we make prayer, a lifestyle. However, it must be stated that our prayers cannot be effective unless we pray according to the will of God. 

Definition of the key words: ‘intimacy’ and ‘prayer’

 Intimacy is the noun form of the adjective intimate. It carries the idea of closely acquainted or very familiar. Etymologically, it comes from the Latin word, ‘intimare’ and ‘intimus’. The later means: “to put or bring into, to impress, to make or to make familiar; while the former is translated, innermost or deepest. It is a feeling of closeness and connection in an interpersonal relationship; it is the bedrock for a strong and long lasting relationship. Intimacy with God therefore, implies a deep or innermost relationship with God. It is a kind of relationship where one comes to know God on a deeper level through constant and consistent walk with God.

Another keyword is Prayer. This is a familiar word, yet often misconstrued. Prayer is not a way of manipulating God, neither is it a means of pushing through our way, nor is it a way of having all our desires met. Today, people do several things in the name of prayer, and sometimes, you begin to wonder whether the said ‘prayer’ is indeed, to Almighty God. What then is prayer? We shall consider it thus:

Prayer is communication with God: In its simplest meaning, communication is the process of sending and receiving information. At least four things are involved in communication: the sender, the information (message), the channel/medium, and then, the receiver. In this sense, we can say that prayer is communicating or communing with God. Billy Graham sees prayer as a spiritual communication between man and God, a two way relationship in which man should not only talk to God, but also listen to Him. He opines that prayer to God is like a child’s conversation with his father as it is natural for a child to ask his father for the things he needs. 

Prayer is Request. Prayer is not only response to God's grace as brought to us in the life and work of Jesus and the teaching of Scripture; it is also request for our needs and the needs of others. Prayer is request to a personal Lord who answers as He knows best. We should not think that we will always have success in obtaining the things for which we ask. In His wisdom, God hears and answers in the way that is best. Three realms of prayer include: Ask, Seek and knock, Matthew 7:7. We Ask for those things already revealed in the word of God; we Seek for those things yet to be revealed and we knock for those things that are revealed and yet, not released- here we go extra mile. The prayer of Daniel in Daniel Chapter 9 when the prince of Persia withheld the angel sent for him was on a knocking level

Our text: Daniel 6:10

When Daniel learned that the decree had been signed and posted, he continued to pray just as he had always done. His house had windows in the upstairs that opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he knelt there in prayer, thanking and praising his God. THE MESSAGE BIBLE 

Even though Daniel knew that the new law had been written, he went to pray in an upstairs room in his house, which had windows that opened toward Jerusalem. Three times each day Daniel would kneel down to pray and thank God, just as he always had done. NCV

The book of Daniel covers roughly the seventy years that Judah (the southern kingdom of Israel) was exiled in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar captured Daniel and his friends Hananiah (Shedrack), Mishael (Meshack), and Azariah (Abednego) when they were very young men (probably mid-teens). The name “Daniel” means “Elohim is my Judge.” Elohim is the common name for the Hebrew God. To him was given the name “Belteshazzar,” which means “Bel’s Prince.”(Bel was the principal god of Babylon.) The name “Hananiah” means, “Yahweh has been Gracious.” To him was given the name Shadrach, which means (“under the command of Aku- the moon god”). The name, “Mishael” means, “Who is like Elohim?” To him was given the name “Meshach” which means “Who is like Aku.” The name “Azariah” means “Yahweh Has Helped.” To him was given the name Abednego, which means “Servant of Nego.”

Daniel, though a stranger in the land, became so famous and worked in the palace until he was well over eighty years old. A consistent piece of his life is prayer. He prays as a teenager when faced with an impossible task given by King Nebuchadnezzar; he prays as an octogenarian hated by his jealous associates in Daniel 6; and no doubt he prayed throughout the decades in between.We know him from his brave moments standing up for Yahweh in a foreign land. He refused to eat the king’s meat; he interpreted the mysterious handwriting on the wall; and he survived a night in a den of hungry lions. All these were possible because of his intimacy with God through Prayer. Someone rightly observed that Prayer doesn’t become a habit just because a person’s hair has turned gray. As an exile living away from his family, synagogue, and teachers, Daniel teaches us that in every stage of life we must be people of prayer.

For Daniel, prayer was a lifestyle, not just part of his life. In short, prayer was his life and his life was prayer. Though he knew that the bill was signed, he went ahead to pray as was his manner. He was not perturbed with what would be the result of hi prayer. He had come to a point of intimacy with God through his consistency and constancy in prayer. 

Growing in Intimacy with God

David provides us with one of the best examples of a heart that yearns forintimacy with God. Inspite of his sins and problems surrounding him, he longed for intimacy with the Lord. Consider Psalm 63:1-8:

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land here there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. NIV

See also Psalm 42:1-3:

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. NIV

From the above texts, we can glean the following steps that can help us grow in intimacy with God:

1. A desire, longing and thirst for God

2. Value God more than anything else

3. Spend more time with God

4. Spend time with people who love, value and cherish God

Hindrances to Intimacy with God Prayer 

• iniquity in the heart (Ps 66:18), 
• refusal to hear God's law (Prov. 28:9), 
• an estranged heart (Isa 29:13), 
• sinful separation from God (Isa 59:2), 
• waywardness (Jer. 14:10-12), 
• offering unworthy sacrifices (Mal 1:7-9), 
• praying to be seen of men (Matt 6:5-6), 
• pride (Luke 18:11-14), 
• lack of faith (Heb 11:6), 
• Doubting or double-mindedness (James 4:3).

Things that can facilitate answers to our Prayers: 

1. When we believe that we will receive what we ask (Mark 11:22-24), 
2. When we forgive others (Mark 11:25-26), 
3. When we ask in Christ's name (John 14:13-14)
4. When we abide in Christ and His words (John 15:7)
5. Pray in the Spirit (Eph 6:8)
6. Obey the Lord's commandments (1 John 3:22) 
7. Ask according to His will (1 John 5:14-15). 

N/B:Until we have properly responded to God and His Word, He cannot entrust us with His powerful resources.

What happens when we pray? 

• We receive freedom from fear (Ps 118:5-6), 
• strength is released unto our soul (Ps 138:3), 
• guidance and satisfaction (Isa 58:9-11), 
• wisdom and understanding (Dan 9:20-27), 
• deliverance from harm (Joel 2:32),
• reward (Matt 6:6), good gifts (Luke 11:13), 
• fullness of joy (John 16:23-24), 
• peace (Phil 4:6-8), 
• freedom from anxiety (1 Peter 5:7).
• Above all, we begin to enjoy intimacy with God. It is God’s desire that we come to this point in our relationship with Him.

Conclusion:What would you have done if you were Daniel at that time? Would you have risked your life praying? Intimacy with God is still possible as God looks for men and women He can entrust with His secrets; Men and women of Prayer. He sought for a man that would stand in the gap and make up the hedge but he found none, Ezekiel 22:30. Would he find one in this Synod? How consistent is your prayer life? Do you pray only when it is convenient for you? As we said at the beginning, prayer and the word of God remain greatest need of the time. Pray! Pray!! and Pray!!!

Reverend Canon Princewill Uche Onyema