Day 11 -Becoming Best Friends With God
God wants to be your best friend…
For those of us who have felt that God is a distant task master, one to be feared, that expects total and complete obedience, strict with a bunch of rules, and isn’t intimate…this may be a bit of a stretch…
Before the fall of man, God had intimate and personal relationship with Adam and Eve. He walked in the Garden with them, and took care of every detail and need. We were made to live in God’s continual presence. Unhindered by fear or guilt. After the fall, all of that changed.
Throughout the Old Testament and up until the time of Jesus, there were only a few people that were recognized as “friends of God..”. Moses, Abraham, King David, Job, Enoch and Noah all had intimate friendships with God. The fear of God was more common than “friendship.”
Jesus changed all of that.
His “complete surrender” to the cross, took away the barriers of sin and judgment, and gave us back the birthright and free access to enjoy friendship with God once again.
Jesus told us, ” I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father, I have made known to you.” Jn. 15:15
We have been invited to share in a close, intimate and trusted friendship with God. Knowing and loving God is our greatest privilege, and being known and loved is God’s greatest pleasure.
It is really difficult to get our minds around this concept isn’t it? It’s easier to imagine God in a master-servant role, or as Creator relating to his creation, or even as Father-child relationship. But what does it mean to be a “friend of God and how do we deepen our understanding and experience?
The first key is simply spending time in conversation with God. Just like any relationship, getting to know someone takes time and talking. You don’t grow close to God by occasional church visits, praying a bed time prayer or crying out for help only in the middle of a crisis. God wants to be involved in your everyday affairs all day long… Spending time with God is not just “away” with him, alone or in that special place. It’s like the breath we take… in with his love and acceptance, out with thanksgiving and communion with him and an awareness of his presence.
A 17th century monk named Brother Lawrence wrote in his book, “Practicing The Presence of God,” that the key to friendship with God is not changing what we do, but changing the attitude toward what we do, whether it’s eating, bathing, working, playing or mundane tasks we have to do everyday.
The attitude we have can be changed through constant prayer. “Praying without ceasing” is our encouragement to lift up little “breath” prayers like “You are with me.” “I receive your grace.” “You are my God.” “You are God and I am not.” “Open my eyes to see you” “I want to know you” You get the idea.
This helps us to focus our attention, get perspective, remind us that He is in control, and develop a closer intimate relationship. Relationship, not religion.
Another key to becoming best friends with God, is through continual meditation.
Meditation is often misunderstood as some mystical practice that is done in a quiet place. Though meditation can be in a quiet place, the practice of meditation can be done anywhere at any time.
Meditation is focused thought. When you think about a problem over and over, that is called worry. When you think about God’s word over and over, that is meditation.
God’s word to us is something that we need to think about, internalize and allow to work in us. The more we spend time in communion with God through prayer and meditation, the closer we grow in our relationship with him. Our friendship grows daily…