The past few weeks have been about building Intimacy with God. To read more about what intimacy encapsulates, click here and for Time as a building block of intimacy, kindly click here. Today, we will be dealing with the role communication plays in building intimacy with God.

Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one entity to another. It is a force that drives any relationship.

We cannot effectively talk about communication however, without first acknowledging that the sacrifice of Christ on the cross has made the way for us to be able to have relationship with God without going through other people or mediums. “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days, he has spoken to us by His son…” (Hebrews 1:1-2) The veil has been torn and each child of God can today, walk into the throne room of grace and individually have communication with God.

Any relationship in the absence of communication deteriorates. And so in building intimacy with God, communication is a need. This is because you cannot know God without communication. You can only truly know any person by communicating with them. There are people you see in a certain light until they speak, there are people you thought you knew until you had a conversation with them, etc. It is communication that really reveals a person.

Relationship without communication is empty. It is in your communication you receive the substance of the person you are building a relationship with. It is in communication you receive the substance of God. You can read the letter of the word, you can receive information from others but the substance of God is revealed and it only comes by hearing. Nevertheless, Communication is not one sided. In Communication, there’s the one that speaks and the one that hears and the parties play both roles. In building intimacy with God, we must understand that God wants a relationship. He doesn’t want us to simply hear Him. He wants to hear us as well. Come and let us reason together He says. That’s an exchange of thoughts. He’s not only giving but receiving from you.

Also, our communication with God is predominantly based on words. We can communicate without speaking but generally, communication is by words. When God speaks to you, He generally uses His word so most of the things God may say to you, you can find in the bible. The psalmist said, once has God spoken but twice have I listened. (Psalm 62: 11)

He had already heard from the word (scripture)before he heard the word (What was spoken). What this means is that knowing the word of God is key to hearing Him. You can actually measure whether what you received was of God by what the bible says.

HEARING

I believe that the most important thing to know in your communication with God is that you hear His voice! To know that as sheep you are made to hear his voice. (John 10:27) It is not reserved for a particular level or a special few. He has made it that way. You hear his voice. So the first thing is to know and believe this: I hear the voice of God. It is an innate right. Something embedded in me automatically picks up the voice of God. My ears have been made to receive the sound of his voice. I hear the voice of God.

Our ability to hear is very important in our communication with God. Our very faith starts by hearing. ‘So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ’ (Romans 10:17). In John 15:14-15, Jesus says you are my friend because all that I have heard from the father, I have made known to you. You are my friend because of what you have heard. You are my friend because of an exchange of words that has revealed me to you.

SPEAKING

The Bible says in Psalm 154:18 that the Lord is near to all who call on Him, who call on him in truth. This means that God does not simply want to do the talking. He draws near when you call. He is also interested in your speaking. Come and let us reason together, He says. Reasoning is about sharing thoughts, you share thoughts in exchanging words. In exchanging hearts. That’s communication. God said in Jeremiah, “call to me and I will answer you and I will tell you great and hidden things you have not known” (Jeremiah 33:3).

When we speak to God, it’s called prayer. Yes prayer is speaking in tongues, making requests and giving thanks, like we traditionally know prayer to be. It is true that prayer is all of that but prayer is also more than that. Prayer is you saying good morning Holy Spirit. Prayer is you asking God a question or his contribution on something. Prayer is laughing with God. Prayer is simply talking to God.

In fact, our speaking to God is so important to Him that he has actually created a language for when your words limit you and it’s called speaking in tongues. So when you are lost for words, communication is still covered. (In case you do not speak in tongues but would like to be able to, please kindly reach out to us to pray with you.)

The need to have continuity in Communication with God.

The thing about lack of communication is, no matter how close or how strong your relationship was, a lack of communication can still strain it. This is especially so in our communication with God. I once read a book that said that it seemed like the clock went backwards anytime you reduced communication with God or minimized it over a continuous period. This is actually true.

The Bible says that the path of the righteous shines brighter and brighter unto a perfect day. (Proverbs 4:18) One version says that the path of the righteous progresses even unto a perfect day.

When you’re not progressing in something, you’re actually acting opposite of what the word has intended for you. In other words, you are going in the opposite direction. There’s no middle ground. You are either moving forward or falling behind.

The bible says that you lose the little you have when you don’t make good use of it but those who have more rather receive more as seen in the parable of the talents. The more you know God through communication the more you want to know. The more he is revealed to you, the more your interest peaks. But when there is a lack of communication or an issue with communication, it affects how much of God is revealed to you because there is no constant communication. And you start to lose the drive to want to know more. You lose interest.

This is dangerous to the believer in his walk with God because first of all, in His relationship with you, God never reveals the totality of himself from the very beginning. You do not get the whole picture from the start. It takes communication to see the heart of God and it is from the heart impact is made. So you must have continuity in communication with God.

He shows you bits and pieces of Himself as you come along. God is a big believer in process. He lives where time does not create boundaries. Being intimate with God is about knowing God so growing in your knowledge of God increases your intimacy with Him. In the reverse knowing only a part of him affects your level of intimacy with Him. It is important to be consistent in communication.

Also, the Christian must maintain communication because he needs to know the now word of God. That is, the revelation of God that applies to our now or our present; or simply, what God is saying at any point in time, regarding any situation. What God is saying now.

And Jesus answered, man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4: 4).

You see, we have been made as sons to live on the words we receive from God and you get this from communication. Jesus said you are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you, therefore, abide in me and I in you. (John 15:3-4) That suggests continuity. It is important to always be in the now with God. Only constant communication can achieve this.

Practical steps on communicating with God

The first point is to note that He is with you always. (Matthew 28:20). No boundary is boundary enough. No limit is limit enough. No space is too tight. He’s never too busy to hear you out. You can talk to him anywhere, any day, in any situation. He’s there. He’s always there.

Jesus gave the disciples an outline of things to pray about but He also taught us prayer in His ways. He was always talking to the Father. Even on the cross, as he suffered, he spoke to God. So you can have a usual prayer routine where you may seclude yourself and go on your knees or meet with others to commune with God but communication with God is not limited to these.

You can wake up and say good morning Holy Spirit. You can pull a chair, give him a seat and start a conversation. You can talk to God as you walk to catch a bus. You can converse with Him throughout your day. Treat him like that friend you text all the time. He’s more present.

Jesus is the biggest statement God ever made, and He made it to you. If you do not know Jesus as your Lord and personal savior, or maybe you’re not really where you believe you should be in your relationship with God because you have not been consistent in communication, Please say this prayer with me.

Lord, I recognize my need of You and I ask today that You come into my life and that You be my Lord and personal Savior and I ask that Lord, You will in your own way, against all odds, through every barrier, reveal yourself to me and help me, lead me, teach me to be in communication with you every second, every minute, every day and every step of the way, in Jesus’ name. Amen

I pray that this post blessed you today. Kindly feel free to share and also like us on our various social media handles – on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. You may also express your thoughts in our comment section. God bless you.