Knowing Him

     Jesus prays (John 17:3) "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." Paul affirms in Philippians 3:10 that he wants to know Christ. This is not an intellectual knowledge but a deep, relational knowledge. How can we come to know God? One way is through prayer, talking to and listening to God. Our prayers tend to focus on our needs or situations (supplication) or praying for the needs or situations of others (intercession). Both are necessary. Praying for our needs demonstrates our dependence upon God rather than ourselves. Praying for others is one of the major ways that we can fulfill the command to love one another. Yet a good, healthy relationship does not consist in asking for things, however necessary or beneficial. Consider how we get to know another person. We spend time together (hanging out). We discover what other people think or say about the person. We also listen to and reflect upon what the person says about himself.
    In the Bible, God says many thing about Himself. In the New Testament, Jesus does the same. One example is His "I AM" statements. this refers back to the passage of the burning bush in Exodus. When Moses asks who shall I say sent me, God responds with the Name, "I AM." Jesus repeats this numerous times. His listeners understand that by using this phrase He is claiming to be God. For example in John 4:25-26 he responds to the Samaritan woman's question about the Messiah by saying, "I AM He." He also says "I AM the bread of life (John 6:35,48,51), "I AM the light of the world (John 9:5), "I AM the good shepherd (John 10:11,14 etc.).
     One way to enter into deeper relationship with God is to acknowledge or confess who He says that He is. As we do this, it finds a confirmation in our own hearts, and facilitates the revelatory ministry of the Holy Spirit.