Intimacy with God
Jose Crisaldo P. Leona Missionary Life & Spirituality
September 17, 2010 Dr. G. M. Manzano, Jr.
INTIMACY WITH GOD The author hinted that people quit on their quiet time because their devotions are not devotional enough. I realized that the author may have hit on something that many Christians may be guilty of but are not even aware of it. Many who go through their devotion fail to experience love which is right at the center of any TRUE devotion with God. The author clearly spelled out the difference between devotion and self-examination and that focusing on finding fault in one’s self maybe the hindrance to a more intimate experience of God during the time of prayer. One lesson I particularly appreciated in this article was the 3-step sequence a true devotion will have to undertake, for it to become a genuine Christ-focused prayer exercise. “With Christ - Like Christ – For Christ” as a progression of spiritual growth makes for a very healthy walk with the Lord. Indeed, through this article, the author was able to identify a serious problem that besets most Christians who in their eagerness to serve the Lord, grew in faith concentrating on serving for Christ but lacking the experience of being with Christ thus coming up short on becoming like Christ. The several types of prayer helped to add system to my prayer life. Of the several types that the author described, one that caught my interest was the Imaginative Contemplation. Trying to visualize a scene from the Bible as though I was watching a film gave me a different experience of my prayer time and allowed me to interact with the on-goings in the particular passage, to say the least, it gave a different depth to my prayer experience. I realized that I need to improve on a lot of things in my prayer life and that If I was really honest about following Christ, I must make up my mind to get into a regular
September 17, 2010 Dr. G. M. Manzano, Jr.
INTIMACY WITH GOD The author hinted that people quit on their quiet time because their devotions are not devotional enough. I realized that the author may have hit on something that many Christians may be guilty of but are not even aware of it. Many who go through their devotion fail to experience love which is right at the center of any TRUE devotion with God. The author clearly spelled out the difference between devotion and self-examination and that focusing on finding fault in one’s self maybe the hindrance to a more intimate experience of God during the time of prayer. One lesson I particularly appreciated in this article was the 3-step sequence a true devotion will have to undertake, for it to become a genuine Christ-focused prayer exercise. “With Christ - Like Christ – For Christ” as a progression of spiritual growth makes for a very healthy walk with the Lord. Indeed, through this article, the author was able to identify a serious problem that besets most Christians who in their eagerness to serve the Lord, grew in faith concentrating on serving for Christ but lacking the experience of being with Christ thus coming up short on becoming like Christ. The several types of prayer helped to add system to my prayer life. Of the several types that the author described, one that caught my interest was the Imaginative Contemplation. Trying to visualize a scene from the Bible as though I was watching a film gave me a different experience of my prayer time and allowed me to interact with the on-goings in the particular passage, to say the least, it gave a different depth to my prayer experience. I realized that I need to improve on a lot of things in my prayer life and that If I was really honest about following Christ, I must make up my mind to get into a regular