3 Ways to Grow in Intimacy with Jesus
By Aaron Joseph Hall
If you’re anything like me you don’t desire a dry, boring relationship with Jesus, right? I wouldn’t want that with my wife or my friends. Growing in intimacy with the Lord makes your relationship with Him that much more vibrant because you’re staying connected to the vine and as the branch, you’re being filled and fed!
Over the last ten years, the Lord has been teaching me about growing in intimacy with Him. I’m learning Jesus desires to be the closest person to us. He should be our top priority in any of our relationships. Yes, even more of a priority than your spouse, children, family, or friends! If Jesus is LORD that means He comes first—above everything!
Learning to grow in intimacy with the Lord isn’t rocket science. If you are married then you understand the need to pursue your spouse and grow in intimacy together. Our relationship with Jesus is no different. We must pursue the Lord and desire to grow closer to Him!
Here are 3 ways you can begin to position yourself to grow in intimacy with Jesus starting today!
Your relationship with Jesus must be your #1 priority above everything else in your life.
I’m an easily distracted person and because of that, my priorities can get out of order. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33. “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (NLT). When we seek Him first making Him our number one priority, God promises to provide everything we need.
What would happen today if you began living that way? Would your life look any different?
Would people around you see and know that you are a follower of Jesus?
If we are ashamed to make Jesus our number one priority what’s that saying about how we view Him? If we are ashamed then we cannot expect to be blessed by God!
To grow in intimacy with God we must begin prioritizing our relationship with Him today!
You must spend time in the Bible outside of church and Bible studies.
Our culture is lazy. It’s easy to go three or four or more days without picking up my Bible. I know I’m not alone in that struggle. That’s why I must push myself to be surrounded by others who will challenge me to get into the Word more. Psalm 1:2 says, “But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night” (NLT). If we meditated on the Word day and night (or every single day) we would be digging into it more than just at church or Bible studies.
Imagine what would change in our lives if we mediated more on the Word of God.
Find accountability - iron sharpens iron.
We all need to be held accountable in different areas, but one of the keys to growing in intimacy with the Lord is willing to actually be held accountable—accountability opens the door to new growth! Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend” (NLT).
Recently, I had lunch with a friend and we got to encourage, challenge, and hold each other accountable. We try to meet weekly. For iron to sharpen iron it has to be more than once every six months, etc. Finding an accountability partner will help you grow in intimacy with Jesus because it’s a way to challenge you to go deeper in your faith, deal with any issues, and be challenged to repent of any sin in your life.
I want to be closer to Jesus tomorrow than I am today. If you took a step back today and evaluated your life how close are you really to Jesus? Is it more talk than walk? Are you growing intimacy with the Lord? My challenge for you today is to apply the three points above to your life and take an inventory of your life in a month to see how much you’ve grown. It takes commitment and consistency, but our relationship with Jesus is worth it all! After all, He gave up everything for us. Thank You, Jesus!
Aaron Joseph Hall, the writer behind AaronJosephHall.com and the youth pastor at More 2 Life Ministries, resides in Okeechobee, Florida, with his wife and four children. You can connect with him on Instagram and X.
