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That We Might Know Him

Lynette HaginBy Lynette Hagin


Have you ever been asked, “Do you know so-and-so?” If you know that individual, you might automatically reply yes. But do you really know that person? If someone asked me if I knew my congressional representative, I would say yes. I’ve been introduced to him and we’ve spoken. And I’m sure if we met on the street, he would acknowledge me.


But do I really know him? No. I know his name, and I know what he does as my congressman. That’s the extent of what I know about him. However, in such cases we all often say, “I know him.”

How well do you know your employer? You probably know him or her better than I know my congressman, but how well do you really know your boss?

I’m sure you know more about your friends than you do about your employer. And you probably know some friends better than others. Some are simply acquaintances, while others are close friends.

Of all my friends, I don’t know any of them as well as I know my husband. Ken and I have been married for almost 44 years. I know his thoughts and he knows mine. It’s a natural fact that the more time you spend with someone, the better you know that person.

Both of my children are married and have families of their own. And after they left home, I retired from cooking. Although I love to cook, I now do that only on holidays. As a result, my husband and I eat out frequently.

Sometimes Ken will ask me where I want to eat, and I’ll tell him that I’m thinking about a certain restaurant. And often he tells me he’s thinking about that same restaurant. This happens because we have spent so much time together. Ken’s ways have become my ways, and my ways have become his ways.

Isaiah 55:8 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.” When you are born again, your thoughts and ways might be very different from God’s. But the more time you spend communing with your Heavenly Father, the more your thoughts and ways become like His.

Our Heavenly Father desires that we know Him. But some people know God only as their Creator. Others know Him and Jesus only as their Savior. Still others know the Father and the Son as their Creator, Savior, and Healer.

Do you realize that you can know your Heavenly Father as a friend? If you allow Him to, He will be a close friend and confidant Who will never betray you or tell your secrets.

Isn’t it funny the way some of us are? Many people who hear confidential information feel as though they must tell one other person! They say, “Don’t tell anybody else. This is between you and me.” But after each person tells just one other person, it soon seems as if the whole world knows the secret.

God is not like that. I learned a long time ago that I can tell Him all of my problems and secrets and He will never betray me. He will never let my secret out.

How do we get to know our Heavenly Father better? First of all, we can do that by reading and meditating on His Word. We can learn so much about what God is like by reading and studying the Bible. And if we want Him to answer our prayers, we need to know what He’s promised us in His Word.

We can also get to know our Heavenly Father by spending time with Him in prayer. D. L. Moody once said, in effect, “I would rather learn to pray than to preach.” Jesus never taught His disciples how to preach, but He did teach them how to pray. Jesus knew that prayer was vital to the disciples’ success in life and ministry.

The Apostle Paul is a good example of someone who knew the Father. But one reason he knew Him so well was that he made knowing Jesus his top priority. And Jesus told His disciples, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9 NIV).

PHILIPPIANS 3:8, 10 (Amplified)
8 I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege . . . of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him. . . . For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish . . . , in order that I may win . . . Christ. . . .
10 [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death. . . .

It is clear from these verses that Paul desired to know the Lord better. He knew that if he knew God more completely, the Lord would be there for him in every way.

When you study Paul’s writings, you see that Paul rarely prayed for himself. But he often prayed for others. For instance, in Ephesians 1:17–19 Paul prayed for the Ephesian church. But he did not pray for their specific needs or wants. He prayed that they would know God better.

When you know the Lord intimately, you’ll know that the devil is under your feet (see 1 Cor. 15:27; Eph. 1:22). You’ll know that when you encounter difficult situations, you don’t have to become upset and cry out to God in prayer.

You’ll already know from God’s Word what the results are going to be, so you’ll begin to declare, “Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). The better you know the Lord, the bolder you will be to declare His Word.

Your passion should be to know the Lord better than anything or anyone else. You need to know that He is for you and not against you, that He will be there to encourage you in difficult times, and that you can draw upon His love for you and know that He will give you what you need, when you need it.

My prayer for you is that if someone asks you, “Do you know God?” you can reply, “Yes, I know Him. I know Him very well.

Talking to God Each Day

We are told in the Bible to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). But how can we do that? One time I asked the Lord that question, and here is what He showed me to do:

1. Create an atmosphere. Wherever I go, I always have music playing.

2. Upon waking, begin praying and meditating on the Word.

3. Establish prayer stations during your morning routine. Pray for different things in different places. By the time I get to the office, I’ve prayed from 30 to 45 minutes. Occasionally we need concentrated prayer times. But we should not feel condemned if we can’t do that every day. It’s better to practice the presence of the Lord and pray throughout the day than not to pray at all.