Laid Bare

The essence of our communion with God is being laid bare before Him. God, throughout scripture, is disclosing Himself to us. It is called "revelation" when He does it. In prayer, we are disclosing ourselves to God and receiving His own revelation in a fresh and intimate way.

But you may say, "God already knows me - inside and out."

True, but that knowledge is not an intimate relationship any more than a stranger reading your profile on the Internet. He does know you, but that is only His half of the relationship.

The psalmist invited God to know him.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious
thoughts." - Psalm 139:23

God did not need to be better informed. The psalmist needed to be known.

You might also say, "I can know all that is to be known about God by reading the Bible."

The word, "about" is telling. Again, it reduces intimacy with God to second hand knowledge and passive awareness.

Moses prayed for more in Exodus 33:13.

"If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and
continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your
people."

He could not bear the thought of the leadership responsibility upon his shoulders without an intimacy with God.

In "laid-bare-prayer," we get personal. God invites us into relationship that is real, personal, and enlightening. In order to be so, it must also be honest - embarrassingly, brutally, and ruthlessly so.

How do we "do it?"

Perhaps that is the wrong question. We love "how to" and "just do it" solutions which work in certain dimensions of life. But they do not always take us deeper with God. In that dimension, we begin with desire and follow desire with becoming that we may be.

We start, by laying ourselves bare before God and seeing where that leads.

Art by Photo by the blowup on Unsplash