“One of the most fundamental realities in the Spirit is that our Bridegroom King so desires, pursues and enjoys us as his Bride. When the human heart is assured through the revelation of the Spirit that we are deeply enjoyed, then something powerful
is awakened within us. This is truly the beginning of our experience of the divine romance.”
Dear intercessors,
We all have inner longings that can be met only in an intimate relationship with God. Men and women everywhere try to meet these longings in different ways but don’t find fulfillment until they embrace the Lord and His heart for them. We can never fully live for God, abandoned to His purposes, until we have the longings of our hearts met by His perfect love. When we have had a personal revelation of that love, knowing He deeply enjoys us and treasures our relationship with Him, we will be able to live and pray more effectively. Our faith will deepen and prayer will grow from that fellowship with Him, becoming a greater joy and privilege.
We long for the assurance that God enjoys us. How few of us really know deep in our hearts that God enjoys us! How few of us know experientially that God feels our pain and knows our struggles.
- He knows the dreams and intentions in our hearts.
- He knows when we feel lonely and when no one understands us.
- He alone understands the deep desires and longings in our hearts.
Despite our confusion and weaknesses, God loves us, enjoys us and believes in us.He treats us with honor and walks through every day and hour with us. When we learn this truth, we are changed forever. Love begins to impact everything we do, including how we pray. We rise up with new confidence.
“The absolute strongest emotion in our being is the craving to be assured that God enjoys us. The power of feeling enjoyed. We imagine God will enjoy us when we are in heaven; we can even imagine God will enjoy us if we are spiritually mature on the earth. But the idea that He enjoys us while we are spiritually immature is unthinkable for many people.”
We long for the assurance that God enjoys us, and then we long to be captivated by Him. We have a deep desire in our hearts to be excited and enthralled by the wonder and awe of who He is. We love beauty, and we long to be spiritually alive. We want to experience wonder. We are designed for it in the core of our being.
Here at the International House of Prayer there are many weddings over the summer months. A young girl falls romantically in love with a tall, handsome young man. They are excited and enthralled by the wonder of their new-found love. It happens again and again. Soon a beautiful and awe-inspiring wedding is planned for that special day. This example awakens us personally to the deep longings of God for each one of us and for the cultivation of our divine romance. He is longing for us as our Bridegroom King. He sees beyond all our flaws and mistakes, and He sees us with the eyes of a Bridegroom.
When I was in France, I saw a creative desire in the culture. You can see it in the architecture, fashions, beautiful gardens, and floral designs throughout the country. You can even see it in the way the French artistically plan and serve a meal. All of this points to a God-given craving deep inside the human heart that longs for beauty, something to treasure that is so precious a person would give everything to possess it. The apostle Paul was such a man. He was so captivated by the divine romance that he wrote in Philippians 3:8:
“I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”
Because God designed us for fellowship with Him, we really do need to experience at the core of our being the awe and wonder of who He is. God wants to bring us to that place of wonder in His beauty and majesty. If we were to ask people about their relationship with the Lord, we would learn that the majority of Christians have not been fully captivated by Him. Many have simply gone through the motions of what it is to be a Christian. This has to change.
We need supernatural strength in the inner person to be able to stand strong as the pressures increase on the earth. Those who have developed an intimate relationship with God will be able to stand strong and walk in His supernatural peace.
- This is the time to practice His presence and develop friendship with our Bridegroom King.
- This is the time to pursue His heart, becoming captivated by Him and His awesome majesty.
- This is the time to grow in our faith and in the divine romance.
As you seek to practice God’s presence and pursue His heart, take several minutes each day this week to personally apply this truth to your own life by:
- Reading and meditating on Psalm 84 - Listen carefully, and let it speak to your heart. Pray this Psalm back to God as a prayer. You may want to pick different Scriptures each day, or you can concentrate on this Psalm.
- Meditating on the Word - Let God’s Word permeate your heart. We often move too quickly through life. We need to discipline ourselves to be still and know God.
- Speaking the Word back to the Lord in prayer - Learn to pray scriptural prayers back to God. Declaring scriptural promises establishes them in our spirit.
- Singing the Word back to the Lord - Let God’s Word move from head knowledge to heart knowledge. Making melody in your heart to God helps touch your feelings and brings satisfaction to your soul (Psalm 63:5).
My Prayer to God
Lord, help me to practice Your presence and abide in Your love (John 15:9). Teach me to meditate on Your Word throughout the day. I want to be one who pursues Your heart. Help me to pray Your Word and speak it to others. Awaken me, O God, to Your deep enjoyment of who I am. Awaken my heart to the divine romance.
Give me revelation of Your beauty, give me joy in Your presence, and take me deeper in knowing You. Help me embrace You as my Bridegroom and loving Father. Show me a greater dimension of Your love. Reveal to me Your transcendent beauty. Teach me to pray as one who abides in Your love always, deeply touched by Your deep longing for me. Like Paul, I want to know Your surpassing greatness (Philippians 3:8). In Jesus’ name, amen.
“The redeemed across the earth will one day see their Messiah as their heavenly Bridegroom. In the overflow of that revelation, we will redefine ourselves as the cherished Bride. This transforms our hearts and changes our lives. He will change the way that we view him and therefore, the way we view ourselves. The deep spiritual void in our lives can be fulfilled in our heavenly Bridegroom.” Quotes by Mike Bickle
Together in the Harvest,
Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
International House of Prayer (IHOP) KC Staff