Intimacy and Knowledge - The Highest Value in Worship

For most of my life, I remember singing songs in church about God, or singing songs that were exhortations to live better. But what I was hungry for, even as a boy, was to communicate directly with my God. I wanted to sing to God. I wished to reveal my heart to God and I wanted Him to reveal His heart to me. 

Often, when the worship leader begins to sing songs they help the church express their heart to God. It becomes so easy.
Intimacy is one of the foundations of worship. People meet in church with one aim; they gather because they are hungry to meet with God.

A number of factors affect our Intimacy in Worship:

Expectancy of God’s presence

The worship session should be marked by songs that are straightforward expressions of affection and devotion. There should be an expectancy of God’s presence, His heart is revealed when we have a tendency to have revealed our heart to Him. This is real intimacy, a living relationship with God. What an unbelievable joy once we discover that he's craving for these intimate times in addition.
Some people ask, “Do all intimate songs need to be slow and mild in their musical style?” My answer is, NO! Some of the music we use is chosen because it seems to encourage intimate dialogue and therefore the opening of our hearts to God.

Intimate worship will continually be our highest calling.

Intimate worship really happens when the songs come as an overflow of a heart full of love. Real intimacy is like marriage, and it only works as we abandon all others. Intimacy is reverent, not flippantly casual as some may say. I believe that the more intimate, the more reverent it truly becomes. Intimacy, as in marriage is powerful because it is so reverent. Without reverence, intimacy in marriage can most definitely die. Without reverence, we can not experience real intimacy in worship.

The Bible is full of accounts of intimate worship. As David looked after the sheep he sang intimate worship songs to the Lord. He continued to do the same once he became the king of Israel. The woman in Luke 7 worshipped intimately as she poured the fragrance out on the feet of Jesus. When we embrace intimacy, real intimacy in worship, we are fulfilling our destiny to be in a surrendered relationship with God. And so we sing to the Lord as Psalm 96. 1 says “Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.”
Intimate worship will continually be our highest calling and aim in this life, and then, when we depart this world to the other side, it’s only going to get better.
What is Intimacy with God, really?

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