I just finished Gene Edwards’ newest book, Living Close to God (when you are not good at it). I have read enough books over the years that would fill a good sized room, if they were all put in the same room on bookshelves! I have been a voracious reader all of my adult life.

I took a very quick inventory of some of the books I still own and came up with 20-30 authors who have written books that are my “classics” — ones that I read again and again. Most of these books are the author’s expression of their journey toward intimacy with the Lord.  I’ve read many of the old contemplatives (Fenelon, Molinos, Guyon, Bro. Lawrence, Thomas a Kempis) as well as some very gifted men like John Piper, A. W.  Tozer and Thomas Dubay, who stretch your intellect to the utmost with their incredible understanding of some of wonders of our Creator God. Some of my contemporaries like David Wilkerson, Don Nori, Mike Bickle, Bob Sorge and Tommy Tenney have all written at least one book on coming to know the Lord intimately.

There is a common thread throughout every one of these books — an insatiable desire to know God in a deeper, fuller way.  Whether it is the author’s personal journey written to share how they personally have found that place of satisfying their hungry souls or whether the author is sharing truths and insights into our complex universe (from the micro to the macro), I am absolutely astounded when I read of some of the wonders of our world and universe and wonder how anyone could NOT believe in Him.

I realize for each of us, it is a very personal journey and that the Lord has created each of us just a little differently, so there really is no “set way” to get to know the Lord better.  Edwards’ transparency reveals that he does not consider himself a very spiritual person, in the sense of spending hours in prayer and Bible study daily. After sharing his personal testimony, he shares several keys that have helped him be more aware of the Lord’s presence in his life on a daily basis. As a very busy man, he found it easy to leave the Lord at the house and not think about Him all day long.

Two things stuck out to me as something very “doable” for anyone who on this pursuit to know the Lord better. He has learned over the years to slow his pace at different times during the day, long enough to focus on the Lord (10-30 seconds). From pausing before arising to tell the Lord how much he loves Him, to sitting in his car before turning on the engine and taking a few seconds to refocus on the Lord, he finds several places and/or objects that act as reminders to him, to pause and reflect on the Lord. Seems simple enough to me, but he talked about his many failures and emphasizes, you WILL fail, but don’t quit pursuing Him. Over the years, it has become a habit that he has cultivated.

The other area Edwards has found helpful is to take a short passage of scripture that you can commit to memory and then pray it back to the Lord in a personal way as well as asking the Lord to speak to you personally through this passage. He said many verses in the Psalms helped him on this journey.  He began with one he already knew, Psalm 23, and the Lord made it “come alive” to him. The gospels are another place where you can actually place yourself in that story you are reading and personalize it. (We can’t be in a hurry to get through our times with Him if we really want to know Him better).

Edwards said it best when he said, he was not seeking an “experience” but a “walk” with the Lord. While we may have experiences along the way, it is the whole journey through life with Jesus that should be our goal and desire.