The Exquisite Intimacy of Prayer - or, Burying Your Head in God's Sweatshirt
- Rebecca Montrone
- 16 hours ago
- 6 min read
Prayer is - first - about the most profound level of intimacy with the most profound and profoundly wonderful Person. The level of intimacy we are able to achieve with God is far beyond that of any other relationship, because all human relationships are flawed by sin and subject to natural limitations. I want to continue delving into the many facets of prayer - from praise, to praying for others, praying for health and healing, praying combined with fasting, etc. But today, first, I'd like to take a look into prayer as a means of drawing near to God with abandonement; the passionate abandonement of a lover, the passionate affection of a best friend, the passionate, unashamed, wildly abandoned love of a small child for his or her mother or father.
Our Heavenly Father stands with open arms at all times reaching out towards us. I imagine Him watching us somewhat bewildered from the sidelines as we dart to and fro trying to manage our lives while He's standing there with his arms held out in front of Him saying,
"Wait! Come over here! Please - Come over here!!!"
PRAYER — IS FIRST ABOUT DEEP INTIMACY WITH GOD
It is critically important and foundational that we understand how God thinks of us. How He loves us! How important it is to Him that we pay attention to Him through "praying."
What is praying, anyway? Well, it is a form of communication. Prayer can involve asking for help in some way - a petition of some kind - but it simply means to communicate with someone who is not visibly present. In other words, I don't "pray" to my husband; I talk with Him. Praying also brings with it the connotation that I am the inferior in the relationship. In other words, as much as God loves to "speak" with me - communicate with me - He would never pray to me.
GOD IS THE ONE WHO PUT US INTO THIS RELATIONSHIP IN THE FIRST PLACE
God is, of course, the One Who started the remarkable relationship we are able to enjoy with Him. The scriptures - God's infallible, inspired Word - tells us:
Genesis 1:27 — “So God created man in His own image.”
Genesis 2:18 — “It is not good that the man should be alone.”
Genesis 3:8 — “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.”
Picture that, if you can. God doing something as relaxing and ordinary as walking in a garden in the cool of the day where He enjoyed companionship with the humans he created because He wanted to be with them in the first place!
And when closeness was shattered by sin, God did not abandon the idea of intimacy—He doubled down on restoring it.
Isaiah 59:2 — “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God.”
Jeremiah 31:20 — “My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him.”
Hosea 11:8 — “My heart recoils within Me; My compassion grows warm and tender.”
The great problem of humanity was not merely sin—it was separation. And God solved it at unimaginable cost.
John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
Romans 5:8 “But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
2 Corinthians 5:19 “In Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself.”
GOD'S OWN LONGING FOR CLOSENESS
Again, we often think of prayer as something we initiate. "I'm thinking about something and want to talk with Him about it," but scripture reveals a God who is ever and always inviting us by His very closeness. God is actually "wooing us!"
Hosea 2:14
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.”
Psalm 145:18 “The LORD is near to all who call on Him.”
Psalm 34:18 “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted.”
Zephaniah 3:17 “He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love.”
Matthew 6:9 “Our Father in heaven…”
Luke 12:32 “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
John 16:27 “For the Father Himself loves you.”
The thing about His love for us is that it is an eager, hungry love; it is not passive but intensely active towards us. He wants us to know how much He loves us and cares for us.
I keep feeding the scriptures here, because they are life and truth. I can talk all I want about Him, but I love to let Him speak for Himself...
Psalm 147:11 “The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him.”
Proverbs 15:8 “The prayer of the upright is His delight.”
Notice that it isn't just providing the answers to our prayers that gives Him pleasure but the prayers themselves are a source of joy to Him!
CHILDLIKE FREEDOM IN PRAYER
I love this. It means we don't have to gussy up some formal, theologically sounding, impressive speech when we approach Him. No! We run into His arms with the wild abandon and trust of a small child runs into the arms of his or her strong earthly father.
Psalm 62:8 “Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.”
Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace.”
1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”
Psalm 103:13 “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear Him.”
Isaiah 66:13 “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.”
Psalm 131:2 “Like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.”
This is the place where we bury our heads into His chest; that "Holy Sweatshirt."
HOLDING HIM CLOSE - PRAYER WITHOUT REQUESTS
The exquisite intimacy of prayer is not only for moments of distress. Sometimes during the course of a routine day I just like to draw secretly into my spirit to tell Him NOTHING but how exquisite He is. How absolutely perfect, and the thought that I can just draw super close to Him and tell Him that while perhaps packaging up a mail-out order - well, when you think of it, that is what worship is; you are so convinced of someone's astounding worth that you just can't help but admire and to take a private, sneaky moment to tell Him so!
Psalm 27:4 “To gaze upon the beauty of the LORD.”
Psalm 63:6 “When I remember You upon my bed, and meditate on You in the watches of the night.”
Psalm 139:17 “How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God!”
Psalm 145:3 “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised.”
Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and God.”
Song of Songs 2:14 “Let Me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet.”
I think He must love that. When you think about it, in lots of circles God is slandered all day long. His Holy Name is taken in vain, He is cursed as responsible for every woe, He is ignored completely. We can bring solace to Him by cherishing Him in our hearts, and the scripture says:
John 4:23 “The Father is seeking such people to worship Him.”
Wrapping Up
Prayer is not about persuading God to draw near; He's ever persuading US to draw near; to connect with Him in a closeness that goes beyond words. It's burying our faces in the softness of His sweatshirt and knowing we are home.
James 4:8 “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”
John 15:9 “Abide in My love.”
Psalm 16:11 “In Your presence there is fullness of joy.”
"Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father and I, Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one."
Interested in knowing how to enter into a personal relationship with God through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Say a Salvation Prayer and Receive Jesus Christ Today.
Of course, the saying of a prayer is the reflection of a monumental and life-changing heart decision, but this is a good guide.
Another incredible read! Thank you Rebecca. I’m adding the Celtic Worship Band to my Spotify playlist ❣️