Intimacy and Asking by Lory Demshar
God has invited us into a very personal relationship with Him. In truth He not only invited us, but planned and prepared how I can have this deeply intimate fellowship with Him. The atoning sacrifice of Jesus is the foundation of this invitation and our faith in Him is our R.S.V.P to God’s invitation.

In a previous blog we looked at some Psalms to learn what intimacy sounds like.

We read words that describe intimacy such as longing for; yearning; hungering and thirsting for and being consumed with God.

In this blog I want to look at questions, deep personal questions that reveal the agony of the soul and a vulnerable intimacy that we dare to have with God.

Questions Reveal Intimacy
As we read through the Psalms we see that the psalmists asked some, what I would call, “gutsy” questions. Yet these questions reveal an understanding of a personal relationship with God. Such questions show vulnerability, an ability to pour out our weakness, our fear, our confusion and our pain to God.

Such questions spring from a faith in God, a trust in His openness to us; His care and concern for us, and His involvement in each one of our lives.

These questions are so emotionally revealing that at times they sound more like a demand for an answer, and infact sometimes are just that. To me these questions imply that only someone who knows God deeply can risk being that intimate.

Urgent Intimate Questions
Look at some of the questions that the psalmist felt at ease asking God.

In Psalm 13:1-2, David, in his agonizing, asks these questions of God.
“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?  How long will my enemy triumph over me?”

In two relatively short verses David puts forth 5 questions that reveal the very personal, intimate relationship he has with God.

David is asking God –Yahweh, the great almighty eternal God who is the source of all life and who has all power, “How long is this difficult situation going to go on? How long will You, God let this happen?” This is intimate, gutsy.

David is so vulnerable that in the next question he tells God, “I feel like you have forgotten me. You have gone off and left me in this difficulty alone. Where are You my God, my Friend, my Helper?”

David gets gut level open and asks God, “Are You hiding Your face from me? Have You turned Your back on me? Do you not want to be in a relationship with me?”

David is ratcheting up in his vulnerable faith and is telling God that this difficulty is too heavy for him to bear alone. It is on his mind day and night. He is sick with sorrow about this. He is wrestling about what to do and why it is happening. Perhaps David is sleepless and restless and pacing and calling out to God, being vulnerable and asking question after question demanding an answer.

The questions David asks God in Psalm 13 are an example of intimacy with God.

Other Questions
As we read through the Psalms we see many examples of such intimacy revealed in questions. Read and reflect on the intimacy with God that these questions imply.

• “Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” Psalm 10:1
• “Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever?  Has his promise failed for all time?  Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” Psalm 77:7-9
• “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?” Psalm 22:1-2 (A Messianic saying, yet a question David asked).
• “… save me because of your unfailing love.  Among the dead no one proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave?” Psalm 6:4b-5

What do you ask God?
As I read through these psalms and look at the events in the psalmist’s life I am drawn to the intimacy that the psalmist had with God.

Do I trust God enough to ask my own very vulnerable questions? Do I dare to be that personal with God? It seems to me that God is calling us to this very intimacy.

I encourage you to read through the Psalms and look at the questions the psalmists asked. Begin to become more personal with God, ask Him the questions you have on your heart.