It can be hard to open up. Especially in our society, while we want to be known, letting someone get to know us can be difficult, even terrifying. We are often reluctant to let people in because we are afraid; afraid we’ll get hurt, afraid of being mocked or misunderstood, afraid they’ll reject us if they find out what we’re really like. Even in a group of close friends or with our spouse, we will only open the door so far. We won’t let anyone in all the way. As unfortunate and harmful as this is with fellow believers, it is even more so with God.
Revelation 3:20 New American Standard Bible 1995
Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone
hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine
with him, and he with Me.
John 10:14-15, 27-28 New American Standard Bible 1995
I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own
know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father;
and I lay down My life for the sheep…My sheep hear My voice,
and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal
life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out
of My hand.
Psalm 139:1-4 New American Standard Bible 1995
O Lord, You have searched me and
known me.
You know when
I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my
thought from afar.
You scrutinize
my path and my lying down,
And are intimately
acquainted with all my ways.
Even
before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.
To be fully known can be frightening, but it can also be freeing. The trick here is that God already fully knows us, whether we open up to Him or not. He knows us even better than we know ourselves, and yet still He loves us and accepts us. He loved and accepted us while we were still His enemies, before we wanted anything to do with Him. We don’t need to convince Him to want or love us. We can’t earn His acceptance. He already does. We need only to accept Him and His love. He stands at the door and knocks.
Romans 5:6-8 New American Standard Bible 1995
For while we were still helpless, at the right
time Christ died for the ungodly. For one
will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man
someone would dare even to die. But
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 8:37-39 New American Standard Bible 1995
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer
through Him who loved us. For I
am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God wants a relationship with us. That is why He created us, and why He died on the cross for our sins; so that we could have a relationship with Him. He will always pursue us but we need to stop running and accept Him. We need to open the door and let Him in. He already knows everything there is to know about us; we need only choose to open our hearts to Him.
That is where prayer comes in; prayer is a conversation with God, inviting Him into our daily lives. It is opening up to Him, seeking fellowship with Him. It’s like inviting a friend over for a meal, or a cup of tea. This week during your prayer time, visualize Him being with you, sitting on the couch or across the table from you. Pray as if you were talking directly to Him, because you are. Talk right to Him and listen to Him talk to you.
Prayer points taken from Praying Through Adversity by Jennifer Kennedy Dean.
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