Walking and Talking with GOD
by Dr. John Williams
1. Introduction
God created man to love and to have fellowship with him, and that is the reason why he created man in His own image and after His likeness. In other words God has given man the capacity to love and to have fellowship with God. While Adam was in the Garden of Eden, God visited him daily and literally walked and talked with him. For Adam, ‘walking and talking with God’ was a daily and a natural experience.
It is interesting to note that the same expression has been used concerning the relationship between God and most of the great men of God such as Adam, Noah, Enoch etc. Walking and Talking with God means and includes the following:
· Having a close relationship with God
· Being conscious of God’s presence
· Being sensitive to the Voice of God
· Flowing with the Holy Spirit
· Discerning the move of the Holy Spirit
· Discerning the will of God
· Being prompted by the Holy Spirit
· Being in a state of Praise & Worship
· Being led by the Holy Spirit
· Praying with out ceasing
· Waiting on the Lord
· Having a fear of God
· Enjoying the presence of God
· Having perfect peace
· Doing the will of God
· Totally surrendering our will to God
· Fellowshipping with God like we do with our friends
· Building a close and an intimate relationship with God
· Having friendship with God
· Obeying the word of God
· Having a partnership with God
When we examine the lives of the great men of God in the Bible, invariably we find a very clear and an exciting beginning of this kind of relationship marked by a personal encounter with God. Some specific examples of this kind of encounter that men of God with God himself, are given in one of the sections of this article.
Unless and until we develop a close and an intimate relationship with God, and begin our walk with him, the chances are that we will easily drift away from him and gradually lose God consciousness and begin to live a self centered, egoistic and carnal life.
2. Having a Personal Encounter with God
Abraham had several personal encounters with God. On one occasion God visited him at the door of his tent at the noon hour, along with two Angels. God also appeared in the form of an Angel. Since Abraham had such a close relationship with God, he quickly recognized that it was God and entertained him in his tent for a while. On another occasion God came to Abraham to get his opinion before destroying Sodom and Gomorrah.
Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9). He gave a great assignment to him to save himself, his family and a few numbers of every species of animals and birds. God literally gave him a plan to build an ark to save all these living creatures as well as his family from a great destruction that he was going to cause to the entire world by a flood.
Moses had personal encounters with God several times. When he went to the top of the mountain to meet with the Lord, he literally slipped into the presence of God and on one of those occasions, he was with the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights without even eating or drinking anything. God gave him the assignment of delivering His children from the captivity in Egypt, and leading them to Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey.
Jacob has had several encounters with God. On one occasion he wrestled with God all night, and finally prevailed over God and received the blessing that he sought. On another occasion he saw a ladder going up into heaven where he saw the Lord.
Isaiah had an encounter with God. He saw the Lord high and lifted up, seated in the throne. He saw some seraphim and cherubim. Then he heard the voice of God asking who would go for him, and Isaiah replied saying that he would go (Isaiah 6:1-8).
Daniel had an encounter with God. When he saw a vision, there was a quaking, and he felt like he had no strength in him. However he heard the voice of God and he was in a deep sleep lying on the ground (Daniel 10:7-9).
Ezekiel had a personal encounter with God. When God appeared to him, he saw his glory surrounding him. He appeared like fire and Ezekiel fell upon his face when he heard the voice of God (Ezekiel 1:27-28).
When Paul was journeying to Damascus, God intervened and overshadowed him. It was like a bright light shining round about him and he fell on the ground from the horse on which he was riding. Then he heard the voice of the Lord and replied to him (Acts 9:3-6).
When Peter went to a room at the top of a house, he fell into a trance during which time he saw a vision. In that vision God communicated to him as to what he should do from that point of time (Acts 10:10-11).
John, the writer of the book of Revelation slipped into the spiritual realm and had a tour of heaven. He heard the voice of God saying, write the things which you have seen and which you are going to see (Revelation 1:10-11).
All these examples cited above give us an idea about the fact that the Great Men of God had personal encounters with God to start with, and then it developed into a long term and an intimate relationship between themselves and God. All these Men of God literally walked and talked with God during their life. There was a constant communication between them and God. Further all the other requirements listed above in the introductory section were fully met to establish and maintain a close intimacy with God and to enjoy some special blessings of God.
3. Having a Close Relationship with God
It is important that we desperately seek and establish a close and an intimate relationship with God. As a matter of fact, God is more interested in having a close fellowship with us, because he loves us more than we love him. He wants to enter into a covenant relationship with him, so that He can depend and count on us to fulfill the purpose for which he has created us. Unless and until we are in the center of His will and have a daily walk and talk with God, we can neither realize our full potential nor enjoy all the blessings that God has for us. We cannot plan or design a better life for ourselves than the kind of life that God has designed for us. This is possible only through this close relationship with God. We should also know at the same time that he has given us ample freedom of choice to choose our own style of life within the parameter of God’s will.
4. Praying without Ceasing
In Acts 12:5, it is mentioned the early Church was praying and to God for Peter without ceasing. I Thessalonians 5:17, says “Pray without Ceasing”. Prayer without ceasing does not necessarily mean that one should kneel down, have their eyes closed and pray to God continuously all day long without any interruption. It is actually be conscious and aware of God’s Presence no matter where we are and what we do throughout the day. As a matter of fact it is possible for everyone of us to pray without ceasing in the sense that since we get up in the morning from the bed until we go to bed in the night, we can “Pray without Ceasing”, which can be described as follows:
· Being conscious of God’s Presence
· Walking and Talking with God
· Praising and Worshiping God
· Acknowledging God in all our ways
· Glorifying and Thanking God for His goodness and mercies
· Interceding the God for those who are in need
· Meditating the Word of God
· Quoting the right scriptures at the right time
· Trusting in the Lord all the time to supply all of our needs
· Living by Faith victoriously every minute and every hour
· Having perfect peace trusting and rejoicing in the God
5. Carrying out the Assignments of God
Until and unless we really know God, become conscious of God’s presence, seek to find His will and commit our lives to Him totally, God can neither entrust us nor give us the privilege of having a close and an intimate fellowship with Him, and to receive special favors from Heaven. God will reward us richly for the works we do for him. When we serve God we will have both the fruits and the rewards for the works we do for the extension of the Kingdom of God. No one can have a greater joy than to be in the center of the God’s will, and no other work we do of our choice can be more thrilling, exciting and fulfilling than to do the will of God. It is sad to note that many devout believers are not able to discern God’s will and purpose for their lives, in spite of the fact that they are religious and to some extent even righteous. A personal relationship has to develop between us and God, and that can happen only through our daily walk with God, which includes Prayer, Worship, Praise, Consciousness of God’s presence, Sensitivity to the move of God, and a deep commitment to obey and serve God.
6. Living a Holy and Righteous Life
There is no substitute for living a Holy and Righteous life, when it comes to having a close relationship with God. There is no way darkness can come to light. Of course when we truly repent for our sins and ask God for his forgiveness, he will be just and faithful to forgive our sins. It should be our decision to live a life that is perfect and pleasing in God’s sight. The fear of God is the foundational principle in the life of a Christian and particularly a servant of God.
7. Enjoying the Blessings of God
It is very important that we should make it our goal to please God in every way that we can and in all things. This is perhaps the secret of receiving special favors. If God is pleased with our attitude and relationship with him, he will do anything for us. It is normal for God’s servants who literally walk and talk with Him, and have a close fellowship and communion with Him, to receive special privileges, blessings and favors from God. Through out the Bible we can see Gods’ divine interventions and performance of miracles in the lives of all great men of God.
8. Conclusion
The greatest experience that any human being can have on earth is to establish and maintain a close relationship and fellowship with the Creator of the Universe. We should be able to prove to God our true love and fear for Him. We should totally dedicate our lives to fulfill his purposes and plans for our lives. We should totally dedicate ourselves to serve Him and to please Him through our lives and what we do for him in response to His calling. Walking and Talking with God can be a real and literally a true experience of every one of us, even though it may initially take some time to understand the ways and means by which we can have a two way communication with him, and truly love, praise, worship, obey and please Him.
For every one of us to Walk and Talk with God continuously is:
· God’s desire
· God’s plan
· God’s will
When we walk and talk with God:
· We can have joy
· We can have safety and security
· We can have absolute peace
· We can have fulfillment
· We can have success in all endeavors
· We can have some influence both in the world and in heaven
· We can overcome any enemy or problem
· We can have special strength and confidence
· We can overcome all evil
· We can literally experience heaven on earth
-The End-
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