Dry Prayer, Not!

Continuing the theme of relationship with the Lord, this morning I was reading Peter's second letter.  Listen how he starts his letter -

2 Peter 1:1-3 NIV:

[1] "Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: [2] Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

[3] His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."

Once again I am struck by the use of the Greek word that was translated as knowledge.  The word used here is "epignosis" and the here is part of the entry from the online interlinear guide I use, https://biblehub.com/greek/1922.htm

Cognate: 1922 epígnōsis (from 1909 /epí, "on, fitting" which intensifies 1108 /gnṓsis, "knowledge gained through first-hand relationship") – properly, "contact-knowledge" that is appropriate ("apt, fitting") to first-hand, experiential knowing. This is defined by the individual context. See 1921 (epignōskō).

Peter says knowledge gained through personal first-hand relationship of God and Our Lord Jesus Christ is key to our grace and peace.  This personal, first-hand knowledge is also the doorway through which we access His divine power which provides everything we need for a godly life. I am definitely seeing a pattern here!  :-)

The Passion Translation is a bit more descriptive, but still missing the personal first-hand knowledge - 2 Peter 1:2-3 TPT

[2] "May grace and perfect peace cascade over you as you live in the rich knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

[3] Everything we could ever need for life and complete devotion to God has already been deposited in us by his divine power. For all this was lavished upon us through the rich experience of knowing him who has called us by name and invited us to come to him through a glorious manifestation of his goodness."

Again, if this personal, first-hand knowledge of the Lord is possible for any of us, it should be available to all of us!  Peter is writing, and so we could say He had the personal, first-hand experience, but his invitation and encouragement is to all believers.  He wrote this letter near the end of his life, so about 30 years after Jesus ascended.  Those he was writing to clearly would not all have met Jesus personally during His earthly ministry, thus we must understand that this same knowledge and personal first-hand experience is available to them, and thus must be available to us, for Jesus is just as present today as He was 30 years after His Ascension.

This is the invitation I respond to daily, the reason my faith doesn't become dry, I know Him through personal first-hand experience, and continue to press into knowing Him more and more.  There is no lack in His character, no end of who He is, so every day I encounter Him in slightly different ways, with different conversation flows.  Often times I encounter the beginning of our conversation in scripture, and from there the conversation flows.  I don't hear the audible voice of the Lord, but recognize His quiet voice, flowing into my thoughts, as well as flowing out of verses of scripture as I respond to His direction on where to read next, or remember other verses from my previous reading.

Learning to listen and hear is key to our relationship with the Lord, and that is why a time of quiet, is so helpful.  I usually spend the first few minutes getting the thoughts out of my mind, so that I can be less distracted, and then turn my attention to Him.  The Lord is always faithful, and always ready to speak, it is me who has to work to pay attention and listen.

It is my prayer that all of us may grow in our depth of knowledge of the Lord through personal, first-hand experience.  He is always loving, merciful, understanding and encouraging, and waiting for us to turn our attention to Him. 

Blessings,

Sam