I remember as a young Born-Again Christian, just starting my spiritual journey that I would walk in and through the presence of God effortlessly. I lived and breathed the supernatural. Signs and Wonders were everywhere! The anointing was powerful! Then I went to Bible School and was told those things don’t happen anymore!
I began to focus less on my experiential knowledge walking WITH Jesus and more on increasing my cerebral knowledge ABOUT Jesus. Then, many years later, I was compelled to go back to growing in the passionate heart knowledge OF Jesus. Ever since then, the supernatural anointing is fresh and new every morning, growing stronger each day. I don’t ever want this to be a memory. I want it to continue as a living reality as I learn to trust Him more every morning!
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” (Proverbs 3:5-8 NIV)
Trusting in God requires that a person: “lean not on your own understanding.” The word "lean" comes from a Hebrew word that is defined as "to support oneself, as though leaning for assistance." This is the same word that is used where Samson leaned on the huge pillars supporting the Philistine temple. (See Judges 16:29) It is the idea of putting one's weight on a crutch.
God wants people to lean upon Him, just like the Bride leaned upon her Beloved, and John leaned upon the chest of Jesus at the Last Supper (Song 8:5; John 13:25). A person can't do it unless they're right next to Him. Leaning is a progressive state of mind. A person has to continually commit their ways to Him. It must become the pattern of their life.
The word "understanding" refers to human understanding, intellect, knowledge, talents, logic, experience, reasoning, or perspective. Christians are commanded to STOP leaning “on your own understanding" for this is the opposite of trust. They can’t "trust in the Lord" if they are leaning on their “own understanding." It is impossible.
The way to grow in trusting-faith is to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart.” The root idea behind the Hebrew word for "trust" is to "take refuge" or "have confidence." This word carries the idea of throwing one’s self down and lying on the ground before another, casting all hopes for the present and the future to someone else and finding shelter and security.
Christians must learn to lie down at the feet of Jesus and cast “all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7 NIV). They must give Him all the concerns and cares of their heart, (the inner self – their emotions and intellect) that frustrate them. This isn’t just saying they "trust in the Lord" or acting as though they do; rather, they are to be genuine in that "trust." They must do it with “ALL” their heart.
When a person trusts the Lord with all their heart, they relinquish ownership of those problems. They must still deal with them, but they won’t be worried or stressed over them because they belong to Him. They must give them to Him because they are His problems now!
Christians must “not be wise” in their “own eye.” Moving in trusting-faith means that they must stop trusting in their reasoning, intellect, education, abilities, talents, and experience and “acknowledge him” in everything they do. They must learn to turn away from self and turn to Jesus, remembering that He is ever-present, continually loving, caring, and providing for them.
When they fully rely on the Lord to handle any situation, He will "direct” their “paths" and remove the obstacles. He doesn’t promise that their life will be easy and without problems. However, He does promise straight paths as they journey through this life. When they learn to trust Him completely, “This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones” (Psalm 3:8 NIV).
The reason His mercies are new every morning is that a Christian’s trust has to be new every morning if they are to grow in His grace and be a fresh vessel of His Glory (See Lamentations 3:22-23). Yesterday’s new wine is now today’s old wine. They need new wine every day. They never really arrive. They are either going backward or forwards, which makes it all the more about Him and not about them.
It is beyond just faith…it is trusting Him daily, hourly, minute by minute, second by second, pouring out everything of their self - breath by breath - so that they are constantly being filled with His Blood - His wine - His oil - His anointing - His glory - and His love. The beautiful God yearns for every Christian to live in a state of knowing that they can count on Him NO matter what!
Mental knowledge is not wrong or bad. It can be very useful and, for every Born-Again Christian, there will be times it is necessary to live out the life God is calling them to live. However, intellectual knowledge about God is not the same as an intimate knowledge of God. The head always gets in the way of the heart.
In order to get to the place of truly both KNOWING and LOVING God a person must first be willing to pray (and live) the Gethsemane prayer, “Not my will Lord but Yours” then they must carry their Cross daily because at any moment the Lord may require that a certain area of their life be crucified so that area within can experience true overcoming resurrection power.
The pursuit of knowledge is vital for growth as a disciple of Christ, along with intimate experiential knowledge. It is not a form of modern Gnosticism. The faith of a naïve and under-educated Christian who rejects the intellectual study of God’s Word can be “destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6a ESV).
Jesus commanded every Christian to teach His Words; "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, TEACHING them to observe all things I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV Emphasis mine). That can only be done by learning how to handle correctly (Gk: 'orthotomeo' = to make a straight cut, i.e. (figuratively) to dissect (expound) correctly (the divine message - Strongs) the written Word of God. That takes training a discipline. By doing so, they are better equipped "to observe all things” that Jesus “commanded” them. It is far more than just listening to a sermon, or attending Bible studies, or home fellowships on a week by week basis.
The danger of intellectual pursuit without an intimate experiential knowledge of God is that the heart can be come cold and brittle like a stone, making knowledge an idol. God has given every Born-Again Christian a metaphorical “new heart of flesh” which is the new understanding of life itself that will cause them “to walk in” His “statutes, and “obey” them" (Ezekiel 36:26-27 ESV).
The motivation to love God and study His Word comes from the heart, the emotional center of a human being, and not just the mind (Matthew 22:37). Living the life God desires for a Born-Again Christian is about obeying Jesus and studying His Word through the power and operation of the Holy Spirit in their life.
Those who intentionally preach against the intellectual pursuit of knowing God through His written Word alone are known as wolves in Sheep’s clothing and false prophets in the Bible (Matthew 7:15, 24:11; 2 Peter 2:1). The only effective way to know if someone is a false prophet who is teaching destructive heresies is to “test the spirits” and confirm it aligns with the totality of Scripture (2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1).
Every Born-Again Christian is commanded to diligently study and rightly divide God’s written Word (2 Timothy 2:15). All Scripture is “given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV). The only effective way to do that is to intentionally study the Bible by using both the new heart of flesh and the mind of Christ they have been given (1 Corinthians 2:16).
However, with all that being said, both the intellectual and experiential pursuit of God must be grounded in prayer because it is the fundamental element of relationship with Him in the life of the Born-Again Christian. It is an act of worship, the communion of the soul with God - Spirit with spirit - the saved with the Savior. It is both wrestling with God and resting peacefully in His arms.
When walls are present in the church, prayer will break them down like no other activity. Matters of culture, tradition, doctrine, and even denominational disagreements take a back seat when a diverse group prays together. Spirit-led prayer brings us into the very presence of God, and when the experience of God's presence permeates a diverse group, a transcendent unity is often the result.
It is a beautiful thing to experience the perspective shift that occurs when Born-Again Christians from different traditions experience Jesus communally in prayer. The ultimate goal of prayer is to have intimate union and dialogue with the Triune God. Prayer is the application of the heart to God and the eternal exercise of love.
Sharing Jesus with others, and learning about Him through His written Word is not the same thing as spending time with the author Himself. It is like a married couple having difficulties, and spending their time separately reading and studying about how to have a good marriage, yet not taking any time to be with each other, getting to know their spouse intimately. Communication is the key to keeping any relationship vibrant and alive. Having an intimate relationship with God is why every Born-Again Christian needs to pray continuously without ceasing while the Holy Spirit guides them into all truth as they study the Bible (John 16:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:17).
