Knowing God is more than knowing about Him; it is a matter of dealing with Him as He opens up to you, and being dealt with by Him as He takes knowledge of you. Knowing about Him is a necessary precondition of trusting in Him, but the width of our knowledge about Him is no gauge of our knowledge of Him. ~ James I (J. I.) Packer

I encourage you to get to know God through reading His inpired word. When we go to the word of God to dwell in in His knowledge is it for merely selfish reasons rather than getting to know God more deeply. I was convicted of this awhile back while I was on our trip down to Austin. Rick needed to study and so I decided to pop in a Piper sermon to listen to titled Be constant in prayer for the Joy of Hope. I was struggling with dwelling in the word of God, every time I went to the word I left it unchanged and uninterested, as horrible as that might sound it is true. John Piper opened my eyes to the source of my problem, to my selfishness.

"The deepest need of every person is to know God. Not just to know about him, but to know him as your personal Creator, Redeemer, Judge, and Friend. So his first request is “that God . . . may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.” Do you know God? Really know him? Or more helpfully, we should ask, are we growing in our knowledge of God? Are we going deeper in how well we know God? This happens, Paul shows us, by praying for it. And this is not a one-time prayer for Paul. It is continual. “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers . . . that you might know God.” Be constant in this prayer! Pray this for yourself continually. Pray this for your family. Pray this for the church and especially her leaders.

More specifically in verse 17 he prays that we would have a “spirit of wisdom and revelation” so that we can know God. We cannot know God without the help of the Holy Spirit. And what the Holy Spirit does is to awaken and transform our spirit so that we can see and savor the wisdom and revelation that God gave to his apostles and prophets. He is a Spirit of wisdom and revelation, and he creates a spirit of wisdom and revelation.

When you read the Bible or listen to a Bible-saturated sermon you are hearing the wisdom and revelation of God. But what happens? Do you see it? Does it have an effect on you? Does it move you? Does it make you hungry for more of God? Does the wisdom and revelation appear beautiful to you? Do they taste sweet? Can you say with the psalmist, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103)?

If not, the first step in the remedy is prayer.

“Father, grant me a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of yourself. Please, don’t leave me to myself. I am so worldly. My thoughts and feelings are so unspiritual. I scarcely feel any awe or trembling or sense of spiritual beauty or sweetness or glory. Have mercy and by your Spirit awaken in me a spirit of wisdom and revelation so that when I read or hear your wisdom and your revelation I will have ears to hear and eyes to see the wonder of it (Psalm 119:8).”

Pray that for yourself. Be constant in that prayer. God will show you more than you ever dreamed he would."

~John Piper

Why do you read the word of God? Is it for merely selfish
reasons..........searching for verses for your current situation or are you
reading it for the sheer enjoyment of getting to know Him more deeply.

JOYfully in Him,

Kelli