Having a reference to God, is not the same as knowing him, for this you need a deeper step: INTIMACY.
Someone intimate of God is one who has earned the trust of God. Someone who respectfully approaches him and has spiritually developed his senses to know his Voice, feel his footsteps and walk under the light of his word, prayer makes sense, does not worship superficially but knows that God is Omniscient and Omnipresent, that he can see, hear and feel a mortal who has been purified by the blood of Christ; A God who is closely related to his children.
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God reveals his privacy (Is.45: 3) "and I will give you the treasures hidden, and the secrets closely guarded, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who gives you a name."
This is wonderful, is not it? Who would not like to go step by step, taken by the hand of the Almighty? Who will not feel honored when God says I'm going to do something and that person should know it because it's my trust? the case of Abraham when the impending trial approached Sodom and Gomorrah.
And the men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them accompanying them.
And Jehovah said: I will cover Abraham what I am going to do?
(Genesis 18; 16.17)
God loves with an intimacy that surpasses our thoughts, His desire made Jesus come to earth to restore that communion with man, his name means Immanuel: God with man; Jesus is the greatest example when in humility, intimacy and obedience he opened a path to the Father.
It is so fundamental the communion with God that Jesus spoke of remaining in Him.
"For apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15; 5), it would be in vain!
Before the departure of Jesus, the disciples were sad thinking that they would be alone, but the perfect plan of God gave an endorsement to the Christian through the Holy Spirit, this is the echo of his words:
And I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, so that he may be with you forever: The Spirit of truth, whom the world can not receive, because it does not see him, nor know him; But you know him, because he lives with you and will be in you.
(John 14: 16,17)
Now we can enjoy a Sweet Communion with the Holy Spirit, He searches the mind of God, and intercedes in us with unspeakable groans (Romans 8; 26)
As Christians, we are not infallible, there are external and internal factors that damage our intimacy with God, when this happens, we must be honest and express our concerns before God.
Do not pretend to do everything right, sincerely see the Lord, He will not be surprised or impacted by what you say. Say that you feel it, remember that what he most wants is to have an intimate relationship with you.
Luke 18
10 Two men went up to the temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee, standing up, prayed to himself in this way: God, I thank you that I am not like other men, thieves, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector;
12 I fast twice a week, I give tithes of everything I earn.
13 But the publican, standing afar off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
14 I tell you that he went down to his house justified before the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled; and he who humbles himself will be exalted.