intimacy, day 2

Come to Stillness:

Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:

O God, who existed before all things, draw near to my heart today as I draw near to yours. Grant that as we are together during this time—as well as this day—I will know of your presence to the very core of my being. Let me experience the intimacy with you that I was created for. In the name of Jesus, the Word made flesh. Amen. (JLB)

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 131

Scripture for the Day: Song of Songs 7:10-13

Reading for Reflection:

My meditations on the story of the woman who poured her perfume all over Jesus has elevated the affections of my heart toward Jesus.  Just like the woman in the story, I long to be passionately indifferent to the reactions of those around me, lost in the extravagant expression of my affection for Jesus.  I want my love for God to become as wild, reckless, and free as his for me. (Running on Empty by Fil Anderson)

In their book The Art of Intimacy, the Malones, a father and son team, make an important distinction between closeness and intimacy.

     Closeness, they write, “is a very intense personal awareness of the relationship you have with another.”  It’s the feeling we get when we agree with someone, when someone is like us, when we share space and emotional warmth together.

     Intimacy is often confused with closeness.  We think we’re intimate when we’re close.  That may be true, but the desire for closeness may also become a trap.  It can gradually force us to deny ourselves (our true selves) and to live a lie in order to maintain the illusion of warmth and togetherness.  This produces an unnatural “truce” in which our true passion is sacrificed for the sake of peace.

     According to the Malones, intimacy is distinguished from closeness.  The word Intimacy is derived from the Latin word intima, meaning “inner” or “innermost,” and carries the idea of being in touch with our inner selves.  It does not focus on the feelings of warmth or the awareness of similarity.  Intimacy is the art of bringing our true selves into the relationship. (The River Within by Jeff Imbach)


Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Draw Me Close to You

Draw me close to You never let me go
I lay it all down again
To hear You say that I'm Your friend
You are my desire no one else will do
'Cause nothing else could take Your place
To feel the warmth of Your embrace
Help me find the way bring me back to You

You're all I want
You're all I've ever needed
You're all I want
Help me know You are near

Closing Prayer

Lord you are my Lover, it is you whom I desire. You flow through my body like a stream, you shine on my face like the sun. Let me be your reflection.

                                                                                              ~St. Mechthildis