On how to address the Lord and intimacy with God

[Jamdoc]

Romans 8

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Now, I have heard that for some, we should be utterly reverent of God when speaking to Him, when addressing Him. God has a lot of titles, and we should approach Him by all those titles.

and I think about that, and I feel.. awful.
I feel a loveless, empty, "professional" relationship, coldness. It's like every one of those titles you jam in there yes they magnify God but they distance yourself from Him, and to me, it's almost a sensation of pain, and I just start losing hope and wishing I'd never been born. To just be seen as nothing but a slave, or a bondservant and yes the bible does use those terms, but it also uses terms of family intimacy, such as what I quoted above, which Jesus also used in prayer, calling God the Father an affectionate term, Abba "Daddy"
Like many people's pictures of heaven, just.. almost like an eternal liturgical worship service.. it's like a second version of hell. There's no intimacy in that, you're a background voice in a group to something totally distant and transcendent and untouchable to you. I hate that.

Your Earthly father might have a distinguished career, he might have all kinds of titles and honorifics. To a stranger he might be "Doctor" or "Captain" or "Admiral" or "General" or "Your Honor" or "Mr. President" or "Your Highness" or "Your Grace" or "My Lord".. but to friends? First name basis.. and to family? "Daddy" or "Papa" or at least "Dad" or "Pa".
Is God so distant and transcendent that we refer to Him the way we refer to esteemed strangers?
Or are we close to God (not close in Glory or Power or Importance, but I mean in relationship)?

I know I for one at the very least, want the closeness that the Disciples had with Him on Earth, where they traveled with Him, spoke with Him as individuals, asked Him questions, ate at the same table with Him and hey, one of them would even lean against Him, would it be so far out to want a hug from time to time?

 

[Paul4JC]

Yes, his Spirit spurs us on. A few thoughts.

Thank God he gives us the confidence to approach him. He became one of us, not we become one of him. We are partakers of the divine nature, even though we are not divine.

[2Pe 1:4 NIV] Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

It’s never difficult to approach God, but this is only possible through Christ. So we can always approach the throne of grace with confidence.

[Heb 4:14-16 NIV] 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

So because of this, Despite my feelings, I don’t recall ever struggling to meet up with God, no matter what my disposition was, (I've struggled with depression most of my life) it did not matter. As a Christian leader friend of mine used to say, “God is easy to live with.”

[1Pe 5:7 HNV] 7 casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you.

My.Hymnary

my.hymnary.org

I particularly love the 4th stanza.

How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds

Authoritative information about the hymn text How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds, with lyrics, audio recordings, MIDI files, PDF files, printable scores, piano resources, and products for worship planners.

hymnary.org

1 How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
in a believer's ear!
It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds,
and drives away our fear.

2 It makes the wounded spirit whole
and calms the troubled breast;
'tis manna to the hungry soul,
and to the weary, rest.

3 O Jesus, shepherd, guardian, friend,
my Prophet, Priest, and King,
my Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,
accept the praise I bring.

4 How weak the effort of my heart,
how cold my warmest thought;
but when I see you as you are,
I'll praise you as I ought.

5 Till then I would your love proclaim
with every fleeting breath;
and may the music of your name
refresh my soul in death.

 

[tturt]

Also, consider this a treasured resource. The Practice of the Presence of God teachings of Brother Lawrence from the 17th century who enjoyed closeness with God

 

[Jamdoc]

I think certain doctrines, like using intermediaries in prayer (praying to saints/Mary to intercede on our behalf) and a doctrine like Purgatory, where God won't allow us in His presence until all these other things are done for an undisclosed amount of time, are very depressing to me because they do the opposite of closeness to God, they create distance, they make God unapproachable, unknowable, with the goal of Elevating God.
Which yes, God is above us, unfathomably so, but God lowered Himself to us to reveal Himself to us so that He could be known and related to, because God Himself desires relationship with us
and I think that's an important distinction, that this is not something man initiated. When Man tries to initiate relationship with God, he creates religion, he creates idols and images so he can see God, he creates rituals he thinks get God's attention, and he creates sacrifices he thinks will appease God
and for many people there seems to be a need for such things, that is why God gave some religious practices in order to give illustrations and pictures of His plans.
But when God initiated the relationship, we love God because He loved us first, He came as a man, and told us to call God "Father", a relationship term.
and that is where Christianity differs from so many "religions" in that Christianity at its core, is personal relationship to God. It is true intimacy with God. Not because of anything we did, but because He initiated the relationship. He lowered Himself so that we could know and relate to Him.

and that is so paramount in importance to me, that God initiated relationship, God desires relationship, and God has brought Himself down so that we could .. call Him Abba.