Looking for a deeper level of intimacy in a mate is a normal part of healthy relationship building, but there is an even deeper connection that the human spirit cries out for: We need God’s love. For us to experience a close relationship with our partners, we first need to experience the unconditional love of our heavenly Father.

Practically speaking, how do we build intimacy with God? How do we feel loved by God in a way that draws us to love Him back, understanding that an intimate relationship with Him will help us have true intimacy in marriage? In my pursuit of a more intimate relationship with God, I have learned to be intentional. To get to know someone well, I have to spend time with them and find out more about them. The more I care about them, the more I want to know and the more I want them to know I am interested in their heart and desires. All healthy relationships start, grow, and continue in a similar way, including our relationship with God. The more we get to know Him, the deeper and more intimate our relationship with Him will be. The more questions we ask, the more we seek Him, the more we are interested in Him, the more intimate we become with Him. His heart for us is that we would delight in Him, and to delight in Him, we need to get to know Him. Many people don’t have a good view of God; they believe He is angry, absent, punishing, boring, legalistic, etc. But these negative beliefs will change as we get to know Him for who He truly is. He really is good. I love how Pastor Bill Johnson says, “God is always in a good mood.” That is certainly a healthy way of seeing Him. He is all loving, all merciful, all understanding. He is full of grace and compassion and forgiveness. He is fun and funny...