Be much alone with God, and take time to get thoroughly acquainted. Converse over everything with Him. Unburden yourself wholly -every thought, feeling, wish, plan, doubt- to Him...He wants not merely to be on good terms with you, but to be intimate.
Interpretation
The quote encourages deep personal reflection and intimate communication with God.
Horatius Bonar emphasizes the importance of spending time alone with God to foster a profound relationship. He suggests that it's not enough to maintain a superficial connection; we should openly share our innermost thoughts and feelings with God, as He desires a close, intimate relationship with us.
In practice
When giving a speech on faith, you might share this quote to emphasize the importance of personal prayer.
The gospel is the proclamation of free love; the revelation of the boundless charity of God. Nothing less than this will suit our world; nothing else is so likely to touch the heart, to go down to the lowest depths of depraved humanity, as the assurance that the sinner has been loved -- loved by God, loved with a righteous love, loved with a free love that makes no bargain as to merit, or fitness, or goodness.
Upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die; another's life, another's death, I stake my whole eternity.
Thy way, not mine, O Lord, however dark it be; lead me by thine own hand; choose out the path for me.
I ought to pray before seeing any one. Often when I sleep long, or meet with others early, it is eleven or twelve o'clock before I begin secret prayer. I feel it is far better to begin with God-to see His face first, to get my soul near Him before it is near another.
Prayer is the breath of the new man, drawing in the air of mercy in petitions, and returning it in praises; it proves and maintains the spiritual life.
The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him.
Accumulate power in silence and become a dynamo of spirituality.
Whoever wants God intensely, finds Him. Go and verify it in your own life.
Prayer is no fitful, short-lived thing. It is no voice crying unheard and unheeded in the silence. It is a voice which goes into God's ear, and it lives as long as God's ear is open to holy pleas, as long as God's heart is alive to holy things.
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