How to hold the heart alive, but as George McDonald said, as an empty cup ready for God to fill is probably one of the greatest difficulties,

beauties, disciplines, arts, secrets, answers of the Christian life.

In this series we've been doing on the sacred romance,

you're going to hear today session 9

where Brent Curtis is speaking on desert communion, how to find God in those desert places.

We've been talking about a love affair that goes on between God and us that's been going on since before the foundation of the world.

A love affair where the God of the universe desires heart intimacy with us.

And yet, it struck me not so long ago in my Christian life

that I'm just going to arrive on the shores of heaven

as kind of a male order bride.

I mean, God has probably seen my picture in the catalog.

I certainly have heard a few stories about him, but the amount of time I've spent really communing with God in my life is very small to be honest.

I've been a Christian some 24 years now and most of the communion I think I've had with the Lord God in my

heart has been the last three or four years. Any relationship that's going anywhere, any healthy one, is moving towards the consummation of the love relationship, spiritually, emotionally, and physically, right?

If we think about the first question in the major confessions of faith,

what's the chief end and purpose of man?

It varies.

The words are a little different, but to know or to worship, to know God and enjoy knowing Him forever.

But when we think of that word, no, to know God, so often our thoughts go to learning more about him.

We kind of stifle a sigh and think about what book or tape

we might pick up to learn more about God's attributes

and how he might operate. But what if we were just sitting and listening to a conversation in a cafe

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