Dear Child of God,
The time we spend perusing Christ will be the most important time we will spend.
But before we dive into that. First things first. It is important to understand this foundational truth. God is always with You.
The Bible tells us, he never leaves us. ( Hebrews 15:3 )
This was one of the hardest lessons for me to learn. I spent most of my early Christian days working hard to stay in God’s “good graces.” Yet living in fear of God’s abandonment.
Which meant, I had to rely heavily on my feelings. One moment (when I was doing well) I was full of an unstoppable peace. The next day I questioned if I would make the rapture. Talk about an emotional roller roster.
When did it stop? When I learned that God’s presence is a gift given from God, through Jesus. It is simply received by salvation.
It is up to us to turn towards him. You may have heard the phrase:
“God is always speaking, it’s up to us to listen.”
That, is what this post is all about. Tunning our ears to listen. Actively drawing close to him.
5 Ways to Deepen Your Relationship with God.
Deeping you relationship with God is about making two important decisions:
- I want to truly know who Jesus.
- I want Jesus truly know me.
Let’s look at Matthew 6:21 which says,
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Drawing close to God is the process of learning to treasure Christ above all else. As we put our hearts in his hands, by actively pursuing him.
I use the word process because desiring God is a lifelong pursuit, not a one-time decision. Throughout our journey there will be things that God asks us to lay down, so we can continue to put him first. From season to season the details will look different, but the basics will never change.
How to Deepen Your Relationship With God.
1. Embrace Christ in all Accepts of life.
I spent years doing my quiet time and then moving on with the rest of my life. Boxing in my relationship with God into a 30-minute time slot.
Our walk with God, won’t go deeper until we invite him to actually LIVE with us.
I am talking about continually acknowledging his presence. Through prayer and worship. Seeking his wisdom with how we live every aspect of life.
It is impossible to both section Christ off from areas of our life and simultaneously experience the fullness of his presence. God wants full acess to who we are.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to we are to pray without ceasing. Which can turn even the most mundane moments into extraordinary connections with God.
Constantly communicat with God about how we treat our spouse, and how we parent. Staying in connection with the Father while we are in the workplace and going through our day, draws us closer to Him daily.
A simple way to do this is by praying while you wash the dishes, drive the car, fold the laundry.
2. Learn to cultivate silence
You may be no stranger to the phrase quiet time. The moments we set aside to pray, worship and read our Bible. Your quiet time might include your favorite hot beverage, worship playlist, and perfectly coordinated color-themed highlighter.
Or maybe you steal a few moments in the evening to read scripture and journal your thoughts. Either way, the most important thing you need during those sweet moments with Jesus is an ear to listen.
“More than any thing else God wants a relationship with you.”
Way anchor
Revelation 3:20 tells us that
God is standing at the door, knocking. When we sit still and listing for his voice we open every door of our heart and let him in.
It is easy to monopolize our quiet time with bible reading, and one-sided prayers. Don’t get me wrong, reading the bible vital, and we get anywhere in life without prayer. But in addition to those things we also need to hear God’s voice.
I believe that when we make space to listen, the Spirit of God will speak to our hearts with nudging and promptings. Which lead to Spirit lead Bible studies and prayers. Wisdom on how to live our life. Which makes our quite infinitely more effective. and draws us closer to God.
At times the voice of God might be loud, undeniably cutting through the noise of the world like, the encounter Paul had on the road to Damascus. ( Acts 9)
But, more often than not the voice of God will come through a whisper. And if we never set time aside, to listen, we can miss it. leaving us feeling distant from God.
Deepening Your Relationship With God
3. Read Your Bible
Ok way anchor family, I can go on and on about the importance of the Bible. However for today’s post, I will hit the high lights.
The Bible is a gift from God himself. Written so his people could know the God who created them. It expresses his nature, and his heart.
As we read it in it’s interarity we find his desire for mankind as a whole. As well as for you as an indivisual. When we read his Word, we see the pattern of his faithfulness. Even among those who are unfaithful.
This is why I love love my bible. Not only does is heal my heart, and restore my mind. It gives me a very special window into the charater of God. With out it the only understanding I would have would come from my relationship with others.
Which at this core can be deeply flowed. People are not perfect. We often fall short of giving the love others need. Others haven follen short of giving me the love I personally needed.
But when I look and the Jesus of the Bible. I am met with a contrast that breaks me free. Let me explain. Even when others have not loved me, God has. Even when others were not faithful God was.
I get to know who he is, despite what I have been through. All because of his word. Do you want to know who God is? Do you want to get close to him? Open that Bible.
Jesus said something to the disciples, that I want us to remember today.
Matthew 28.20 Christ’s last words on this earth were,
“I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Just as he was with the disciples, he is with us.
How? Through his Holy Spirit. Who reminds us of all things. Convicts us and converts us in our time of need.
4. Cast Your Cares
but the worries of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Mark 4:19
The weight that we carry can isolate us, from everyone, and that includes God. Really it’s a matter of trust. God wants to help us. In fact, we were created to live with God and for God. Keeping our eyes on Jesus, every step of the way.
Which is impossible if we have our eyes on our problems in stead of our savior. Worry happen when we meditated on our problems, trying to find our own solutions.
But when we cast out cares on Jesus. It opens the lines of communication with trust. Trust deepens every relationship we have.
If we don’t trust someone we keep them at arms length. We’re not honest with how we’re really doing. Which makes it impossible for us to know them, or for them to know us.
Our relationship with God is not different.
God Is Here. He is with you as you read these words. He is with you as you drive your car. Wash the dishes, and care for your kids.
As you read your bible, pray, and worship, none of these things are ever done in vain.
When the enemy says we have been abandoned, we can remember that God is with us.
Draw close to God today. He is with you.