Developing a Relationship with God
We all have different relationships… like a relationship between a mother and a child, a friend and a friend… since we have these s kinds of relationships with others we should also have a relationship with God.
What is relationship?
This word according to the dictionary means a state of having a connection, association with someone or something. We could as well say that it’s a state of having a connection and an association with God.
If you’re to look up what connection means a link between to things. So we could say that in order to connect to God we need to have a link and that will bring me to the question that’s says “How do we make a relationship with God?”
How do we start a relationship with God?
Well like any other relationship that you have with your family, friends, children and the way you begun to have the relationship with them, is also the same way we can start a relationship with God.
We said there are three key principles to develop a relationship with God.
- Accepting Jesus Christ as your lord and savior or to be born again
There is one major principle that we should know before we can develop a relationship with God. And that is we must know Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives in simple terms we must be born again. Meaning we must have accepted Jesus Christ in our lives.
Jesus Christ is the son of God, sent by God himself to die for the sins of all men so that through him(Jesus) we can be reconciled with God(in other wards we can start a relationship with him). So Jesus is the link through which we start a relationship with God.
When you look back in the beginning after God had created Adam and Eve, he had a good relationship with them; they communicated often, talked often and also met often. The relationship God had with man was incredible or wonderful, but when man fell the relationship he had with God broke or was broken or damaged. Implying that man was now on his own.
But all the same God desired to rebuild the relationship he had with man, because God loved man so much. He called Abraham and made a covenant with him and desired to establish his love to him. He made promises with him showing how much He loved man.
When the covenant he made with Abraham had be violated by the children of Israel, He called Moses to go and deliver the Israelites out of bondage from Egypt desiring to make another covenant with them...Still showing how much He loved man. When He brought the Israelites from Egypt he made a covenant with them on mountain Sania and he gave them the Ten Commandments.
Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now let us reason together says, the lord. Though your sins are like scarlet they shall be as white as snow though they are red as crimson they shall be like wool.” You find that God wants to develop a relationship with you.
John 3:3 says, “In reply Jesus declared “I tell the truth no-one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” so accepting Jesus as Lord of your life is a key principle.
When you accept Jesus Christ as your savior we read in John 1:12 says, “Yet to all who received him to those who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of God” so when you believe on Jesus you automatically become the child of God. And that is the first key point.
2. Reading or studying the word or the Bible
Some people believe that after accepting Jesus in there life then that’s the end, buts its not. Take this example when you where a baby your mother didn’t leave you there just like that, she breast feed you so that you could grow, so that’s the same thing with our lives in Christ, we need to read the word and be able to grow. If trees don’t get water they can not grow into strong trees.
The word of God is the building foundation for every Christian. It’s the food to the spirit. So in order to develop a good relationship with God wee need to have his word in our hearts or in us. God will only do something that contains his word.
Studying the word enables you to understand what God is saying. When you have the word in you then the next principle becomes simple and easy for you.
3. Prayer
Prayer is communication to God and with God which includes listening too. Prayer is also the expression of a man’s heart to God inform of requests, adoration, thanksgiving, praise, dedication…. It’s very important to pray as a new Christian even as a believer because this is the way we talk to God. We all need to communicate to each other so does God want to communicate with you too.
Take an example, when you never ask you dad or mom to buy you something will they do? Well of course NO, it’s not until you tell them what you want that they will buy it for you. Otherwise they can’t. So when we pray to God we make our request known to him and in this way trust is developed and hence developing our relationship with Him.
The above are the three are main principles to develop your relationship with God. The ways in which we can develop our relationship with God include the following.
- Through Prayer (Luke 18:1)
- Through praise and worship (2chronicles 29:30-32)
- Through reading and studying the Bible (Joshua 1:8)
- Through doing the will of God (Ephesians 6:6)
- Through obeying God (Acts 5:29)
- Through doing charitable works (Ephesians 2:10)
- Through Giving (Matthew 25:40)
- Etc
So we see that there are so many ways in which we can develop our relationship with God. You can apply all these and see your relationship with God develop.
When we look at the above in detail they will help you and show you how to develop your relationship with God.
- Through Prayer.
We said prayer is communication to God and with God involving speech and listening. We also said it’s the expression of a man’s heart towards God through worship, praise …etc.
How do we pray you may ask?
If you read Luke 11:1-13 it shows how Jesus taught the disciples to pray, so in the same pattern you can pray too. In your prayer you could start by thanking God, repenting of your sins, praying for the needs of others, then your needs and close with Amen. The pattern is not definite but as the Spirit of God leads you.
The bible in 1thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “pray continually”. Prayer is the number one weapon of a believer or a Christian. It’s what we use to develop our relationship with God; it’s what we use to fight the enemy, it’s what we use to intercede for others…. So this shows how prayer is important.
In many cases the reason we don’t see it work is because we miss the element of confidence in us. The lack of confidence comes about because we don’t know the will of God for or lives, what he has promised us through Jesus. Others it may be because they don’t know how to pray. The first step of prayer is to know the word of God in your heart. Psalm 119:11 “I have hidden your word in my heart that I way not sin against you” also John15:7 “if you remain in me and my word in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” we should have the word of God in us in order to be able to pray right. In this we you relationship with God will develop because you know what he wants.
So before praying find out what the word of God says about your situation, if it’s healing that you need find out what does the word of God tell us about healing. Look for Isaiah 53:5 if you need healing and declare it in your prayer because God only listens and responds to his word. The only prayer God will answer is that one that holds or contains his word so emotional based prayers are highly unanswered.
