How to Grow in Relationship with God

The ultimate way you can grow in relationship with God is by spending time with Him. Don’t complicate things because it’s very simple. Do you spend time with anyone? Do you enjoy their company? Do you make time for that person? Then I suppose this person means a lot to you.You’d usually spend time with those you care for.

It’s the same with God. When you first gave your life to Christ it was an exciting experience. However, just like everything else if you do not cultivate and nurture that thing it will fall apart. 

Colossian 2:6-7 tells us, “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.  Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” 

Does this make sense? You decided to follow Christ so now it’s your responsibility to develop your relationship with Him. By spending time with Him this will allow the relationship to blossom. It will allow your roots to grow down deep and your entire life will be built on Him. The quality of your life will change so beautifully that others will see all the good that’s happening and be inquisitive to know what’s going on with you. Your Father will be glorified.  

If you currently feel distant from God it’s simply because you have not specifically dedicated time for Him. If building a tight relationship with God is something you’d love then you would particularly decide to spend time with Him. As you do that, you will feel that He is always present.

Spending time with God is similar to spending time with someone. Here are six (6) ways to grow in relationship with God.

Devotional Plan 

Choose a plan you are interested in. Youversion is my go to app for this. There are tons of categories to choose from and you can’t go wrong. Simply click “start plan”.  The only challenging part in this is to daily remember to do the devotion. But I know you want to develop your relationship with God so you will remember. However in case you forget the Youversion Bible App will send you a reminder. Doing a devotional will help you to connect with God in a more personal way. The plan allows you to reflect and meditate on real life issues and relate them to yours. It’s an opportunity to also grab your journal and take down points and bible references for which you may need in the future. 

Set Time to Worship

When we intentionally decide to meet with God we encounter Him in such beautiful ways. That’s actually part of worshiping Him. In order to do this you can decide to awake early in the morning when everyone is still asleep. This would mean you would have complete peace and quietness and this atmosphere really helps you to zone into quality time with Abba. Choose the songs you would want to listen to through the guidance of Holy Spirit. For example, I would say something simple like, “Lord please guide me to the song You want me to listen to”. Why I do this is because through the song chosen by Him, He has a word for me, that’s how I will encounter Him or simply because He wants to encourage me. When the right song is chosen I allow it to just play and remain still. I would eventually join in and a lot of times I dance to the song. 

Dancing for me is the fundamental way I engage in worship before God. It’s at this moment I truly connect with Him on a whole other level. It’s really supernatural and I may not be able to explicitly explain it. So if dancing is where you go deeper in worship with God, for that moment then absolutely do that. Dance before your King; He is very deserving of it. If you choose to sing along or just meditate on the lyrics then do exactly as He leads. During these moments the Lord goes to work on our behalf just by us worshiping Him. The more time we set aside for Abba the better our life improves. Let worship become a regular part of your relationship with God.

Join a Bible Believing Church

Being a part of a local church is a great way to grow in your relationship with God. It allows you to get to know other people who are on this very same journey with you. This kind of setting helps to strengthen you and brings a sense of belongingness. You will get to be a part of a whole new family and through their love and guidance you will grow in your understanding of the Word of God. Through the Bible Study sessions you will gain a wealth of knowledge, so this is a session you should join. Some churches offer Bible courses, so register and become a student of the Word of God. Be open to joining a group within the church for example the youth ministry, ladies ministry,  prayer ministry, hospitality ministry, dance ministry, media ministry or any other you feel God is leading you to. What this does is that it gives you the opportunity to get to know others while simultaneously offering you a great space to utilize your abilities and skills for the Lord and even discover those hidden. Most importantly you will be available for God to use you as you serve Him. As you serve Him, your relationship with Him will grow as you discover more about Him. 

Go for a Prayer Walk or Run

We usually go for walks or runs. We do this because we want to keep fit and that’s absolutely important. How about adding prayer to that? While on your walk or run you can spend some time praying and interceding on behalf of others. The more you avail yourself to pray, the more you grow spiritually. Meeting with God through prayer is vital because during these moments God reveals mysteries to us. If you can pray in tongues then adding this kind of prayer will elevate your time with Him. I say this because when we pray in an unknown language given to us by God, we do not fully understand what we are saying. However, we fully trust God and through His leading we begin to pray within His will. Praying His will which is found in the Bible is exactly how we should pray because only His plans will come to pass and we will be certain that our prayers will be answered. So if this means you may have to carry your bible or use your Bible App, then absolutely do that. Praying God’s Word will definitely change your life. Don’t go rambling on a whole bunch of nothing but remind Him of His Word. Do not be afraid to open up your heart to Him during your prayer walk or run, you will be even more energized. 

Read Your Bible

This is the number one way to grow in relationship with God whether you are a baby believer or more mature in Faith. Read Your Bible! My son usually asks me, “how does God talk to you?” My number one answer has been, “by reading His Word, the Bible.” This is true if you want to know what God thinks about anything, just read your Bible. As you read He will reveal His truth to you. He will make everything clear and ensure that before you close the Bible you know that He has spoken and answered your questions. When you are new to reading His Word it may not make sense to you all at once but little by little, as you read daily it will. If you truly want to develop your relationship with God and understand who He is, how much He loves you, His plans for your life, what it means to live a true Christian life then I advise you to make time to read and study His Word. Everything you need to know about this life and the after life is in this Book. Do not neglect reading it and then question why isn’t my faith growing. Building a lasting relationship with God requires you to engage in His Word, because His Word is who He is. So get to know who God is through His Word. He is very close to you, even now! 

Listen to Sermons, Bible Studies or His Word on Audio 

When I began to really focus on nurturing my relationship with God this was one of the ways I did it. I would watch sermons and bible study sessions which He led me to. Through this simple engagement I have grown a lot spiritually because I was inquisitive to know more about Him. Through the teaching of His Word which is a fundamental aspect of our Faith Walk we grow in understanding. Take the time to listen to great sermons, teachers and His Word on audio. The Bible tells us that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. Take this seriously. If you want your faith in God to grow then listen to His Word. YouTube is a great medium to find some insightful sermons which are also free. While you are cleaning, in the shower, cooking, up early in the morning or meeting with friends, you can put on a sermon, bible study or bible audio and listen or watch. If you meet with friends to do this, after the session you can engage with them even further and share your understanding and perspective on the Word. Make it a daily habit to truly dive deeper into His Word, this will level up your relationship with Him. 

The Challenge

I Challenge you to:

• Find a Devotional Plan and engage in it daily. Follow the schedule daily. Get a journal and take notes. If you happen to miss a day, don’t fret. You will just have two (2) devotions to cover the following day 😀.

• Make it a date to worship God for the next seven (7) days. For this challenge all you would need to do is put on some worship music to allow God to minister to your heart. You can dance or sing it but if you feel led to just be still then do that.   

• Attend Sunday Service at a local church. Pray about it and if God says “yes” then join that church. Be open to get involved in the church and trust God’s process.  

• Choose a Book of the Bible and read a chapter a day. If this is not challenging enough, read from this Book for one (1) hour everyday. For example, if you choose Colossians, read the Book of Colossians for one (1) hour a day.

• Go unto YouTube and choose a sermon, a bible study or an audio recording of a Book of the Bible to watch and or listen to, twice in a week.

Why the Challenge? 

Challenges help us push ourselves because otherwise we more than likely would not do anything. Challenges ignite a passion and excitement within us and actually pushes us to get that thing going. We believe that we can accomplish the goal and therefore work towards it. Every time we accomplish one goal we feel empowered to start and finish another. 

If you sincerely want to develop your relationship with God I challenge you to engage in all of these simple five (5) tips and The Challenge to get you started. As you keep up the momentum of cultivating a lasting relationship with Christ you will experience lasting fruits. Guess what? Others will be drawn to Christ because of your relationship with Him.