Tips to grow your relationship with God

God is the most important relationship in our life; it should be a priority for us to find ways to grow closer to Him. You can’t expect to know Him better if you aren’t constantly putting time and effort in. While there are numerous ways to do this, these are the five that I have found to work in my own personal life.  

Consistently spend time in His Word 

The Bible is God's direct way of speaking to us. It teaches us about His character and gives us the most beneficial way to live. When we apply these Biblical instructions to our lives, we will see noticeable, positive change. We need to open our hearts up, and give God the chance to speak to us. Another helpful thing is to memorize scripture. That way when we are put into certain situations God can put that scripture into our mind and help lead us. 

Pray in everything 

When we go throughout our day talking to God, we invite God into our hearts, and we learn to trust Him more. Just like in any human relationship it takes time and communication to build a bond. The same applies to our relationship with Jesus. Praying to Gods helps us to fight temptations and get through trials because He will strengthen us. He tells us this in Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”. Lastly, when we pray we should also praise God for all the blessings He gives us. Prayer journals are a great way we can look back and see the prayers that God answered. 

Ask God to free you from sins

See what temptations are holding you back from drawing closer to Him. Sin is anything that can separate us from God. When we choose to deny our fleshly desires then we will see progress in our choices and lifestyle. We can’t fight sin on our own so we must call upon God to ask for help. By His grace and mercy He will forgive us of our sins, but that doesn’t mean we should take advantage of it. 

Serve others

Jesus came down to serve us and we should do the same. Serving is our way of putting others before ourselves and recognizing that people are in need of help. Humbly serving others can also open up our eyes to things God has done in our life. It is another form of gratitude. Serving can be done through multiple ways such as encouraging the people around you, volunteering at your church or anywhere, or spreading the gospel.

Live in the Spirit

While doing all of these things will help us to grow with God, living and inviting the Spirit into our lives is ultimately one of the best things you can do for yourself. Walking in accordance to the Spirit will help us to create that intimacy with God. Setting our minds on things above this world and trusting God will provide, is how we can truly be followers of Jesus. 

Carlos Santana, chaplain, encourages us “to have God lead our lives in everything that we do. Before we even try to take that step, we should have God lead that step. That's what living in the Spirit is.”

God is so good to us and wants to have a relationship with us. Trust in Him and He will bless you even through life’s challenges.

Catie Fairfield, Student News Team