Have you ever wondered how to improve your relationship with God? After all, a deep and abiding relationship with God is a wonderful, awe-inspiring thing. It is the desire of God’s heart and is the very thing he created us for. This kind of relationship with God is nothing short of a gift from God.

We grow into this kind of relationship as we are released from slavery and formed into the image of Christ – a process that begins when we submit our lives to God through Jesus and which will continue until his work is completed in us. It is a work that God does in us but which involves us as well.

I don’t want  any confusion about this – God forms this relationship with us if we will let him. Everything that we can do is a response to what he has already done and is doing as he searches our hearts and reveals his will.

Here are some things that you can do to improve your relationship with God – the same things that I can do to improve my relationship with God. This list is not all-inclusive and is in no particular order. In fact, it’s intentionally short so that you can leave your suggestions and comments as well.

• Confess and repent from your sins – Sin separates us from God. It breaks down the relationship between us and him. Confessing our sins and turning away from them (repentance) allows God’s grace to permeate our lives.
• Submit to & come near to God – If we move towards God, he will come near to us (James 4:7-8)
• Be humble – The Bible teaches that the lord opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6)
• Read the Bible – While all of creation teaches us about God (Romans 1:20), God has chosen to reveal himself to us directly through the Bible.
• Pray – Spend time talking to and listening to God. Take some time out of each day to focus on your relationship with God. And then share the rest of your day with God as well.
• Worship – Express your relationship with God by proclaiming his glory in word and deed.
• Serve Others – Spend time focusing on allowing God to meet the needs of others through you. Make an effort to follow the example of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit

I’ll say it again – God wants this close, intimate relationship with you. In fact, he wants that relationship more than you do. So much that Jesus of Nazareth, God incarnate, was born of a virgin, lived, died, and was raised again so that you can have it. And it is for this reason that Jesus returned to the Father so that the Holy Spirit could be sent.

Respond to God daily.

More Resources:

Update: Since this is one of my most popular posts of all time I thought I’d add some resources where you can learn more about improving your relationship with God.  These are affiliate links but they’re also resources that have been very valuable to me.

• Feeding Your Soul: A Quiet Time Handbook
• Ordering Your Private World
• The God You Can Know
• What’s So Amazing About Grace?

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Photo credit: Denise Cross on Flickr (Creative Commons License)

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