Deepening Your Connection With the Father

Author: Pastor Michael Reece

James 4:8—Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty, is divided between God and the world.

When I was younger, I was always struck by the simplicity with which this verse in James approached closeness with God. It seemed impossible that the Creator of the universe would want to be close to me. All I had to do to experience that closeness was make a conscious decision to move toward Him. It was something I struggled with early in my walk with Christ. The older I get, the more I realize that it is that simple. In fact, more often than not, we tend to overcomplicate closeness with God. We tell ourselves we have to jump through a ton of hoops to feel close to God when in reality, we just need to choose him above all else. Nothing has made me understand that more than becoming a married man. I met my wife, Bethany, in the fall of 2017. We started dating later that year and have now been married since December 2019.

There are a lot of wonderful things about being married, and I consider myself very fortunate to have been blessed with such a great relationship. One thing I did not expect was how being married would affect how I view my relationship with God. Concepts like unconditional love and forgiveness took on new meanings for me. Granted, I will never be able to understand the full scope and magnitude of how deeply and powerfully we are loved by God. None of us can truly understand that. For me, though, marriage has helped put into perspective some key things about my relationship with God. If you want to deepen your relationship with our Heavenly Father this year, let me share some of that perspective with you.

The steps it takes to deepen your relationship with God are not unlike the ones it would take to strengthen your relationship in marriage or any other meaningful relationship. In both cases, I have learned that two things are crucial to developing a healthy connection: intentionality and consistency. Let’s start with intentionality. It has to be intentional if I want to strengthen my relationship with my wife. It’s not going to happen accidentally. It has to be more than us just sitting in a room distracted by other things and not engaging each other. Our relationship won’t grow that way. I have to keep learning about who she is as a person. That involves asking questions and, most importantly, listening intently to what she has to say.

That same level of intentionality must be present in our relationship with God. The time we spend with Him can’t be filled with distractions. We all have a ton of things going on, whether that is with our families, our jobs, or just the general craziness of the world around us. Though that may be true, we still need to make time to get into the Word of God. Make sure you are taking time to unplug from all of that and spend quality time with God. Put your phone on “Do Not Disturb,” take a deep breath, and have a conversation with God. Just as any important conversation that involves listening, as well. It may feel awkward at first, but make sure you are giving yourself the proper time and space to hear what God may be saying to you.

Consistency is also an important part of building relationships. Long-term relationships involve daily commitment. My relationship with my wife is not something I take breaks from. We are in this thing every day, no matter what. My relationship with God has to also be something I don’t take breaks from. With the craziness of life and how busy we all can be, we can’t afford for our relationship with God to steadily slip down the priority list. Just as with any relationship, if we fail to make an effort to invest time consistently, the connection will begin to weaken. Make a commitment now, early in 2023, to strive to spend time with God daily.

Set a morning alarm, insert it into your work routine, and do whatever you need to do to make sure that it stays consistent. If I am being honest, a lot of the times in my life when I felt I was struggling to hear from God really boiled down to me never making time for my God time to happen. To truly hear God, we must make sure we are drawing near Him. We choose Him above all and commit to spending intentional, consistent time with Him.

Reflection

What are things you can do this year to be more intentional in your time with God?