Walk with God

Colossians 2:6-7 (WEBBE): ⁶As therefore you received Christ Jesus, the Lord, walk in him, ⁷rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, even as you were taught, abounding in it in thanksgiving.

The longer I walk with God, the more I realise how important it is that what we have with God is an intimate relationship. And just like any relationship, it requires an investment of time in order for it to grow!

Imagine for a second that a friend introduces you to the love of your life one Saturday evening at a bowling alley. The perfect match for you, and you are so excited! Then after initial introductions, you all go your separate ways for a week. You go about your life as usual, like nothing has changed. You don’t call or message your loved one. And then exactly a week later, all three of you meet up again at the bowling alley, right where you knew they would both be waiting. Your friend tells you more about the character of your loved one. And at the end of an hour or so, you sing a heartfelt love song to your beloved. And then you go about business as usual for another week…

By now I am sure that you will agree that this description does not sound anything like normal human relationships. No communication surely indicates that it was in fact not love at first sight. Then why would there be a second meeting? Why is the relationship limited to a bowling alley? And why is the relationship not impacting everything else in life? Would this ever become a meaningful relationship?

This is by no means a perfect analogy, but if you think about it there are similarities between this strange situation and how many people interact with God. They go to church once a week because they know that God will be waiting there. And then for the rest of the week they go about their business as usual. Never stopping for a second to speak to God or listen to His Word.

Church is a place for us to recharge, to encourage each other, to learn and grow. And all of that is awesome and necessary! But we should not make another human being solely responsible for growing our relationship with God. It would be like relying on the friend in the story all the time to tell you more instead of actually talking to your beloved!

So if you want to get to know God better, spend more time with Him on a regular basis! Lets look at some of the ways that we can spend that time.

Reading the Bible

God speaks to us through His Word.

Romans 10:17 (WEBBE): ¹⁷So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Romans 12:2 (WEBBE): ²Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Renewing your mind takes time – you do it by putting a little bit of the Word into your mind every day.

Philippians 4:8-9 (WEBBE): ⁸Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honourable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report: if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think about these things. ⁹The things which you learnt, received, heard, and saw in me: do these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Paul wrote to the Philippians that thinking on the things of God will result in having His peace!

Listening to the Holy Spirit

Now that Jesus has paved the way, God also speaks to us directly through the Holy Spirit that lives in us. We must just stop and listen!

John 14:26 (WEBBE): ²⁶But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you.

Have a look at Andre Bronkhorst’s prophetic workshop for great information about listening to God’s voice (see the Teachings and Books page for links to the four parts of the workshop).

Prayer

God is always listening – we can pray anytime, anywhere, and about anything. And in everything we should give thanks.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (WEBBE): ¹⁶Always rejoice. ¹⁷Pray without ceasing. ¹⁸In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus towards you.

Philippians 4:6 (WEBBE): ⁶In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

James 5:16 (WEBBE): ¹⁶Confess your offences to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.

Do the Word

James 1:22-25 (WEBBE): ²²But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. ²³For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom and continues, not being a hearer who forgets, but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does.

We should be doing what we learn from the Word. We should bring God’s love to other people. Seeing God at work in the lives of people around me has brought me closer to Him!

In Conclusion

To get to know God better, we should make spending time with Him a priority! He lives in us every moment of every day, just waiting for us to make time in our busy schedules to notice Him. And if we seek Him, He is true to His Word – we will find Him!

Matthew 7:7 (WEBBE): ⁷“Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.