Ten Ways to Deepen Your Relationship with God

Car tires lose about one pound of pressure each month. Over time, that loss of air negatively affects their performance. Maintenance keeps them spinning as they should.

Without maintenance, our spiritual passion fades, our joy wanes, and our relationship with God becomes stagnant. Some of my Christian life has been spent in the Sahara Desert. Perhaps, you are going through such a dry time right now. I suggest ten tips to recharge your relationship with God, with the hope that what has helped me will also renew your spiritual passion.

1.    Read 

I read through the Bible at the rate of one chapter each day. I write down in one to three sentences what I hear God saying to me from that chapter. A day without scriptural input is like a day without food.  “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment” (1 Peter 2:2 NLT).

2.    Reflect 

I reflect on what I have read. Often, a verse or several verses will unexpectedly spring from the page and jump-start my life application for the day. The psalmist describes those whom God blesses, “But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night” (Psalm 1:2 NLT).

3.    Review

I daily review about seven verses I have memorized to keep them from slipping away. In this way, I refresh my memory of all the verses I have memorized every three weeks. “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11 NLT).

4.    Repent

 My heart is prone to wander away from God. So is yours. Repenting is continually examining ourselves and redirecting our hearts away from substitutes for God that our heart generates like mushrooms on a wet summer night. “So the disciples went out, telling everyone they met to repent of their sins and turn to God” (Mark 6:12 NLT).

5.    Rejoice

By God’s grace through faith, I am God’s child and heir with my sins and offenses against Him forgiven. Infinite loss has become an immeasurably great gain. I can easily forget that in the busyness of life. That alone is reason to rejoice forever! “May all who are godly rejoice in the Lord and praise his holy name” (Psalm 97:12 NLT)!

6.    Remember

Every night at bedtime, I review the blessings God has showered upon me that day and give thanks for each one. This practice helps to keep my life God-centered, giving Him the credit He deserves. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever” (Psalm 107:1 NLT).

7.    Release

I pray daily by name for God to bless those who have hurt me. Over time, this has empowered me to release ill feelings and not hold their offenses against them. “And forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” (Matthew 6:12 NLT).

8.    Request

Prayer wings the arrow of our requests toward the compassionate heart of God, who gives us what we ask for or something better. “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:11 NLT).

9.    Renew

Every morning, I ask God to renew the filling of His Holy Spirit in my life. I need all of Him in all of me for the power to live for Jesus, who died for me. “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18 NLT).

10. Reach out

Life isn’t about me. It is about allowing the Holy Spirit of Jesus to lead and empower me to serve God and others by doing the good deeds God ordained for me to accomplish in this life. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT).  See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians.

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See free spiritual growth resources for Christians at https://www.christiangrowthresources.com

God has empowered me to write “His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength.” It’s a free, evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship eBook. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead more than 4,450 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 12,079 people. I invite you to explore it.

https://www.christiangrowthresources.com/his-power-for-your-weakness

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