Having a personal relationship with God - the thing that brings
more joy, delight, and contentment than anything else - has the
following elements:
1) Spiritual
2) Christ-Centered
3) Submissive
4) Mutually-Felt
5) Growing
6) Shared
Spiritual
There are those who say they have encountered God. Both the
New and Old Testaments indicate miraculous, life-changing
encounters with God. God can reveal Himself in any form he
chooses, and because he is omniscient, omnipotent, and ever-
present, he can reveal Himself to us at a level deeper than our
limited physical senses. For those who seek to "hear" Him, they
can do so by reading the Bible. James urged us to be humble
before the Lord and gave reason to believe that God will be
there whenever we seek Him.
Christ-Centered
Christ essentially serves the role of mediator between us and
God. His loving spirit urges us to solve our differences with
God. To be closer to God, we must recognize that Christ has to
be a part of the relationship with Him.
- "Everything we know of God, and everything we need
from Him, is deeply affected by our attitude toward Christ."
- W.H. Griffith Thomas (1861-1924) (Minister)
Submissive
The right kind of fear of God drives us to Him rather than away
from Him. Because of his power, God needs to be taken
seriously. God expects us to listen to Him when He warns us of
moral and spiritual failure. He decides who - or what - will be
allowed to test us. And, He alone decides where we will spend
eternity. God should be loved, trusted, and obeyed (meaning
accept his help) more than anyone else.
Mutually-Felt
We often feel that God cannot have a personal relationship with
us - we are just one of billions of people on earth. We need to
remember, however, that God does not have our limitations.
One can understand this concept by considering the complexity
of the universe He created.
God relates to us personally in a very intimate way. God makes
himself vulnerable to us, just as we make ourselves vulnerable
to him when we seek guidance. God's vulnerability can be
found in the pain and sorrow he felt by sacrificing Jesus for our
sins.
A Growing Relationship
Our relationship with God is a process. It takes diligence and
patience on our part to develop. Our relationship with God will
change - it is never stagnant. It is either growing or becoming
less meaningful. We should not rely on our past experiences
with God to carry us through.
A Shared Relationship
Whether or not we enter into a personal relationship with God
is our decision; however, if we love God we must also love each
other. It is impossible to have a Christ-centered life without
Christ-centered relationships. In order to enter into a shared,
personal relationship with God, we must:
1) We need to admit our lost condition.
We must admit that we must look to God for guidance. We
must admit that we came into this life spiritually dead.
2) We need to know what God has done for us.
We must acknowledge and appreciate Jesus' sacrifice to
cleanse the sins of all mankind.
3) We need to personally believe and receive God's gift.
We are not saved by trying to be good. We are saved by
trusting in Christ. We need God's grace to break our pride and
self-sufficiency. Everyone's words will vary as to how to pray
to God to receive this gift; all that is necessary is that we admit
we have sinned and that Jesus died for our sins.
The essential elements to spiritual progress:
1) Pray. Express gratitude, confess sins.
2) Obey. Admit we need God's help and be responsive to what
God would have us do.
3) Worship. Praise God on an individual basis as well as with
fellow believers.
4) Evangelize. Share with others what God has done for us.
5) Read. Read the Bible regularly.
Reference:
RBC Ministries pamphlet “What is a personal relationship with
God?” (2001)
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