Have you ever picked up a Bible to read or pray and not felt anything? Has it felt like God's not there? Has it felt like God doesn't even exist?
God wants a relationship with you and with me. He wants to be seeked and asked, to be studied, questioned, journeyed with and delighted in. Imagine God like a daddy with a toddler climbing all over him like a jungle gym, no arm or leg is off limits to be explored.
Does your soul delight in exploring?
God wants you to want to be seen and known, vulnerable, and all-in. This kind of deep relationship is only desirable when you know that God is the safest place you can be. His kind of relationship will grow you but not harm your soul and will break you only to put you back together better than you were. Our heavenly Daddy has an all-in, soul-delighting, chasing you down, not letting you fall kind of love.
Does your soul yearn for this?
Do you think your kids would also want this kind of delightfully healthy, two-way relationship with God?
You have to model what that kind of relationship looks like. In our small group, many of the adults said they’ve had to figure out on their own how to put practices in place to deepen this relationship. We want to equip our kids with knowledge of spiritual disciplines better than we were equipped.
To model a real relationship with God we need to spend time with God.
Imagine if you came home and greeted your spouse with a, "Hello" but then didn't speak the rest of the night. Would you feel like you and your spouse are so close that you know what they're thinking? Would you know what's on their mind? Would they know what's on yours?
Having a relationship with God, feeling His presence, is fueled by prayer and worship. It grows with quality time being spent together, not just one day, but for a lifetime. Not just for 5 minutes, but all day.
Are you really meeting with God when you sit down to read and pray or are you checking the task off your mental checklist? Are you fellowshipping with Him and partnering with Him in relationship or are you expecting Him to do all the work in a short time that you give Him? Are you categorizing God into a box and only talking to him a certain time of day?
Or does He have all of you?
Is He the King of your day today?
Do you believe He is real and worthy of your life?
I challenge you to spend time with Him everyday and keep track of the time spent. Make it a little longer everyday. Don't be discouraged. Keep developing the relationship alone and with others.
Ask Him to reveal Himself to you, spend time with Him in prayer and worship, study Him, enjoy Him, share Him.
Let your kids see you developing your relationship with God. Have a close, quality type of relationship with your kids so a good, healthy relationship can be modeled.
Here are some things to try with God if you haven't already. Pick one and try it with your kids this week. If you think they’re too young to understand just do one in front of them.
Some may seem foreign or uncomfortable to you. Do you feel like God can only be experienced in one way or is He bigger than your ways? Do you think there is more of Him to learn and experience than what you already have?
Ask God to show Himself to you in a new way.
Silently reflect on who God is, thank Him, then listen for what He wants to say to you. Do this everyday for a month. Share what He’s told you, if possible. If it’s not possible, record it in a journal.
Silently reflect on these questions regarding yourself, then your relationship with your spouse, then with your relationship with your kids:
Is there anything to repent of?
Is there anything you’re convicted of?
Are there things you need to let go of or pick up?
How will you be held accountable?
Gather with a friend or two, choose a topic that you get fired up about, and popcorn prayer about it (popcorn prayer means anyone who wants to can take a turn praying out loud)
Journal day and night with writing out a Bible verse you’re memorizing, writing what you’re thankful for, writing your prayers, writing your intention for the day, writing about what God’s teaching you in your Bible reading, how you’ve seen Him show up, and writing about answered prayers.
Find a quiet spot and give God an hour of your undivided attention and see what happens. This could include playing worship music, writing out prayers, thanking God, praying for loved ones or lost people, and/or listening to God.
Start and end your day with a few moments of being still and quiet and listen for what He wants to say to you about your day. Reflect on if He was your King that day.
Listen to spontaneous worship music where prayers, verses, and questions are sung.
Practice obedience to His Word by praying and loving the people you wouldn’t look twice at. Be intentional everyday about acting out Mark 12:31. Ask God for eyes to see who needs love.
Pray Bible verses, inserting your name or the name of others when appropriate. Psalms is a good book for this.
Explore and discover the Bible with believers and not-yet-believers.
Read through the Bible in a year with someone and discuss what you’ve learned about God. Try using the Bible Project app or the Jesus Storybook Bible.
Read a small section of verses in multiple translations and write it down in your own words or draw pictures of the meaning.
Talk to God everywhere, tell Him the truth about how you feel, talk to Him like you would a friend in the room, whether you're changing a diaper or picking up those socks for the millionth time.
Practice gratitude by writing down 3 things you're grateful for and 3 ways you are going to share what God’s given you with others. Do this everyday for a month. You could do it as a family around the dinner table or as part of the bedtime routine.
Gather with friends and silently reflect on what God wants you to do in your life. Write what He tells you on post-it notes. Then discuss and pray over these things together.
A few tips from someone who desperately needs these tips:
Don't compare your relationship to God with that of others. Everyone is on their own spiritual journey.
When negativity or despair rear their ugly heads in your mind, repeat God’s truth to yourself. Personalize a Bible verse and let that be what runs on repeat in your head.
If you’re too busy to pray, you’re too busy. If needed, drastically change your schedule to include a significant amount of time in prayer.
Lord,
I ask that you fill our rooms with Your presence. Open our eyes to how to have a deeper relationship with You. Thank You for wanting a relationship with us and our kids and thank you for doing the heavy lifting.
Amen.