What It Means

What It Means to Have a Relationship with God

What It Means to Have a Relationship with God
By Rick Warren

“To all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God. All they needed to do was to trust him to save them” (John 1:12b TLB).

Yesterday we talked about why it’s important for you to know the purpose of your life so that God can use you while you’re here on Earth. So, if this life is preparation for eternity, how do you do it? How do you use your life here to prepare for eternity?

First, you get to know Jesus Christ.

The Bible says, “To all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God. All they needed to do was to trust him to save them” (John 1:12b TLB). Notice that not everybody’s a child of God —  just those who receive him into their lives. God wants you to establish a relationship with him by trusting in him.

You establish a relationship with God the same way you establish any relationship. If I want to have a relationship with my wife, Kay, what do I have to do? First, I have to spend time with her. I have to show her that I’m invested in getting to know her by making time for her and making the time count. You cannot have a relationship with somebody you never spend any time with.

That’s the same way you develop a relationship with God. You make time in your schedule for him. In fact, you make him the first and most important part of your day through a daily quiet time. You get alone with God and worship him and learn from him. You spend regular, significant time with him.

The second thing you’ve got to do to have a relationship is talk. There are a lot of ways to be more intentional about your prayer life. Maybe you need to start a prayer journal of requests and answered prayer. You could make a prayer card using Scripture and put it on your bathroom mirror or on your desk at work so that you are reminded to pray God’s Word. Or maybe your family needs to have a set time of prayer together each day. Whatever it is you need to do to increase your conversation with God, do it!

You will never regret investing your time, your energy, and your life in getting to know God better. Take the first step today in getting ready to be used by God by spending time with him and talking to him.

Talk It Over

• Is your relationship with God the most important one in your life? What is the evidence in your life that this is true?
• What do you need to change about your schedule so that you can be more consistent about a quiet time with God?
• Think of two practical ways you can increase or improve your conversation with God, and put them into practice today.