Building Connection
Bismarck Campus Administrator | Ethan Eidahl
Have you ever felt lost in your relationship with God? I feel you! I used to be stuck in a cycle of overthinking, and one of the main areas I overthought was God. But can I tell you something? I am free from that. Can I tell you something else? You can be too. God wants to connect with you. In this blog, I hope to show you how truly easy it is to connect with God, and how we tend to overcomplicate it a bit, like I used to do (I used to overcomplicate EVERYTHING).
Here's what I would like you to do first: gather a list of items. You’ll need…
1. A Bible (Any Bible is fine, and this could also be your phone, though I prefer to keep my phone as far away as possible during my time with God to minimize distractions.)
2. A journal (If you don’t have one, go pick one up that you really like!)
3. A pen (Or whatever you prefer to write with.)
4. Your favorite drink (I told you this wasn’t going to be complicated.)
It’s time to officially get started! Pour your drink. For me, I’ll typically do iced coffee, but sometimes I’ll make something in my SodaStream, or I’ll just get a glass of water. It just depends on what I’m in the mood for and what time of day it is!
Now it’s time to connect with God! I battled with overthinking for a long time, and during the second half of last year and the first three months of 2024, I went through some tough things. I started to walk away from God and turn to other things to fill the gaps in my life and comfort me during the difficulties I was facing. But God met me one cold March 6th, 2024. I was at a breaking point, and I finally surrendered my struggles. And I’ll never forget that moment. I felt him touch my shoulder, and the love I felt in that moment is too hard to put into words. Since that day, the Lord has helped me stop overthinking what a relationship with him looks like, and I have completely restructured my relationship with him, and I am closer to him than I’ve ever been. And I’d love to share with you today how I do relationship with God:
First, I like to just invite him in. Just take moment and invite the presence of God to come. Next, I like to take a moment to be silent and just listen. I can’t think of a single relationship that thrives on one person doing all the talking, so take a moment and just say “God, I’m listening.” He may speak something to you. Maybe it’s a verse, or a thought. That’s why you have a journal, a pen, and a Bible. Write down what he speaks to you! Don’t overcomplicate it, just be still, listen, and write.
Once you’ve taken a few minutes to listen to God, take some time to thank him for who he is, and tell him how much you love him. Just like I said I don’t know a relationship that thrives on one person doing all the talking, I also don’t know a relationship that thrives on one person doing all the taking, never saying thank you, and never doing any giving. So, take a moment and thank God. Thank him for what you have, for the people in your life, the things he’s done for you, and tell him how much you love him. This is such a simple step, so don’t overcomplicate it! 😊
Next, I ask God to search my heart and remove anything that’s not of him. Nobody’s perfect, but I strive to be as much like Jesus as possible. So just invite him to search your heart. All you have to say is, “Lord, I know I’m not perfect, but I strive to be like Jesus to those around me, and to be as close to you as possible, so I just ask that you’d search my heart and remove what’s not of you.” Boom. Done. Don’t go all “judgy judgy” on yourself. 😊
Now, I pray for someone I know. It could be anyone. Pick someone, and just pray for them. Could be a situation in their life, a health problem, or simply asking God to show up to them today and show them how loved they are! 😄
Now, it’s time to pray for your needs and the desires in your heart. I’ve heard a lot of people say that God doesn’t care about your desires, and there’s nothing less true than that. Philippians 4:6 (TPT) says “tell him every detail of your life.” So do that. Many times, God is the one who plants those desires in our hearts. And tell me, what do you have to lose by telling God that you desire to have an amazing family? Just try it. I guarantee God cares. 1 Peter 5:7 says he cares. So don’t overcomplicate it, don’t buy into the lie that God doesn’t want to hear about your life or your desires. Whoever you are reading this, God loves you so much, and he does care about your dreams! 🙂
Lastly, I get my journal back out, and I listen to God some more. I quiet my mind, and I just sit with him. I listen for his voice. And after a few minutes of silence, I close out my prayer, bible and journaling time.
See how simple that is? Just a few steps, and you’ve connected with God. Here are two other things I want to mention:
1. This is my morning or evening routine with God. You can connect with God just as well in five minutes as you can in 15 minutes or half an hour. 🙃 Talk to him throughout the day. If something bothers you, tell him. If someone just made your day, tell him! He loves to hear about your life!
2. Your prayers don’t expire. You don’t need to feel that God needs to be reminded, because he never forgets. Sometimes, in what seems like the slowest and most disappointing moments of life, God is working. That’s something I’ve had to remember this past year especially. Some things I do repeat to God daily, to give the burden to God, but not to remind him. Reader, God loves you, and your prayers do not expire. He’s got you! ☺️
So, a recap of what I do: I get my favorite drink, a journal, a pen, and my Bible, I find a relaxing place to sit, I invite him in, I sit in silence, I thank him, I let him search my heart, I pray for others, I pray for my desires, and then I sit in silence again and close out my prayer time.
I hope this helps you. God is not a complicated person to reach. I get my favorite drink and sit in a relaxing place, just as if I was meeting with a person. And it’s in this stillness that I’ve gotten the closest to him. I pray that I’ve helped you connect with God and that reading this was not only meaningful and helpful but encouraging. Now, go connect with God!
