HOW DO I CONNECT WITH GOD?
It’s not how you connect with God, it’s that you connect with God.”
There are many ways to connect with God, but here are a few general guiding principles:
• Pursue His Presence
• Don’t hurry
• Leave your agenda
• Listen
• Obey
• Don’t unplug (stay connected)
WHAT DOES A DAILY CONNECTION WITH GOD LOOK LIKE?
Connecting with God is about being near, hearing & obeying Him…
Be Near:
Live in awareness of His presence through relational intimacy.
Hear:
Learn His voice through prayer & His Word
Obey:
Respond to the voice & word of God with an always ready “yes”
GOD WANTS TO SPEAK TO YOU!
How does God speak to us?
As we read & meditate on His Word
As we listen for & wait on Him in prayer
As we live in community with other believers & submit to the spiritual authorities that God has placed in our lives
DAILY CONNECTION GUIDE
A GUIDE TO HELP YOU ESTABLISH THE RHYTHM OF A DAILY CONNECTION WITH GOD
PRAYER + WORSHIP
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” (Psalm 100:4)
Take a moment to rest & relax in the presence of God (Mark 6:31; Matthew 11:28).
Set your mind on Jesus… worshipping Him, praising him & thanking Him. Cast all of your cares & concerns on Him, for He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).
Begin to pray in the Holy Spirit, as God gives you the ability. If you do not have the Gift of the Holy Spirit, know that it is a free gift from God & a promise to you. God wants you to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Ask Him. Wait on Him.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
“This is how Jesus taught His disciples how to pray! Pray through each portion of the Lord’s Prayer. We will help by providing you with “insight” & a “prayer guide” for each section of the prayer.
“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” (Matthew 6:9-13, NKJV)
“Our Father in Heaven”
Insight:
Remember, you are a son/daughter of God. Let that reality settle upon you today. God is your father, He loves you & there is nothing that can do, or could have done, to stop or change that. Today, He invites you to His dining table as His very own child. He places a plate of prepared provision before you. He is a good father that knows just what you need. Rest in the truth that Your Father is with you today & that He is giving you what you need.
Prayer Guide:
“Father, I am so honored & grateful to be your child. Thank You for adopting me into your family & making me Your own. I trust You.”
“Hallowed be Your name”
Insight:
Remember that He is Holy. And that as He is Holy, He is also calling us to be Holy.
Prayer Guide:
“You are Holy. As I draw close to You today and dwell with You, transform me moment by moment. Let me live in awe of your Holy nature today, and through closeness, take on your Holy nature.”
“Your Kingdom Come”
Insight:
Joyfully submit to God’s Kingdom, His ways, His plans & His commands… then recognize that God has entrusted you as His Kingdom ambassador, meaning, He has chosen YOU to establish the culture of His Kingdom here on earth.
Prayer Guide:
“God, I recognize that you are King & Lord. I submit to your rule in my life today. Equip me with Your Spirit, to walk under Your Kingdom rule today. Let every area of my life, my family, my community, my church & my city be submitted to your Kingdom order. Let Your Kingdom come, through & in me.”
“Your Will be done”
Insight:
Ask that God would align you with His will for your life & not your own. That you would walk entirely in His plan, will, desire & intentions for your life, today. (Matthew 7:21; Matthew 26:39)
Prayer Guide:
“God, not my will but Your will be done.”
“On earth as it is in Heaven”
Insight:
When we pray for His Kingdom to come as His Kingdom ambassadors, and when we ask for His will to be done in our lives as we submit to Him… we begin to establish what is true in Heaven, to be true on earth. Ask God to make the truth of God in Heaven, to be established as the reality among His sons & daughters here on earth.
Prayer Guide:
“God, let me be the place where Heaven meets earth today. Let every person who meets me, through me, meet You. Let every word, decision & action that comes from my life today establish your nature, culture & order here on earth. Help me to establish the culture of Heaven on earth.”
“Give us this day our daily bread”
Insight:
Recognize that God alone is the supplier of all of our needs (Philippians 4:19). Bring your needs & petitions to Him. Tell Him what you are in need of. He already knows, but He loves to hear the requests of His children.
Prayer Guide:
“I receive & absorb all that You have in store for me today. You know what I need & that is enough.”
“And forgive us our debts”
Insight:
Confess your sins to the Lord. Ask Him for forgiveness, knowing that when we ask, He is both faithful & just to forgive our sins (1 John 1:9). Ask that He would make you aware in your day of things that you are doing that are not pleasing to Him, even sins that you are unaware of.
Prayer Guide:
“Father, forgive me for every sin & transgression that I have before you or to your children. Forgive me for the things that I know of & even the things that I have done that I am not even aware of. Cleanse me from all sin & unrighteousness. Make me new today.”
“And do not lead us into temptation”
Insight:
Ask God to help you by His Grace to overcome sin & temptation.
Prayer Guide:
“Let Your Spirit rule in me today. Let Your desires be my desires. Keep me in the way of righteousness & let my heart not stumble into the ways of the wicked.”
“But deliver us from the evil one”
Insight:
We have a very real adversary who would like for us to fall away from the faith & out of relationship/intimacy with God. Recognize that just as the goal of the serpent in the Garden of Eden was to get God’s creation out of the Garden, it is still the same today… the goal of your adversary, the devil, is to get you out of the presence of God. Give no place to him or his schemes.
Prayer Guide:
God keep me under your shelter & protection today. I plead your blood over my life & my families life… in body, soul, spirit, mind, will, emotions & more. I pray that the plan of the wicked will not prosper, but instead it will be Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, in our lives as it is in Heaven.”
Put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6)
• The Helmet of Salvation
• The Sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God)
• The Belt of Truth
• The Breastplate of Righteousness
• Your Feet Covered by the Readiness of the Gospel of Peace
• The Shield of Faith (to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked)
• Stand in the shelter of God (Psalm 91). Ask god to cover you & protect you, your friends & family from all evil assignments & distractions.
“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
Insight:
Recognize Jesus as King & Lord – submit to Him. Recognize that all power is His – revere Him/walk in the Fear of the Lord. That His Glory is forever – take joy in that you are a part of a Kingdom that has no end!
Prayer Guide:
“You are my father. You are my God. You are my King. This is Your Kingdom. You have all power. I submit to you. May my life give you glory today.”
SPIRIT-LED
PRAYER TIME
TAKE SOME TIME TO PRAY AS GOD LEAD’S YOU. LISTEN EXPECTANTLY FOR HIS VOICE WITH A READY “YES” IN YOUR HEART.
Prayer List:
• Your family (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
• Your friends (1 Timothy 2:1-4
• Your enemies (Matthew 5:44)
• Your work (Colossians 3:23)
• Your city, community & neighbors
(1 Timothy 2:1-4)
• Your spiritual leaders (pastor, church leaders & etc) (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
• Your earthly leaders (boss, government & etc) (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
• Yourself (Jude 1:20)
• Take time to pray in the Spirit (Jude 1:20)
• Add your own items as you are led by the Spirit in prayer…
“SPEAK”
BIBLE READING METHOD
WE KNOW GOD’S VOICE THROUGH HIS WORD. TAKE SOME TIME & MEDITATE ON GOD’S WORD – THE BIBLE.
SCRIPTURE:
Read the Scripture & highlight areas that stand out to you
PRAY:
Prayerfully re-read the highlighted areas, asking God to reveal His Word to you
EXAMINE:
Carefully study the passages that God is using to speak to you, learning more about the context in which it was written
APPLY:
How is God calling you to obedience today (James 1:22)? How are you going to apply today what you have prayerfully examined in God’s Word?
KEEP:
Keep yourself accountable to what God is speaking to you by making a point to share the revelation of God’s Word with someone today. If you feel like it is necessary, share how you plan to apply God’s Word today in your own life, so that they can help you walk in accountability.
NOTE FROM PASTOR TEAM:
Connecting with God is easy. It’s what we were made for!
When God created humanity, He made us in a very specific context; Eden. Eden was more than a garden. Eden translated simply means, “a delightful spot or place in the presence of God”. God made mankind, placed them in His presence & daily, would come to connect with them.
The reality is that sin separated us from our created context. But, because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we now have access again to our true home, His presence.
It is important to know this because connecting with God is not an appointment or an act, it’s a way of life. We don’t simply visit His presence (Eden). But now, once again, we live there. Not just on Sunday’s for corporate worship… but every single day of our personal lives.
So we invite you today, to return to, to dwell in & to enjoy the fulfillment of God’s design for your life… to connect with Him, DAILY.
A daily connection with God is more than a moment. It is easy to settle into a religious mode of connecting with God that is minimized to an calendar block. We are busy, and unfortunately, with the fast paced, busy lifestyles that we live… connecting with God is treated like a daily trip to the gas pump. Connect with the pump, receive the fuel as fast as we can to get what we need to go about our day, until our fuel is low again & we need to revisit the pump to refuel.
However, a true connection with God is not like this. The Bible likens our connection to God as a branch connected to a tree, it grows out of the tree, it stays connected to the tree, it receives life from the tree, it bears fruit of the tree. A branch doesn’t leave the tree to do it’s work or to accomplish it’s purpose (fruit), it stays, it abides.
A daily connection with God doesn’t look like trips TO His presence and His word. A daily connection with God is a life lived FROM His Presence & His Word.
Be a branch. Abide. You will bear much fruit.