Connecting with God
How To Connect With God, Our Heavenly Father
There is the innate desire in all of us to want to connect with God and with each other. God is even more keen to connect with you than anyone else in this whole wide world. What is the secret sauce to connecting with God, our heavenly Father.
People from various religions try to find God. Take for example, Buddhism. When you walk into a Buddhist temple, you will notice that there are man-made idols of gods. The Buddhists worship these idols. They attempt to reach out to God and to have something that they can touch.
Sadly, these idols created by men have eyes that cannot see, ears that cannot hear and hands that cannot reach out to them. These idols also do not have the power nor the ability to help them or comfort them in their time of need.
Christianity is not a religion but a relationship with God who created us. Just like our earthly father, God wants to reach out to His children to have an intimate relationship with them. You find this in the Bible where God would commune with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
So why does God want to connect with me?
Why do I want to connect with God?
How will I know when God is reaching out to me?
How do I reach out to Him?
When will He reach out to me?
Where will He reach out to me?
Who will He reach out to?
What will He say to me when He reaches out to me?
These are questions that I will help you discover for yourself as I bring you along on an exciting journey of connecting with God, our heavenly Father.
Why does God want to connect with me?
We love to connect with people and that is the reason social media such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Facetime, LinkedIn are so popular. There are some people that even have 1 million friends in Facebook. Why do we have this insatiable desire to be part of a group even though we hardly know the person? To say that we have so many friends in Facebook make us feel “wanted”, “accepted”, “recognized” as we have the need to be accepted and validated.
Why would the creator of the universe, the all-powerful God want to connect with us?
Does He know that we have sins in our life? Even among the circle of our friends, we struggle to connect. How about our feeling so vulnerable, depressed and suicidal? How about times when we feel angry and frustrated?
Why on earth does God want to connect with us when we sometimes don’t even like ourselves? At least in Facebook or Twitter, we can show our “good side” that we want people to see. Since God is all knowing, He must know that we are not living a holy life. We have so many struggles with self-worth and imperfections with our body, face, speech, etc. Is He sure that He wants to connect with us? Many of us doubt so and would rather hide ourselves from Him than connect with Him.
So why does He want to connect with us even though He knows that we are imperfect?
The reason is because He created us and He treasures us. Let me give you an illustration. Have you ever seen a child doing his first drawing or building something with Lego for the first time? Even though to the outside world, it may not look much like what he says it is, yet there is the sense of pride that he has created it.
Now try to multiply that feeling of pride and joy a million times and maybe you may be able to fathom a little bit of how God feels when He created you in His own image. As He created you, He was putting good and perfect gifts inside you. He dreamed how you would look like after He has created you. The Bible says that we are God’s masterpiece/handiwork. Even the Mona Lisa or the most beautiful picture cannot compare to your beauty in God’s eyes. You are wonderfully created.
In case you think that God only wants to connect with holy people, remember that God searched out Adam and Eve after they sinned and disobeyed Him. He loved them so much that He even made garments of skin to cover them (He must be the first tailor).
Why do I want to connect with God?
The flip question that you may ask is “Why on earth do I want to connect with God?” How can it be of benefit to me? OR why do I want to do this when I am having difficulties in connecting with my own father whom I can see and touch?
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God created a vacuum inside you
Do you know that when God created you, He has put inside each one of us a vacuum? Only He can fill the vacuum for us to feel loved and significant. Are you filling this vacuum with career, love, sports, relationship, money, etc.? You will find that all of these can never truly satisfy you.
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God has a manual on your life
Do you know that as your Creator, He has the manual on how you can excel in this world? Before you were created, He has already planned the good works that He wants you to do. You can never truly know your destiny until and unless you connect with your Creator.
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God is your GPS/compass
If you do not learn to connect with Him, you will travel this journey of life without the GPS/compass. You need God as your GPS/compass to tell you what you should do next, what to do and what not to do. If you don’t learn to connect with Him, you will be like a mouse inside a maze that encounters blockage after blockage and unable to proceed further. If you don’t ask Him by connecting to Him, you will not fulfill the destiny that He has for you. You will also live this life without purpose or direction.
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God creates your passion, desires and character
Do you know that He is the one who puts the passion, desires, and character in you? You were not just an accident of your parents. God in His love for you knows exactly where you will be born, when you will be born and who you will be born to.
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Success is nothing without God
For those who have good parents and are ahead in our lives, we can achieve great things without God in our lives. However, all our successes could come to nothing or even destroy us. Think of all the film stars, rock stars, and celebrities that have achieved fame and money. We have read that many ended up destroying their lives with drugs, sex and unworldly living.
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Connecting with God when we are in trouble
Photo credit: Tom Pumford from Unsplash Connecting with God our heavenly Father when we are in trouble.
Many of us think of only connecting with God or calling His name when we are in trouble. After all, when life is cruising along and we have everything that we need, why do we need to connect with Him? We think that He may want us to give up something that we like to do or ask us to do something that we don’t like to do. So, most people don’t intentionally connect or communicate with God unless they are in trouble.
Think of it this way. If you are a parent and you have a child who has been estranged from you. She does not really want to have anything to do with you except when the she is in trouble. However, sometimes even when she is in trouble, she will not seek your help. Because there has been no relationship with you thus far, she might hide her problems from you instead of moving towards you to ask for help or advice. If you have such a child, I am sure that you will feel so sad that your child behaves in this way.
How much more will God feel sad when you treat Him the same way? God is not angry with you. He is not upset with you. He is not going to judge you or condemn you. He wants to know you and hang out with you. If you want to begin this exciting journey of connecting with Him, the first step that you can take is to say this simple prayer:
Dear heavenly Father,
I want to know you not just in my head but I desire to experience you intimately. I really want to connect with You. I am going to quiet myself and let you fill my thoughts with your thoughts about me as I ask you this question, “Heavenly Father, why do you want to connect with me?”
You will be surprised at what He says to you!!!!
We pray that you have enjoyed reading “Connecting with God, our heavenly Father” Part 1. Hey, follow me, I want to help you answer questions you may have. Questions such as How will I know when God is reaching out to me? How do I reach out to Him? And many more…..
This article is written by Rinda Ho, who is writing her first book. She will share snippets on how you can connect with God in your journey through this website. She will also share songs that the Holy Spirit has downloaded to her so that you can encourage someone through these songs. Rinda has used God’s gift to serve as keynote speaker, held Christian seminars and taught group leaders and small groups in various churches, educating Christians how to hear God’s voice. She delights in mentoring Christians and see “ordinary” Christians fulfill their destiny, when the heavenly Father reveals to them the good works that He has prepared in advance for them to do.
I read your article. Very heartfelt and easy to relate to. Well done. Connects you right to God
Hi Kolyne,
Thanks for your encouraging feedback on the article. It has been my prayer and desires to make connecting with God easy as it is not so much about us but about a loving heavenly Father that want to connect with us. Actually we don’t even need to try so hard but just relax and quiet our spirit and all of us will be able to hear.
Hi Kolyne,
Thank you very much for your kind words of encouragement. It is my prayer that you will continually be blessed with Rinda’s articles and the contents of the website. God bless. Lucy
How exciting to know what God’s will is for your life and to start a project God has placed in your heart. Looking forward to see more fruits from the seeds that have been planted within you.
Hi Vanessa,
Thanks for your encouragement. Yes I am excited to see how God will use the blog to help people connect with Him in a non “religious” way. Even pre -believers can follow the steps and connect with Him. It is not difficult to connect with our heavenly Father but religious people have made it seems out of reach for the “ordinary” Christians. I am praying that God will use the blog to bring His children into a more intimate relationship with Him.
Hi Vanessa:
Thank you for your words of encouragement. It is my prayer that the articles and contents of the website will serve as invaluable resources for people in their Christian walk with God and with members of the sistersheart2heart.com community. God bless. Lucy
It is well written and easy to understand. Many people actually question why they can’t hear from God? But the article listed the questions people frequently asked why they can’t hear from God. But we can hear from Him as we are His children and just don’t know how. This will greatly benefit those who desire to hear from God and how to pursue a more intimate relationship with Him. I will definitely share with my friends. Thank you.
Hi Lee Lau,
Thanks for your comments. Yes, I pray that the blog will answer some of the questions that people have about hearing His voice and connecting with Him. Many times this is not being taught in church and most pastors just assume that people know how to connect with God. We ask them to read the Bible but without teaching them how to interact with the person who inspired the Bible. Some people fall in love so much with the love letter of God that they forget about interacting and connecting with the one that wrote the Bible. May your journey of connecting with God be one that is full of excitement and bear much fruits as you hear not only from Him but also hear from Him to give an encouraging word to someone else.
Hi Lee Lau,
Thank you for your kind encouragement and taking the time to comment. Be continually blessed as you connect with God to seek a more intimate relationship with our heavenly Father. God bless. Lucy
Rinda, I believe the breakthrough of sistersheart2heart is the expression of God the Father as it reminded myself to the Holy Spirit. The article reminded me whatever I do is an expression of God although each one of us expresses God differently. It is like a diamond with its many facets and as different situations arise, people will begin to see different facets. In short, we are slowly being transformed into His image from glory to glory.
The article made me reflect whether “Do I know that the Holy Spirit convicts me?” (of course in a good way for my good). It reminded me that “the letter kills but the Holy Spirit gives life” (2 Cor. 3:6).
I can never fulfill the requirements of the law unless the Holy Spirit helps me. Even Apostle Paul says that the things that he wants to do but he doesn’t do and the things that he doesn’t want to do, he does. But at the end of the day, he says there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus because the Spirit of life has set him free.
So I cease striving to become a better person because I can never, never, never do it. I may fail but Jesus never fails. Also after all these years of needless pain and suffering, one thing that I have learned is never look for the approval of man but God’s approval.
At the end of the day of my journey, my greatest wish is to hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into thy rest”. I need to allow the Holy Spirit to deal with me on those areas of my weakness daily. Many times, I caught myself “hiding” behind the scriptures. I need to read the Word of God and also allow the Holy Spirit to use the Word of God to “read” me.
Hi James,
Thank you for your insightful thoughts on the role of the Holy Spirit not only to convict us but also to lead us into all truths. Many people cannot differentiate between conviction and condemnation. Only Satan condemns and makes us feel unworthy but the Holy Spirit convicts us so that we can be changed into His image. Many people do strive to get men’s approval. How important for each of us to realise our first ministry is to minister to the Lord first and everything else will be an overflow of His ministry of love and grace to us. Indeed He comes to give us grace upon grace. Ministry to the Lord and to others should never be burdensome but a joy to partner with Him to touch others that do not know Him. Continue James to pursue Him and fall in love with Him each day. May His words come alive in your life so that you are hearing His “rhema” word each day.
Hi James,
Thank you for your thoughtful comments. Yes, look for God’s approval not man’s. What a wise decision! May you continually be blessed as you connect with God, our heavenly Father. God bless. Lucy
It’s great to know that God desires us and is constantly thinking of us…. thus we can approach Him without fear or guilt… knowing that He’s always waiting for me brings hope and encouragement… thanks for the helpful article 🙂
Hi Grace,
Yes, if only we know how much God is thinking about us, our thoughts about ourselves will change. In Psalms 139:17-18, it states that His thoughts about us are precious and if we count them, it would outnumber the sand. His thoughts towards us are always to bless us. What a loving Father we have and indeed He is the God of hope (Rom 15:13) and a God of encouragement (Rom 15:5). We thank Jesus for tearing the veil into the Holy of Holies when He died on the cross so that we can approach God’s throne of grace with confidence. Through Jesus Christ, we receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Heb 4:16).
Hi Grace,
Thank you for taking the time to comment. Yes, we can approach our heavenly Father anytime as we are. It is my prayer that Rinda’s articles and the contents of the website will be wonderful resources for you. God bless. Lucy