How Do You Connect With God and Make Room?
Do you ever wonder about how to make more room for God in your life? Connecting with the Lord is powerful and transformative! But it's also more than going through the motions of daily devotionals––it's fully engaged connection, focus, and listening.
Most of us can relate to having dry seasons when it's challenging to hear from the Lord. Perhaps you don't feel much of anything. Or you might see other people having incredible encounters with God, but you don't experience that for yourself...
Is there a key to unlocking a more intimate relationship with God?
I think that the door is already unlocked–it's up to us to enter the intimate space God is inviting us into.
Connecting with God is simple, yet easy to overcomplicate or overlook. So let's talk about some practical strategies.
Making room to connect with God
Spending time with God
Posturing Your Heart
Letting the Holy Spirit Enlighten God's Word
Connecting God to Your Everyday Life
1. Make Room to Connect with God
God won't force His way onto your daily calendar; you decide to make room.
I want to pose a question: if God's presence naturally expands to fill the amount of space you give Him, how much room would you be willing to make?
Making room to personally connect with God is partly about creating time and space. But it's also about our beliefs, mindset, and heart position. Are we leaning in to experience God the same way we engage in our tangible physical world?
What about "quiet time"?
Do you find yourself just going through the motions of Bible reading, prayer time, and working through your latest Bible study?
Sure, all these practices are great! We're not talking about canceling these habits or turning to something different. But maybe you find yourself in a spiritual rut following the same formula year after year.
I would imagine that you want some or all of the following when it comes to spiritual growth:
to hear from God
to experience God's presence
to build a deeper relationship with God
to know the depth of real worship
to feel whole in spirit, soul, and body
to uncover mysteries and go deeper in your revelation and understanding of spiritual things (Jeremiah 33:3, Daniel 2:47)
to know Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit
to be strengthened with His power (Colossians 1:11)
to be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2)
to have God in your daily life
The good news is, acknowledging these desires is a monumental step on your sacred pathway to connect with God!
There are countless ways God can meet you right where you are, without going through lots of "steps" or jumping through hurdles.
"Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart." - Psalm 37:4
In summary, connecting with God on a deeper level starts with an intention and desire, and the Lord will honor your simple “yes” and request.
Rest in God's grace and faithfulness, and the fact that you don't have to do more to work your way to God. Pray with faith and let God lead you into a more intimate personal relationship.
2. Spend Time with God
Have you seen inspiring stories of women who spend an hour a day in their prayer closet (a dedicated space covered with sticky notes and inspiration)?
If you don't have a beautifully decorated corner or more than 5 minutes, don't be discouraged.
The goal isn't to create a picture-perfect quiet time. Instead, your strong personal relationship with the Lord is your way of walking, moving, and being.
Granted, it's easier to build a strong personal relationship when you spend time with someone in a focused, undistracted manner.
When you give God your undivided attention, you feel connected, seen, and heard in a more meaningful way. And it also helps you to be still and listen. The time can’t be all talking; learn to lean in and listen.
How much time is enough?
God has a different concept of time than we do. As the Bible says, "to the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day." (2 Peter 3:8)
God created time and He rules over it. He can give you life-changing revelation in a moment. He knows the reality of your daily life and the busyness of yoru schedule.
So don't confuse quantity time with quality time. Spending time with the Lord is a joy, not a chore on your to do list. You don't have to fulfill a quota.
But don’t box the time you spend with the Lord into a standard “quiet time” container.
Spending time with God can look like any of the following:
quiet prayer
a prayer walk
reading the Bible
meditation
listening to worship music (and singing!)
meeting with other believers for fellowship prayer, worship, etc.
serving others
being creative
enjoying nature
working
We'll stop the list there but encourage you to brainstorm more sacred pathways to connect with God.
It's not what you do so much as how you do it!
Our mistake is thinking that connecting with God happens primarily in traditional spiritual settings like church, Bible study, and devotional time.
But think about all God created...simply talk to God throughout your day and invite Him into all things. Then there are no limits to ways to connect and how you can enjoy spending time together!
3. Posture Your Heart
Check out this incredible quote by A.W. Tozer: "In every Christian’s heart there is a cross and a throne, and the Christian is on the throne till he puts himself on the cross."
When we prioritize our own agenda, God takes a backseat. But when we give Him permission to be Lord of our life, His plan and purpose can begin to unfold.
This is why it's so important to have the right posture when you pray and seek God.
The Bible says "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." (James 4:10)
Being in a posture of humility is key to experiencing closeness, and it all starts with the heart.
Your heart holds the framework for your faith. It's where you think, feel, understand, and discern. Dive more into the meaning of heart/Lev in the Bible, by watching this quick video.
Works vs rest
Should you work first or rest first? It's a vital question!
Busyness is an expectation in our culture. If you're not busy, someone might assume you are lazy or a loser (I say this sarcastically).
Or maybe you're clueless about what margin feels like because your baseline has always been a frantic pace.
If you try to work enough to earn rest, you’ll never arrive. With all the things on your plate, there will always be more to do!
Be brave and flip the script. Operating from sacred rest is essential for our well-being.
More importantly, it's God's way and will for your life.
Read Hebrews chapter 4 and let this passage teach you more about abiding in and moving from a place of rest.
"Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest" (Hebrews 4:11)
4. Let the Holy Spirit Enlighten God's Word
You probably know that one of the best ways to connect with God is by reading the Bible. But you can easily come to the end of a long passage and still have no connection or insight.
So let's take it a little further.
Invite the Holy Spirit to open and shine insight into different parts of Scripture. As Jesus said, we are in the days of Spirit and Truth! (John 4:24)
He'll lead you to understanding that will bring wisdom, encouragement, and transformation.
And He will show you practical ways to apply scripture to your lives and how to pray more powerfully.
Praying Scripture
Praying scripture and declaring the word of God is a practice that is often underdeveloped.
As you read, look for Bible verses that touch your heart and use them as the basis for your own prayers.
The Psalms and New Testament epistles are a great place to start. Personalize the scriptures with your name and write them out as prayers. Then, declare them out loud.
The more you practice this kind of prayer reading, the easier it gets!
Biblical Meditation
Biblical meditation is another one of my favorite ways to connect with God. Simply breathe deeply and focus your mind and heart on the word of truth.
Regular practice of meditating on the Word of God refreshes our souls.
Keep those Bible verses on a card you can easily access throughout the day when stress and challenges rise up.
5. Connect God to your Everyday Life
The best way to make room for God in your life is to make it a habit to invite Him into every area.
For example, what do you do when you are having a rough time or are triggered to feel stressed, anxious, and fearful?
You can pray and listen. You can write or talk to God about everything.
Here are some other thoughts for experiencing God in all you do:
Break up any boxes that divide sacred and secular
Be willing to pause
Ask questions
Look for the divine in the mundane
Trust God's faithfulness
Carve out regular time with Him, but also look for ways to walk out the everyday moments of your life in your relationship with the Father. Don’t wait to get cleaned up before you approach Him; bring the Lord all your mess in your weakest moments.
My Story About Making Room
The idea of "making room" for God is very personal to me because it was part of the message I heard the day I gave my life to Christ.
It was December, and the pastor was preaching about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem.
"And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:7
He posed a question along the following lines:
Were they out of room, or were they unwilling to make room...and are you choosing to shut Jesus out, or make room in your heart and invite Him to come in?
That pierced me! Because at that time I was only willing to acknowledge God in a general way, as an ultimate higher power (while I still maintained all control over my own life).
At that moment, it was clear that I had nothing to lose by surrendering my life to God – I had everything to gain! And it wasn't about anything I needed to do, it was accepting His grace and the finished work of the cross.
So, how do you intentionally live at the pace of grace and make room and space for deep connection with the Lord?
Walking in Faith and Love
A personal relationship with the Lord is about accepting His love and walking by faith.
We all long for the peace, joy, and limitlessness that a relationship with God brings.
Are you growing in your relationship with God?
Nobody can do it for you...nor can they tell you exactly how it should be done!
Be Unique
You may have noticed that the five keys given in this post aren't so much about the things to do as the approach to take – the mindset and heart posture.
Every person gets to experience a unique relationship with God. As you spend time with Him, hear His words, and walk in His ways, be confident that you don't need to compare yourself to anyone else.
Your relationship with Him is going to be special and deeply personal. Make room for God in your life, follow Him in faith and love, and enjoy the journey!
Fasting to Make Room
Fasting is a spiritual discipline that can help you create space for worship, prayer, and a deeper connection with God. If you're interested in learning more, click below to check out our monthly fasting community.
God bless!