Grounded · Week 4 · 28 min read
What is a Personal Relationship?
God is not looking for religious performance. He wants you.
Think about the most meaningful relationship in your life. It did not instantly become meaningful overnight. It grew through time spent together, through honest and sincere conversations, through shared experiences, and working through challenging times. It required showing up consistently and being present, ready, and available. Relationships are built over time in the ordinary, everyday life.
- Your relationship with God works the same way. In Week One we talked about what Salvation means and what it cost. In Week Two we looked at Who Jesus is and the claims He made. In Week Three we discovered that the Bible is the living Word of God, written to transform us from the inside out. This week, we take another step forward, and we’re going to talk about how we actually do all of this.
How do you build a real, living, daily relationship with a God you cannot see?
The answer is simple. This is not about religion and doing religious work. We build a daily relationship with God just like you would build one with any other person. We talk to Him, we listen to Him, and we spend time with Him in prayer and reading the Bible. The only difference in this relationship is that God is always with us.
20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
- You may have thought that you came to God at the moment of salvation. The reality is that He was waiting patiently for us. He was standing at the door and knocking, waiting for us to come and let Him in. He is patient with us. He wants to spend time with us. He wants you to fully know who He is.
- God was never meant to be an acquaintance. He has never just intended for you to know Him by name and stop there. The relationship between you and the Lord is not just surface level. It’s not about reading the entire bible from front to back and being tested afterward. And you don’t need to get all the things in your life to be perfect before this personal relationship can occur. Knowing God works the same way you know a person you have spent years with, who has been with you in hard seasons, whose voice you can recognize in a crowded room. The amazing thing is that the depth of knowing Him is what God is inviting you into. And it begins right now, exactly where you are, as you are.
1. How Do I Pray?
- Prayer is simply talking to God. It’s not complicated. It does not require a special posture, a “Christian-ese” vocabulary, or years of experience. It does not have to be long, dramatic, or in perfect form. What it requires is honesty coming to God as you actually are, with what is actually on your heart, and trusting that He is actually listening.
- One of the most common obstacles new believers face with prayer is the feeling that they are doing it wrong or they are somehow inadequate to speak to God. This is wrong! They compare their ability to pray to the prayers they hear from other Christians and then think that prayer must require something they do not yet have. But Jesus consistently pointed His followers away from performance and toward relationship. Prayer is easy. Don’t complicate it!
6 “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
- Two things stand out here. First is the location. Jesus describes a private, closed room, just you and God. Prayer is not a public performance; it is a personal conversation. Second, God already knows what you need before you ask. So why pray at all? Because prayer is not primarily about informing God of things He does not know. (He knows everything.) It is about relating to Him, about making the connection, telling Him that you’re depending upon Him, and getting yourself in alignment with Him. You must be in alignment with God.
A. Jesus Gives Us a Prayer Model – The Lord’s Prayer
Immediately after these verses, Jesus gave His disciples a model for prayer, which we know as the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus wasn’t telling us to recite this prayer word-for-word. He meant for it to be an example of what prayer is for and what it covers.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”
Let’s walk through the framework Jesus gives:
Start with who God is. “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name”
Before you bring your requests, begin with worship. Acknowledge who you are talking to. “Hallowed” means honored as holy, set apart, and above everything else. Starting with worship corrects your posture before you say anything else. He is God, and I am not.
Align your desires with His purpose. “Your kingdom come, your will be done”
This is where you surrender your plan and your desires. You are telling God that what you ultimately want is for His will to be done, not yours. This does not mean you stop having your own desires. It means you hold them loosely and trust His plans over your own.
Bring your real needs. “Give us today our daily bread”
God invites you to ask. Not because He is not aware of what you need, but because asking is an act of dependence and trust. Notice it says daily bread is not a year’s supply. God is teaching His people to come back to Him every day, not just in moments of crisis.
Confess and release. “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors”
This is two things at once: receiving God’s forgiveness and extending it to others. Unconfessed sin creates distance in any relationship, including your relationship with God. Coming to Him honestly, saying what you have done wrong, and receiving His forgiveness keeps the connection clean. Remember, He is Holy! Releasing others from the debts they owe you is the same as you asking God to forgive you. If you can’t forgive others, you will not be forgiven either. (Matthew 6:16-15)
Pray for protection. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”
You are not walking through this life alone anymore. You have a protector. You also have an enemy who is actively working against you. (1 Peter 5:8). Part of daily prayer is asking God to lead you away from situations where you are most vulnerable, and to protect you from the plans of the one who wants to destroy what God is doing in you and through you.
B. Types of Prayer
Prayer is a full conversation, not just a list of demands. The book of Psalms in the Bible gives us a picture of the full spectrum of what prayer can look like, from praise to raw pain and sadness. Here are the most common forms:
Praise – Telling God how great He is.
Psalm 145:3 (NIV) Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. Praise is not kind empty words. It is the honest recognition of who God is, His character, His power, His faithfulness. It changes the atmosphere of your prayer and changes your perspective.
Thanksgiving – Thanking God for what He has done.
Psalm 107:1(NIV) Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Gratitude is one of the best habits you can build. It trains you to notice God’s work in your life rather than you taking credit. Only God gets the glory.
Confession – Owning your failures honestly.
1 John 1:9 (NIV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” God is not surprised by your sin. He is not waiting to condemn you. He is waiting to forgive you. Confession keeps the relationship honest and keeps you clean.
Petition – Asking for yourself.
Philippians 4:6 (NIV) “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” You are allowed to ask for things for yourself. Your needs matter to God. The condition Paul adds is simply that your requests come with thanksgiving, a reminder of who you are asking and why you can trust Him. (Hint… because He’s good!)
Intercession – Praying for others.
1 Timothy 2:1 (NIV) I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all peopleMatthew 5:44 (NIV) But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,Some of the most powerful moments in prayer happen when you stop focusing on yourself and begin praying for other people, family, friends, coworkers, enemies. Jesus even told His followers to pray for those who persecute them. Intercession expands your heart and puts you in alignment with God’s heart for the people He loves.
C. When Prayer Feels Like Nothing is Happening
Jeremiah 29:12-13 (NIV): You will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
There will be seasons when prayer feels one-sided, like you are talking and nothing is happening. Every believer experiences this. It does not mean God has left or that you are doing it wrong. Keep on praying!!!The promise is not that it will always feel powerful. The promise is that He is always there, and He will always be found by those who seek Him with sincerity.
2. How Do I Listen?
- We know that prayer is us talking to God. But a relationship where only one person speaks is not a relationship. Believe it or not, but God speaks. He has always spoken. The question is not whether He will speak to you, but whether you are positioned to hear.
- This is one of the areas where new believers often feel most uncertain. How exactly does God speak? What does His voice sound like? How do I know if it is Him or just my own thoughts? These are honest questions, and they deserve honest answers.
A. God Speaks through Scripture
- The most reliable way God speaks is through the Bible. (The WORD of God) This is why we spent all of last week talking about it. When you read Scripture, you are not just reading ancient words; you are reading the living voice of God. The Holy Spirit makes the words come alive, making certain scriptures stand out with power or relevance at exactly the time you need them. There will be times when you read the Bible, and it will feel like the Lord is talking directly to you.
Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Isaiah 55:11 (NIV) So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Psalm 119:105 (NIV) Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
Matthew 4:4 (NIV) Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
B. God speaks through the Holy Spirit
Jesus promised His disciples that after He left, He would send the Holy Spirit who would teach them all things, remind them of everything Jesus said, and guide them into truth (John 14:26, John 16:13). The Holy Spirit lives inside of every believer at the moment of salvation. One of the Holy Spirit’s primary jobs is to speak to your spirit, prompting, guiding, convicting, and comforting.
This can happen in different ways. Sometimes it is a deep inner sense, a conviction that you should or should not do something. It could be peace that holds strong when circumstances are chaotic. It could be a gentle push toward a person or action you had not planned. The Bible calls this the still small voice not a shout, but a quiet leading that you learn to recognize over time.
1 Kings 19:11-13 (NIV) The Lord appears to Elijah
The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
- How do you grow in hearing the Holy Spirit? The same way you grow in recognizing anyone’s voice: spend time with them. The more time you spend in prayer, in Scripture, and in honest conversation with God, the more familiar His voice becomes and the easier it is to distinguish from the noise of your own anxieties and desires.
- Let me give you an example: I began to learn how to hear the voice of the Lord more clearly in prayer meetings with other believers. If you’ve never been to a prayer meeting, let me explain… It’s a meeting where people pray! (haha). We pray out loud! In these situations, the Lord would often put something on my heart to pray out. At first, I would be afraid, and when I wouldn’t pray whatever the Lord was asking me to pray, I found that someone else would pray that same thing. Instantly, I would have two thoughts. I just heard the Holy Spirit speak, and I know it. Because I was too afraid, I just missed out on being used by the Lord.
- I want to encourage you. You will hear the voice of the Lord, and you will probably mess up a time or two before you obey. I’ve been at the grocery store, and I knew I was supposed to pray for the cashier, and I didn’t. That’s when the conviction of the Holy Spirit will come, and you ask for forgiveness. You remember that. Then when the next opportunity comes, be obedient! And remember, delayed obedience is oftentimes disobedience. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit will always give you another chance for redemption.
C. God speaks through other believers
- God also can use other believers to speak into our lives. A word of encouragement from a trusted friend at exactly the right moment. A mentor who speaks truth you needed to hear. A sermon that seems to be aimed directly at your situation.
“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”
- I also need to tell you to proceed with caution when someone comes up to you and says they have a word from the Lord for you. You have to measure the word that is given. Does it align with Scripture? It had better align, or it’s not from the Lord. Is the word they gave you something that you already knew? If so, they’re just confirming what the Lord had already told you in another way.
1 Corinthians 14:3 (NIV) But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging, and comfort.
- A word from the Lord, whether it’s delivered by someone else, through the Bible, or the Holy Spirit, is always meant for your benefit. It will never be to hurt or harm you in any way. That is not the character of the Lord or how He works. Remember, God is love. He loves you and will speak to you in love. Even if it’s a word of correction, remember He corrects those that He loves. (Hebrews 12:6 and Proverbs 3:12)
D. How to Grow in Listening
- Ask anyone, and they will tell you that being a good listener is vital in any relationship. Your relationship with the Lord is no different. Listening develops with time and practice. Here are a few ways to grow:
Create silence.
- We all live in a busy, noisy world full of distractions. Phones, watches, notifications, music, streaming, conversation- it seems to be nearly constant. God can speak into noise, but He often does His deepest work in silence. Carving out even ten minutes of quiet each day no phone, no music, just you and God creates the conditions where His voice can be heard.
- Let me give you an example from my own life. When God wants to speak to me, and I’m not making space for him to do so, I find that He will wake me up at night when things are finally quiet and will speak to me. Now if this happens, it’s your job to remember what He said and write it down or type it into your phone before you fall back asleep. God is speaking to you with purpose. But if this happens, it might also indicate that you aren’t setting aside enough time to really listen to the Lord. I’m not saying this is always true, but it could be. When Jennifer and I were leading the youth group, this would happen a lot to me. I’m so very thankful that the Lord does speak, but I also don’t want Him to have to compete for my time and attention.
Journal what you hear.
- Like I just mentioned, write down what you hear God saying. It could be thoughts or impressions from Scripture, promptings in prayer, things that seem significant. Not only will it help you understand by connecting the dots, but it will also build your faith when you look back and see how God has moved in your life.
Test what you hear.
- Not every voice is the Holy Spirit. 1 John 4:1 tells us to test the spirits. A simple test: does what I am hearing align with Scripture? Does it align with the character of Jesus, with love, truth, and humility? Does it confirm what trusted believers in my life are also affirming and confirming? If yes, pay close attention. If not, then don’t!
Obey the last thing He told you.
- One of the most common reasons people stop hearing clearly from God is that they are not doing what He has already said. Obedience opens the ears. If God has already shown you something, a relationship to repair, a habit to stop, a step to take, and you have been avoiding it, that is where to start. If you don’t know how to do what He’s asking you to do, ask Him for help!
3. How Do I Worship?
Most people associate worship with music and singing in a church service on Sunday morning. And music is a powerful way to express worship. But worship is far bigger than a song. Worship is the posture of your entire life positioned toward God. It is the ongoing declaration, in word and action and attitude, that God is worthy of everything.
Romans 12:1 (NIV) Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true and proper worship.
Paul says here that offering your body, your whole self, your daily life as a living sacrifice, is your true and proper worship. True worship is not just what you do on Sunday. It is how you live Monday through Saturday.
A. Worship in Song and Gathering
Gathering in worship, singing together, praying together, and hearing the Word taught is something God calls His people to. It is not optional or tradition. There is something that happens when believers gather together in the presence of God that cannot be reproduced alone.
Psalm 95:1-3 (NIV) Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. 3 For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.
Matthew 18:20 (NIV) For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.
Notice the reason behind the worship: “for the Lord is the great God.” Worship is not about generating a feeling. It is a response to who God is and what He has done. When you understand that the God of the universe has paid everything to bring you back to Himself, worship becomes the only natural response.
When you sing in a church service, even if you do not have a great voice and even if the song is unfamiliar, you are doing something important. You are declaring with your mouth what is true. You are raising your hands as a sign of surrender. You are agreeing with the body of believers around you. And you are reminding your own heart, which forgets quickly what actually matters.
B. Worship in Everyday Life
Besides church on Sunday, worship should be something that you do every day. When you experience first-hand that worshipping the Lord changes things. You’re going to want to do it. Are you fighting depression? Anxiety? Are you worried? Are you struggling to find peace? Can’t sleep at night? WORSHIP THE LORD! Isaiah 61:3 tells us to put on a “garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” Watch how things change when you begin to worship God in your everyday life.
Here is what that looks like:
Gratitude in the morning.
Psalm 118:24 (NKJV) This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Starting your day by acknowledging God. Thank Him even before your feet hit the floor is an act of worship. It declares that the day belongs to Him before it belongs to your schedule.
Pray before you eat.
Luke 24:30 (NIV) When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.
If Jesus did it, then we should too. The simple act of giving thanks before eating is one of the oldest expressions of worship. It interrupts the autopilot of daily life and reminds you that everything you have is a gift.
Work unto the Lord.Colossians 3:23 (NIV) Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” Your job, your parenting, your studies, your creative work, all of it can be an act of worship when it is done with integrity, excellence, and a heart that says: this is for You, Lord.
C. Worship Matters for Relationship
- God deserves our best worship. Period. End of sentence. Our worship does not depend on whether we feel like it or whether we happen to like the song we’re hearing. We worship when we’re blessed and for all the Lord has done for us. If the Lord didn’t do another thing for any of us for the rest of our lives, He would still deserve our worship. For that reason, we worship when we have had a bad day. It’s all the more important to worship even when we have the worst day.
- If you haven’t read the book of Job, then you need to read it. By the end of Chapter 1, Job loses everything. Death and destruction came to his door that day, and still Job praised the Lord.
- Job 1:20-22 (NIV)
- At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:
- “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.[c]The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”
- 22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
- We need to open our mouths, raise our hands, and give the Lord the praise that He alone deserves.
- Psalm 145:3 (NIV) Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.
- Here’s the interesting thing about worship. We benefit too! Yes, worship is meant to magnify the name of Jesus and give Him praise, but we also benefit when we worship God. Stay with me. God does not need our praise to feel better about Himself. The benefit we receive when we worship God is the realignment of our heart, the recalibration of our priorities, and the reminder of what is true (God is for me! If He did it before, He can do it again) and that God is good when life is chaotic and confusing. Worship should always be our natural response to God.
4. How Do I Build a Godly Rhythm?
- Everything we have talked about in this series reading the Bible, praying, worshipping, listening only works if it is happening. James 2:14-26 talks about how faith without works is a dead faith. The only way to make sure all these things are working is to build them into your life. You need structure.
- The word “rhythm” is on purpose. We are not talking about a hard religious routine that you perform out of obligation and guilt. We are talking about a natural, enjoyable, sustainable pace of life that keeps you connected to God, just as breakfast, lunch, and dinner (with an occasional snack) keep you physically nourished. You do not feel guilty about eating breakfast. You just do it because you know you need it. That is the goal for us.
35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
- Jesus, fully God and fully man, the one through whom all things were made, still made time alone with the Father. He made it a part of His daily life. If the Son of God needed a rhythm of getting alone and reconnecting with the Father, I think it’s safe to say that you and I do too.
- When I was going to school to get my ministry credentials, one of the things they drilled into us was this: Find a time, find a place, and guard it.
- Be intentional with your time with God. If you don’t and you don’t protect that space, then it simply won’t happen. Whatever you prioritize will always happen. That might mean that you need to delay that next episode of the show that you’re marathoning. Remember, whatever you feed is what’s going to grow in your life. Make kingdom investments; the returns are amazing!
- Take Time to Pray
- If you’re finding it difficult to pray, use this approach and the time will fly by as you pour your heart out to God.Gratitude – What am I thankful for today?Spend a few minutes thanking God for all He has done. This shifts your focus off your problems and fixes your eyes on God for the good things that He’s done in your life.
Review – Where did I sense God’s presence today?
- Think back on the day. Where did you feel His presence? Where did you act in a way that was in alignment with who He is calling you to be? Where did you fall short?
Confession – Where do I need to ask forgiveness?
- Name specifically what went wrong. Not to punish yourself but to be honest and stay humble. Repent (regret that causes you to change) and ask for forgiveness and receive it. Don’t get stuck here by not being able to receive.
Intercession – Who is on my heart tonight?
- Don’t ignore this! Bring the people in your life before God. The ones you love. The ones who are struggling. The ones who frustrate you, ESPECIALLY THE ONES THAT FRUSTRATE YOU. Give them to Him.
Surrender – What do I need to release for tomorrow?
- End by giving tomorrow to God before it arrives. Acknowledge that IT ALL BELONGS TO HIM, not you. Then go to sleep. When you do this regularly before bed, you will have peace and find rest.
B. Go to Church
- Don’t be a “Chreaster,” a person who only goes to church on Christmas and Easter. Start your week off in church with other believers and make it a priority. Invest in yourself and your family. Also, church is not a spectator sport, so get involved and serve! We need you!
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,
25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
- The writer of Hebrews does not say gathering is nice if you feel like it and have the time. He says do not give it up. Because something happens when believers get together that does not happen any other way. You are challenged. You are encouraged. You are reminded of what is true. You are connected to something bigger than you. And you become part of what God is doing in others, not just what He is doing in you.
5. How Do I Abide? – On Your Own
4 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
- The image Jesus uses here is not complicated, but it is deep. A branch does not produce fruit by trying harder or doing more. It produces fruit by staying connected to the vine. The fruit is a natural result of the connection, not a result of the branch’s effort. You and Jesus are the branch and the vine. It’s not so much about work, but it’s about maintaining your connection to Him.
A. What Abiding is Not
- Abiding is not the same as being busy for God. You can be religious, attending services, serving on teams, reading your Bible, and still not be abiding. Abiding is about the quality of your connection to Jesus, not the quantity of your religious activity. Martha was busy doing things for Jesus while Mary sat at His feet. Jesus said Mary had chosen the better thing (Luke 10:38-42).
- Abiding is also not a state of constant spiritual highs. It is not about feeling close to God at all times or having supernatural experiences every morning. Abiding is a sustained position of your heart toward Jesus in returning to Him daily. It’s consistently being purposeful to open your life to His presence by inviting Him in every day.
B. What abiding looks like practically
Talk to God throughout your day, not just in prayer times.
- A quick “Lord, I need your help and wisdom here” before a hard conversation. A moment of thanks when something good happens. Bringing Him a worry or concern as soon as it comes to mind rather than letting it grow and fester for hours. These small, constant conversations are what abiding is about. Invite Him into the situation!
Let Scripture become your vocabulary, especially in prayer.
- You need to know what the Bible says. Memorize verses even if it’s just one at a time. Pray them back to God. When fear comes, a verse about God’s peace is already there. When you are tempted, a verse about the way of escape is there. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” God’s Word hidden in your heart is extremely valuable for any situation.
Return quickly when you get lost.
- Abiding is not about never losing your way. It is about how quickly you return. The Prodigal Son in Luke 15 wandered far, but when he came to his senses, he got up and went home. The father saw him from a long way off and ran toward him. This is the relationship that we have with God. You will drift. The question is not whether you will, but how quickly you turn back. The Father is always running toward you when you do.
Make your relationship with Jesus the foundation for everything else.
- Abiding ultimately means that your relationship with God is not just another component of your life alongside work, family, and fun. It is the foundation that everything else is built upon. Decisions are made. Relationships are based through it. Priorities are shaped by it. This is what it means for Jesus to be Lord, not just Savior of your soul, but Lord of your actual daily life.
C. The Promise of Abiding
John 15:7-8 (NIV) “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”
- The promise is incredible: ask whatever you wish, and it will be done. But notice the condition: abiding in Him, and His words abiding in you. This is not a blank check for anything you might want on any given day. It is what happens when your desires have been so shaped by God’s presence and His Word that what you wish for has become what He wishes for you. Abiding transforms what you want. And then because what you want aligns with what He wants, He gives it.
- The fruit that results from abiding is not just personal spiritual growth. It is the kind of life that points other people toward God. It is love that surprises people, peace that makes no sense given the circumstances, joy that perseveres through suffering, generosity that costs you something real. That is the fruit of a branch that stays on the vine. And that fruit, Jesus says, is what gives glory to the Father.
- As we close Week Four, a personal relationship with God is not an academic theological idea that is impossible for us to attain. It is the most concrete, practical, daily thing in the Christian life. It is built in the regular, ordinary moments. It’s built on obedience. It’s a few minutes with Scripture before the day gets crazy, a prayer said in the car, a song of gratitude that sounds like a joyful noise, but it’s a choice to stay connected to the vine when every other thing in life is trying to pull you away.
- Nobody builds this house overnight. The disciples who walked physically with Jesus still had times of doubt, fear, and distance. What made them who they became was not their perfection, and as we read, FAR FROM IT!, but it was their persistence in returning to Him. It’s the same situation with us.
- I want you to remember one thing this week, again if you remember nothing else. God is not far away, waiting for you to get your act together before He shows up. He is already near. He is already speaking. He is already present in the ordinary moments of your life. Your job is simply to turn toward Him.
Abide. Pray. Worship. Listen. Build the rhythm. And watch what God does with a life that stays connected to the vine.
This Week’s Challenge:
Choose one new thing that you’ve learned from this lesson and commit to it every day for seven days. Keep it simple enough that you can actually do it. At the end of the week, write down one thing you noticed about God, about yourself, or about how this changed your day. Bring it with you next week.
Let’s pray.
Going deeper
Notes and appendices
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