#1  Relationship

I know that if you are reading this then you have probably already accepted Christ as your Savior. Some of you may have been baptized in water or sprinkled. Some of you may have tried the whole God thing and it didn't work out for you. Others maybe think that a life with Christ is just a joke; a way to make ourselves feel better in this world. Some of you just have no clue what you are reading about right now. No matter where you are at in your "God walk" it does not hurt to just talk about priorities. 

I would be remiss before going down this road not to take some time to look at the definitions of a few words. Relationships which we all have with multiple people and priority which we assign to things in our lives.

Our past, present and future all determine our own personal definition of these words. I am not going to waste your time by describing every relationship that you may or may not have in your life.  I am also not going to try to list out all of the things in which you or I may prioritize in a single day. That is something that you can do on your own. I will spend time however discussing THE priority relationship which makes all other relationships and priorities a whole lot simpler.  You guessed it...Jesus Christ. 

Even in the scriptures the men of the faith understood the importance of a prioritized relationship with the Father. Jesus himself demonstrated this multiple times throughout His ministry. He retreated from the crowds or His own disciples to commune with His Heavenly Father. 

• Mark 1:35- Jesus prayed in a solitary place after a busy day of healing

• Luke 5:15-16-Jesus withdrew to a private place and prayed 

• Luke 6:12-13-Jesus prayed all night in preparation for the Sermon on the Mount

• Matthew 14:23-Jesus prayed on the mountain after feeding the 5000

There are so many more examples in the scriptures of the necessity to spend solitary moments with the Lord. God created you. He desires to have a relationship with you. Jesus understood this important factor in His journey to crucifixion and ressurection. He did not miss an opportunity to get filled up by the Father so that He could pour himself out into His disciples and others around Him. 

This priority relationship with the Father through His son Jesus Christ is not designed to be superficial or a check mark on the list of life's to do's. It is not even designed to just be a relationship melded in church or at youth camp or at a retreat. As we learned earlier:

 A relationship is the way two or more people are connected 

or the STATE of being connected. 

God does not just want to see you at church on Sunday. God does not only want to hear you thank Him for your meal. He does not only want to hear you say that you are a christian. He wants to be intimately connected with you continuosly. He wants to be in a STATE of consistent communion with you. He wants to be with you when you rise or when you lie down. He wants to be with you during your love and loss. He wants to be with you during your marriage, your children's birth, your struggles with identity, your job, your financial situation, your irritation, in the world's chaos, and everything else that lies in between.  A prioritized relationship is what God wants with each and every one of His children. You are a daughter of the King, and as princess you must learn your trade from the sovereign. In order to do that, your relationship must be prioritized and the number one on the list. 

So this all sounds well and good, but ...

How? When? Where? Length of Time? 

What do I say? How do I hear Him speak? 

What if He doesn't say anything back? 

These are all valid concerns and questions that can and should be swirling around your head if you are human. Before you spiral down into a rabbit hole of resounding "nos" and "not enough times" let me rebuke that patronizing demon in Jesus' name. (There is power in utilizing Jesus' name to condemn unglorified thoughts, but that is another blog for another time.) You don't have to go crazy with this. I encourage you to start small and then move on to other activities that challenge you! Anytime spent with Jesus is better than no time. Also the awesome thing about spending time with Jesus is that you will WANT MORE! Here is what I suggest and any of these things will help kickstart your relationship building. You can do one or all of these. You don't even have to do any of these things; they are just suggestions that are palpable.

• Ask God to build in you a desire to better your relationship with Him (HE WILL!)

• Subscribe to a daily verse to pop up on your phone through a Bible App

• Listen to christian music in the car when alone--even for just 10 minutes

• Read a chapter or a few verses in your Bible

• Start a devotion that is Bible centered NOT self centered

• Sit in the beauty of nature and just observe all of the beauty He created for your pleasure

• Start a Bible reading plan and commit time to it daily

• Make time to actually speak out loud to God (driving the car or gardening are my favorites!)

• Get coffee or lunch with a friend who loves Jesus too and plan to talk about what you are reading

• Don't neglect the body of Christ-find a church and get there no matter how sleepy 

• Set aside a time throughout the day to worship Him

• Read commentaries on scriptures

• Attend Christian conferences or worship nights

• Spread the good news with others in your life

• Volunteer at your church for some ministry

• Get aligned with a bible study group who is seeking a deeper relationship and knowledge of the scriptures

• Make prayer time a significant amount of your worship times

As you progress down this path toward a deeper and prioritized relationship with Christ you will probably notice that a lot of other things are falling into place. You may think that it is all because of your devotion to the Lord; however, please remember that God is the author and master of all things. He is the one who is working on you and your spirit. All glory be to Him during these improvements in your life. Another thing to consider is your pride. When you pursue this relationship with God your outlook will change through the grace of His holy spirit. What once used to trigger you into a spiral of anger may not anymore. Those little voices in your head about how you are not good at being a mom or wife will be replaced with God's word reminding you that you are HIS creation. HIS daughter. HIS bond-servant. He chose you to live this life and with Him buried deep in your heart He can do great things all to His glory. So start now. Start today. Ask God to make Him a priority in your life. Your number one relationship.