How do you guys connect with God?

[bluedart]

I am trying to get ideas on how to connect or spend time with God. For instance, prayer, worship, meditation, journaling, prayer journals, devotionals, reading the Bible, 12 steps, workbooks, etc. Any other ideas or things you do?
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[prov1810]

Gratitude list. Think of a half dozen things you can be grateful for every day. It's a powerful discipline for growing in joy.

 

[bluedart]

Gratitude list. Think of a half dozen things you can be grateful for every day. It's a powerful discipline for growing in joy.

Thanks! That is a good one. I will try it. I think it can lead to more contentment as well.

 

[dayhiker]

The main way I've connected with God this year has been following the verse that Jesus says if you have done it unto the least of these you have done it unto me.

So I've friended a whole bunch of people, really listened to them, their life story and shared my life stories with them. They have felt so loved that they have given me an amazing number of compliments about what a great guy I am, which about a month ago God said to me that was Him loving me back. Its has really been one of the most loving years of my whole life.

 

[memoriesbymichelle]

Every day I read the Proverb of the day. There are 31 Proverbs so tomorrow is the 3rd and I will be reading the 3rd Proverb. That way each month I read thru the book of Proverbs.

Then I try to do a Bible study. Right now I am using You Version on my Kindle. Not sure if I love it yet but I try.

Then I write in my journal one page of my thoughts. Lately it has been prayers to God or me saying I'm thankful for this or that in my life. I could write anything I want on that page, I have no "guidelines" I just want to have that discipline.

Then on the way to work I usually pray and talk to God about the goings on in my life and the people I am praying for.

 

[Willie T]

I finally just got desperate.

 

[Living in the Light]

Are you moved to tears by certain music, movies, acts of compassion, or the best example, Jesus' Passion? Crying and shedding tears of joy, love, and devotion is an excellent way to really FEEL the presence rather than an intellectual endeavor.

 

[dayhiker]

When I hear someone tell how God changed their heart in some way, I always have tears.

 

[blackribbon]

I think I need to find something more purposeful and daily. I seldom wake up ready to face the day so I do talk to God a little bit before I attack the day. Lately it has been more one sided than I like. I don't know if that means I have a lesson to learn or if I have separated myself from God and need to address an area in my life.

 

[Bass4Jesus]

The best way to DISconnect from God is to connect with everything else. Empty your life of things that qualify (for you) as "everything else," and you'll probably find that your desire to allow God to fill the void will have far greater opportunity yield something meaningful.

Here's how it worked with me. I canceled my TV service for reasons that seemed at first unrelated to the Christian faith, but at the same time I upped my cable bandwidth to 50 Mb, and added 7 Mb DSL as a backup pipe through a separate provider. (I'm an independent I.T. consultant as well as a bass player. Bandwidth + redundancy = goodness.) Prior to that I was watching INSP, Daystar, and TBN on cable, but only three or four programs. Well, as I looked for alternatives to my now-dark TV and the time it had been sucking up with NON-Christian programming, I found iTBN and the Church Channel on the Internet, which are far better Christian resources than the cable streams ever were. (There are some really incredible second-stringers out there: Ron C. Hill, Dimitri Bradley, Charles Cowan, Katherine Newlon, Mike Freeman, and Sandra Kennedy for example.) The iTBN archives are virtually inexhaustible, and it's totally choice-based.

The Church Channel and iTBN don't show westerns -- one of my former major time sinks. They don't show old war movies -- that was another one. They don't show depressing and/or politically-biased news. They don't show ads where the male announcers talk like oversibilant girls. Wins all around.

Anyway, I went through a couple of weeks after canceling TV where I was sort of wondering how to fill all that time I'd come to realize I'd been piffing away. But as soon as I found the Church Channel and iTBN, everything snowballed, and now I'm totally hooked on sitting under the Word for as many hours a day as I care to. First thing I do every morning is check iTBN's schedule for the day and decide what I'm going to watch. Not because I have to, but because I want to.

So, imo, getting rid of what's competing for your time and pulling you away from learning more about your faith will get you at least 50% there, except maybe in a way you can't anticipate, 'cause the Holy Spirit might pick up that you've disinvested from junk and have you "stumble upon" an alternative that's really good for you and that you really enjoy.

 

[iambren]

I get alone to be with God,usually by taking a long walk or driving my car. I will pray but often it's weird--I will preach a sermon or teach a Bible lesson to group of people (as in a fantasy). Sometimes I'm moved to answer my own altar call.

During these periods I will pour out my whole heart,unabashedly tell Him how I feel toward him. Often my problems shrink before the AWE of who He is and the precious,loving,unmerited grace that makes me related to Him forever!

About 2/3 time I sing and speak in tongues of interceding and praise. It's really cool to think that you can be anywhere on the planet and have this access to the Lord of all.

 

[dayhiker]

iambren ... I've done much the same things that you have done over the years.

 

[scraparcs]

Climb a mountain in the desert.

 

[iambren]

Dayhiker,it puts everything into perspective doesn't it? When I am intimately worshipping God it's my favorite thing to do AND the thing I'll get to do for eternity!!!

 

[dayhiker]

Yup ...

 

[Pastor Glenn]

Email me, I've got some encouraging resource materials for you

 

[Pastor Glenn]

I can relate my brother ! Every time I put a sermon together it hits me as much as my congregation.

 

[memoriesbymichelle]

ATM I don't feel very connected with God, but I still know He is with me and leading me and guiding me.

Since my Pastor having affair(s) scandal, and dealing with teenagers and feeling like a complete failure, I just feel kind of lost and my days are like roller coasters, one day up, the next day down, the next day cruising along and on and on it goes.

I cannot hardly wait for Jesus to come back! The world is so corrupt and the USA is going down the tubes fast because of Healthcare and stupidity and there seems to be nothing we can do about it. There is a sense of delusion in the world because I cannot believe some people still actually think our President is doing good. And criminals are getting off and the victims have to suffer forever it seems. Children and women are disappearing of the face of the earth and never found.

Come Lord Jesus come!!!!