What does it mean to YOU to have a personal relationship with Christ?

Renewed24 said:

This is a very popular phrase in Christianity: You must have a personal relationship with Jesus.

How would you explain this to someone new to Christianity? How do we have a 'personal relationship' with someone we can't see, touch, or hear?

What does such a 'relationship' look like?
What does your personal relationship with Jesus look like? Does it involve pure faith, intellect, or strong emotions of love as you would feel for another person? Do you hear His voice, audibly or in your soul or mind? Do you have visions of Him?
Does regular prayer time mean you have a personal relationship with Jesus or is that only one small part of it?

I'm asking to try to understand and in pursuit of my own walk with God. I'm asking in part because I've had certain people say this to me and I'm curious what their own relationship with Christ really looked like and what that phrase really means to them but I am not able to ask them personally.

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A relationship with Jesus is the fellowship of God, which involves the self-surrender of one's will and designs to God.

Relationship is termed with the fruit of the spiritual nature that is for edification. When we can receive from God and give Him glory that relationship is conducive to growth because of this feeding on God against which there is no law. Study what are the fruit (9 in one) to enter into the way.

I talk to Him I tell him everything almost in prayer often. I share my heart . I know his heart from Bible, we commune heart to heart. Sometimes he speaks to me. I do the work following Him. I hope He is pleased with me. It’s good. I apply his word to my life and figure out stuff speaking to his listening accepting ear. I know he loves me and I should tell him the same more often. It’s a bit one sided but I make the best of it. He’s always positive always loving, but I know when I make mistakes. I seek him and repent. He forgives me, I know, Bible says. I test Him when need the HS. I serve him and others. I bring them to him in prayer. He helps me love. He strengthen each day and when have a need. He works in my patience, I stay willing. SEE?

Renewed24 said:

This is a very popular phrase in Christianity: You must have a personal relationship with Jesus.

How would you explain this to someone new to Christianity? How do we have a 'personal relationship' with someone we can't see, touch, or hear?

What does such a 'relationship' look like?
What does your personal relationship with Jesus look like? Does it involve pure faith, intellect, or strong emotions of love as you would feel for another person? Do you hear His voice, audibly or in your soul or mind? Do you have visions of Him?
Does regular prayer time mean you have a personal relationship with Jesus or is that only one small part of it?

I'm asking to try to understand and in pursuit of my own walk with God. I'm asking in part because I've had certain people say this to me and I'm curious what their own relationship with Christ really looked like and what that phrase really means to them but I am not able to ask them personally.

Click to expand...

as with any relationship it is all about communication, do you listen to God, do you talk to God, do you try to conform to the message of scripture? Do you think first about what God wants or do you think first about what you want. Love is wanting what is best for the other.

In all your ways acknowledge Him. Let His will be your primary concern.

for me its knowing that the lord our god has my back even when family and friends are not there to support me.

Renewed24 said:

This is a very popular phrase in Christianity: You must have a personal relationship with Jesus.

How would you explain this to someone new to Christianity? How do we have a 'personal relationship' with someone we can't see, touch, or hear?

What does such a 'relationship' look like?
What does your personal relationship with Jesus look like? Does it involve pure faith, intellect, or strong emotions of love as you would feel for another person? Do you hear His voice, audibly or in your soul or mind? Do you have visions of Him?
Does regular prayer time mean you have a personal relationship with Jesus or is that only one small part of it?

I'm asking to try to understand and in pursuit of my own walk with God. I'm asking in part because I've had certain people say this to me and I'm curious what their own relationship with Christ really looked like and what that phrase really means to them but I am not able to ask them personally.

Click to expand...

My relationship with the Father in a word is peace. I've seen too many ppl, young ppl, cope with stress and anxiety with Xanax and service animals. My Father gives me PEACE of mind
and that's more valuable than all the riches in the world. God is Spirit. I communicate, love, listen to him with my Spirit. I read his Word, I meditate, clear my mind and he lets me know what he would have me do or look up in his Word by thoughts. Everyone's walk with the Lord is unique. It takes time to mature in the Spirit.

nhisname said:

My relationship with the Father in a word is peace. I've seen too many ppl, young ppl, cope with stress and anxiety with Xanax and service animals. My Father gives me PEACE of mind
and that's more valuable than all the riches in the world. God is Spirit. I communicate, love, listen to him with my Spirit. I read his Word, I meditate, clear my mind and he lets me know what he would have me do or look up in his Word by thoughts. Everyone's walk with the Lord is unique. It takes time to mature in the Spirit.

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true.

Renewed24 said:

This is a very popular phrase in Christianity: You must have a personal relationship with Jesus.

How would you explain this to someone new to Christianity? How do we have a 'personal relationship' with someone we can't see, touch, or hear?

What does such a 'relationship' look like?
What does your personal relationship with Jesus look like? Does it involve pure faith, intellect, or strong emotions of love as you would feel for another person? Do you hear His voice, audibly or in your soul or mind? Do you have visions of Him?
Does regular prayer time mean you have a personal relationship with Jesus or is that only one small part of it?

I'm asking to try to understand and in pursuit of my own walk with God. I'm asking in part because I've had certain people say this to me and I'm curious what their own relationship with Christ really looked like and what that phrase really means to them but I am not able to ask them personally.

Click to expand...

The Hebrew word "yada" refers to intimate knowledge gained by personal experience, such in Genesis 4:1, where Adam knew (yada) Eve, she conceived, and gave birth to Cain. In Exodus 33:13, Moses wanted God to be gracious to him by teaching him His way that he might know (yada) Him and Israel too, and in 1 Kings 2:1-3, God taught how to walk in His way through His law. In Jeremiah 9:3 and 9:6, they did not know (yada) God and refused to know him because in 9:13, they had forsaken His law, while in 9:24, those who know God know that He delights in practicing steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in all of the earth, so delighting in expressing these and other aspects of God's nature through our obedience to His instructions for how to do that found in His law is the way to know God. Furthermore, it is also the way to know Jesus, who is the exact image of God's nature (Hebrews 1:3), which he expressed through setting a sinless example of how to walk in obedience to God's law. In 1 John 2:4, those who say that they know Jesus, but don't obey his commandments are liars, in 1 John 3:4-6, those who continue to practice sin in transgression of God's law have neither seen nor known him, and in Matthew 7:23, Jesus said that he would tell those who are workers of lawlessness to depart from him because he never knew them.

So the goal of God's law is to teach us how to know Him and Jesus, which is eternal life (John 17:3, Matthew 19:17, Luke 10:25-28, Revelation 22:14), or in other words, tp teach us how to have a personal relationship with God through expressing, experiencing, loving, believing in, and testifying about His nature. This is also why the Bible uses the same terms to describe aspects of the nature of God as it does to describe aspects of the nature of God's law, such as with it being holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12), or with justice, mercy, and faithfulness being weightier matters of the law (Matthew 23:23). For example, by doing good works, we are expressing, experiencing, loving, believing in, and testifying about God's goodness, which is why our good works bring glory to the Father (Matthew 5:13-16), and that is the way to grow in a personal relationship with God.

There are many such phases and mechanisms in evangelical Christianity.
Let me say one thing. In order to be saved, have prayers answered, be healed, or to receive any other thing from God, it is necessary to have faith. To have faith one must have the Word, because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Faith is made up of words. If you cannot phrase your faith with words, what exactly are you believing? No words means no faith because all faith is comprised of His words.
One example:
People say that we have to "make Jesus Lord of your life."
Where does scripture spell out this action? How would one do such a thing?
Look at what the word actually says:
"God has made.. Jesus... to be both Lord and Christ..." Acts 2:36
and
"The same Lord is lord of all an merciful to all who call on His name." Romans 10:13
So what does this actually tell us to do?
First of all it states as a matter of fact that Jesus is already Lord and Lord of all. God did this not you. You could not do it if you wanted to. You have neither the power nor the authority to "make Jesus Lord of your life."
Second, the word says this existing Lord Jesus requires you to acknowledge His existing Lordship over you by your calling on His name to be saved.
That is what He requires you to do.
Consider this when we invent these methods to evangelize people:
In the above case, the act of telling people to "make Him Lord of your life" implies that He is not already Lord and Lord of all. So the mere act of preaching this denies His Lordship straight out! It is a subtle way the devil tricks us into thinking that Jesus is NOT already Lord by the decree of God. God made Jesus Lord and Christ. Believe me, He does not need your permission nor does He require it. He requires that you bow the knee and call on His Lordship's name for mercy, which is He is willing and waiting to do.
Another such whimsy is when we tell people to "ask Jesus into your heart." This is a very innocent and sweet concept, but again, simply not backed or empowered by the Word. How would one do this and how would we know that He would comply with the odd request? There is no evidence in the scripture that this would work or is even possible. Again, as above, we need Word in order to have faith, and nice sounding phrases that intend to make it easy for us do not help get faith.
Simply present the Word and let it do it's thing!

Renewed24 said:

This is a very popular phrase in Christianity: You must have a personal relationship with Jesus.

How would you explain this to someone new to Christianity? How do we have a 'personal relationship' with someone we can't see, touch, or hear?

What does such a 'relationship' look like?
What does your personal relationship with Jesus look like? Does it involve pure faith, intellect, or strong emotions of love as you would feel for another person? Do you hear His voice, audibly or in your soul or mind? Do you have visions of Him?
Does regular prayer time mean you have a personal relationship with Jesus or is that only one small part of it?

I'm asking to try to understand and in pursuit of my own walk with God. I'm asking in part because I've had certain people say this to me and I'm curious what their own relationship with Christ really looked like and what that phrase really means to them but I am not able to ask them personally.

Click to expand...

It is taking God's word and believing it, applying it. By doing this God "occasionally" interjects into our lives. By this I mean He is silent most of the time but if He wants to reveal His will to us He does.

i agree wholeheartedly, though i believe that Romans cha 3 verses 13 through 16 accurately depicts my thoughts on the matters prieviously discussed, i am not going to type the verses out cause my source is nkj, its the bible i got from my parents for christmas years back, and i am aware of the current rules of this site but it is still the source i use,so in an effort not to offend anyone i will not cite the verses.

It is a relationship that originates in the heart. A feeling that God cares about you. Not a mechanical system nor something we must do.

IoanC said:

It is a relationship that originates in the heart. A feeling that God cares about you. Not a mechanical system nor something we must do.

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this is true our redeemer asks us to give testimony, or an account of our actions not just on sunday at church but in word and deed everyday of our lives, till we come back to his loving embrace.

Chris J Klein said:

this is true our redeemer asks us to give testimony, or an account of our actions not just on sunday at church but in word and deed everyday of our lives, till we come back to his loving embrace.

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By our deeds we are sinners. By God's Mercy we are saints.

Renewed24 said:

This is a very popular phrase in Christianity: You must have a personal relationship with Jesus.

How would you explain this to someone new to Christianity? How do we have a 'personal relationship' with someone we can't see, touch, or hear?

Click to expand...

I don’t know if I can help because I'm still working this out myself. It seems like everyone has a different experience but I know for me, growing up in religion and only really hearing and understanding about God the heavenly Father, I always thought of him as just that, a father. I always wanted to know what his purpose was for me and wanted him to be proud of me (perhaps because I didn't get that from my earthly father), but as I grew older I developed my own beliefs but in my heart the knowledge of the heavenly father was always there. I could never not believe in him. When I was young I always looked at and talked to the sky when thinking of him or "praying", not traditional prayer, but I would just talk like he was there listening.

Renewed24 said:

NWhat does such a 'relationship' look like?
What does your personal relationship with Jesus look like? Does it involve pure faith, intellect, or strong emotions of love as you would feel for another person? Do you hear His voice, audibly or in your soul or mind? Do you have visions of Him?
Does regular prayer time mean you have a personal relationship with Jesus or is that only one small part of it?

Click to expand...

My story of coming to Christ began 5 years before I actually did. But I've "officially" been saved just a little over a year. It's been a long process being "extracted" from the world and its distortions of the truth (a bit like a spider web actually), so is why I think I haven't got my understanding of "relationship" with him down-pat. I also find difficulty reading the bible daily due to past trauma and trying to understand "relationship" in that sense. I've heard his voice both audibly (twice) and often in my spirit and mind. I've also had 2 dreams and several visions.

The past few months I've heard him very rarely but I get a comforting sense in my spirit, kind of like being a child and being wrapped in a blanket... a feeling of "security" you might say? Hard to explain because I haven't felt like that in 30 years. But I think lately he wants me to read his word and this is the way he wants me to deepen my connection with him, instead of waiting for him to respond to my nonsense "prayers". So like the bible says, we must go from spiritual milk to solid food and the bible is necessary in the strengthening of our faith.

IoanC said:

By our deeds we are sinners. By God's Mercy we are saints.

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true enough but there is a differnce between giving glory to god through good works, and living a sinful life of evil and inequity, it is a very fine line to tread knowing the duality of humankind.that we are capable of great good but also great evil.though we are redeemed by gods grace we should not forget to be better individuals and glorify our redeemer by showing we are more then mere animals that are reliant on base instinct, we haave all been called to be godly upstanding people,unfortunately that does not resonate with everybody.

The virtues and good deeds become more evident over time. God offers these wonderful gifts through the process of maturity and experience.