How has your relationship with God grown through the years? Do you have a close relationship with the Lord? Have you ever heard Him speak to you? Your spirit has the ability to hear the voice of God but it is a skill that you have to develop. You develop this skill by investing in your relationship with the Lord.

God always has something new to teach us. He is constantly at work in our lives, molding us and shaping us. Are you listening? Are you paying attention to what God is doing? Do you know what He is trying to do in your life?

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 4:17

A time is coming when Jesus will be on the earth, physically, as the King. the focal point of His kingdom will be in Jerusalem and it will cover the whole earth. But that time is not yet.

If the kingdom of heaven has been at hand since Jesus was on the earth, where is it? Some may say it was present because Jesus was on the earth and it is no longer at hand. That, however, is about as far from the truth as we could get. Jesus is not here physically, but God’s spirit dwells in the hearts of His children. Therefore, the kingdom is present in our hearts. This is why it is so important to invest in your personal relationship with the Lord and develop a pattern of seeking to spend time with Him.

In any relationship the growth and development will always reflect the investment that was put into it. Most of us have many acquaintances, fewer close friends, and only a couple “ride or die” people who have been there through it all with us. As you think of the relationships in your life, you will notice the amount of investment into each relationship has had a profound effect on what category it has fallen into.

There are two ways to invest in a relationship: time and effort. You can do something like sending an encouraging text. This is more effort than time. Or you can get together for dinner. This requires plenty of effort but falls more visibly on the time side. Therefore it’s usually categorized as investing time.

With God, the main focus of your relationship with Him is what He did for you. Your relationship with the Lord will always be distinct in that way. For starters, Jesus made your relationship with Him possible when He gave His life on the cross, an investment that required an immeasurable amount of effort and a journey that took him around 30 years to complete. Furthermore He continues to invest time and effort for you every day. Scripture says that He is at the right hand of the Father continually interceding for us.

So what can you do to invest in your relationship with God? In my own life, this seems to happen in three main ways:

• Worshiping God together with other believers. The easiest way to do this is at church on Sunday. But any type of gathering on any day of the week with this intention will fulfill the same purpose. A prayer meeting, a Bible study, even getting together with friends and talking about how God has been there for you will foster an atmosphere of worship. Jesus said, “Wherever two or more are gathered in My name, there I am.” You may not realize it but you just spent time with the Lord and invested in your relationship with Him at dinner with your friends.
• Including God in your day to day life. This is extremely important and will help to create an atmosphere that feels like you have put God first. Talk to the Lord while you fulfill your daily obligations. Discus your interests. Scripture says “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Yes, the little things that are important to you but seem inconsequential are also important to Him, because you are important to Him. Bring your questions, concerns, and fears and lay them at His feet. You will be surprised at how often, and how clearly, He answers.
• Setting aside time. This is by far my favorite and I do this as often as possible. This is not always possible every day. Many of us have demanding schedules and are not able to have regular dedicated time. That is okay. You can talk with a friend over the phone while you wash the dishes. And in the same way, you can spend time with God while you get things done. God is in the kitchen just as much as He is in the bedroom or the prayer closet. But whenever possible, taking dedicated time is a sure way to foster growth in your relationship with the Lord. For me this usually looks like a 10 minute walk in the early morning. There is no schedule to this time. I like to leave it up to the Holy Spirit. Some days I will pray if there is something on my heart. Some days, I will spend the whole time in silence and just walk with the Lord. Some times I will sing praises. Some days I will stay home and study the scriptures. Some days, I will ask God a question and He will answer directly. Some days I will ask God a question and He will answer mysteriously or not at all, and I will need to do more seeking and praying on the matter. Sometimes these questions are important and sometimes they simply come from my curiosity. God has directly answered more of the causal questions than the serious ones. Many times as an answer to a serious question He will remind me of His faithfulness and simply tell me to trust Him. That is my favorite answer of all because it reveals that God has already been working in the situation.

The breath of life flows from God’s spirit (Genesis 2:7). A Christian who is truly alive is one who has a healthy relationship with the Lord. This relationship is what gives us strength against the attacks and temptations of the enemy. It is our rock and our anchor in difficult and painful times. And knowing that God has been there for me from the beginning is one of the most comforting and encouraging realizations that I have ever had.

Learn to foster growth in your relationship with the Lord. If you struggle to remember, creating a schedule with reminders may help you. If you have neglected your relationship with God and are afraid of facing Him, remember the story of the prodigal son. You can find this in Luke 15:11-32. Also remember what God says about Himself:

And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

Exodus 34:6-7

In God’s justice system the guilty are those who have not repented. Those who repent are forgiven, and so they are innocent. So wherever you find yourself, the door is always open. start investing in your relationship with God and you will be amazed at where He will take you.