Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

One comment that I hear often as a pastor: I wish God responded to me more.

Oh, I know the feeling. In fact, this is often my daily prayer.

While we often put the onus on God to get closer to us, maybe it is we that need to get closer to God. A relationship with God is just like any other relationship. If you want a strong one, you have to invest in it. Participate. Show up regularly. Yes, God can surprise us and do something amazing out of the blue. But more often, I truly believe that a relationship feels more natural and organic when both parties are investing in the relationship. When one invests more than the other, it’s lopsided.

My guess? God is ALWAYS investing more than we are.

We’ve all had those relationships where we felt that we put in more than the other person. I can’t speak for God, but I do believe God yearns for us to respond to God sometimes more than we do.

So, how can we feel like God listens to us know? Knows our heart more? Is responding to us more? Here are three simple things that you can do.

• Pray daily. Speak to God. Share what is on your heart. Actually have conversations with God.

I do not believe that we must sit down and have a 20-minute quiet prayer time with God to get God’s attention. Do what works for you. Is it several one- or two-line prayers throughout the day? Then do it. Maybe it is an intentional prayer time in the morning or the evening. Sometimes it maybe writing down a prayer. Or using a prayer book to give you ideas of what to pray for when you aren’t sure.

You do you. What feels most natural? How do you think God wants to hear from you?

And then, do it.

Recently, a person shared with me how he experienced an answered prayer in his life. He’s retirement age. He owns a small business and is ready to find someone to take over the business. This person has nurtured several people with the hopes that this would be the one to continue his business. They didn’t work out.

After intentional prayer, he has a young employee who he feels can and will take over the business. How did he find this person?

He prayed about it.

Yes, God knows what is on your heart. God knows your thoughts. But I do believe God appreciates us sharing with God directly. Asking specifically. Confiding in God and getting real with God. This is how we know God knows what is on our hearts and minds. Let’s not assume God just “knows” these things. Let’s be specific and intentional. Daily.

• Express three things you are grateful for every day. I suggest you actually write them down.

Research is ridiculous on this point. Want to feel better about yourself? Express gratitude. Daily.

Daily, I recall three things in the last 24 hours that I am grateful for. Literally, this takes 60 seconds. Why write down? So, you can go back and see what you have been grateful for over a period of time.

These don’t have to be big things. They can be a conversation. Something you saw or experienced. I challenge myself not to use the same things over and over. But really find three little moments from the last 24 hours that made a difference in your daily life.

As you do this, I believe you will see a pattern. Often, my expressions relate to a relationship or conversation that I had with someone. Writing these down help me see daily the good things in my life; especially when I feel that it’s been a challenging day.

After I write them down, I thank God for these three ways I have been blessed. Again, it takes just a few seconds. But it’s an intentional way to connect with God and thank God for these small, daily blessings.

• Repeat these two things. Daily.

 In fact, I challenge you to do these three things daily throughout the month of September. And then on September 30^th, think about how doing these three little things and if they made a difference in your life.

When we want to lose weight, it’s not one good meal that allows the scale to go down. It’s doing the same things for a period of time that changes something. Exercising once doesn’t make something a habit. It’s committing to an exercise schedule for a few weeks when we begin to notice a few small changes.

Connecting with God is no different. One and done doesn’t always work. Feeling closer to God should be something we do on a daily basis. The most important key to this is keeping it simple. Easy. Doable. Creating a bit process that requires too much time and energy may not be long-term sustainable. My belief is God would rather has us show up for a few minutes daily and invest in these moments rather than some laborious task that we may or may not do.

Sometimes, we think drawing closer to God should be complicated and difficult. I’m of the opposite belief. Keep it simple. Easy. Doable. And see what happens when you do this consistently.

I’d love to hear what you think about these three ways to connect with God. Will you commit to doing these three things for the next 30 days and see what happens? Maybe your relationship with God will only be slightly different. Maybe it will be significantly changed. Only if we put in the daily application will we find out.

For the opportunity to connect with God daily, I am very grateful.

Blessings –

Dianne

Holy God – I yearn to be closer to You. I long to share more openly what is on my heart. May I take this encouragement to do these three things daily for the next month be something that I embrace, embody and follow through with. And may I feel closer to you in the process. Amen.

Additional blogs focusing on three:

Three Steps to Your Goal by Ashley Olivine

Three Ways We Can Partner With God by Sharla Hallett

http://www.sharlahallett.com/three-ways-we-can-partner-with-god/

The Space Between August…September: More Than Just Three Dots by Lisa Crowder

https://lisacrowder.substack.com/p/the-space-between-augustseptember

If you have enjoyed this blog, please pass it along to someone else who will also enjoy it.