Staying connected to God

Greetings beloved nation in the name of Jesus Christ. We are living in a world that is becoming more and more complex each day. The pressures and demands of our social lives and work place demands are keeping many people busy and preoccupied. Some are busy with school runs, homework, house chores, running businesses and ministries, hustling etc, the list is endless.
With all these things keeping us busy, many people struggle to stay connected to God and to have a meaningful and intimate relationship with God.

Spending time with God is done in a hurry early in the morning. A few weeks ago I spoke about the spirit of distraction and how the enemy wants to keep us so distracted that we will not have time to spend with God. Ladies and gentlemen anyone can identify themselves as a Christian, but not everyone can say they have a relationship with God. There is a huge difference between being religious and having a relationship with God. A religious person practices religious acts but is very distant from God, while a person who has a relationship with God is always connected to God.

Beloved brethren as the world is getting more and more wicked and gross darkness is covering the earth, we cannot afford not to be connected to God. When we become spiritually disconnected to God, we will easily lose focus and direction and also become prey for the enemy who is always roaming around seeking those to devour.

The bible tells us in John 15:1-5 where Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He [a] takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

Jesus used the word “abide” in verse four, as a command to the disciples. We may be busy with ministry work at church or in a Christian organization, busy with church programmes and even serving the poor and still not abiding. It is not impossible to be working for Christ and still not be fruitful just because we are not abiding. But how do we abide? The only way is to be connected as the branch to the one true vine. God’s promise in His word is simple and straightforward – “If we abide in Christ, He abides in us.” By abiding in Christ, Christ also abides in us. Abiding also talks about dependence. The branch is dependent on the vine, but the vine is and will never be dependent on the branch.

Without the vine, the branch is useless, powerless, and lifeless. Just as the branches of a vine rely on being connected to the trunk from which they receive energy to bear fruit, we also as believers depend on being connected with Him to nurture our spirit and be able to serve Him effectively. We are constantly reminded to also do the same because apart from Christ, we cannot do anything. The word abide also means “to remain,” “to stay,” or “to continue.”

That is why dependence on Jesus and continuing to abide in Him will result in spiritual growth and fruitfulness. There are two of the keys ways of staying connected to God that I want to talk about, amongst others ways. 1. Staying connected through prayer. Like any relationship, you need to build your connection with God. The Bible tells us to draw near to God, and he will draw near to us according to James 4:8. It is impossible to connect with someone you don’t talk to. You cannot connect with God if you don’t talk to him.

Prayer is the act of talking to God, so it is important and should be part of our daily life. God desires to have a deep connection with each of us. But for him to connect with us, we need to connect with God through prayer first. Prayer is the act of talking to God and receiving a response from him. It’s not complete without a response from God. We can connect to God in prayer through faith. It’s impossible to please God without faith. It’s impossible also to connect with him in prayer without faith. Faith attracts God. He demands that we “believe” when we ask in prayer before we can receive from him according to Mark 11:24. Praying the word is another way to connect to God in prayer.

God loves it when his word is given back to him. So we need to study and meditate on God’s word so that his word will dwell richly in you. Consistency is another way to stay connected to God in prayer. Pray daily or several times a day to stay connected to God. Apostle Paul admonished that we pray without ceasing 1 Thessalonians 5:17. We also need to rely on the Spirit’s guidance to stay connected to God in prayer because we may not be able to pray with focus without the help of the Holy Spirit Romans 8:26. 2.

Staying connected through the study of the word. Psalms 1 tells us that, ‘blessed is the man who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on this law day and night’. So when we stay connected to God through the study of his word, we shall be like that tree that is planted by the rivers of water. When we delight in and meditate on his word we will remain firmly rooted. We shall be like the tree in Jeremiah 17:8 which says, ‘such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought.’ Whatever challenges and storms of life that come our way, when we are connected to the source of all life, we shall not be moved.

Being a Christian does not guarantee an easy life, seasons of drought will come, but those who are planted by the rivers will not wither, but will flourish and remain fruitful. I would like to invite you to receive Jesus as your personal Lord and saviour, by believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth that he is your Lord and saviour, and you shall be saved. God bless you all.
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