Rebuilding Your Relationship with God

There are times in life when we stray from God, sometimes only for a matter of days and sometimes for years. And some stray, never to return to God again. In these times where we distance ourselves from God, we often get the feeling we should return to Him, but the shame of straying and all the sin in that time persuades us to stay away. We mustn’t listen to the shame but listen instead to that feeling we should return to God because that is God calling out to us, telling us to come home. But how can we after all that time? That is what will be answered in this post. We will explore what it takes to rebuild our relationship with God.

Rebuilding our relationship with God is a bit of a conundrum; it is both easy and difficult. You’ll understand as we explore what it takes to rebuild our relationship with God. Some may find it all easy and others quite difficult, but likely it will be a bit of both. Even if it seems difficult, it is important to remember that it is through hard things we grow, and that it is for our good that we persevere. If we give up on rebuilding our relationship with God, we lose everything – life with meaning, purpose, real love, hope, fulfilment and life with God in this world and in Heaven.

So how do we begin rebuilding our relationship with God?

We begin with Prayer

Prayer is the only way we can talk with God. He can talk to us in other ways, but prayer is our only option, so if we want to reconnect with Him, we must pray. When we pray, we must be honest, however awkward it might make us feel. Sure, God already knows what we’re going to say, but there’s no point in lying anyway. Also, God hates liars, and that’s a terrible way to start rebuilding a relationship.

A good starting point is to begin by acknowledging the time that has passed since talking to God. Sharing what caused us to stray and how we felt then and how we feel now. We must confess our sins, own up to our mistakes and repent. God is faithful to forgive, but we must confess our sins and ask Him to forgive us. We must also believe that He will forgive us.

Prayer is not a one-and-done situation. We ought to be praying daily, confessing and repenting of our sins daily. Praying for others, for healing, for the world, situations in our life etc. This first prayer after time away from God won’t be easy, but it is important, and we will never regret it. Once that first prayer is over, it gets easier to start praying again, and we should be consistent with it. Prayer should become a habit, but not one that we do simply out of duty. We pray to share our thoughts and feelings with God because we love Him, and we know He wants us to talk to Him in return.

Open the Bible

To rebuild our relationship with God requires us to hear from Him, and reading the bible is the easiest way to do that. God can speak to us in other ways, but the bible is the Word of God. Everything in it is divinely inspired and speaks truth. In its pages, we learn of God’s character and power, of His love and mercy. We read of His promises, the ones He has fulfilled and know that He will keep the rest of His promises. We read of people like us who have sinned and fallen short but have been forgiven by God and redeemed by the blood of Jesus. We learn the law God gave to the Israelites through Moses, which was made redundant when Jesus died for us and rose again, taking the punishment for all our sins.

“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV

It is good for us to form a habit of daily bible reading, even just a verse or two a day. For the Word of God nourishes us spiritually as food does physically, and going days without reading the bible starves us spiritually. Personally, I prefer a physical copy of the bible although the bible app is good. I find I feel the presence of God and hear His voice more clearly, holding the bible in my hands, than I do reading it off a screen.

Practice Gratitude

Being thankful is a key part of rebuilding our relationship with God. It shapes our perspective to focus on the positive and helps us to be grateful for what we do have instead of always needing more, which leads to envy and unhappiness. So being thankful for what we have and the good things in our lives really keeps us grounded. It is good to practice gratitude in a way that thanks God, like thanking God for a new day or for blessing us with good friends who support us and encourage us.

Giving thanks is also an act of worship, as anything we enjoy, praise or delight in glorifies God.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV

Get in Community

Rebuilding our relationship with God is not a path meant to be walked alone. God created us to live in community, not isolation. Adam and Eve had each other in Eden once God saw it was not good for Adam to be alone (Genesis 2:16). Jesus first lived with his earthly family before sharing life with the apostles.

We need a supportive community—friends who pray for us and encourage our reconnection with God and who live according to His Word. Even those of us who are introverts were not created to live in isolation. To an extent, all of us are social creatures, and it is good for us to spend time with each other.

It is time to start regularly attending church in person to find that community. To make an effort to make good friends who will encourage us and support us as we walk with God. It is time to be the friend to others we wish others were to us.

“not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25 NIV

Reflect and Journal

Reconnecting with God may not be easy, especially with our ever-changing emotions, but it is worthwhile. Taking time to reflect on our lives and seeing how God has worked things out helps us to trust God more and wait on His timing.

Journalling is a method that can help us process our thoughts and feelings in a healthy way. This can also be intentional time with God if we journal as if we’re writing to Him.

Rebuilding our relationship with God will take time, just as it would with a friend, but it is through time that our relationship grows as long as we continue to put in the effort and obey God when He speaks to us.

Share this with someone who might need a reminder that God welcomes us home, again and again.

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