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FAITH TRACKS
Basic Guides to Spiritual Growth
HOW CAN I GROW IN MY RELATIONSHIP
WITH CHRIST?
 When you become a Christian, you enter into a
personal relationship with God. This relationship is a result of what Jesus Christ did for
you on the cross. So, how can you develop this relationship with God? Let’s first try
to get a better understanding of relationships.
1. TYPES OF RELATIONSHIPS
Let’s take a look at a few different types of relationships.
- First, let’s suppose that you have been
dating someone for a year and neither of you talked at all.
- What kind of relationship would you have?
___________________________________________
- Next, let’s suppose the second option
would be that you were in a dating relationship but just one of you did all the talking.
What kind of relationship would that be? ____________________
- What is missing in these two dating
relationships? _____________________________________
- What kind of communication is needed?
_____________________________________________
2. TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION WITH GOD
As we just discussed, in order to develop a quality relationship with someone, you need
two-way communication. This is also true in our relationship with God. God talks to us
through the Bible, and we talk to God through prayer.
Let’s look at what God’s Word says
about these things.
1. God communicates to us through the
Bible.
• Write out Romans 8:28 –
• In your own words, explain what you think God is saying in this Scripture verse.
_________________________________________________________________
• Read Philippians 4:19.
• What does God’s Word above say to you personally? _______________________
_________________________________________________________________.
2. We communicate to God through prayer.
• Prayer is simply talking to God.
• Write out Philippians 4:6-7 – __________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
• What does this verse say not to do? _____________________________________
• What does this verse instruct us to do? ___________________________________
• What benefit do we receive by praying? __________________________________
3. PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
If you want to grow in your relationship with Christ, it is vital that you spend time
getting to know Him. Let’s see what He says about this.
• Write out Psalm 1:1-3 –
____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
• Many people refer to the time they spend getting to know God each day as their
"Quiet Time" or "Personal Time with God." It’s important that you
make time to do this regularly. When would be a good time and place for you?
__________________________________________________
4. GETTING STARTED
When having a "Quiet Time," two important ingredients to include are:
1. Talking to God in prayer
2. Letting God speak to you from the Bible
• For new Christians, a good place to start reading the Bible is in the Gospel of
John. Begin with prayer, asking God to teach you about Himself through your time alone
with Him. Then choose a verse or phrase to read and study. You might even journal your
prayers and observations.
• You will learn more about this in the next study, "Spending Time with God: A
Spiritual Workout."
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