What Does The Bible Say About Tattoos
May 28, 2024
Have you ever wondered what it actually means to have a relationship with God?
Maybe you believe in God, but you don’t really know what it means to know Him personally. Perhaps you’ve wondered whether you need to go to church every week, read your Bible every day, pray for a certain amount of time, or become a better person before God will accept you.
The good news is that having a relationship with God isn’t about becoming perfect or trying to earn His love.
It starts with Jesus.
God wants you to know Him, and through Jesus Christ, you can have a real relationship with Him. You can talk to Him, seek Him, learn His Word, trust Him, worship Him, and grow closer to Him throughout your life.
Quick Answer: How Do I Have a Relationship With God?
A relationship with God begins by coming to Him through Jesus Christ. We believe in Jesus, trust Him as our Lord and Saviour, believe that God raised Him from the dead, and turn toward God in repentance and faith.
Romans 10:9 puts it very simply:
Romans 10:9 — Believe in Jesus and Confess Him as Lord
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
You don’t have to become perfect before you come to God. You don’t need to know the whole Bible. You don’t need to have everything in your life sorted out first.
Come to God as you are.
Believe in Jesus. Trust Him. Turn to Him. And then begin walking with Him.
As you grow in your relationship with God, you’ll learn to pray, read His Word, worship Him, obey Him, repent when you sin, trust Him when life is difficult, and spend time with other believers.
It isn’t about following a complicated religious checklist. It’s about knowing God and growing in your relationship with Him.
What Does It Mean to Have a Relationship With God?
There’s a difference between knowing about someone and actually knowing them.
You can know a lot of facts about a person without ever having a relationship with them. You might know where they grew up, what they do for work and what they like, but that doesn’t mean you personally know them.
The Bible talks about knowing God in a much more personal way.
Jeremiah 9:23–24 — Knowing the Lord
“Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.”
God wants us to know Him.
That doesn’t mean we will understand everything about Him. God is far greater than we are, and there will always be things about Him that are beyond our understanding.
But He has made Himself known to us, and He invites us to seek Him.
A relationship with God means turning your heart toward Him and wanting to know Him more. It means learning who He is, trusting Him, talking to Him, listening to His Word and allowing your life to be changed as you follow Him.
A Relationship With God Begins With Jesus
This is the most important part.
If you want a relationship with God, you need to understand why we need Jesus in the first place.
The Bible tells us that we have all sinned.
Romans 3:23 — We Have All Sinned
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
Sin separates us from God because God is holy. We cannot fix that separation simply by trying harder or becoming a better person.
But God didn’t leave us without hope.
He sent Jesus Christ to make a way for us to be reconciled to Him.
Romans 5:8 — God Loves Us
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
I think this is one of the most beautiful things about the Gospel.
Jesus didn’t wait until we had our lives together before He loved us.
He didn’t wait until we stopped making mistakes.
He died for us while we were still sinners.
So if you’re wondering whether you’re good enough to come to God, you don’t need to wait until you are.
You come to Him because you need Him.
How Do I Start a Relationship With God?
It really begins with turning to God and putting your faith in Jesus Christ.
That doesn’t mean simply believing that Jesus existed. It means trusting Him, believing in who He is and what He has done for you, and confessing Him as Lord.
Romans 10:9–10 — Believe in Christ
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
You can talk to God honestly.
You can tell Him that you need Him. You can confess your sin. You can ask Him to forgive you and help you turn away from your old way of living.
Repentance doesn’t mean you will never struggle with sin again. It means you turn toward God instead of wanting to continue living as though you don’t need Him.
Acts 3:19 — Turn to God
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;”
Following Jesus doesn’t mean you suddenly become perfect.
It means your direction begins to change.
Instead of running away from God, you begin learning to run toward Him.
How Do I Grow Closer to God?
Once you’ve come to God through Jesus, your relationship with Him continues to grow.
Think about any relationship you have with another person. You get to know them by spending time with them, talking with them, listening to them and learning what is important to them.
Our relationship with God is different because He is God, but there is still a sense in which we grow in knowing Him as we spend time seeking Him.
That can happen through prayer, reading the Bible, worship, obedience, repentance, trusting Him and spending time with other Christians.
These things don’t earn God’s love.
Instead, they are ways we respond to the relationship He has given us through Christ.
Talk to God Through Prayer
Prayer doesn’t have to sound complicated.
You don’t need special words, and you don’t need to pretend that everything is okay when it isn’t.
You can talk to God about what’s really happening in your life.
Tell Him what you’re worried about. Tell Him what you’re thankful for. Ask Him for wisdom. Ask Him for help. Confess your sins. Bring Him the things that are hurting you.
Jesus even reminded His disciples that God already knows what they need.
Matthew 6:7–8 — God Knows What You Need
“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”
Prayer isn’t about finding the perfect words.
It’s about coming before God honestly.
Philippians 4:6–7 — Bring Your Concerns to God
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
There will be days when your prayer is long and days when all you can manage is, “God, please help me.”
You can still come to Him.
Read the Bible to Know God
If you want to know God, you need to spend time in His Word.
The Bible tells us who God is, what He has done, what He desires, how He has made a way for us to be saved and how He wants us to live.
2 Timothy 3:16–17 — Scripture Teaches Us
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
Reading the Bible isn’t just about getting through a certain number of chapters every day.
Slow down sometimes.
Ask yourself what the passage is telling you about God. Ask what it teaches you about following Him. Think about what you need to change, what you need to trust and how the passage points you toward Christ.
You don’t have to understand everything straight away.
If you’re new to the Bible, start somewhere manageable and give yourself time to learn.
Psalm 119:105 — God’s Word Guides Us
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
The more you spend time in God’s Word, the more you learn about His character and His ways.
Spend Time With God
You don’t need to follow a strict routine to prove that you love God.
There isn’t a magic number of minutes you need to pray each morning, and God isn’t waiting to be angry with you because you missed your Bible reading yesterday.
But relationships do grow through time.
The more you seek God, the more you learn to turn your attention toward Him throughout your everyday life.
Psalm 63:1 — Seek God
“O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;”
As you grow in your faith, you may find that you begin to genuinely desire God’s presence and His Word more and more.
It won’t always feel that way. There will be difficult seasons. There may be days when you don’t feel close to God at all.
Keep seeking Him anyway.
Obey What God Teaches You
A relationship with God isn’t only about how we feel.
If we love Jesus, we should want to follow what He teaches us.
John 14:15 — Love and Obedience
“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
Obedience doesn’t earn your salvation. We are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus.
But when you genuinely begin following Christ, obedience becomes part of your walk with Him.
You will learn what God’s Word says, and then you’ll have opportunities to put it into practice.
Sometimes that will be easy.
Sometimes it won’t be.
There will be times when obeying God means giving something up, changing the way you think or choosing what is right even when you don’t feel like doing it.
That’s part of growing.
When You Sin, Come Back to God
Being a Christian doesn’t mean you will never sin again.
You will still have moments when you get things wrong. You may struggle with the same sin more than once. You may say something you regret, make a wrong choice or realise that your heart isn’t where it should be.
When that happens, don’t hide from God.
Come back to Him.
1 John 1:9 — Confess Your Sins
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Confess your sin to God. Ask for forgiveness. Turn away from what you’ve done and ask Him to help you walk differently.
Don’t allow shame to convince you that you have to stay away from God until you’ve somehow made yourself worthy again.
You weren’t saved because you were worthy in the first place.
You were saved by grace.
Trust God When You Don’t Understand
There will be times in your relationship with God when you simply don’t understand what He is doing.
You may pray about something and not understand why the answer hasn’t come.
You may go through something painful and wonder where God is.
You may have questions that don’t seem to have easy answers.
Having a relationship with God doesn’t mean you will understand everything.
It means learning to trust Him even when you don’t.
Proverbs 3:5–6 — Trust the Lord
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Faith doesn’t mean pretending you aren’t confused.
You can have questions and still trust God.
You can be hurting and still seek Him.
You can say, “God, I don’t understand this, but I want to trust You.”
Worship God With Your Life
Worship is more than singing songs at church.
We worship God when we recognise who He is and respond to Him with love, gratitude, reverence and obedience.
Romans 12:1 — Offer Your Life to God
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
Your relationship with God should affect your everyday life.
It affects the way you treat people, the choices you make, the things you say, the way you respond when you’re angry and what you do when nobody else is watching.
Following God isn’t something we switch on for Sunday and switch off again on Monday.
He wants our whole lives.
Spend Time With Other Christians
Your relationship with God is personal, but that doesn’t mean you have to walk with Him alone.
God gave us the church and other believers for a reason.
There will be times when your faith feels strong, and there will be times when you need someone else to encourage you.
Hebrews 10:24–25 — Encourage One Another
“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
Other Christians can encourage you, pray with you, teach you and help you keep your eyes on Christ.
We all need encouragement sometimes.
Does God Want a Relationship With Me?
Yes, the Bible repeatedly calls us to seek God and know Him.
But when we talk about having a relationship with God, we also need to remember who God is.
He isn’t simply a friend who is there when we want something.
He is our Creator and our Lord. He is holy, and He deserves our reverence as well as our love.
James 4:8 — Draw Near to God
“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
Notice that James connects drawing near to God with turning away from sin.
Knowing God isn’t just about having warm feelings toward Him.
It is about genuinely seeking Him and allowing Him to change the way we live.
What If I Feel Far Away From God?
This is something many Christians experience.
There may be seasons when you feel very close to God, and there may be other times when prayer feels difficult and God seems far away.
Don’t assume that your feelings tell you everything about your relationship with God.
Our feelings can change.
God doesn’t.
Hebrews 13:5 — God Will Not Forsake His People
“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
If you’re going through a season where God feels distant, keep seeking Him.
Keep praying.
Keep reading His Word.
Keep doing what you already know is right.
You don’t have to manufacture a feeling of closeness with God. Keep turning toward Him and trusting Him.
Psalm 42:5 — Hope in God
“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.”
Even the Psalms show us that God’s people can struggle deeply while still putting their hope in Him.
Can Sin Affect My Relationship With God?
Yes, sin matters.
God is holy, and Scripture teaches that sin affects our fellowship with Him.
Isaiah 59:2 — Sin Separates
“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”
For a Christian, this doesn’t mean that every time you sin, you have lost your salvation.
It does mean that we shouldn’t become comfortable holding onto sin while claiming that we want to walk closely with God.
When we recognise sin in our lives, we should confess it and turn back to Him.
God doesn’t ask us to pretend we haven’t sinned.
He asks us to bring our sin into the light and repent.
Does God Still Love Me When I Sin?
Yes.
One of the most comforting truths of the Gospel is that God’s love isn’t dependent on us being perfect.
Romans 8:38–39 — Nothing Can Separate Us From God’s Love
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
This doesn’t mean sin doesn’t matter.
It means that when you fail, you don’t need to believe that God has stopped loving you.
Come back to Him.
Confess your sin.
Receive His forgiveness.
And keep walking with Him.
What If I Don’t Feel God?
Sometimes you may pray and feel nothing.
You may read your Bible and not feel moved.
You may worship and still feel empty inside.
That can be really difficult.
But your feelings aren’t the foundation of your relationship with God.
2 Corinthians 5:7 — Walk by Faith
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
There will be times when you feel close to God and times when you don’t.
That doesn’t mean you stop seeking Him.
Keep going back to what you know to be true in God’s Word rather than allowing every change in your emotions to determine what you believe about Him.
How Can I Spend Time With God Every Day?
If you’re wondering what this actually looks like in everyday life, it can be very simple.
You might start your morning with a short prayer. Then read a passage of Scripture. Take a few minutes to think about what you’ve read and ask God to help you understand it.
You might write down something you’ve learned about Him, confess something you’re struggling with, thank Him for something in your life or simply ask Him to help you through the day.
You don’t have to make it complicated.
And if you miss a day, don’t give up.
Start again the next day.
The goal isn’t to tick everything off a religious checklist.
The goal is to know God.
Psalm 1:2–3 — Meditate on God’s Word
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
Growing in your relationship with God takes time.
You don’t need to know everything today.
You just need to keep seeking Him.
Is Going to Church Enough?
Going to church is important, and the Bible encourages believers to gather together.
But simply sitting in a church building doesn’t automatically mean that you have a relationship with God.
You can attend church every week and still never personally surrender your life to Christ.
Matthew 7:21 — Following God Is More Than Saying the Right Words
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
Christianity isn’t simply about having a religious identity.
It is about genuinely following Jesus.
Is Reading the Bible Enough?
Reading the Bible is incredibly important, but reading words on a page isn’t the same as allowing God’s Word to shape your life.
James 1:22 — Be Doers of the Word
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
We don’t read the Bible simply so we can collect more Bible knowledge.
We read it so that we can know God and learn how He wants us to live.
Is Prayer Enough?
Prayer is essential, but prayer isn’t meant to replace God’s Word or obedience.
A relationship involves both speaking and listening.
We speak to God through prayer, and we learn what He has revealed through His Word.
We then take what we have learned and allow it to shape the way we live.
Do I Have to Be Perfect Before I Can Have a Relationship With God?
No.
Please don’t wait until you think you’re good enough to come to God.
You won’t get there by yourself.
Jesus didn’t come for people who had already made themselves perfect.
Mark 2:17 — Jesus Came for Sinners
“When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
You come to Jesus because you need Him.
And as you continue walking with Him, He begins changing you.
2 Corinthians 5:17 — A New Creation
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
That doesn’t mean you’ll become perfect overnight.
The Christian life is a journey of growing in Christ.
Some things will change quickly. Other things may take time.
There will be victories, struggles, repentance, growth and plenty of moments when you realise just how much you still need God’s grace.
Keep walking.
What Does a Growing Relationship With God Look Like?
There isn’t one exact way every Christian’s relationship with God will look.
But as you grow, you should begin to see changes in your life.
You may find yourself wanting to understand God’s Word more.
You may become more aware of sin and more willing to repent.
You may begin trusting God with things you once tried to control yourself.
You may become more aware of other people’s needs and more willing to love, forgive and serve them.
And over time, the Holy Spirit produces fruit in the life of a believer.
Galatians 5:22–23 — The Fruit of the Spirit
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Growing closer to God isn’t simply about knowing more Bible verses.
It’s about becoming more like Christ.
You Don’t Have to Have It All Figured Out
If you’re reading this because you want a relationship with God but you’re not sure where to begin, don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be.
Start with Jesus.
Believe in Him.
Trust Him.
Confess Him as Lord.
Turn toward God.
Talk to Him.
Open His Word and begin learning who He is.
And when you get things wrong, don’t run away from Him. Come back to Him.
You are going to have questions. You are going to have difficult days. There will be times when your faith feels strong and other times when you struggle.
That doesn’t mean you have failed.
Keep seeking God.
Bible Verses About Having a Relationship With God
James 4:8 — Draw Near to God
“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
John 14:6 — Jesus Is the Way to the Father
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Jeremiah 29:13 — Seek God With Your Whole Heart
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
Psalm 145:18 — God Is Near to Those Who Call on Him
“The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.”
John 15:4 — Abide in Christ
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”
Proverbs 3:5–6 — Trust God
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Philippians 4:6–7 — Bring Everything to God in Prayer
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Romans 5:8 — God Loves Us
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
1 John 1:9 — Confess Your Sins
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Hebrews 10:24–25 — Encourage One Another
“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
God Wants You to Know Him
Having a relationship with God isn’t about becoming religious enough, knowing enough Bible verses or getting your life perfect before you approach Him.
It begins with Jesus.
We have all sinned, but God loved us enough to make a way for us to be brought back to Him.
1 Peter 3:18 — Christ Brings Us to God
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”
That’s what Jesus came to do.
He came to bring us to God.
So if you want to know God, start with Jesus.
Believe in Him. Trust Him. Seek Him.
Then keep walking with Him.
Pray when you don’t know what to say.
Open your Bible when you want to know what He has said.
Repent when you get things wrong.
Trust Him when you don’t understand.
Worship Him in the good times and the difficult ones.
And don’t be discouraged when you realise you still have a lot of growing to do.
You don’t have to become perfect to have a relationship with God.
You simply need to keep turning toward Him.
John 17:3 — Eternal Life Is Knowing God
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
God doesn’t just want you to know about Him.
He wants you to know Him.
And through Jesus Christ, you can.
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