The Many Different Ways to God... Through Christ Alone

There's an old metaphor passed around in many philosophical circles that places God at the top of an allegorical mountain and man at the bottom. Ultimately the goal is for man to reach God (or Heaven or eternity or nirvana, take your pick) but in order to do that he must find a way up the mountain. He can hike up a trail, climb the up cliff side, pay for a ticket to ride a ski lift, or maybe even float his way to the top with balloons. Thus, the world religions are born; each of them just another approach to the summit of the same supreme deity who awaits them all. Then will finally come the day where they all realize their individual beliefs systems and customs were just one in many ways to reach the same God.

This is the kind of JUNK often fed to us by a secular society that often only tolerates religion if it doesn't claim to be objectively true. It should come as no surprise to you that I (along with every other Bible-believing Christian) vehemently disagree with this premise. However, I am sympathetic to one part: God is at the top of a mountain and we are at the bottom. We are separated. However, what separates the Christian faith from every other belief system in the world is that ours is the only one in which God comes down from the mountain in order to be with His people. In Christ the mountain is conquered, not by us, but by His relentless pursuit of us.

THE WORD

"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words." - Matthew 6:6-7

There's only one way to God and it's through Jesus. He makes that clear when He tells us that "no one comes to the Father except through me." But in Jesus there are many ways to connect to God. Perhaps you've heard them referred to as spiritual pathways or spiritual disciplines. This past Sunday I walked our Church through several of them in an attempt to take the pressure off of many who may feel the way I did as I was beginning to develop a relationship with God.

Unknowingly, each day as I sat down to have an intentional encounter with God, I was attempting to connect with Him in the ways I had seen so many others connect with Him throughout my life. There was this unspoken expectation to have a relationship with God that was familiar, even if it wasn't personal. Cry out the way my mom does, sit and study the Bible for long periods of time the way my dad does, get on my knees and fold my hands the way they do on tv, and maybe wave a flag the way those ladies at my Church used to!

There's nothing wrong with any of this and if I continued to do it day after day, I'm sure I'd be much more blessed than having done nothing at all. But Jesus instructs in Matthew 6 to make our time with God both personal and pure.

Personal Connection: I can almost hear the emphasis in Jesus' tone when I read these words: "Go into YOUR room, close the door and pray to YOUR Father who sees what is unseen. Then YOUR Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward YOU."

Personal daily encounters are what make our relationship with God authentic. They keep our pride in check, our cross strapped on, and our lives in order. If you only meet with God when others are around, it's possible that you've not actually met with God!

Pure Connection: Immediately after instructing us to go be alone with God, Jesus cautions us against attempting to emulate the prayer lives of other people. "Don't keep on babbling like pagans." Obviously we shouldn't be taking prayer tips from the world, but the warning here goes much deeper than just watching who we're influenced by. Jesus is advising us to make our time with God count by being who He wired us to be and being intentional with this time.

SPIRITUAL PATHWAYS

Perhaps you're like me and it has taken you some time to find your voice in prayer. Maybe you do well for a season and then find yourself slacking off again and again. Perhaps you've never really developed much of a prayer rhythm in your life at all.

I'm convinced that a lot of the difficulty we encounter when it comes to connecting with God is because we're trying too hard to babble when we were made to blossom. God has made each one of us unique with specific interests and desires, all of which must certainly bow to Him and all of which are most fulfilled in Him.

The following practices have long been celebrated as disciplines or pathways throughout the Christian faith for centuries. It's important to discover the ways in which you most naturally connect with God and walk in them often. It's also important to discover the ways you don't and gradually grow in them by surrounding yourself with people who do and being stretched. It should be noted, to some degree each one of these disciplines should play a role in the life of every believer. Becoming aware of them is the first step to walking in them.

WORSHIP

Connecting with God through music. Like the Levites whom David assigned to worship around the ark day and night (1 Chronicles 16:4) many people are inclined to experience God's presence through lifting up songs of praise and adoration.

Suggestions: Make a playlist of songs that bring you into His presence; sing scripture as you read and pray.

REMEMBRANCE

Connecting with God through remembering what He has done. The Judeo-Christian faith was built on the recitation and reflection of the testimonies of God. Some people feel most connected to God when looking back over their day, week, year, or life and remembering His faithfulness.

Suggestions: Journal often and read back through old journals to see how He has revealed Himself to you; read books on historical revivals!

SIMPLICITY

Connecting with God through contentment. Jesus led a simple life. Our faith calls us to be content in all things. Some people feel closest to God when minimizing the cares and responsibilities that come with a materialistic world. Minimalism has become trendy today but it's an ancient practice.

Suggestions: Declutter your closet as place to meet with God; declutter your calendar as a means to consistently meet with God.

SERVICE

Connecting with God through serving others. To love God is to love your neighbor. You can't have a heart for God and a hate for people. Bringing your attention to the Lord as you serve the people around you allows you to do for the least of these as you would do for Him (Matthew 25).

Suggestions: Serve at your Church; serve in your community regularly; serve others within your home.

FELLOWSHIP

Connecting with God through others. To be in Christ is to be in His body. Hebrews instructs us to not give up on meeting together. Some people feel closest to God when they're in community with other believers who bolster their faith.

Suggestions: Attend Church; join a small group; prioritize reading the Bible alongside of others on a weekly basis.

MOVEMENT

Connecting with God through movement. When I discovered this about myself it was a game changer. I move a lot, I always have, but I never realized how much moving helps me connect with God until I embraced it as a mode of discipline. Running is a passion of mine, but it became even more so when I learned to invite God into my runs by running in silence in order to meditate on scripture and listen for His voice.

Suggestions: Go on prayer walks/runs; pace or rock when you pray as a means to help you stay focused.

EXPRESSION

Connecting with God through creating. Some people feel closest to God as they paint, design, build, dance, or express themselves in other ways. God is the ultimate creator and He anoints people as artisans (take Bezalel and Oholiab in Exodus 31 for example).

Suggestions: Dance, paint a picture, or build something as you set your mind on the Lord!

MEDITATION

Connecting with God through scripture memorization. Psalm 1 tells us there is a blessing attached to meditating on God's law day and night. Mind you, at the time that Psalm was written, they only had the Old Testament law to meditate on and they were still blessed for it. We live in the day where we can meditate on the gospel of Jesus and His finished work!

Suggestions: Spend time reading the Bible in the morning so you can think about what you read throughout the rest of the day; set goals to memorize scripture regularly; post scripture around your house.

SOLITUDE

Connecting with God through silence and stillness. Isaiah 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God." There are aspects of God we cannot know without being still. For this reason rest is not a reward, it's a command. Solitude is about resting from the noise around us and being with God alone. In solitude we let our words fall short and our souls find rest.

Suggestions: Set a timer on your phone and sit in silence while bringing your mind back to God until it goes off; practice being silent for a 24 hour period.

FASTING

Connecting with God through abstaining from food. Fasting is the secret weapon of the Church. Jesus tells us there are some things that cannot happen in our lives apart from prayer and fasting (Matt. 17:21). It's important to abstain from things like social media, tv, eating out, etc in order to prioritize our growth. I encourage you to do so regularly, however don't do it at the expense of Biblical fasting, which is solely in relation to food.

Suggestions: Fast for 24 hours, fast certain types of food.

LEARNING

Connecting with God through knowledge. For some people, the more they know about God, the closer they feel to Him. As they expand their knowledge, it deepens their faith. Proverbs says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. There's a lot to know when it comes to God, much of which we may never attain, but much of which is available to us if we will only seek. *Notice scripture reading isn't a pathway because scripture is necessary to enhance all of the pathways!

Suggestions: Read books; listen to sermons; take Bible classes.

CREATION

Connecting with God through nature. When I see a hand-drawn picture on the kitchen table, I can tell if it's the handiwork of 4-year-old Davis or 6-year-old Parker. I know the work of their hands because I know them (I struggle a lot more with telling their laundry apart though). God's character is revealed in His creation. Some people feel most connected to Him when they are surrounded by the work of His hands.

Suggestions: Pray outside; go on hikes/retreats with the Lord.

REFORMATION

Connecting with God through transforming culture and society. Some people are wired for solving large scale societal problems and feel closest to God when doing it. While service is about meeting the needs of the individual, reforming is about meeting the needs of a community or a people-group. God's heart is for justice and compassion for the broken, weary, needy, and outcast.

Suggestions: Insert yourself into the local political happenings of your city; rally your spiritual leadership around important causes within your community.

CONCLUSION

Question: Are these spiritual disciplines or spiritual pathways?

Well, I'd say they're pathways where they come naturally to you and they are disciplines where they are difficult for you. Each one is valuable and yields a blessing for us in our spiritual growth. Knowing how you best connect with God will revolutionize your prayer life. You don't have to feel pressured to make your time with God look like someone else's. But as you grow consistent, you will find your relationship with Him gradually expanding into these other areas.

When I met my wife I didn't care what we did, I just wanted be with her all the time. When you fall in love with Jesus, the same will be true for how you connect with Him. Your devotion to the Lord certainly calls for you to meet with Him in the ways that you're most wired for, and to learn the ways in which you are not.