You may have just got saved, or you may have just returned to the Lord, and you don’t know where to start, either way this article is going to be covering how to start knowing God, and we’re going to break it down step by step.
The Bible says,
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:2-3).
This verse tells us that all things that are in the categories of life and godliness has been given to every believer, but it is only accessed through knowing God.
Getting to know God, and growing in relationship with God, is one of the most important aspects of the Christian life. In fact, in a nutshell, it is the Christian life.
But where do you begin? How do you grow in the knowledge of God?
Step 1: Understand God is a Person
This first step to knowing God is obvious, but it is overlooked many times. If you don’t view God as a person, it can be a huge hindrance when you go to talk to God in prayer, or you go to learn from Him in the Word.
If you make this mistake, your prayers and Bible study time will become robotic, rather than what it was meant to be. Which is growing in relationship with a loving God.
So, when you come before God, whether in prayer or reading His Word, first start with a realization that you are meeting with a Person. Become aware of the fact that He can be heard, He can be felt, He can listen, He can speak, and above all He can be known.
Step 2: Realize This Person Wants to Know You
God has an intense desire to know His people. In fact, God created man for two reasons: The first is that we would bear His image to the world (Genesis 1:26-27). The second is that we walk in relationship with Him (Genesis 3:8).
Obviously, when man sinned those two purposes for man were shattered. Man now bore the image of sin, and the relationship between God and man was lost.
This is why Jesus came. The Bible says, He came to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Now notice, Jesus didn’t say in that verse that He came to seek and save WHO was lost, but He said He came to save THAT which was lost.
So, what was lost? The image of God in man, and the relationship between God and man (Related article: What is the Gospel?).
Jesus came to restore the relationship that was meant to be from the beginning. He came as a Man, born like you and me, gave us an example to follow, humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross, and then rose from the grave, all to get us back to where we belong.
As you can see, God went to extreme lengths to accomplish a reunion between Himself and us. We must realize this if we want to know Him, because we are not the ones who initiated the relationship, He did!
So, when we do decide to finally come to Him, we need to realize that He wants to know us, and be known by us.
God wants us to know Him like a friend, and remember this is totally possible because He is a person, so building a relationship with Him is no different than building a relationship with a best friend.
Step 3: Start Knowing God by His Word
The third step, is to know God by His Word. It’s important to realize that there is no other way we can know a person. People communicate through words, and by these words we grow in the knowledge of them, based on what they say.
The scripture says, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). So it is clear, by this verse, we can know people’s heart based on what they speak, it is no different with God.
His Word, the Bible, is the number one way He communicates with us. By His word He reveals His will, His thoughts on given subjects, His plans, and how He wants us to conduct life. He also reveals who we are to Him, and His love for us. Now, of course, God speaks to us in other ways, but the primary way is through His Word.
The Bible says, that Jesus was “the Word made flesh” (John 1:14), and that, Christ revealed the Father through His life (John 1:18).
So, if Jesus is the Word and He revealed who God the Father is, then as I look into the Word of God, I get to see who Jesus declared God to be.
But if I decide to neglect the Word of God, I’ll be reduced to speculation about who God is, and my only revelation of Him will be coming through life and my experiences, and that is very dangerous.
Jesus declared God to us through His Word, so as we grow in the knowledge of God’s Word, we will grow in the Knowledge of Him. (Related article: How to Start Reading the Bible).
Step 4: Start Knowing God Through Prayer
Remember: God is a person, and He can be known just like anyone. People grow in relationship with each other primarily through quality time. Now, what that quality time looks like may differ from person to person, but the truth is the same: without quality time it is impossible to get to know an individual.
So, this truth leads us to the subject of prayer. Prayer is that quality time with God. It is simply conversing with God, so as we grow in our ability to commune with Him, the more real He will become, and the more we will know Him.
The Secret Place
Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6:6, “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
Jesus in this passage exhorted His followers to get alone with God to spend quality time with Him. Jesus commanded us to do this, but He also gave us example through His own life.
“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed” (Mark 1:35).
“Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” (Luke 6:12).
Spend quality time alone with God. Learn to find a secluded place and carve out time throughout your day to just be with Him, because the secret place is where God the Father is known best (Matthew 6:6).
Continual Fellowship
Knowing God through the secret place shouldn’t end there, but it must continue throughout our daily activities. In other words, we should learn to fellowship with God in secret, but then that should overflow into our daily lives where that fellowship becomes continual.
There is many scriptures that show us how to continually fellowship with God.
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:18-20).
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18).
Each of these passages gives us a glimpse in how to continually converse with God. According to these scriptures we are to give thanks for everything, sing praise to the Lord, pray for fellow believers, and pray in the Spirit at all times. If we learn to apply these scriptures to our life, it will become a habit to commune with God. (Related article: Pray Without Ceasing: What it is and How to do it).
Conclusion
In summary, there are four steps to start knowing God. (1) Start by understanding God is a Person. (2) Realize God wants to have a relationship with you. (3) You can start knowing God by devouring His Word. (4) Develop a life of prayer. If you take your time to start these steps and grow in them, you will develop a strong relationship with God.
Also, if you want to know more about Knowing God, check out my complete Bible Study on this topic.
