A Truly Relational God

Relationship. This is what we were all created for.

We are made in the image of a relationship-first God who, throughout the biblical narrative, has never hidden His desire for intimate friendship with His children. Since Eden, when He created a perfect home for us, the central invitation has always been into harmony and wholeness with Him. God’s original vision for humanity is relational communion.

But we know what follows Eden; we leave the garden for a world in exile. No matter how “good” life appears to be from the outside, there is an ache within us that no amount of upward mobility can satisfy. On a soul level, we are not created for transactionalism or success driven striving. We are created for the purity of knowing and being intimately known by the God of the universe. The human heart beats for relationship. The good news is that God has always had his finger on the pulse of this longing.

Generations later Jesus, the long awaited Messiah, arrives. His life, death, and resurrection closes the relational chasm between God and mankind and His ascent into heaven ushers in the promise of a new relational experience with God: the comfort, conviction, and help of the Holy Spirit.

I hope you see a pattern. God prioritizes relationship.

But as Dallas Willard said, our spiritual practices alone do not produce the intimacy that a “conversational relationship” with God produces. This is critical. Consider human relationships; without conversation, our relationships live in the realm of intellect and never fully develop into lived experiences and heart connection.

I can know a lot about a person but without a rhythm of communication, the intimacy will suffer. Similarly we can know a lot about God, intellectually, but rarely connect with Him on a heart level.

The ancient practice of prayer is the doorway to developing a conversational relationship with God. When we pray, we act upon our belief in a God who has always prioritized relational intimacy and we believe the words of Hebrews 11:6.

In the spirit of these words I want to encourage those whose prayers have been hindered by fear, disappointment, shame and other forms of inner turmoil. Here’s the truth: Prayer is a space where it’s safe to empty the entire contents of your heart. Not just resurrection level triumph but Gethsemane like grief and all the words you might not ever want to say out loud. 

There are two types of burdens we can place on a relationship: the burden of silence or the burden of truth telling. While the burden of silence may feel comfortable momentarily, the cost is relational disintegration. And while the burden of truth telling may feel emotionally expensive, it carries the possibility of relational integration and the wholeness of communion.

As you contemplate a conversational relationship with God I want to remind you His loving presence is a safe place. There is no darkness too dark, no truth too heavy and no distance too far. Remember, God wants to find you as much as, if not more than, you want to find God.