9 Meaningful Ways to Connect with God

Did you know that there are many ways that people connect with God? 

As Christians, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all way to draw near to God. Just like God has created us with different personalities, we also have different spiritual temperaments. Have you ever thought about that or discovered what yours is?

I pray that knowing these 9 meaningful ways to connect with God will breathe life into your relationship with the Lord and give you ideas for how to help your kids connect with God, too!

I’ll never forget an eye-opening conversation I once had with my dad.

Where I’m a learner and reader and a sit-down-for-an-hour-to-journal-er, my dad is an active, hands-on, keep-things-moving kind of guy.

As a teenager, I was constantly trying to get my dad to sit down and read a book I thought could help him or develop a habit of solitude and silence. I struggled to understand how he could be growing if he wasn’t doing the things I was doing. (I know, I know. I do realize how that sounds. I have grown a lot since then.)

One day, as I was expressing how meaningful those practices were to me, my dad shared how deeply moving it was for him when he’d turn on some Gaither music while walking or taking time out of his busy day to fix something for someone or anonymously leaving a very generous gift to someone he knew needed it. He felt closest to God through certain types of music and when he was using his talents to serve others.

What I realized is that we both connect with God in very different ways.

I’m not the only one who has misunderstood this. How often I’ve seen people shamed for not fitting a certain mold for spiritual growth!

That’s not saying that there aren’t spiritual habits that can help us grow or that we shouldn’t develop habits that aren’t at first comfortable or easy for us.  But it’s important for us to recognize that God has created us each uniquely — and that includes how we naturally connect with God! 

While we might all know that growing in the Lord requires spending time with Him,  many of us don’t realize that there are a lot of ways to experience His presence! In fact, over the course of history, Christians have cultivated their personal relationship with God in countless ways. 

God didn’t create us all to worship Him in the exact same way.

As Christians, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all way to draw near to God. Just like God has created us with different personalities, we also have different spiritual temperaments. Have you ever thought about that or discovered what yours is? 

In his book, Sacred Pathways, pastor and author Gary Thomas shares 9 different spiritual temperaments — or sacred pathways — people have. These are the ways that we connect best with God.

Let me be clear — when I say pathways, I don’t mean that there are different routes to God. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him.

Rather, when referring to pathways, I’m referring to the ways we feel connected to God. For example, some feel closest to God while in nature — standing on a mountaintop or hiking through the woods; while others feel the nearness of God through beautiful music or admiring great art. Still, others get a taste of the transcendent through serving others, or debating deep truths, or even being totally alone!

There is no one-size-fits-all formula for spiritual growth or faith formation. That’s frustrating sometimes because many of us (me included) want the instructions spelled out and clear. Fortunately, God created us all uniquely and invites us to experience Him in different ways.

9 Meaningful Ways to Connect with God

1. Naturalists: Loving God out of Doors

Naturalists feel closest to God when they’re surrounded by God’s creation. The mountains, the forests, or the water awakens something in them that nothing else does. Naturalists often learn their best lessons in the out-of-doors. In particular, being outdoors helps them visualize scriptural truths, see God more clearly, and learn to rest.

Click here for ideas on helping your kids connect with God through nature.

2. Sensates: Loving God with the Senses

Sensates are awed by the presence of beauty and feel closest to God when they can see, smell, hear, or almost even taste His majesty. Where naturalists are drawn to awe, beauty, and splendor outdoors, senates are drawn to expressions of awe and beauty. For example, things like incense, elaborate architecture, classical music, and formal language move their heart deeply.

3. Traditionalists: Loving God through Ritual and Symbol

Traditionalists have a need for ritual and structure in their worship. Corporate worship, including rituals, symbols, sacraments, and sacrifice are essential in their life of faith. In practice, this might look like following a personal rule (or habit) of prayer, following and celebrating the liturgical calendar, using symbols as reminders of faith, and engaging in regular, specific personal sacrifice.  While other spiritual temperaments might see these as lifeless rituals, the traditionalist finds these practices to be life-altering experiences.

Click here to read about four routines to help build your faith.

4. Ascetics: Loving God in Solitude and Simplicity

Ascetics gravitate toward solitude, austerity, simplicity, and deep commitment. They find that discipline (for the sake of drawing near to God), severity, and solitude awaken their souls to the presence of God, and they feel closest to God when they’re alone with nothing to distract them from focusing on God’s presence. Ascetics’ self-denial doesn’t stem from being a martyr or punishing oneself, but rather as a means or way to love God more.

5.  Activists: Loving God through Confrontation

The Activists feel closest to God when they are standing against injustice. In fact, many activists define worship as standing against evil and calling sinners to repentance. As they face injustice, they feel like they are working in cooperation and partnership with God. Activists readily engage in confrontation and challenge for the sake of truth, justice, and what they believe to be right.

6. Caregivers: Loving God by Loving Others

Caregivers love God and feel most connected to Him when loving and serving others. They are especially drawn to the poor, the needy, and the sick and are usually the first ones to bring a meal, give a ride, or volunteer to help in other ways. Caregivers are doers, jumping in to meet needs. They don’t simply talk or sing about their love for God, they demonstrate it every day.

7. Enthusiasts: Loving God with Mystery and Celebration

Enthusiasts tend to be the cheerleaders of the faith. You’ll find enthusiasts shouting amen, dancing in the aisles, and worshipping God with joyful celebration. They experience God’s power and presence best when their hearts are moved and they feel His presence.

8. Contemplatives: Loving God through Adoration

Contemplatives adore God. They set their gaze on Him and seek to be present in His presence. Contemplatives feel closest to God when their emotions are awakened and they sense God touching their heart and speaking words of love and affection to them. While they may serve God and do things on His behalf, their focus is on seeking to love God with pure and deep love. Contemplatives would rather be alone with God than sitting through a formal liturgy or taking a walk outside.

9. Intellectuals: Loving God with the Mind

Intellectuals live in the world of concepts and ideas. They need to know what they believe, and they push churches to define and maintain proper doctrine. You’re likely to find them studying (or debating) doctrine and theology. Intellectuals feel closest to God when they learn something new about Him that they didn’t understand before or when given time to study God’s Word or other theological books.

How do you connect with God?

How freeing it is to know that God invites us to know and experience Him in such varying and personal ways!

If you’ve ever felt ashamed or criticized because your quiet time habit looks different from someone else’s, I pray that this post is an encouragement to you!

May it also be an encouragement to each of us to ask God to meet with us in different and new ways.

Do you want to experience God in a new way? After reading through these 9 meaningful ways to connect with God,  think about which pathway you are most drawn to and practice most often. Then look at your spiritual rhythm. Would it be helpful to add in more time to engage in that practice?  Would it be helpful to incorporate other pathways to connect with God?  Let me encourage you to also think about which pathway you haven’t practiced or would like to try out. Schedule a time to test it out! Tell God your desire to connect with Him and ask Him to meet you there!

What a gift it is to learn from one another as we worship and experience God in unique ways, and what an opportunity we have with our kids to invite them into experiencing God in various ways!!

I pray that better understanding these 9 meaningful ways to connect with God will help breathe life into your relationship with the Lord!SaveSave

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