#002: Having a Real Relationship with God

Maybe you are asking: How can I have a closer, more personal relationship with God? What does having an intimate relationship with God mean? In this episode of The Abundant Catholic Podcast, Melissa takes us through what living in a real relationship with God takes. She discusses the importance of seeking God, better understanding His nature, and the necessity of obedience in our spiritual journey. Through personal reflections, Melissa emphasizes that knowing ourselves is crucial to knowing God. She provides practical steps to deepen our relationship with Him and highlights the transformative power of prayer. Have a listen for more!

🎵 Bonus Song: Run to the Father by Cody Carnes 

📚Book Recomendations: 

• 33 Days Days to Greater Glory: A total Consecration to the Father Through Jesus Based on the Gospel of John - by Fr. Michael E. Gaitley
• The Way of the Rosary: A Journey with Mary Through Scripture, Liturgy, and Life - by Shannon Wendt
• Let Beauty Speak: The Art of Being Human in a Culture of Noise - by Jimmy Mitchell

Transcript

Hello friends and welcome to the Abundant Catholic Podcast. I'm your host Melissa Krupp. Today we're going to be talking about having a real relationship with God and three steps you can take now to begin. Maybe you're asking, how can I have a closer relationship, a more personal relationship with God? What does having an intimate relationship with God even mean? How can I hear God speak to me and discern his voice?

These are all valid questions and concerns that we have as Catholics, specifically as Christians too in general. It's hard to know. And so we're going to be delving into these topics today and we'll be discussing this and more. So stay tuned friend. Please join us.

Okay, so having a real relationship with God, what does it mean to be in relationship with God? Not just living out of what we do with our bodies, but actually experiencing that one-to-one communion with the God of heaven and earth, the God who made you, right? How do we do that? So first, let's look at what relationship even means. If we look at the etymology of relation,

It tells us that relationship is a connection, a correspondence, somehow relating to one another through words. It also says a bringing back, a restoring, a report. That's a key word right there that we're going to circle back to that, that restoring, that that's part of the word relation, which is incredible. A person related by blood or marriage, right?

So we think of being in relation with God, we're also in communion with Him. That term was used by Augustine in belief that the word was derived from com, which means with or together, and unis, which means oneness or union. So we know that living in relation with God, having a relationship with Him is like being in communion with Him in oneness, being with Him together. Sound familiar?

the Eucharist right but more on that later. So now that we know what relationship actually means how do we have it right? We kind of have somewhat of an idea. How is it lived out in the real sense? Some of us might feel like it's kind of crazy or it might even feel uncomfortable to think about praying to God or talking to God about what it feels like

just to live in our own heads, right? is it our own voice or is it his voice? Sometimes we don't know. But we can talk to God and spend time with him outside of the mass, outside of a church event. And for many of us this idea can seem really foreign. Prayer may not come as naturally or as organically.

and thinking of being in a relationship with God, well, that might be something you desire, but you may not even know exactly where to begin or how or what kind of concrete steps to take. So we're going to talk about that, which is super, super exciting because really having a real relationship with God is something that will change the trajectory of your life. And if you aren't living in oneness with Him, then there are steps you can take to get in that direction. But much like I said before,

It takes intention. It takes time. It takes investment. Right? So that's what we're going to delve into. So wherever you are in this spiritual journey, you're welcome here. I invite you into this space. whether you're married, you're a parent, you're a widow.

You're going through a nasty divorce right now. you are welcome here in this place. So here we go. Step number one. You have to seek him to be in relationship with him. How could we know someone that we're not chasing after? When you meet the love of your life or you've had a baby or you want to know your child, you have to seek them out and spend time with them.

Get to know their favorite color, their favorite foods, what color are their eyes? You probably know that because you see them and you're with them and you're savoring their presence. Right? What's their favorite food, their favorite flower or coffee drink? For your kiddo, it might be their favorite stuffy. You know all the intricate details. What makes them cry? What sets them off?

What drives them? Is it playing games? Is it connecting with family? Is it a dream that they have of being a musician? What is it? Right? This is intimacy. This is something that we call having relationships, but really like a deeper intimacy, an emotional integration with another where you're sharing in your life, in your heart, in your whole being with another. And that can come at different levels, but with God.

He wants us to give him everything, right? And so we ask these questions to get to know people, right? And for the people who are closest to us, they're gonna be more intimate questions. And there's some people that we're not that close with, but with God, he's inviting us into full intimacy with him, where there's no reservation, where we have this freedom just to be who we are because he loves us.

And so when we ask these questions to get to know people, we discover who they are by seeking them out and spending time with them, right? And this is authentic communion. It is reciprocal. Think of the figure eight. It's reciprocal. It's flowing. You're giving into the relationship and naturally there's something coming back at you. It's a natural flow and natural connection.

When we're disconnected, when we come to a stop and there's a halt, we feel it. And it's the same with God. When we have a disconnect, there's a lack, there's an emptiness, there's something that's out of order. There's sometimes even disorientation within us because we are made to be oriented to Him. That's how He made us. And so when we're disconnected from God, we often experience a lack of peace.

that longing for connection. And this is where we stumble and fall, where we're going to the next best thing, where we're going back to that relationship that we've been trying to get away from, or acting out of that place in us that we know isn't the best, but we struggle anyways, right? whatever sinfulness or behavior in which we're acting out where we're like, man, this isn't great for me and I struggle.

It's often because we have this longing for connection within us. And oftentimes we are spending and investing our lives connecting with others in our life, with our family, with our friends, with our spouse, whoever it may be, ⁓ with your coworkers, But really we need to be making this time to connect with God, our creator. He should be the first one that we're connecting with. And oftentimes we have it a little bit out of order.

because either it wasn't something that we kind of knew we had to do, right? And so we just kind of functioned in a way that we've always known, or maybe we've chosen that. Maybe it's been a slow, steady, ⁓ I think of like a frog in a boiling pot. it's the slow boil where we're like burning ourselves to death. Like we're killing ourselves when we have this separation from God, right? just slowly turning up the heat so that it's boiling and then we're just

you know, separate it from him, which is what we don't want. That's what the enemy wants. That's not what God wants. And so, you know, if we're experiencing a lack of peace and this longing for connection, we might be so disconnected that we've, we've turned our backs completely to him. But if, that were the case, I don't think you'd be listening to this podcast right now. So there's, there's still hope. There's still light at the end of the tunnel. Always like we can begin again. This is a message.

I want to drive home to you, our listener. Today is a good day to begin again. Today is a good day to start something new. Today is a good day to claim yourself as a new creation in Christ. We can begin at any point in time in our lives. I don't care what you're doing. I don't care if you're flipping burgers or you're taking a shower or you're changing your kid's poopy diaper, whatever it is, you can begin today.

So I just encourage you that if you're at a point where you feel like you've been turning up the heat and you've been super, super disconnected from God, maybe it's out of anger, maybe it's out of grief, maybe from betrayal in your life you feel betrayed and then you feel betrayed by God himself, right? These are all very, very valid reasons as to why we often turn our backs on God. Because we're like, how can I trust you? Right?

There's a beautiful image that comes to mind when I talk about that. I'm not a huge Disney fan, but I grew up watching it. And when my third was born, I went to go see the new movie of Aladdin, where

Jasmine's in her room. You can see the outside, and this is the balcony, and Aladdin pops up on the magic carpet. And she says, how did you get in here? Where did you come from? And Aladdin, who in my mind is like Jesus,

Aladdin rises up and he says, she says to him, how did you get in here? And every door is guarded. And he has his ways, right? Like that's so much Jesus. That's so how God is. Like every door is guarded in my heart. You know, but God has his way with us where he can come right through those. It doesn't matter. He's right there. And we just have to be willing to have that conversation with him. And so she enters into conversation with Aladdin.

And Aladdin invites her on this journey outside of this place in which she's in confinement, where she feels like she'll be free. And so Aladdin sticks out his hand and he says, do you trust me? And the way she looks at him in the movie is so telling to our humanity. She looks at him and she gives him this like crooked, crooked look with her face like.

Like, what did you say? And I think she even says it like, what did you say? And then he invites her again and he says, do you trust me? And he digs in a little bit deeper and he gets a little bit closer to her. Do you trust me? And then she goes, yes. And she grabs his hand, jumps off on the magic carpet and then go off onto this magic carpet ride. Which to me is very much like the Holy Spirit, God inviting us into this new life with him.

on this ride with the Holy Spirit. I highlight that story a little bit of a segue. I highlight that story because number one, it really spoke to me about how in our natural inclination towards God sometimes is reluctancy. We often feel reluctant in letting Him into these places because we're afraid He's gonna hurt us, just like somebody else did. We're afraid He's gonna let us down. We're afraid He's gonna abandon us.

And oftentimes those feelings are rooted in life experiences that were unwanted, things that were unjust that happened to us, evils that happened to us, or sometimes it's rooted in sins that we've committed against others in which have the natural consequences is playing out and raining out. Sometimes it's isolation, right? Like we get isolated from others and then the devil wants to keep us even more isolated.

and turn inward on herself and you know do what Judas did which is where we reject the mercy of God. And so when we're in constant communion with God and communication with him where we're not living in disconnect it's keeping us grounded and rooted in something other than ourselves. So right there we're giving ourselves an opportunity to lead a greater life

And it's really an invitation to enter into a mystery, the mystery of our lives. And so, you know, how do we seek God out? ⁓ The first step being to seek, how do we seek him out? We knock, we knock, we ask, we look, we visit, we open to him, just like Jasmine did with Aladdin. And I know for you fellows, that story's probably too mushy-gushy, but.

You could relate. Find a way to relate to that because Jesus is inviting you to, to enter into this new way of life with him. And, we do that through God the father as he is, is many persons in one. And so we have to open ourselves in order to be in communion with another. We know this, we live this out every day with the relationships we have, but for some reason we're so afraid to experience this with this all knowing being who

you know, we necessarily don't have control over. Like, he's a mystery. And so I think that scares a lot of us. And so when we seek someone out, we have to take that vulnerable step forward. It's really taking a risk into something different, into something new, something unexpected. And one that sometimes can be really uncomfortable for us or make us feel a bit awkward, like a teenager asking a boy or girl out.

do a school dance or something. Essentially, you're asking God, will you dance with me? Right?

Like I want to know you more God. I want a deeper relationship and connection with you. I don't just want to know about you. I want to be with you in communion, in union, in togetherness, which sounds a lot like dancing. If you ask me, it really is a beautiful, beautiful image to ponder on dancing with God, especially because he's the lead.

And there's something profound about that. And then because we follow, really, we don't have to worry. We can kind of rest in the arms of God, this good Father. And so we can easily imagine what would it be like if we didn't follow his lead and we tried to dance to our own music or to our own moves. We all know what happens. There's a lot of tripping and falling flat on your face sometimes, which many of us do.

I am so guilty of this. It's so true. I get out of order and I forget who's in the lead and that I'm not. And sometimes it's just from a place of restlessness where I'm like, okay, what's, what's going on next? Like got to get the ball rolling. And then I think something, you know, should be a certain way in my life. And God has it a different way than what I, what I expected. So oftentimes in our relationship with God, have these big expectations and he has something else for us. And so

that dance might feel constricting at times. And that's something we can get into in a little bit with our third point. But I want you to just think about that idea of dancing with God and that it's a learned thing, right? It's not easy because we first have to seek Him. We first have to ask Him, can I dance with you? And then He's got to teach us. He's got to teach us the ways in which He's going to move. And sometimes He moves in unexpected ways. And the more you let yourself

enter into that communion with God, the more you learn to rest in Him. And so that when He does take those unexpected turns and moves and shifts and the music changes and the seasons change in your life and things happen, you learn to lean in. You learn to press in. You learn to trust, to trust in the lead, to trust in the dance, to trust in the Maker.

who is omnipotent, who knows everything that's going on and he's holding you. And so, yeah, it's just a really great way of contemplating on God as this lead in this beautiful dance called life, right? But I wanna reflect on this verse from Matthew 7, chapter seven, verse seven.

Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened for you. The title on the USCCB page literally reads, Answers to Prayer. Wow, I mean, do I really need to break that down for you? Answers to Prayer. Ask and it will be given to you. Seek you will find. Knock and the door will be opened for you.

When we ask, it's given. When we seek, we find. When we knock, the door opens. Profound, simple, and bold. So good. So good. The answer's right here. We must seek him first. We have to show up, open ourselves up, at least a little. It doesn't have to be a lot. He just needs a little, and it goes a long ways. He never asks for a lot, right? He just says, come to me.

Come to me all who you are weary and I will give you rest. He just wants our littleness. So we just need to start somewhere in order to build any relationships in our lives. This is how we begin. We begin in some way or another. We begin with a smile. We begin with a hello. Then we start chatting, right? Then now we're friends and now we're going out to coffee and now we're having play dates and now we're in co-op and then we've been friends for three, four, five years.

Our children are raised together. Man, it's good, right? This is the order of life. We just begin small. So it's okay whatever way you want to begin. It's good enough, okay? So often we can get stuck in our minds. Well, if I want to have a relationship with God, then I have to do X, Y, Z and go to Mass 10 times and say this rosary backwards. You know how we get as Catholics? Like we got to check all the boxes. You just need to be you.

And you just need to say, here I am. This is me. I open myself to you, Lord. Come in. You know, are you going to open the door? we have to knock, right? Like, God will open the door, but are you going to open the door, too? Are you going to open your door for Him? So it doesn't just happen. Intimacy with another doesn't just pop out of thin air. It's a unique reciprocation.

of two persons in communion.

And for those of us who want to live in a real relationship with God, not to show up to mass because we have to or stoically pray just to show others how holy we are, but actually enter into communion with God because we genuinely have a desire for it. This is key. We have to open ourselves.

We have to take this risk, right? And that oftentimes we're programmed not to take after so many hurts. Like I talked about earlier, or bad memories we might have or mistrust we may carry, that God's not a good father, that he's not gonna take care of us because we've been let down, we've been hurt, we've experienced injustice. Some of us have trauma, some of us...

don't have safe fathers in our life or people who care for us, right? And so we've experienced suffering and often that can reflect on God and he can take it. He takes it, he knows, right? But if you think of the prodigal son, like he's waiting for you. He's down the outside of the house in the street waiting for you to come back. Like what's yours is his, it's always been his. He is a.

good, good Father who loves you. And maybe our own perception of Him is based on this broken earthly relationship with our own fathers or priests or whoever it may be. And for me, that was a huge part of my healing with God the Father that actually made for a deeper entry point with Him because my wound was just that deep.

And that made for God's entry point with Him to be even deeper because He came and met me in that place. I had so many fears surrounding my view of God and who He was. And I think for a lot of us, this is common. Like, it's relatable. And like I said, we make Him a reflection of our own personal experience.

but really I also put God in a box, because I had such a limited understanding of Him. And really I had a limited understanding of myself, of what real emotional, spiritual intimacy looked like as well. So I wasn't really capable of having that intimate relationship with God, to be where I am today, because I had all these barriers.

And I was bound up in so many places and I was projecting onto God this disordered, reflection of what I was experiencing with my earthly family, with people in my life, with men in my life who had hurt me repeatedly or who were not safe or whatever it may be. And so I had to really work through that, that God doesn't want.

just a piece of us. He doesn't want just part of us. He doesn't, he doesn't want just half of us. Like he wants all of us. He wants all of you. Let that sink in. He desires you and he delights in you. There's nobody like you to him. You are a precious gift to him. He wants you. doesn't want to lose you.

he wants to be with you forever. That's what he made us for. So this brings me to point number two. first seek. Point number two is to know him. To know God. So seek and know. Do you know God?

Or do you know your favorite music band? Do you know God? Or do you know your husband? Do you know God? Or do know your car, your job, your favorite TV series, your iPhone? Whatever app you're scrolling on, whatever it may be, the real question here is who are you living for and spending your time with? Who are you getting to know? And for what purpose? Right? And this is where we talk about having things rightly ordered.

I know my husband, I know my favorite music band, I know my children, I know what app I like on my phone, But who am I spending time with? Am I spending time with my children and not God? Am I spending time with my coworkers and not God? if we want to know God...

We know we have to seek Him and we have to get to know Him. And how can we be in relationship with somebody if we really don't know them? We have to spend time with them to gain a better understanding of who they are. Think of it like when you ⁓ go see a new movie, you often watch this trailer first because you just want to get to know the movie before you go and spend the money on the movie, you want to know if it's going to be good, right? Like have you ever seen the trailer for God? well...

It would likely be the mass, would be the trailer for God, or reading the Bible, sacred scripture, reading the catechism, whatever it may be, praying the rosary, getting the many faces of Jesus, the life of Christ, and the beautiful gift of the rosary that Mary gave us. Getting to know him means better understanding his nature, and that he's three persons in one God, that he's pure spirit, he's eternal, he's the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, and

Something we forget so often he's a mystery. God is a mystery. We're not supposed to fully be able to comprehend or grasp his presence. And so can we fully ever understand a mystery? No, but we can try. We can play detective. We can seek out the clues. He leaves us literally everywhere. go and take a look in the mirror. Just look at your face. there's enough clues there in your face, right? This beautiful

unrepeatable, irreplaceable image of you. Or just ask a pregnant mom how many times she felt the baby kick in the middle of the night. Look outside of the vast beauty and wonder of creation. It's mind-blowing. It truly is mind-blowing. Even just looking at a wildflower, the intricacies of a wildflower. Or like for my daughter and I, we're studying anatomy for science and we're learning about the different cardiovascular systems in the body and how quickly

blood pumps from the heart all throughout the body carrying oxygen and nutrients it's just incredible. And people say there's no God. And science can only discover so much, right? Because God's a mystery to us but he's not out of reach. And so,

with knowing him, we have to be willing to know ourselves too.

That's a key component here. If we don't even know who we are, then how can we get to know somebody else? We must know who we are, whose we are, and know our purpose. The question really is, what is your identity rooted in? What is it rooted in? Is it that you're a good cook?

good photographer, Is it in your motherhood? Your spousal hood? Because those are all good things, right? It's a good thing to be a parent, it's a good thing to be a mom, it's a good thing to be a grandma, right? They're all parts of our identity, but our identity should always be rooted in God first. So again, we're going back to this rightly ordered way of life, where when things are in proper order, then fruits flow from that.

Peace flows from that. The Spirit of Truth can flow through that. God can flow through us, right? where we become this point of access where now we can fully become who God made us to be and be in union with others in the world too and bring our gifts to others. Right? So what is your identity in? It should always be rooted in God because we're made in His image. We're unique, unrepeatable, irreplaceable.

⁓ Never to be here ever again, right? Like we're created for a specific purpose and it's really mind-blowing to sit in that That God chose you he chose me. He chose you Wow, how incredible

Another aspect of knowing ourselves is what drives us. What brings us joy? What do we love? What are we drawn to? Those are all questions to ask yourself in reflection of knowing God because he is the God of your desires. Let that sink in. This is something it took me a long time to learn this and it really changed the way in which I was in relation with God. I was finding that

the places in which I desire things or communion or these longings. I'm actually desiring Him and that's where I meet Him the most because He is our ultimate fulfillment. He made us for Himself. So the things in which we long for a desire or are more fascinated with, if they're rightly ordered, they're meant to draw us to our Maker, to lead us to Him, to discover Him. And that's that seeking, right? Like we're seeking Him out but also

It can be easy to seek when we look inward in that sense where we have this connecting point within us. So press into that. Dig your heels in. Like, why do you love the beach so much? Like, what is it? Is it the waves? Is it the sand between your toes? Or is it the feeling of being in water? Water's symbolic of renewal, of baptism. Or is it a happy memory you had at the beach? Press into the memory. Right? For my husband, he loves to woodwork.

He loves to create with his hands. Why? Why does that bring him so much joy? Why does he have such a draw to that, a natural inclination to that? How can we find our creator in what we love? For me, I enjoy reclaiming old items and repurposing them in our home, either to use on display, use purposefully.

And somehow maybe that draws me to God. Maybe it's the mystery of the old item, the memories they hold, the stories they have. Maybe it's the warmth that the items bring into our home, creating a welcoming, intentional atmosphere. I don't know, maybe it sounds silly, but ask yourself, what do I love to do? What do I love to do? Why do I love to do it? Do you like wildflowers? The season of autumn, the smell of

Do you find yourself smelling coffee? Collectible toy cars, legitimate. Press into it. What are you fascinated with? What music do you like? Enter into the mystery of your wonder, right? What are you in awe of? What do you find yourself lost in? Is it Marvel movies? Is it Tolkien?

I don't know, what is it? just enter into that wonder, the mystery of your wonder and there in that place right there is the meeting point of your maker. So profound, so good. So our relationship with him is one of a kind. That's what makes it intimate is that it's unique and the way he talks to you is not how he's going to talk to me.

the way he shows up in your life isn't how he's necessarily going to show up in mine because we're unique and so is our relationship with him. There's a verse in Jeremiah 24, I will give them a heart to know me that I am the Lord. They shall be my people and I will be their God for they shall return to me with their whole heart.

Which brings me to the last of the three steps to take today to have a real relationship with God. So we have seek, know, and the last one, drum roll, obey. I put this as number three because it's the hardest one, right? And you really have to understand a little bit of the other two. We're just dipping our toes in here today. But obedience.

is obedience. The word is derived from the Latin word obedeire, which means to listen. We have to hear God and obey Him. So that goes back to being in relationship with Him and knowing Him. We obey not because we to, but because we ought to, because it's a privilege to know God and to love Him. And I think many of us forget this because again, maybe we've been hurt.

Maybe the church has hurt us, maybe we're angry. Wherever we're sitting in our life, if it's grief we're carrying, eh, it doesn't feel like much of a privilege, right? Like, where were you, God? Where were you when I was suffering? Where were you in my life when I was hurting? I thought you were gonna protect me. I thought you knew me. I thought you knew what I wanted, right? Like, these are all valid questions to ask God. And this is a place in which you open to Him. Your prayer doesn't have to be pretty. Go read the Psalms. They're not pretty.

It's limitation. It's longing. It's a cry of the hearts, a battle cry. And so it's really though a privilege to know God because he's unlike any other God. He comes into our sorrow, which is why Christ came. He bore it all in his flesh so that we could be fulfilled and have life and have it more abundantly. His love frees us. It redeems us. It heals us. God renews us. He restores us. Remember when

earlier when I talked about being in relationship, with God and how it's a bringing back, a restoring. God is the God of restoration.

We're constantly being made more and more into his likeness and into his image. The catechism of the Catholic Church says to obey, in faith is to submit freely to the word that has been heard. Because it's guaranteed by God as truth. Who is truth himself?

The Catechism also says, we turn away from evil out of fear of punishment, we are in the position of slaves. And Jesus calls us his friends, right? If we pursue the enticement of wages, we resemble mercenaries. Finally, if we obey for the sake of the good itself and out of love for him.

God who commands. We are in the position of children. Catechism 1828, profound. There you have it. We must obey. Much like a child is to obey his father and his mother because he doesn't know his own way, right? God is a good, good father. And he gives us these guidelines to live by, these moral laws, in fact, these truths to live by. They're for our own protection.

for our own preservation and for freedom, right? So that we can live a free life and not be bound, not be chained by the lies of the enemy. They're not meant to enslave us, these laws he's written in our hearts, in our bodies, or keep us bound, but they're meant to unbind us and free us, helping us more fully become who he made us to be. And in Matthew 18, it says, amen, I say to you.

Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

That is a stark statement. How many of us are willing to be like a child in our father's arms, whether we're collapsing and crying, letting it all out, or we're running and jumping and letting him catch us as we fall, Wherever you're sitting, whatever seat you're in, whether it's whether it's sitting in the seat of fear.

whether it's suffering, it's agonizing, whatever you're experiencing, run to your father's arms.

the point is that we become dependent on someone other than ourselves, right? If we're like children, we turn away from our pride, which is the root of all evil, and we become dependent on God.

So let's do a final recap. How do we have real relationship with God? Number one, we seek Him. Number two, we know Him and yourself. And number three, we obey Him. We want to seek Him. We want to ask about Him, to get to know Him, to find out more, to delve in, spend time, to invest.

your life in God who made you and who loves you and who longs to fulfill you. We want to know him. We know him by coming to know ourselves. What drives us, what we long for. Open that ache to him and there you're going to find a deep well within you. One that Christ is asking for a drink from. He wants to get to know you. Will you give him a drink of that well within you like the Samaritan woman?

He wants to be in union with you. Talk to him like he's your friend, like he's your father, your brother, your everything. Open your heart to him, good and bad. Prayer is talking. It's a battle cry from the heart. It's the daily tasks and duties. It's our work life. Prayer ought to be integrated into every part of our lives. Our whole life should be a prayer to God.

There was a time in my motherhood where I hardly had time to sit and do my morning prayers. And I had somebody suggest to me, why don't you make your motherhood itself a prayer to God? Lift it up to Him. Think of the incense and mass the incense is symbolic of the rising up. All of our prayers are rising up to the Father.

We should be striving to glorify God in all that we do, not just in little parts of our life compartmentalized. It should be integrated into every part of our life. And if it's not, let's begin today. Don't shame yourself. Don't be afraid. It's a good place to be where you're saying yes to God. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.

A great way to begin praying today and having a real relationship with God are to do those three things, right? Seek, know, and obey. But some more practical tips, talk to God in your heart, out loud. That's not weird. Go for a walk, right? By singing, by playing music, in your journal, write it out. Go to adoration, sit in adoration, pray the rosary, pray the novena, anything, just begin, right?

You could get a daily prayer guide. Personally, I love the Magnificat. I have an app on my phone if I don't get to it in the morning. Sometimes I carry my Magnificat with me throughout the day in the diaper bag. It's really just bringing the daily readings into your life. With morning prayer and evening prayer, it's really magnificent. You can go and get a subscription online for pretty cheap. Sometimes your parish will give it out for free. It's a really, really good resource.

comes right to your mailbox, which is awesome. You could get the Laudate app. There's tons of amazing prayer apps out there. The Laudate app has access to rosaries, devotions, novenas. I love it for a rosary on the go. I'll plug it into my car, my car audio, and then it will play the rosary out loud for me. I can pick from all different types of priests who are praying it or sisters.

So many options, so many programs. And lastly, there's books you can bring into the home. So go read a good book on the interior life, Like St. Teresa of Avila, doctor of the church, she talks much on the interior life, our interior castle. And she exposes her fears that she had as well about having a relationship with God and with others. It's really beautiful. I have a couple of books today to talk about.

that have been great resources in my personal journey, but that are just a great start ⁓ in just learning how to have relationship with God. So if you're a book reader and you really like this, Father Michael, Gately's book, 33 days to greater glory, a total consecration to the Father through Jesus based on the Gospels of John. There's Shannon Wentz new book.

The Way of the Rosary. Really profound. It's her personal story about suffering, about her love for Mary. I'm just starting to read it, but I know her family and so I trust that this is a really really good book. And really The Way of the Rosary is a great way to begin getting to know Jesus just by praying the Rosary because it's understanding the many faces of Christ the many different mysteries of Christ. And so this is a good option as well.

And then another one that there is a whole section on prayer in here. It is called Let Beauty Speak by Jimmy Mitchell. And it's a really, really beautiful book. He delves into prayer, the art of being human in a culture of noise. So that's another really good one by Jimmy Mitchell. Those are just three simple books that I grabbed off my bookshelf.

hopefully you'll check it out. But yeah, you're welcome to download an app, go for a walk and pray, go to Adoration, that's free, Grab a good book and read it, and you'll never ever be sorry. You'll never be sorry when you pray. Prayer will bear fruit in your life, and often times it's over time, that we begin to see the fruit. It can take time when we plant seeds in life, and this is the natural growth process, which is...

very much against the way of the world and the culture of immediacy we live in, it's good for us. let it be uncomfortable. It's good for us. And the fruit might look more like ⁓ wonder or awe or contentment or peace or joy or satisfaction. We might feel Thanksgiving. We might feel feelings of security over time and maybe even a change of heart, a breaking down of barriers or walls in our hearts.

We might experience something new sprouting within us, a little bit of a new beginning, a deeper understanding of the mysteries we're all invited into, of wisdom, right? All the beautiful and wonderful things. We seek, know, obey, and pray. Throw in that last one at you, pray. This is intimacy with God. Let him see inside of you. Into me see. You won't regret it, I promise.

So we're going to end it in prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the opportunity just to talk about you today and to talk about your glory and all the beautiful things you have in store for us when we knock. We come to find you. We come to discover you more and more. It's endless. There's so much time where just to get to know you, it's a good thing to be in relationship with you, It really is truly such a gift.

So thank you all for joining me today as we talk about living in real relationship with God. If you haven't already, please subscribe to the podcast, share this with a friend or family member, and you're always welcome pop over to our website and see what we're doing over at theabundantcatholic.com. God bless you all. Bye-bye.