Deepening the Vertical Relationship:(i) Through prayer we can express our feelings and thoughts to God. When we spend more time speaking to him, praying to him, hearing from him, waiting upon him, we can deepen our relationship with him. Just as any relationship we need to communicate with that person.
(ii) Reading God's word to understand him better, the way he communicates to his people through his guidance, counsel, rebuke and correction. The bible is made up of history, poems and songs, prophecies, teachings and many more which have been inspired by God. He can and does speak through his word to us and to understand someone we need to study them, observe them.
Deepening the Horizontal Relationship:
(i) Fellowship is building friendships with people in church. The bible speaks about being part of the body and we need each other to function fully, how can the head say i don't need the leg? God can use people to encourage, remind and build us up. Being part of church helps us to stay focus and learn to serve just as Jesus did.
(ii) Witnessing is bringing the gospel to those who are lost, who have not heard of the good news. Our life testimony and experiences of God should be shared. If you win a billion dollars, would you not share it? wouldn't it be much more joy if we shared it? Sharing our faith helps us know where we are at and what we lack in order for us to grow.
These are important parts of Christian walk to grow in relationship with God and his people. I hope this diagram is simple and easy to remember. Evaluate yourself, where do you need to grow most at this present moment?
