How should we approach this relationship we are trying to build with God?

Be simple and sincere. It is sheer waste of money to burden the pictures and idols in the shrines and altars of your homes with a weight of garlands, and to parade costly utensils, vessels and offerings, to show off your devotion. This is deception; it demeans Divinity, imputing to it the desire for pomp and publicity. To shower grace, I ask only for purity of heart. Do not calculate distance between you and Me; do not interpose the formalities of the Guru-Sishya (preceptor-disciple) relationship, or even the altitudinal distinctions of the God-Devotee relationship, between you and Me. I am neither Guru nor God; I am You; You are I - this is the Truth. There is no distinction. That which appears so is the delusion. You are waves; I am the ocean. Know this and be free, and lead a divine life!