Understanding how to truly connect with God starts with recognizing the reality about Him, and that reality is that God is Spirit. This is clearly stated in John 4:23-24:
John 4:23 - But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father seeketh such to worship Him.
24.God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
When God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness," in Genesis, He wasn't talking about a physical resemblance. Because God is Spirit, this likeness refers to a spiritual resemblance.
It is necessary to understand what God truly meant by "in our image, after our likeness." Psalm 17:15 gives us a powerful insight of this:
Psalm 17:15 - As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.
This verse helps us understand that God's likeness is relating to righteousness. Just as He is righteous, He created us with righteousness. And because He is holy, He made humanity holy as well.
Ecclesiastes 7:29 further confirms this: "Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions."
Man was initially created upright, righteous, and holy. So, when God said, "Let us make man after our image, after our likeness," He meant that He bestowed in us with His own holiness and righteousness. That was Adam's pure state when he was first created. When God had seen all He had made, including humanity, He declared it "very good." Man was indeed made very good, righteous, and perfect – created by God in His own image and likeness. That was Adam's initial condition, before humanity unfortunately chose to "seek out many inventions."