Ways to be Closer with God

Christian Living
Published July 3, 2022

It’s easy to feel distant from God. After a long day at work, the last thing you want to do is spend more time reading the Bible or praying. But in order to get closer with God, we need to make an effort. Here are some ways to be strengthened in your relationship with Him:

Pray more.

Pray for the world. Pray for your family. Pray for your friends and coworkers. Even if you don’t feel like it, pray every day! You can start small by praying one or two things a day and then work up from there:

  • “God, please help me be more patient with my spouse/kids/friends today.”
  • “God, please give me strength in my job today.”
  • “God, please bless the people I’m serving today and encourage them with Your love through me.”

Spend time in His Word.

It’s good to find a reading plan. You can do this online or in your local church. Reading the Bible doesn’t have to be a boring task that you do alone in your room, but rather a time spent with God and those around you.

It’s also important to pray while reading the Bible: ask God what he wants to teach you today, or if there is something specific that has been on your mind lately. If you are looking for guidance in any area of life, now would be the perfect time to ask him!

Don’t forget about worshiping while reading as well! When we read the Word of God it helps us grow closer to Him and become more like Him because He is our example (1 John 2). Worshiping includes singing songs aloud with others who believe what we believe too – either at church services held together by their pastor(s) every week or even just through listening/singing along with recorded versions from YouTube videos posted online (there are many versions available).

Have faith.

Faith is a gift from God, but it also requires action on your part. Faith is not something you can take for granted and rely on as a crutch to get through life. It’s more than just saying “I believe” when people ask about your faith; it’s an action that shows up in the way you live your life, who you associate with and what kind of person you are.

Faith is an action-oriented word, not just some mystical idea floating around in the ether somewhere waiting for us all to grab hold and make our lives better out of nowhere. You have to choose faith in order for it to work properly; otherwise, why would God have given us such a powerful tool if he didn’t want us using it?

Confess and ask forgiveness.

When you confess your sins to God, it’s as if you’re bringing them to his attention. You show him that he is more important than your sin, and that he has the power to save you from it. When we confess our sins, we must also ask for forgiveness—not just so that God will forgive us but so that other Christians know they can trust us again when they see us.

Our faith in Jesus Christ should be an active part of our life every day. We should seek out opportunities to grow closer to God by reading Scripture and praying regularly with other believers (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Read your Bible and pray daily.

The Bible is the source of all truth. It was written by God and contains His will for us. Reading the Bible daily will help you to understand God’s plan for your life, how to live in a way that pleases Him, and how to overcome obstacles in your life.

Reading through the Bible is not only about learning about God’s Word; it also helps you to grow closer to Him as you turn from sin (1 John 1:9). The more time you spend reading and studying His Word, the more He can speak directly into your life! This can happen in many ways: through an audible voice or thoughts that come into your mind while reading; through feeling peace or joy; through seeing things differently than before due to what you’ve read; etc… In any case, these are all signs that God is speaking directly into our hearts!

When we truly believe what we read then we should act accordingly by claiming His promises for ourselves because they refer specifically us (Romans 10:17). As Christians who have been redeemed by Christ’s blood shed on Calvary’s cross then every promise belongs rightfully claimable by faith alone without any works required whatsoever (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Worship God with others.

One of the best ways to be closer to God is through worship. Through worship, you can show God that you love Him and are thankful for all He has done for you. Worship also helps us focus on Him and not ourselves or other people.

Therefore, it’s important that we engage in meaningful worship with others as well as by ourselves.

Find a church you enjoy going to and be involved.

If you’re truly looking to be closer to God, consider finding and attending church. Church is a place where we can come together with others to worship God by singing, praying and reading the Bible together. It’s also an opportunity to learn more about what it means to follow Jesus, have Bible studies where you can ask questions and gain a better understanding of the Bible lessons. You’ll likely meet others who are on the same journey as you and get encouragement from them when things get tough. Finally, it’s where our pastors share God’s Word with us—challenging us in our faith and encouraging us with promises of hope for eternity!

Love others like Christ loved us.

Loving others the way Christ loved us. This is pretty self-explanatory, although often hard to put in practice, but it’s important that we remember that Christ loved everyone, no matter what they did or said. It’s also important not to get discouraged when people don’t love you back in the same way—just keep loving them, because as Jesus said “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.”

God is good, but we need to put in the effort to grow closer to Him.

There’s no doubt that God is good and that He wants us to get closer to Him. But sometimes we put up a wall between ourselves and Him by not putting in the effort. We need to make an effort for our relationship with God to grow, but it doesn’t happen overnight—it’s a process.

The first step towards growing closer to God is believing in Jesus Christ as your Savior. You can do this by repenting of your sins and accepting His gift of salvation through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). Once you’ve done this, you should seek out opportunities where you can grow closer to Christ on a daily basis! Use the items I’ve outlined in this article as great starting points.

Don’t forget to pray! Praying allows us the chance to talk with God about anything (not just when we have problems), which will help strengthen our relationship with Him even more than before because now He knows what’s going on inside our heads all day long!

Conclusion

God will always be there for you, even when you mess up. He loves you and wants to see you grow closer with Him. Start today by making some changes in your life and seeing what happens!

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