Are you feeling disconnected from God and craving a deeper, much more personal relationship with Him?
I’ve known the Lord since 2014 and as a new believer or a spiritual infant, I didn’t have anyone that came alongside of me to help guide me and point me in the right direction. I wasn’t told about or even warned about many things. I basically really wasn’t discipled. Because of this, I have this burning desire to share the Lord with others and like to put a strong focus on discipleship. I know that this world can be a dangerous place and the enemy wants nothing more than to see you fail.
James 4, the beginning of verse 8 says: “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” If we are moving toward God, He moves closer to us. When we align our priorities, our desires, our thoughts, and our actions with His will, we find ourselves drawing closer to Him.
Here are 7 ways to draw closer to God.
1. Get To Know Jesus
If you want to draw close to God, you have to know Jesus in your heart and receive the Holy Spirit. In John 14:6, Jesus mentions that no one comes to the Father except through Him. Jesus is the way and the only way. God calls us to believe in Jesus. He wants us to acknowledge that Jesus is His son and that He died for all of us so that we may be saved. He also wants us to affirm that Jesus rose from the grave and is now seated at His right hand. Not one person can deny Jesus and claim that they know God.
God wants a pure heart so that is what you have to give Him. In order to accept Jesus, you must believe in your heart that He truly is the Son of God. You must also admit that you are a sinner and with God’s help, you will turn away from each and every single sin. So how do you get let Jesus into your heart? While on your knees with your eyes closed and arms open wide, verbally invite Jesus into your heart. Ask and thank Him for forgiveness. Also say to Him that you believe that He died for you and that you trust Him to lead your life down a much more promising path. Tell Him that you are ready to make Him Lord over your life. Just simply talk to Him and let Him know the confessions of your heart.
Doing this with a sincere heart, without a doubt, will draw you closer to God.
2. Get In The Water
As a follower of Jesus, your journey should include baptism to continue to draw closer to God. If you have truly accepted Jesus, you have already been baptized with the Holy Spirit but there is also a water baptism that should take place. This process represents death, burial, and resurrection…just as Jesus did. Immersed in the water, you die to your old self and leave behind your dark and sinful past when you come up. Baptism provides you with the opportunity to publicly confess to others about your decision to follow Jesus. Leave it all behind in the grave and commit to live obediently to God!
As a follower of Jesus, your journey should include baptism to continue to draw closer to God. If you have truly accepted Jesus, you have already been baptized with the Holy Spirit but as a public proclamation, there is also a water baptism that should take place. Baptism marks your first steps towards obedience to the Lord.
The process of baptism is throughout the Bible and Jesus gives us specific instructions about this:
Matthew 28:19 – Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
This process is symbolic and represents death, burial, and resurrection…just as Jesus did. Typically, baptism is done in front of others. Immersed in the water, it represents you dying to your old self and leaving behind your dark and sinful past when you come up. Baptism provides you with the opportunity to publicly confess to others about your decision to follow Jesus.
It was the exact day after that I gave my heart to the Lord when I got baptized and it was such an exciting time. I remember coming out of the water with my hand up in the air!
If you have said yes to Jesus and have not yet gotten baptized, now is the time to do it. Baptism is a perfect way to draw closer to God.
3. Get To The Word
Be certain to get a Bible in your hands and read it daily. Reading your Bible is one of the best ways to grow closer to God so make time to read it often. Did you hear what I said? I didn’t say take time, I said make time. You have to make time or else excuse after excuse will start coming up…believe me, I did it for years. I referenced the Bible quite a bit, but I really wasn’t reading it. Over the past year, I’ve been reading the Word every single day. In the morning, after my shower, I go into my prayer/reading room and spend a few minutes reading through a chapter or two. The time varies but I found that by starting my day with God’s Word makes it so much better and I truly feel closer to Him.
So if you want to start reading the Bible, you actually need to have a Bible. Some people prefer using an app on their phone or tablet which is ok but for me, I found that all the notifications can be bad distractions and there goes my focus and attention. I’m a techy guy but there’s something about holding a Bible and flipping through real pages.
There are thousands of different types of Bibles to choose from which may seem overwhelming at first. Don’t worry, it’s ok to be picky! When searching for a Bible, try making a list of wants such as preferred translation, print size, cover color, tabbed index, red letters…the list goes on. For my very first Bible, I thought that it would be really cool to own a white one so I quickly found one online. When the Bible arrived, it unfortunately had a feminine, floral design on it and the translation was really difficult for me to read! Since then, I’ve chosen a new, manlier, Bible that I am much more comfortable with. Again, take your time to choose a Bible because you are going to read and keep it for a very long time.
Reading the Bible, without a doubt, will help you draw closer to God.
4. Get To Praying
Prayer is your opportunity to talk with God and should not be avoided. How can you get close to someone if you don’t communicate with them? In giving instruction about prayer, in Matthew 6:5, Jesus begins by saying “And when you pray…” He didn’t say if you pray, He said when you pray. Praying is simply talking to God. You don’t have to use big words and try to impress Him…just talk to Him. You don’t have to pray like others either.
Many of us struggle to have a decent prayer life. It can be difficult for us because it’s easy to focus on the act of praying itself instead of focusing on the Lord. God cares less about our words to Him and more about the place where the words came from.
Think of prayer as transparent dialog. There are four types of prayer that can be summarized by the acronym: A.C.T.S.
• Adoration: Appreciating God for who He is apart from what He has done for you
• Confession: Acknowledging to God our specific sin and seeking His pardon
• Thanksgiving: Appreciating God for His benefit to us
• Supplication: Interceding for ourselves our others according to God’s will
1 Thessalonians 5:17 says “pray without ceasing”.
I personally talk to God all day long. Whether I need strength for a certain situation, or thankful for another. In that same room that I just talked about reading my Bible in, that is my prayer room. Just me in peace and quiet, talking to the Lord. He wants to know your thoughts, your desires, your concerns, your thankfulness, and so on. Make and spend time alone with God, without distraction. Create a prayer room and go there for absolute peace while talking with the Lord. Again, praying is simply talking to God.
Whether you are asking Him for something or thanking Him for everything, pray to God in the name of Jesus and this will help you draw closer to Him.
5. Get To Church
I actually don’t like using the word “church” as a physical place. The church is the body of Christ which means you and me. I like to call to call it a “place of worship”. That has so much more depth to it doesn’t it?
Attending a place of worship gives you an excellent opportunity to learn more about God and also to surround yourself with other believers. It is important to be around other followers of Christ that have a strong desire to grow and to walk with Him.
God has shown me something early in my walk that: If you are at a place with a bunch of religious zombies that are there just to go through the redundant motions of mundane Sunday services, that isn’t the place for you.
Find a church where you feel the Spirit fresh, alive, and moving through the leaders, music, and congregation. Be certain that it’s a Bible-based church that believes that the entire Bible is God’s unfailing word and is the final authority on everything. Be sure to stay away from churches that are focused on meaningless traditions and religious rules. Pray, seek God’s counsel and let Him lead you to a church where He wants you to be.
When you seek God beyond just a Sunday morning, Jesus becomes someone that you know and not just a place that you go.
Attending a church will not only give you a great opportunity to fellowship with other Christians, but you will also have plenty of opportunities to serve the Lord. Use your God given talents and skills for Him. God calls us to serve everywhere we go and a church is a very good place to start but don’t let it end there.
Attending, worshipping, and serving at church will certainly draw you closer to God.
6. Get Fed And Stay Hungry
In addition to a weekly sermon at church, you need to be constantly fed the Word. Try not to rely on others to feed you, this is something that you need to seek for yourself.
You can do this by joining a small group, participating in a Bible study, watching trustworthy sermons online, visiting cool Christian websites like Draw For God.com, listening to Christian podcasts, and even reading daily devotionals.
This also goes back to what I mentioned in tip #3 which is regarding reading your Bible every day. So don’t settle for just a small portion once a week. This should be go beyond just a Sunday morning.
Seek to know the Lord on a much deeper level daily and this will bring you much closer to Him.
7. Get Going And Stay Focused
We live in an age of distractions. Cell phones, TVs, computers, sports, money, addictions, life issues…the list goes on. I’m not saying that these are bad things to have but if you are choosing them over spending time with God, that’s a big problem. Satan has a plan and has many traps to keep us away from God. One of his goals is to make you become complacent and lazy in your walk with the Lord. If he can get you there, it becomes easier for him to pull you away.
1 Peter 5:8: Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Be aware of the devil’s schemes and how he might try to pull you away. When you hear a moving moving message or learn something new through His word, apply it to your life! Don’t just hear it and let it evaporate. You’ve got to fight back!
Constantly ask God to help you to stay focused on Him and put Him first in every single thing that you do or else this world is going to consume you. When distractions come, go to prayer right away and God will help you overcome them.
Seek His face first all of your days and you will indeed draw closer to God.
Conclusion
We hope that these encouraging tips will help you to grow closer to God. Most importantly, start with Jesus first. If you haven’t given your heart to Him, right now is the time to do that. All the other things that were mentioned in this article will follow but you have to start with Jesus if you want to get closer to God.
If you want to draw close to God, you have to know Jesus. And not talking about just in your head but also in your heart.
In John 14:6, Jesus mentions that no one comes to the Father except through Him. Jesus is the way and the only way. God calls us to believe in Jesus. He wants us to acknowledge that Jesus is His son and that He died for all of us so that we may be saved. He also wants us to affirm that Jesus rose from the grave and is now seated at His right hand. Not one person can deny Jesus and claim that they know God.
If you have read this through this article and need help, please send us a message so that we may pray with you and help you draw closer to God.