Maybe God feels distant right now. Or maybe things are fine, but you sense there’s more: a closeness with Him you’ve heard others describe and want for yourself.
I understand that longing. For well over a decade, I knew God loved me, but I didn’t feel it. I believed His truth, but I wasn’t sure how true it was for me.
If that’s where you are, here’s the good news first, and then some simple ways to draw near.
The Way Is Already Open
Getting closer to God doesn’t start with our effort. It starts with what Jesus has done.
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.”
Hebrews 10:19 NLT
In the Old Testament, a curtain in the temple kept people from the place of God’s presence. Through Jesus’ death, that way has been opened. So the writer of Hebrews invites us:
“Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him.”
Hebrews 10:22 NLT
We don’t earn closeness with God by trying harder. We receive it by trusting what Jesus has done. Every step that follows is a response to that open door.
God Draws Near to Us
“Come close to God, and God will come close to you.”
James 4:8 NLT
James wrote this to believers whose loyalty was divided between God and the world. It’s an invitation to come back wholeheartedly, and a promise that God meets us when we do.
“The LORD is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.”
Psalm 145:18 NLT
He isn’t waiting for us to become impressive. He’s close to those who call on Him honestly.
Simple Ways to Draw Closer to God
1. Spend time in His Word. God reveals Himself through Scripture. Start small: a short passage, read slowly, asking what it shows you about Him. (See How to Read the Bible (opens in a new tab).)
2. Talk with Him honestly. Prayer isn’t a performance. Tell Him what you’re thinking and feeling, and what you need. Then take time to listen.
3. Choose a regular time. In my book, Renewing Your Mind: Living Life Intentionally, I describe my own: “Personally, I choose to do that first thing in the morning when things are still and quiet around me.”
4. Obey what He shows you. Closeness grows as we follow Him in small, specific ways. Often the next step of obedience is the next step closer.
5. Worship and give thanks. Thanksgiving turns our attention from our problems to His goodness, and toward Him.
6. Walk with other believers. God often meets us through His people: in worship, in Bible study, in honest conversation.
7. Bring Him your weariness. You don’t have to have it together to come.
“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.’”
Matthew 11:28 NLT
When You Don’t Feel Close
Feelings are real, but they aren’t the measure of God’s nearness. Through my own long season of not feeling it, God was encouraging me all along, even when I couldn’t sense it.
What changed wasn’t a new technique. It was learning to follow His lead, day by day, rather than trying to change myself in my own strength.
If God feels far away right now, see Why Do I Feel Far From God? (opens in a new tab) And for growing over the long haul, see How to Grow Spiritually (opens in a new tab).
Closer, One Day at a Time
Drawing near to God happens in ordinary moments, as His Word shapes how we think and live. At Renewing Your Mind Discipleship Ministry, we teach a simple way to engage God’s Word in those moments, in four parts. We call it The Process.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
