lan Warner
Something you frequently hear in local churches across America is, “God just does not feel close.” That feeling has become an important aspect of faith; some people don’t know if God is there unless they feel good. Now, I am not here to shut down feelings or to say that all feeling or experience is bad. But we need to know God well in our minds and hearts. So, if you want to know how to get closer to God, the first place you should start is His word because it unlocks how to do so.
God is Closer Than You Think
You may look in Scripture and think Man, I wish I could have walked with Jesus like the disciples or climbed up Mt. Sanai with Moses. If only you could have done those things, you would be close to God, right? Well, at those times in Scripture, that may have been true. The modern-day believer is more comparable to God than ever.
John 15:26-27 – “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness because you have been with me from the beginning.”
Jesus says with his mouth that he should leave so the Helper may come. 1 Cor 6 tells us that our bodies are now the temple of God. Whereas in the OT, only a few could even enter the Tabernacle. Now, God dwells within us, making our bodies temples.
1. Believe The Word
I always have to ask others whether you believe what you read in Scripture. Many people read the Bible, but few believe it. If you believe Scripture, you know that God dwells in you and is changing you from the inside out. You don’t have to work to get closer to God because he has already decided to draw near to you.
Man has been trying to get closer to God from the beginning. The Fall in the Garden was about wanting to be God. That is what the Tower of Babel is all about. Wanting to be God! People have tried to get to God through works, and it has not worked. So finally, God, in his gracious ways, has decided to draw near to us, first through his son Jesus and second by allowing his Spirit to dwell in us. If you don’t believe that, nothing else I say will matter.
2. Prayer
Imagine being in a relationship with someone and saying you never talk to them; that would be a horrible relationship, right? Yet we approach God this way. We think we can never speak with him and have a thriving relationship, but it does not work that way. The point of prayer is to communicate with God and depend on him.
There are different types of prayers you can go to
- Confession
- Intercession
- Thanksgiving
- Lament
- Adoration
- Etc
We pray to remind ourselves that we depend on our Father in Heaven. Prayer helps to remind us that we are not in control. In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus told us to say, “Thy Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done!” We are dependent on God! Yes, we can ask our Father for things, but those things are only promised when they match His will. We were made to depend on God, so we will feel closer to God any time we put ourselves in this position.
3. Fasting
Another fantastic way God has given us to grow closer to Him is to fast. Fasting is abstaining from eating food for a period of time. Of course, most of us love to eat and consume food. But, when we fast, we declare that as much as we love food, we love God more.
Fasting can be done with anything you love. You’re fast from your phone, video games, and social media to ensure your heart belongs to God. It humbles you to your need for God whenever you desire that thing. Each time your stomach rumbles, you’re reminded of your love and deep need for a holy God.
Fasting is closely linked to prayer, so your prayer life should grow when you fast. When you are reminded of your need for God, you talk with him in those moments. Give him thanks and pray of adoration. I love to talk to God about how he is the bread of life, and he sustains me physically and spiritually.
Fasting is one of the most underrated ways to grow closer to God. Many modern Christians think fasting is an ancient practice, but it’s not. In Matthew 6, it says, WHEN you fast, not if. We are commanded to regularly fast. Fasting has enormous benefits in our consumeristic culture. Today, we are always looking to consume more, whether food or just what we buy. Materialism is rampant. Fasting is a great way to fight back and remind yourself that you need nothing but God.
4. Service
Jesus did not come to be served but to serve. He came to give his life as a ransom for many. He came, and he washed the disciple’s feet. The problem is that in our world, we see being prominent as having wealth and others serving us. But Jesus came and flipped all of that on its head. To be close to God, you must become like him by helping others. You know how you truly feel about this concept by how you respond when people treat you like a servant.
To serve is to do things for others and expect nothing in return. It’s to submit to the Spirit of God and allow the fruit of the Spirit to be lived out in us. The only way we can regularly serve is with the Spirit of God; otherwise, it will not last. It’s too hard to lay our lives down for others if God is not in and the one doing the work.
5. Repentance
Repentance is central to the Gospel. In addition, repentance is not saying sorry but turning away from your ways and towards God’s will. We all have sins in our lives that we need to repent for. One of the actual signs that someone is a Christian is you see genuine repentance. Something that we use to do regularly, we choose to go another direction because we recognize that it’s not pleasing to God.
If you want to know how to get closer to God, it does not get more basic than this. To turn away from evil and focus on Goodwill makes you more like His son, Jesus. True sanctification cannot happen apart from repentance. If you want to get closer to God, look at your life right now and find areas where you are not walking according to his will. Go to God, repent, and ask to change your heart so you can walk in a different direction.
6. Forgiveness
In the Lord’s prayer, we are called to ask for forgiveness and the strength to forgive others right after the text reminds us that this is conditional. When we don’t forgive others, we don’t understand how massive the grace of God is that we live in because of Jesus Christ. Moreover, when we know that grace has been extended to us, we extend it to others. When we don’t, we are not operating like God, which hurts our relationship with him. This is not about salvation but our relationship with God at that moment.
You can’t live a life full of bitterness towards others and expect to feel close to God. You will feel close to him again when you forgive others as God has forgiven you through his son Jesus Christ. To be close to God, we must pray for His Spirit to help us operate like Him. We can’t work our way to this, but thankfully, we have been given the Holy Spirit to guide us.
7. Community
I have heard many people say; I don’t hear from God. This completely forgets the fact that we have the Word of God, and we also have the saints. God uses other people to speak into our lives and provide accountability, which is why Hebrews 10 calls us not to neglect meeting together, as is some habit.
Too many followers of Christ don’t understand that God exists in the perfect community. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit live in an ideal community with one another. We are made in the image of God and will always desire community.
Being a community pastor taught me something important about community. You see a lot of poverty; the focus is on material wealth, but what breaks people is not having a proper community. They are estranged from good friends and family and have no one to turn to. Most people look at poverty and want to throw money at the problem, but the deeper issue is the lack of community.
To be closer to God, you must spend time with his people. It does not mean you have to spend all your time around Christians, but you need to let other Christians disciple you so you can disciple others. God will use other people to teach us and speak powerfully into our lives.
8. Attend Church
Many people don’t care about the modern Church; sadly, this includes Christians. But God has chosen the Church as his primary vehicle to tell the world about Jesus. It’s his Church that he will come back for, so you don’t get a say in the matter. If you follow Jesus Christ, you are the Church. Followers of Jesus Christ become a part of the body where Christ is the head, and you don’t have a say in it. Unfortunately, there are too many Christians who bash the Church and too few Christians who defend the Church.
The Church is where we come together to present the body as Jesus. We are to mature in Christ, and the Church is his vehicle. The Church is way more than on Sunday and the place where you hear a good message and do communion. The Church is more than where you go to listen to your favorite worship songs or where you go to see people get baptized. Furthermore, the Church is all those things, but it’s so much more. To be presented as mature in Christ, every saint needs others in the body to play their role. Ephesians 4 reminds us that Christ left us the apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers.
Why did Jesus leave these things? Because he was in all five of these roles. No one would argue that Jesus was not the best at all of these. How can we be presented as mature in Him without becoming these things in the body? There is no way to accomplish this just by reading your Bible alone. You need other believers to show you the way.
How do you get Closer to God?
You listen to God. Through the scriptures, he lets us know how to be His people. Please don’t add anything to it or take away from it. Just be his people. The only way we can do that is by being in Christ Jesus. Period!
