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You are here: Home / Christian Habits Podcast / 14 Practical Ways to Get Closer to God

14 Practical Ways to Get Closer to God

February 14, 2024 By: Barb Raveling

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Do you ever feel distant from God? Do you long to be close to Him? In today’s episode of the Christian Habits Podcast we’ll talk about 14 practical things you can do to get closer to God.

practical ways to get closer to God

14 Practical Ways to Get Closer to God

The more intentional we are about our relationships, the better those relationships will be. Let’s look at some practical things we can do to get closer to God. I’ll give a short list here and then go into more depth in the podcast.

  1. Find something you enjoy doing with Him. If you dread your quiet time, you won’t want to do them. In the past, I didn’t feel like doing quiet times because I thought they were boring. I found something I enjoyed doing, though, and all of a sudden I wanted to do my quiet times. Some of the ideas we talk about on the podcast are truth journaling, Scripture meditation, the Examen app, topical Bible studies, and any of these renewing of the mind activities. Don’t worry about beginning with something simple, as you can always progress later to more Bible reading, etc. The key in the beginning is to establish the habit.
  2. Meet with God each day during the time of day that you’re most alert. The advice we usually hear on this topic is to have your quiet time as soon as you wake up. That works for me and for many others, but it doesn’t work for everyone. If you’re a person who has more energy or self-control later in the day, it may be better to schedule your devotional time for that time of day. If you struggle with discipline in quiet times like I did for twenty years, try journaling through these questions and Bible verses.
  3. Do a “closeness check” at the beginning of your time together. In the past, I used to begin each quiet time with a closeness check. I’d ask, “Am I feeling close to God?” If the answer was no, I’d think back to the previous day to see if there was anything I needed to talk to God about. I’d confess any sin that I needed to confess (often heart sin such as bad attitudes) and work through anything I needed to work through with Him. We’ll talk more about the reasons for not feeling close (sin, idolatry, and not accepting what you need to accept) in the podcast and what you can do about it.
  4. Believe that He loves you. Have you ever been in a relationship in which the person actually loved you, but for some reason you felt like they didn’t love you? When this happens to us, it makes us not trust that person or feel close to them. The same thing happens when we feel like God doesn’t love us. If you feel like He doesn’t love you right now, try praying through the following Bible verses and picture God doing the things He says He’ll do in those verses. The first couple of times I tried this, it was transformative: Insecurity Bible verses, 1 John 1:9.
  5. Work on letting go of your idols and sin. When we feel like we have to have certain things to be happy, it interferes with our relationship with God. So does sin. It’s impossible to completely get rid of sin and idols, but the more progress we make in those areas, the closer we’ll feel to God. Here are a couple of posts/blog series that will help: How to Break Free from Idolatry and How to Break a Habit.
  6. Carve out a weekly (Sabbath) and/or monthly “date time” with Him. I don’t know about you, but it’s easy for me to get so caught up in life that I forget that life is really about God, not the other things I’m caught up in! Having a weekly Sabbath where I don’t do any work and a monthly (or every two months) “date time” with God (which I explain more fully on the podcast) both help me keep Him first in my life and feel close to Him.
  7. Be thankful. Do you remember when the Israelites were grumbling in the desert after Moses led them out of Egypt? All of their grumbling distanced them from God and it does for us as well. The more we dwell on the good of God Himself and the blessings He has already given us, the more thankful we’ll be–and the closer to God we’ll feel. This post has some verses to help with thankfulness!
  8. Spent time listening to God. John Mark Comer talked about this in his new book, Practicing the Way, and I also visited with John Mark about this practice on the 1/16/24 episode of the Christian Habits Podcast.
  9. Develop a prayer rhythm throughout the day. We see Daniel doing this in the Bible when he prayed three times a day. Meeting with God throughout the day will help us be aware of His presence and make us feel closer to Him.
  10. Go to God for help with negative emotions each day. I talk about this more on the podcast and give some examples of what that looks like.
  11. Don’t spend too much time on social media, news, Netflix, or phone surfing. When we’re constantly on our phones or watching television, we’re often filling our minds with both a cultural perspective and negative emotions as we feel anger, worry, envy, and all sorts of things when we see what’s happening in the world or what others are doing. The problem is that these emotions and messages enter at lightening speed and we don’t process them. It’s easy for them to draw us away from God if we’re not careful.
  12. Join a home group or Bible study. This is another tip I discovered after beginning a lifestyle where we didn’t live in places long enough to have a home group or Bible study. (My husband is a travel physical therapist so we move every three months.) I didn’t realize how important our home groups were for building me up in my faith until we no longer had them.
  13. Go to church each week. I talk more about this in the podcast but I discovered this tip after being thrown into a lifestyle where we didn’t go to church every week. If we miss out on church regularly, we can still be in the Word and listen to sermons online and even watch church online. But here’s what we can’t do: join other believers in person as we worship God together. There is power in worshipping God together through song and prayer. Not to mention being encouraged by others (Hebrews 10:25) and hearing some great teaching.
  14. Go to God for help with major life changes. Because I’ve just been through my own major life change, it’s fresh in my mind how important it is to go to God for help with that. Why? Because when we enter into a new life stage we discover new weaknesses, new tendencies toward idolatry, and new reasons to be discontent – even if they’re GOOD life changes. If we don’t go to God for help with those changes, we may start feeling distant from Him.

Journal Questions for Getting Closer to God

The wonderful thing about God is that He loves us even when we don’t feel close to Him. So if we’re wanting to improve our relationship with Him, we know He wants that as well. That’s not always true in our relationships with people. Sometimes it helps to think about what changes we’d like to make to improve our relationships. Following are some journaling questions you can use to think about your relationship with God.

  1. What would it look like to have a close walk with God?
  2. Is a consistently close walk with God possible?
  3. Why do you want a close walk with God?
  4. What is one thing that keeps you from having a closer walk with God?
  5. What is one step you could take to have a closer walk with God?

My prayer for all of us is that God will help us have the discipline and desire to do some of the things that will draw us closer to Him. He loves us and wants to be in a relationship with us. That’s such a huge blessing. Does one of the above steps stand out to you as something you’d like to try doing? If so, I hope you’ll give that a try.

Additional Resources Mentioned on the Podcast

  • James Transformation Bible Study

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Related Posts:

  • When You're Not Feeling Close to God - Pt. 1
  • When You're Not Feeling Close to God - Pt. 2
  • Christian Loneliness: How to Stop Being Lonely
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Comments

  1. Betty Draper says

    June 19, 2017 at 7:49 pm

    Find something you enjoy doing with Him. I don’ think I would have thought of this one Barb. Great list to keep us closer to our Savior. I find listening is one of my favorite things, quieting myself down so I can hear Him is the hard part but when I do I am amazed at how much He has to say. I have hid His Word in my heart for years and He reminds me of them in my quiet time. Blessings.

    • Barb Raveling says

      June 20, 2017 at 5:50 pm

      Yes, that’s so great, Betty. Times with God are my best times, no matter if I’m at home or on vacation. Can’t wait til the day when I’ll see Him face to face! But also enjoying life now. :)

  2. TC Avey says

    June 23, 2017 at 7:04 am

    I look forward to listening to this podcast cast later.
    This summer is keeping me busy with little quiet time ;)

    How God had been helping me draw closer to Him is by showing me His goodness in the midst of pain and lose. During trials it can be hard to see how God is good and loving when an end to the struggle seems to never come. But despite the trials, God is good. He is for us. His love never fails.

    • Barb Raveling says

      June 23, 2017 at 9:04 am

      Yes, yes, yes. I love those affirmations. God is good. He is for us. His love never fails! And I love the way He wants to use trials to draw us closer to Him. Hope you’re enjoying the summer, TC, and having some fun times with your kids. Although I just remembered, it’s probably super hot where you live! I only enjoy those super hot days when I’m in the water. :)

  3. Jennifer Dougan says

    June 24, 2017 at 7:01 pm

    Hi Barb,

    I’ve found that I like to journal out the verses I’m reading, noting that I see different things in them as I write them out, plus they stay in my brain longer that way too. :) It’s been powerful for me to pray God’s words back to him too, praying aloud verses in the Bible. or the verses I’ve been reading, etc.

    Thanks for your focus on this too. It renews my excitement.

    Jennifer Dougan
    http://www.jenniferdougan.com

    • Barb Raveling says

      July 5, 2017 at 10:23 am

      Hi Jennifer, I feel the same way about journaling the Bible verses and studying them that way. I love that as a learning process plus it also helps me focus on those days when I’m feeling scattered. Just checked out your blog and you have such a beautiful family! Isn’t it fun watching our kids go through those different stages in life?

      • Ryan says

        April 23, 2018 at 6:27 pm

        I love god with all my heart

  4. Dan Black says

    July 4, 2017 at 2:24 am

    Along side my daily devotions, one day a week I spend around 45 minutes during my commute to pray, worship, and listen to the Bible. It’s my block of time to connect with God. It has helped me to remain connected with Him.

    • Barb Raveling says

      July 5, 2017 at 10:23 am

      That’s a neat way to spend extra time with God, Dan. I love how intentional you are about using your time well and continuing to grow even though I know you’re busy with your career!

  5. Jessica says

    August 3, 2017 at 6:27 pm

    “The idolatry of the approval of man” is such a powerful statement. As someone new to the blogging world myself that is something that hasn’t even crossed my radar before, but WOW, mind blown. Definitely something I’ll have to keep a check on from now on. Very helpful list to guide yourself into a deeper walk with God. I especially liked the ideas of finding things you enjoy doing with him and doing a closeness check pre-quite time. Will definitely try to adapt my own practices to include these things! Thanks for the wonderful post and I look forward to discovering more gems on this site!

    • Barb Raveling says

      August 9, 2017 at 6:25 pm

      Hi Jessica, That’s great that you just started blogging! I just checked out your blog and I love the design plus it looks like you have really interesting topics! I have a blogging series on my blog that I wrote near the beginning of this blog (it’s under the Bible study tab). I feel like it’s gotten easier has time has gone one. Hope you’re enjoying your new endeavor!

  6. Kris Luck says

    October 4, 2017 at 3:11 pm

    I just woke from the most awesome dream the Lord gave me and I started looking at websites and found this one which talks about things I need to learn more about. I feel the Lord guided me. I’ve recently started to change my life so I hope this helps. Thank you and bless you. Kris Luck

    • Barb Raveling says

      October 11, 2017 at 5:39 am

      So glad it’s helpful, Kris! God bless you, too!

  7. Tonia says

    February 14, 2024 at 1:40 pm

    What was the name of the book regarding Sabbath?

    • Barb Raveling says

      February 15, 2024 at 3:10 pm

      I’m sorry, Tonia, I don’t remember the name of the book. I probably still have it in my boxes of books in my storage unit in Montana, but I’m down in Utah. I did read another great book that had a lot on Sabbath rest if I remember right written by John Mark Comer, who is a Christian pastor. Here’s the name of that book: Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human.

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