How To Get Close To God
Today I’m going to talk about “How To Get Close To God.” Why would you want to get close to God? Think about it for a minute, why do people want to get close to other people? Some people want to get close to other people because they love and care about them. Other people want to get close to someone else because that person has power, money or influence and they feel they can receive a benefit by being close to them. Another reason someone might want to get close to someone else is to learn from them, to follow their example, to become like someone. All of those reasons are also reasons to get close to God.
When you are close to God, you benefit from that close relationship. NCV Psalm 73:28 But I am close to God, and that is good. The Lord God is my protection. When you are close to God, you receive God’s protection. When you are far from God, you’re out of His protection. That’s just one example of how getting close to God benefits your life.
Some people think being close to God is just for pastors or other spiritual leaders, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Regardless of your career, you can get close to God. Getting close to God does not depend on some special gifting from God, getting close to God depends on you. If you want to get close to God, if you follow God’s principles to get close to Him, you can become one of God’s best friends.
NLT James 4:8 Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. This verse is both a command and a promise. God commands you to draw close to Him. He also promises that if you obey that command to draw close to God, then God will draw close to you. God is waiting for you to respond to Him. He has issued the invitation. He is calling you this morning to draw close to Him, you need to answer His call.
God is calling you to draw close to Him. If you ignore His call, if you ignore His command, if you ignore His direction, you won’t build your friendship with God. You won’t get close to God, you’ll miss out on all the benefits of living life in the presence of God. In fact, if you don’t live a life close to God in this life, you won’t spend eternity with Him. Heaven is reserved for friends of God, those who have a growing close relationship with God. So today, let’s look at some biblical principles to discover how to get close to God.
To hear more about this topic, listen to my March 19, 2006 message entitled How To Get Close To God via
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Related posts:
- Releasing God’s Power Of Protection
- Friendship With God
- Why Relationships Are Important
- Overcoming Opposition When Following Jesus
- The Basics of Prayer
Dear Pastor Dan,
I am confused as to what you mean about accepting Jesus. When you say that you must accept Jesus into your heart aren’t you turning the Gospel into Law? Because in John 1 verse 13, the bible states that coming to Christ is “…not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” How do you deal with that verse?
Also, i read that you said Grace is a free gift but that we must first accept it? Isn’t that contradictory? How can it be free but conditional? And how is that different from work’s righteousness in glory theology in that we must first do something in order to gain salvation from God?
Anyways, I’d love to hear your answers and I hope you have a blessed day!
Sincerely,
G.T.
Missouriboy23@yahoo.com
God’s gift of salvation must be accepted to be effective. Faith is the requirement to receive salvation. For example, NIV John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” You must believe to have eternal life. To believe is give your whole life to God, to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord of your life. There are many other verses describing the necessity of faith to become a believer and have eternal life. Grace is offered freely, but it can be accepted or rejected.
Let’s look at the whole sentence from the verse you cited. NIV John 1:12 “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
Here you have what I was saying in a nutshell. You must receive Jesus, you must believe in His name, in order to become a child of God. The part of the verse that says chidren of God are not “of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will” simply is saying that being a child of God is a spiritual birthing not a physical birthing.
One more verse, to illustrate what I have been saying is NIV Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Dear,Pastor I’m only sixteen and I’m trying so hard to get through life and to become bestfriends with GOD . I just need some valuable tips on how to stay connected with GOD becasue in this day and age is really hard and I’m not trying to make up an excuse but its really challenging at least for me it is . I been through so much in my life and only GOD knows that and not my family . I’m sort of lost and I need help ? please be thee one to help me !
Ashley,
First you need to begin a relationship with God, if you don’t already have one. Read my post about Beginning A Relationship With God.
Then you need to maintain and grow that relationship. It’s pretty simple to say, but difficult for some to do. Read your Bible and pray every day. Stay away from sin. Find a Bible believing church and get involved. Most good churches these days have small groups, as do most good youth groups. Build relationships with other believers in a small group. Stay away from close relationships with people who pull you away from God. God will help you.
dear pastor dan, im having trouble understanding how i feel.. sometimes i have no idea how im feeling, and i often feel like i have nothing to look forward to in life.. or like i have nothing to do.. all i do is watch t.v. but i really dont like watching t.v. i want to do something useful or artistic but im kinda lazy.. im almot always bored and im always asking people what i could do thats fun in my spare time but nothing sounds interesting.. i enjoy helping people and listening to their problems it makes me feel good but i can barley handle my own problems.. i give good advice but i dont follow my own. My realationship with god is always on and off i get close to god for a couple days then i start sining and i feel like i cant just keep making the same mistakes over and over again when i do i feel like i cant just say sorry again cuz im know im going to do it again. so i stay away from god for a while and when i start to feel alone again i try to get close with god but it never lasts. i know what i have to do to be close with god but i think im just to lazy to do it.. im so confused and i cant stop messing up ..
I think you have what I have, Beth. I do not think it is laziness it’s just one of Satan’s attacks. I believe it’s lack of interest, you love God you just don’t want to go through with what you need to get close to God. You just have to push yourself and not procrastinate.
Study the Scriptures, worship God with music, etc.!
As for you finding something to do, well, once you get closer to God you’ll be more alive and more active, you’ll be able to discover your interests then.
how are you daddy,hope all is well,but foe me i’m not i want to know for myself im tried playing church.i need your help.please talk to our father i will do the same.i keep falling i need help please.i want to get close to GOd
I agree that many think that drawing closer to God is something that only is for preachers, pastors, etc, but they are so wrong!
I began my quest to get closer to God last year. I have been a Christian all my life, but had not really accepted most of His gifts. Just like with other relationships, we gain “favorability” with God by spending time with Him, having conversation with Him, and by doing things that are pleasing to Him. You would not be great friends with someone if you did not spend time with them, talk with them and do things that were pleasing to a person. The same goes for God. He is there all the time, but getting close to Him is really the ONLY way to get the true benefits of His friendship.
Getting close to God is easy. All you have to do is want to spend time with Him just like you would your best friend or your spouse. God loves your time with Him and will bless you amazingly for spending that time with him. It took me many years to make the “sacrifice” of spending time with Him. When I finally made the commitment I realized it was not a sacrifice at all. I love spending time with God. It makes my day go smoother, makes me think clearer, and makes me more patient with my children and others around me.
I spend time with God every evening. (I am not a morning person, but I hear that is better. I start with music and worshiping God, then I thank Him for all He has done. I spend time asking God for my needs and then I actually spend QUIET time with Him so that he can actually talk to me! ( I have been told a lot that when you are talking to me, you can’t get a word in edgewise LOL) So I give God time to talk to me.
Just spending quality non-multitasking time with Him everyday and reading His word is all it takes to get closer to God.
I thank everyone who reminded me of Christ’s love here. I have been stumbling so much lately. I think “what is the point to all of this life?” I have been born and raised a christian for 33 years and I think I just “lost the flavor” of Christ and started to drift. It is scary for me as I homeschool 5 kids and have them in the word of God everyday. I guess I just let “life” take me on and I haven’t spent time with God like I used to. I was scared that I lost my faith. I am trying so hard to get back where I used to be. How can I get Satan to leave me a lone? why would God allow me to stop feeling my faith?