10 Ways to Grow Closer to God
Your relationship with God is like a seed. It has the potential of growing in to be a beautiful flower, but you have to help it grow.
When you start dating someone, or a new friendship is made, you have to get to know the person in order for your connection to grow! The way you grow closer to God is no different.
In this blog post, we going to give you 10 ways to rekindle your relationship with God, grow closer to Him.
1. Spend Time Reading the Bible
This is one that you probably have heard a million times over and it tends to be brushed over and downplayed. But this one is also a no brainer!
It’s kind of like when you meet someone new, we tend to go look on their social media pages to get to know them and their heart. Scripture is similar. It helps us get to know God better. The difference is that His Word is living and breathing (Hebrews 4:12). The Bible is a manual showing how to grow closer to God and become more like Him.
The Bible is a one way guaranteed ticket straight into God’s heart and all of what He wants us to hear, straight from people who walked alongside Jesus and experienced teaching directly from Jesus Himself! There’s no better way to grow closer to our Heavenly Father than reading the words He gave to us to have here on this earth.
2. Spend Time in Prayer
The crazy beautiful thing about God is that we can talk to Him. He’s listening anytime you want, about anything you want.
Is there a friend, sibling, coworker, or significant other that you are close with who you have never had a conversation with? Can you think of someone? You can’t!
Don’t let prayers with big words and fancy phrases discourage you from talking with Jesus. He doesn’t ask, or even expect anything from you! He just desires a relationship with you, so set aside time to be in conversation with Him.
Even if you have a nonstop busy schedule, this is no excuse to neglect prayer. Here’s an idea” use your driving time to talk to Jesus instead of listening to the radio or anything else.
Seek refuge in Him as your comforter, and be completely honest with your struggles. Come as you are to have conversation with your Creator. He is waiting for you and always ready to listen.
3. Surround Yourself with Like-minded Believers
Let’s face it. Finding Christ-like community is hard, but the task of seeking it out is worth it when you experience the beauty and joy that comes with community.
The importance of this comes straight from scripture as we see in 1 Corinthians 15:33; “Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
This verse tells us directly that even if we have good character ourselves, but surround ourselves only with people who aren’t seeking Christ like we are, our character will be corrupted.
To find like-minded community, you can find a local Bible study to attend, join a local church (more on that later), or just become more intentional about who you do everyday life with. You will have people that you can confide in and seek wisdom from, knowing that they believe the same thing as you.
4. Fast
Fasting is something that doesn’t have much importance or hold much priority in modern day society compared to Bible times.
The beauty, clarity, and intimacy with Jesus that comes with fasting is something that is often brushed over, or not even spoken of in today’s Christian world and churches.
Food is a popular thing that people use to fast. When you set aside the time you would normally be eating, and instead use it pray growth comes from this sacrifice. You are forced to rely on strength that comes from God to fulfill you. You can fast from one meal a day, or completely for one day a week.
Take note of Matthew 6:18 where it teaches that Biblical fasting is done in private,
“But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
In this passage on Biblical fasting, we are given specific guidelines on how when done the way God intends for it to be done; privately and humbly; we will be rewarded with further intimacy with the Father.
5. Serve
Setting aside your time and using your gifts is a way to deepen and grow in our relationship with God. When we give up our time to serve in some capacity, we are being the hands of feet of Jesus and honoring Him.
Service is often scoffed at, but we are told all throughout scripture that we are to live like Christ did. Jesus came as a humble servant, not seeking recognition, but just to serve and love others well.
Serving can look like volunteering, finding a ministry at the church you attend, or simply doing an act of service, big or small, for someone you come across (hold the door open!)
6. Tithe
Tithing helps us grow closer to God because our trust, and reliance in Him grows exponentially. We can’t talk about fully surrendering to God and putting Him above all, without including our finances. This requires a sense of relying on Jesus to be our provider, even regarding money.
Money isn’t the most comfortable thing to talk about. But when wanting to walk with Jesus, and grow in your relationship with Him, it will almost never be the easiest, or most comfortable thing.
We are told of the importance of tithing and giving money well over 20 times in the Bible. For example, we see this directly in Genesis 28:20-22, where Jacob says that because he knows God is faithful, and His promises are true, he will tithe 10%.
Matthew 6:21, says; “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” This verse speaks to the importance using our finances, in a way that honors God above everything else in our life.
We know that setting aside 10% of your income and giving it back to God might scare you. But here’s the beautiful thing about Jesus: when we honor Him above all else, in every aspect of our life, He always is faithful and provides.
7. Join a Bible-Teaching Church
Joining a church brings commitment, consistent wisdom from leaders, and a place to tithe. You can participate in small groups (biblical community), corporate worship, and find countless opportunities to serve.
There is no better place to be introduced to the Gospel or to learn more about living for Christ. If you are actively pursuing God apart from a church congregation, you are selling yourself short.
God intended us to grow closer to Him in community. There is beauty in gathering together weekly 1 or 2 days out of your week with others on the same mission.
8. Evangelize
Sharing the life change you’ve experienced because of Jesus will aid in growing so much closer to Him as your personal Savior.
The last command we are given from Jesus before He ascends into Heaven in Matthew 28:18-20 is “…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
Once you take your faith so seriously that you gain a fiery passion for the Gospel, you’ll want too share the good news that has changed your life! Sharing your faith is a simple way to reignite your passion for God.
9. Memorize scripture
Take your Bible reading one step further by memorizing scripture!
The writer of Psalm 119:11 says “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” This passage emphasizes the importance of not only reading verses, but also memorizing them.
Get creative! For example, you could write the verse down on a sticky note and place it on your mirror, dashboard, and any other place you see throughout the day.
Of course, Hidden Truth Jewelry is another tool you can use to memorize scripture. Each piece has a verse on the back to remind you of a truth from God’s word.
Memorizing scripture is an easy yet huge way to deepen and grow in your relationship with Christ, because you are hiding His words in your heart, and that is one thing no one can take from you.
10. Find a spiritual mentor
A spiritual mentor is simply someone in your life who is most likely older, definitely wiser, and more mature in their faith than you are. This person can be a Sunday school teacher, an older friend, a family member, a pastor, etc.
A spiritual mentor serves as someone who you can go to when in need of spiritual advisement, wisdom, advice, or just someone you can trust to confide in. They are solely focused on spiritually strengthening you.
Spiritual mentorship holds you accountable. Good spiritual mentors don’t just speak from their own wisdom, they directly lead you back to God’s word.
Having someone like this is an incredible way to be held accountable in growing in your walk with the Lord, because you can be encouraged, advised, held accountable, but also comforted knowing that you have someone you can go to who has most definitely “been there done that” in life and in their walk with Jesus.
Conclusion
We hope after reading these 10 different ways to grow closer to God that you are encouraged and even more determined to walk closely with your Heavenly Father.
Implementing these tips will not only help you to grow personally in your faith, but also encourage others around you to do the same.
