How to Grow Closer to God in 5 Simple Steps
DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING I GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH MY LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU. PLEASE READ MY TERMS OF USE POLICY FOR MORE INFO.Cultivating a connection with God when it feels He’s forgotten about you can be tough.
The moments when you know the words of the Bible are true but they don’t apply to you are overwhelming.
It’s hard to hold on to your faith when you believe God will perform miracles for others just not for you. Trust me, I know. I’ve been there. It’s not an easy space to navigate but it’s possible. Let’s discuss how.
In this post, I will share the 5 steps I used to connect with God when I was at my lowest point. I’ll be covering what it means to:
Identify
Write
Meditate
Pray
Repeat
If you desire a personal relationship with God, to be planted in His love and walk with Him daily, keep reading. This post is for you!
In 2021, God instructed me to leave my job. To me, that didn’t make sense. My bank accounts didn’t say that was a smart idea but after much prayer, I turned in my notice to resign. That very day, I found out I had Chiari 1 Malformation and I needed to have brain surgery. I was devastated but I decided to trust God anyway.
I continued with the plan to leave my job and I trusted God to provide the resources to navigate life without a steady income and no insurance. And God did just that! He provided.
But in October 2022, I was involved in an attempted car-jacking and I got MAD at God. And I mean MAD! I’d done everything He told me to do and He allowed such a traumatic situation to happen to me. I was furious!
Unfortunately, coupled with fury, I was afraid. I was more afraid than mad. I was afraid to drive. Afraid to be home. Afraid to be away from home. I was afraid to be awake. I was afraid to be asleep. I was afraid to be out at night and during the day. I lived in a perpetual state of fear. I was angry that God allowed it to happen and I was afraid to live my life. I didn’t know how to deal with the fear so I took my anger to God.
There were days I’d be driving and a black car with tinted windows would pull up next to me and my insides would quiver and tears would fill my eyes. In those moments, I’d yell, “Your Word says you don’t give me a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind! BUT I DON’T BELIEVE IT! I’m scared now! I need You to help me believe it.”
I had several days, weeks and months like that…but something began to shift. Because I was desperate to no longer live in fear, I went to the Bible. I found scripture that said what I needed and I begged God to help me believe it. And He did. As a result, we grew closer and I began to see Him as Father. As safety. As protection. As LOVE.
Here are the steps I took:
First, identify how you feel. At first I thought I felt anger until I was honest with myself and admitted I felt fear. Once the feeling is identified, ask yourself what is needed to resolve the feeling. Then conduct a search in a Bible concordance or the Bible app for the resolution. What does the Bible say about it?
For me, I needed to feel safe and protected. You may need something different. Here are some examples of what you may need:
Peace
Protection
Love
Joy
Provision
Healing
Identity
Safety
Comfort
Covering
Once you’ve identified the scriptures that speak to your concern, you then write down what those verses mean to you. When you read the verses, what stands out to you? If you’re able to hear Holy Spirit speak, what is He saying to you? Write it down.
Next, meditate on the scriptures that resonate the most with you. My way of meditating on the scripture was by yelling them every time I felt fear, which was often. Another way to meditate on scripture is to set a timer to recite the verses at specific times of the day. Or when you know you’ll be faced with your specific concern.
Then, write out a prayer using those verses. This way you are praying God’s Word over you and your situation. You’re connecting with God through prayer and you’re strengthening your prayer life. Here’s an example of a prayer I prayed from the verses I used:
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this day. Thank you for never leaving me or forsaking me. It’s comforting to know you are always with me. Your word says when I walk through the darkest valley, you are always with me, your rod and staff comfort me according to Psalms 23:4. You said you don’t give me a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind based on 2 Timothy 1:7. You are the cloud by day and the fire by night. You are the Lord of Heaven’s Armies which means you will fight for me, Jehovah Gibbor. Father, I’m struggling to believe these words, please help my unbelief, like you did for Jarius. I can’t do this without You. In Jesus name. Amen.
Lastly, repeat the prayer daily or several times a day until you believe God is who you need Him to be. Set a reminder or a timer to say the prayer. Or say it whenever you feel the emotion that led to you seeking God.
If you’re ready to take the next step on your journey to growing closer to God, check out this journal I created with you in mind. It’s an easy to follow design with daily verses to pray and space to write your thoughts and prayers.
Journaling your prayers is an easy way to commit to praying, keep your prayers all in one place and gives you the chance to look back over them some time from now to see how far you’ve grown. Order yours today! Or download the digital copy here and begin connecting with God today!
The digital copy is also available, click here to download.
