How to get to god

Testify God

The Bible says, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). As believers in God, we all know that building a normal relationship with God in order to get closer to God and receive more of the Holy Spirit’s work is crucial. In the fast-paced modern life, however, busy jobs, complicated relationships and evil social trends draw us in and occupy our hearts more and more, and they prevent us from quieting ourselves before God. This causes our relationship with God to become ever more distant and causes us to often feel empty and agitated in the depths of our souls. So how exactly can we establish a proper relationship with God and become closer to God? This is a very important issue put in front of each believer. Actually, we need only to grasp the three aspects below, and our relationship with God will grow closer.

First, withdraw our hearts from outside people, events, and things, often quiet ourselves before God and commune with Him.

Praying is an important way for us to communicate with God. But in our real lives, because we are tightly bound by children, housework and work, carrying a heavy burden, we often find no time to pray, or just go through the motions in prayer, not meaning what we say. Thus, our relationship with God becomes increasingly distant. Really, praying isn’t necessarily about how much we say or how long we pray. Rather, it only requires us to quiet our hearts before God, say to Him what is in our hearts, tell Him of our difficulties and deficiencies, and open our hearts to Him about our actions. Even if we only utter a few such prayers, we’ll feel that our relationship with God is very intimate, as though we are face-to-face with Him. I remember two passages of God’s words, “First, begin from the aspect of prayer. Pray with undivided attention and at fixed times. No matter how pressed you are for time, how busy your work, or what befalls you, pray every day as normal, and eat and drink God’s words as normal. As long as you eat and drink God’s words, no matter what your surroundings are, you will have great enjoyment in your spirit, and you will be undisturbed by the people, events, or things around you. When you ordinarily contemplate God in your heart, what goes on outside cannot bother you. This is what it means to possess stature.” “When you reach the point of giving your heart to God, then you will be able to perceive every subtle movement within your spirit, and you will know every enlightenment and illumination received from God. Hold onto this, and you will gradually enter into the path of being perfected by the Holy Spirit. The quieter your heart can be before God, the more sensitive and delicate your spirit will be and the more your spirit will be able to perceive how the Holy Spirit moves it, and then your relationship with God will become ever more normal.”

If we wish to become closer to God, we need to frequently come before God in prayer, and give our hearts to Him. Whether it be at gatherings or during spiritual devotion, or when we are walking down the street or sitting on the bus or at work, we should pray to God in our hearts or give thought to God’s love. Unknowingly, our hearts can then become quiet before God even more, and we’ll understand more of God’s will. In this way, our relationship with God will be closer. Moreover, when we give our hearts to God, we’ll be able to obtain more work of the Holy Spirit, and observe some spiritual matters; we’ll be able to be aware of the corruption we are revealing, and immediately pray to God in repentance so that we won’t distance ourselves from God. For example, as we are talking with others and begin to become unconventional, once we realize this, we should hurriedly pray to God silently, “O God, I’m reckless and I’m following my flesh. Doing this isn’t appropriate. I feel indebted to You.” From the outside, we don’t say these things, but we pray to God in our hearts, and our hearts don’t leave God. Only thus can we guarantee that we’ll live before God and build a proper relationship with Him.

Second, often read and fellowship about God’s words, and put the truth into practice.

The Lord’s words, as we all know, are the lamplight before us, and the light on the road, and they are even more the direction and goal for our actions and are walking-sticks on our spiritual road. When we are mocked and slandered by the world for believing in God, and feel wronged and in pain, God’s words comfort and encourage us so that we become determined to take up the cross and follow God. When we meet difficulties and feel weak and negative, through reading God’s words, we become firm and courageous, have the faith to overcome the difficulties and carry forward by relying on God. When we face Satan’s temptation, through reading God’s words, we see through Satan’s tricks and avoid its test, which halts our tendency to sin. And so on. All of this results from reading God’s words. God’s words are the spiritual food that gives us life. As long as we read more of God’s utterances and fellowship about them, we will gradually come to understand God’s will and have a path of practice in all things, and when we practice according to God’s words, we’ll gain God’s approval and have a closer and closer relationship with God.

God said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51). Another passage of God’s words says, “Only by building upon the foundation of eating and drinking God’s words, and thereby coming to know Him and to satisfy Him, can people gradually build a normal relationship with God. For man, there is no better cooperation with God than eating and drinking His words and putting them into practice. Through such practice they are best able to stand firm in their testimony of God’s people.” We can see from these words that often quieting before God and reading God’s words are of great importance, and that this is the best path of gaining the Holy Spirit’s work and of life progression. God’s will and requirements for us are all in God’s words, so only by reading more of God’s words and pondering them more can we gain some illumination, understand God’s intentions, and find the path of practice in the things we encounter. The more we practice in accordance with God’s will, the more relaxed we will feel in our hearts, and the closer our relationship with God will become. Therefore, frequently reading God’s words and practicing them is one aspect of practice for us to grow even closer to God.

Third, rectify our motives in all things, and accept God’s observation.

God’s words say, “All that you do, every action, every intention, and every reaction should be brought before God. Even your daily spiritual life—your prayers, your closeness to God, how you eat and drink of God’s words, your fellowship with your brothers and sisters, and your life within the church—and your service in partnership can be brought before God for His scrutiny. It is such practice that will help you achieve growth in life. The process of accepting God’s scrutiny is the process of purification. The more you can accept God’s scrutiny, the more you are purified and the more you are in accord with God’s will, so that you will not be drawn into debauchery, and your heart will live in His presence. The more you accept His scrutiny, the greater are Satan’s humiliation and your ability to forsake the flesh. So, the acceptance of God’s scrutiny is a path of practice people should follow.”

From this, we can see that whatever we do or say, if we can bring it before God and accept His scrutiny, then we’ll easily forsake our flesh and practice the truth to satisfy God. Accepting God’s observation in all things is the best practice of achieving growth in life, changing our disposition and gaining the truth, and it is also an indispensable path to living before God and being obtained by God. Therefore, our thoughts and minds, motives, every word, every act, every movement, and our daily spiritual life—our prayers, reading God’s words, closeness with God, fellowship with our brothers and sisters, practicing the truth and performing our duties—should be brought before God and be subject to His observation. This will help us betray our flesh and practice the truth, and achieve obedience to God. Whoever has had such an experience has these realizations: When we accept God’s observation, we’ll have the strength to forsake our flesh and practice the truth—despite suffering physically, we are willing to put the truth into practice to satisfy God; when we accept God’s scrutiny, we dare not do things as we prefer or according to our own will, but rather seek God’s intentions and act in accordance with God’s requirements; only when we accept God’s inspection can we understand and enter into the truth, and gradually come to know God’s disposition; only by accepting God’s scrutiny can we be purified by God’s words, and obtain God’s blessings and protection. For instance, when we try to deceive and cheat and are unwilling to lay ourselves bare, if we accept God’s observation, we’ll realize that God is almighty and inspects everything, and God sees with the utmost clarity our actions and deeds, thoughts and ideas, and that if we stubbornly follow our flesh at the time, we’ll be cheating God, be detested by God, and fall into Satan’s scheme. After realizing this, we’ll find the strength to betray our flesh and are willing to practice the truth to satisfy God; we won’t deceive or lie but will have the courage to open ourselves up and be honest to humiliate Satan. After we practice this, we’ll enjoy more work of the Holy Spirit and live before God.

The above are the three paths of practice for growing closer to God. As long as we act in accordance with these paths, we’ll then get much closer to God, our relationship with God will become better and better, and God will bestow on us peace and joy and will enable us to live in His blessings.

How to Get Closer to God

O ne of the most pressing desires of believers is to grow closer to God. For many of us the pathway to God is like a wave going up and down. Sometimes we’re riding the top of the wave and enjoying a closeness like never before. Yet there are other times when it seems like we’re in a remote desert panting for spiritual water and feeling desperately alone.

A close relationship with God is bigger than a legalistic list of do’s and don’ts. Rather it’s a life journey of highs and lows that are sustained by the unfailing presence of God whether we sense Him or not. Believers who desire to grow in their faith and maturity pay a cost in order to find closeness with God. How do we do this?

We can get closer to God when we make time to build a relationship with Him

“ Come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:8).

The first step to getting close to God involves an act of our will. Setting aside quiet time sitting in God’s presence and reflecting on His goodness will brings us closer. When spending time with God becomes a priority in our busy lives, we find ourselves longing and enjoying those times alone with Him.

We can get closer to God when we commit ourselves to the reading/meditation of Scripture

“I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways” (Psalm 119:15).

Intimacy and familiarity with God’s word brings us closer to Him. The Lord implants scriptures in our hearts and minds that eventually bloom when we need to hear from Him. It’s the words of Scripture that will bring life to our relationship with God.

We can get closer to God through times of fasting to deny the flesh and grow in the Spirit

“‘Even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning’” (Joel 2:12).

Fasting isn’t easy for most of us as we struggle with giving up food for periods of time. However, fasting is a spiritual discipline which helps clear out the clutter of the flesh so that we can clearly communicate and receive God’s direction when needed.

We can get closer to God when we build an awareness of God’s presence

“Surely the righteous will praise your name, and the upright will live in your presence” (Psalm 140:13).

Keeping a spiritual song or hymn in our hearts draws us into a keener awareness of God. The Holy Spirit can stir up a rich fragrance of praise stemming out of a heart longing for more of Him. Praising God for who He is every day increases our sensitivity to His presence.

We can get closer to God by walking in obedience and doing what is right

“Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed” (Isaiah 56:1).

“Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed”

Doing what is right is easy until you are tempted to do what is wrong. Each of us are convicted by the Holy Spirit when we attempt to have our own way. When we resist the temptation to sin, we build up our confidence in God and draw closer to Him.

We can get closer to God when we confess and repent of our sins

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).

Our confession and repentance of sin brings us into a more intimate relationship with God. When we are gripped with grief over our personal transgressions, our hearts yearn for reconciliation with our Heavenly Father. There is grace and mercy when we fall before God and seek His forgiveness.

We can get closer to God as we yearn for more of Him

“My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you” (Isaiah 26:9).

No believer grows in the Spirit without yearning for more of God. Salvation was the beginning of experiencing the fullness of being brought from darkness to light. As eternal beings bound for our heavenly homes, we will never stop desiring more of Him even throughout eternity.

God is closer than we think…

“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings” (Hebrews 10:22).

The Lord longs to be in fellowship with His children. We spend many of our days busy and flustered with many issues. However, the one and most important impact of our lives is a growing, vibrant relationship with God. Today is your day to abide in Christ so that He will abide in you. Make your heart a more welcoming home for the Lord today!

Resource – New International Version Bible, The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblca, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide

Article by Crystal McDowell

Crystal McDowell and her husband of 22 years raise their five children in the Midwest. She writes, speaks, and teaches with a passion to encourage women with Biblical truths. As a freelance writer for over 12 years, Crystal has written numerous Christian curricula for Sunday School and VBS as well as many articles dealing with marriage, motherhood, and relationships. She gives weekly words of encouragement on her blog: Crystal McDowell Speaks

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How to Get Closer to God Spiritually

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Have you ever wondered how to get closer to God?

It doesn’t matter who you are, at some point, we all struggle with our faith. It may be a struggle with illness, a family or personal problem, or simply a gap in your relationship with God. It’s always good to reconnect.

So let’s take a look at some ideas of how to get closer to God spiritually with some simple habits for spiritual growth.

In an earlier post, How to Grow Your Faith in God, I mentioned several daily habits that we can do to put God first in our lives. This is our opportunity to elaborate on those habits.

If you are not implementing these daily habits into your life, you might find a chink in the armor of your growing relationship with God. I encourage you to take a close look at your life, add those things that are missing, and seek out how to get closer to God.

Be sure to grab your checklist (below) with the tips to grow your faith from this post. ⤵️

How do I start getting closer to God?

The following list contains 15 daily activities that you can do to get closer to God. Have you ever thought to describe your relationship with Jesus? What kind of activities would you be doing if you were right there with Him as He established His first church?

As you work these activities into your life, (with the exception of the first one, since you were learning from Jesus Himself,) you will find your relationship with God growing.

One last thing before we dig in, joining your local New Testament church is the best way to get closer to God.

After you’ve accepted Jesus as your Savior, the very next step in obedience is to be baptized into a true New Testament church. By true, I mean one that follows all of the doctrines of Jesus.

It’s not enough to pick any old church. Make sure the doctrines align with the Bible. That is more important than a feel-good church that offers a basketball court and parties on the weekend, (but that’s a topic for another blog post.)

Following up with baptism and membership in a true church will keep you aligned with the will of God. After all, that’s our goal, right?

Open your Bible

One of the best ways for how to grow closer to God, is to open your Bible every single day. It doesn’t matter if you simply read through your Bible, do a Bible study do daily devotionals, spending time in God’s Word is going to draw you closer to the Lord.

The Bible is God’s instruction manual. If you don’t know what’s in there, you’ll never understand how to successfully play the game of life by God’s rules. It’s no surprise that you will find tons of Bible verses to get closer to God. You’ll find several of them scattered right here throughout this post.

I don’t know about you, but I’m yearning to hear my Heavenly Father say, “Well done, though good and faithful servant.” Be sure to pray first, though. Personally, I want God to open my heart before I start to dig into His Word!

“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV. There you have it, Paul’s instructions for how to grow closer to God. Talk to God. Prayer is a gift. Praise Him, thank Him, petition Him on behalf of others and yourself. Prayer is simply talking to God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Even if you don’t know what to say or the burdens of your heart are too great to put into words, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us when that happens, because He knows our heart, always.

A great way to build your prayer life is to create a custom war binder or a prayer journal, which is a notebook with different sections that document your walk with God. A war binder is a mini version of the room made famous in the movie “War Room.” If you haven’t seen the movie yet, take the time to watch it. It will encourage you as you grow closer to the Lord.

Romans 8:26 KJV tells us Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Fellowship with other Christians

We can have fellowship with our worldly friends who are likely to lead us away from God or we can have fellowship with other Christians who understand God and His guidelines. These friends encourage us in getting closer to the Lord. These are truly the best friends you’ll ever have because they’re looking out for your best interests, your heart, and your soul.

Be humble

If you think you’ve got more control over your life than God does, you better think again. God has a plan for your life. Our job is to follow God’s will and live according to that plan. That doesn’t mean we are puppets and cannot set goals.

We are given the privilege and the curse of free will. It’s a privilege because He allows us to choose. But it’s a curse because if we choose poorly, then we reap the consequences of that choice. Your best plan is to seek God’s will for your life and humble yourself before Him. Let Him lead you.

Serve others

Jesus was a servant. He asks us to humble ourselves and serve others as well.

Matthew 23:11-12 KJV But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

If we want a closer relationship with God, we need to follow His commandments and put no other Gods before Him, and love others as ourselves. We serve others when we follow His second commandment. Doing His will through service means following the Scriptures to get closer to God.

I suggest that you encourage others with every opportunity that you get. Check out 9 Quick and Easy Benefits of Kindness for some of the earthly rewards of your service.

Confess your sins and repent from your bad habits

If you have unrepentant sin in your life, the Lord won’t listen to your prayers. So confess up, friends, and turn away from those sins. I have a friend who recently went through cancer. She always asked for prayer. But when she did so, she added, “But repent first, I want God to hear those prayers.”

Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

We want to get closer to God spiritually, so confess your sins and repent, or turn away from them.

Love others

We all show love in our lives. There’s love for your spouse, your children and your friends and then there’s agape love. This love shows God’s immeasurable, incomparable love for mankind.

Jesus, showed agape love when he gave himself a ransom on the cross of Calvary for all of mankind. He showed love to people who hated Him and He wants us to show that kind of love toward others. It’s easy to love those who love us back. But it’s important to love those who don’t love back.

Luke 6:27-28 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

Love everybody, always! It’s not just a catchy phrase, it is a commandment.

Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said unto him,Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Show gratitude

We have so much to be thankful for in our lives. Where do those blessings come from? Well from God, of course! Part of our prayer life should be giving thanks to the Lord for all of the many blessings that He bestows upon us.

I’m not talking about the stuff we have. Of course, we’re thankful for our families, our homes, and our health. But recognize our freedoms and privileges, the air we breathe, the nature that’s beautiful to our eyes, and most of all, the salvation of our souls.

It’s the things we cannot see that we sometimes neglect and take for granted. If you need help thinking of things to be thankful for, here’s a great list to jog your memory. There’s even a printable 40-day gratitude calendar if you need one. Gratitude from A to Z: Things to be Thankful For.

Be kind everywhere you go

It’s so important to show kindness. Remember the Golden Rule as most people call it? As Jesus puts it in his Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

My friend AnnMarie Anderson from Busy Blessed Women recently wrote a blog post titled Why is Kindness Important? She answers a lot of questions and I highly recommend that you check it out.

As a huge fan of paying it forward, I created a mega list of 105 of the Best Random Acts of Kindness, also with a printable, to give you a ton of ideas of ways to show that kindness. So show people the love of God that you have in your heart and be kind to everyone you meet. It’s a great habit for spiritual growth.

Don’t judge or criticize others

Matthew 7:1-5 says it best, again when Jesus gave His Sermon on the Mount.

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

I couldn’t possibly have much more to add to that, could I? Jesus is the one we should be listening to, right? If you’re looking for ways to make a spiritual connection with God, then follow the Words in red from the greatest instruction manual ever written, God’s Holy Word.

Stay connected to God

How do you get closer to God spiritually? Include Him in absolutely everything that you do. Are you struggling with work? Take it to God! Is your 2-year-old giving you sass? Pray about it!

Are you trying to decide which car to buy or are you struggling with paying your bills? Include the Lord in all of your decisions. Talk to Him all day long. Pray about everything. Praise Him, thank Him, ask for help and guidance.

Truly, in everything you do, you should seek input from the Lord. Stay connected to God and He will stay connected to you. It’s pretty simple, really. As you know, I’ve been through some pretty tough times. I’ve given even more tips on habits for spiritual growth in How to Draw Near to God After Tragedy.

Share God’s Word

The great commission given to all New Testament churches is from Matthew 28:19 which tells us:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

The very first word that Jesus tells us is Go! These are Jesus’s words. He doesn’t want us to sit around, hiding His Word in our hearts.

Our job, as Christians, is to share the Good News with others. If you got a great deal on shoes, you would tell everyone who would listen. Well, the salvation of our souls and protection from eternal damnation is the best deal of our lives.

Why would you keep that quiet? I know that our friends and family can be the worst at listening, but you have to try. We don’t have to save them, that’s up to Jesus, but we just have to be the messenger.

Want an easy way to learn God’s Word? Scripture cards are so helpful. Be sure to grab the ones below.⤵️ These are some of my favorite Bible verses to remind you of God’s promises, especially during the challenges of life.⤵️

Believe God’s Word

How can you get closer to God spiritually if you don’t trust Him? God’s Word is His instruction manual for life. These are God’s words breathed into the 40+ men who wrote the Bible. Over the course of 1500 years, the 66 books of the Bible were written. Seek out different Scriptures to get closer to God. I guarantee that you’ll find dozens on every page in the Bible.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 reminds us that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

That verse tells us the how and the why of the Bible. But the most critical part is faith. You simply have to believe that God is who He says He is. Go back to the original post, How to Grow Your Faith in God if you struggle with belief.

I understand that it can be hard to just put your faith in someone that you cannot see or touch. But you know He exists based on the evidence around you. Remember the Bible’s definition of Faith.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Believe in God and trust Him with everything and there is no greater habit for spiritual growth.

Do God’s Word

Is it good enough just to read God’s Word or listen to the preaching of it? Not at all! You have to act on the instructions that we’re given. In other words, you have to “do” God’s Word.

James 1:22 KJV says that we should But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

There are many action words that we are to follow in our lesson manual, the Bible. Go, do, believe, trust, preach, love, bless, pray, and on and on. So what should we do with these action words? We simply do what it tells us to do.

Some of it is easy and some is hard but God will lift you up and help you do the job. Another action word that you need is trust. Connecting with God means that you trust Him. If you trust Him, He will help you. So get busy, go and do!

Listen to God’s Word

There are so many options of things that you can listen to on the radio. You also have the option of listening to motivational podcasts or other types of recordings. Why not listen to God’s Word or Christian music instead of pop radio, the news or worldly music. You can also listen to talk radio which includes preaching or the discussion of Bible topics.

Take the time, while driving or during downtime to get closer to God spiritually. Stay away from the sinfulness that’s available online. Your choices are endless.

How can I strengthen my relationship with God?

A growing relationship with God includes prayer. Make sure that your prayer life includes gratitude. Appreciating what is going on all around you is a major step in connecting to God. I pulled together 30 very simple ideas to get closer to God spiritually, just as you’re going about your daily activities. So keep reading. But first, let me tell you about a really great way to make a spiritual connection with God.

How to stay connected to God

Faith Over Fear: Finding Peace in the Storms of Life is a printable Christian bundle that can help you stay connected to God by focusing on three key areas that will not only help you grow your prayer life, but it will dig deep into fear due to current events or any of the challenges in your life.

It digs into gratitude for your many bountiful blessings. It will also help you in reaching out to share kindness with others.

All of this results in a positive mindset that will help you tackle any challenge to create a beautiful life filled with greater contentment and joy. But most of all, it gives you the tools to make getting closer to God a whole lot easier.

Face your fears and struggles with faith, optimism, and hope. This toolbox is just one way to connect with God. It’s easy, it provides that connection between pen and paper that causes you to add detail when you’re working to get closer to God and to build that spiritual connection.

Grab Your FREE Daily Positivity Planner Page. Start your day in a positive way!⤵️

What happens when you get closer to God?

But there are other, more natural ways of getting closer to God spiritually. As I mentioned earlier. I’ve compiled a list of 30 very simple ways of connecting with God that you can implement into your day with ease. Let’s take a look at what happens when you get closer to God and realize your surroundings.

So you see, connecting with God is simple. It’s a simple matter of including Him in your life.

Well, there you have it, 15 daily habits for spiritual growth, as well as 30 additional ideas for connecting with God. If you need to know how to get closer to God spiritually, implement these tips into your life. Basically, the old phrase, WWJD, or what would Jesus do is a great guideline for living.

What do you think? Am I missing anything? Which habits are easier for you than others? Which are harder? Let me know in the comments, how do you get closer to God spiritually? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

How Can I Become Closer To God

The Meaning Of Hannah’s Prayer

Rabbi David Fohrman

Founder and Lead Scholar

How can I attain closeness with a God who is so beyond my comprehension? Why would the Creator of the Universe care about my prayers? Is God even listening? Especially on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we deal with this seeming contradiction: is God our King, or our parent?

One barrier we face in approaching prayer is the feeling that God is so holy that there are no grounds for connection between us. How could limited, flawed human beings possibly reach the infinite Creator through our prayers? The question becomes even more poignant when our prayers are dealing with our very human, messy life circumstances. How can we relate these experiences to God?

The Biblical model for answering these questions is Hannah, mother of the prophet Samuel. Not only does God answer Hannah’s prayer for a child, but the Talmud looks to her as the paradigm for prayer.

Rabbi Fohrman suggests that we may find guidance from the song of Hannah. This video course, created for the High Holidays, takes a deep dive into Hannah’s prayer in the book of Samuel and explores the concepts of holiness, closeness with God, and the real possibility of prayer.

You’ll soon discover that God’s loftiness is just the thing that makes a relationship with Him all the more attainable, and you’ll never doubt the power of prayer again. Take a look.

Discover other great videos for the High Holidays at Aleph Beta, including ‘How To Do Teshuva”, “What Is The Meaning and Purpose of Yom Kippur”. and “Finding Forgiveness In God’s Attributes”.

Materials

How Do I Get Closer To God?

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How Do I Get Closer To God?

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Transcript

Ok. Hi, everybody! It is that time of the year again, the days of awe. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are upon us. You are going to go to services. You gonna go to shul, synagogue, temple, whatever it is you call it. But you are going to spend a good deal of your day praying, more than perhaps on any other day of the year. And how are you going to feel about this?

How Do We Get Close To A Holy God?

So, speaking personally, I have always felt a kind of a lingering sense of frustration about this. Frustration isn’t the nicest of things to feel on the High Holidays. But here is where I was coming from. The Machzor seems to demand two almost contradictory things from us at the same time. The first thing is a sense of closeness and vulnerability.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur — these are days when you are really supposed to pour out your heart to God, in a very visceral way. You are supposed to talk about your hopes and your fears for the year ahead. You are supposed to make a real accounting of the year behind you. You are supposed to be there in the moment. Doing that takes a lot of energy. It takes a lot of energy if I can talk that way to a friend; all the more so if I’m supposed to be approaching the Master of the Universe.

But now, here is the second, almost contradictory thing that the Machzor demands of us. It tries to force us into this raw, visceral recognition that the being that we are confronting on these days of awe — it’s not your buddy, it’s the Master of the Universe.В

And the Machzor makes sure that I really get that.

Holiness is like white shrouds, angels, and choruses. I don’t know what holiness is. I’m supposed to relate to holiness? Feel vulnerable, close? What does holiness has to do with me? How do I reach out to a God who is the Master of all, who’s got better things on His mind than my trifling concerns? Who’s got the Andromeda Galaxy to worry about? What does this God have to do with me?

So, it’s not like I can’t focus on a holy God. I can do that if I muster up enough energy. It’s not like I can’t focus on a God who perhaps I could be intimate and close to. I could do that also, maybe, if I can muster up enough energy. But to do both at the same time? It’s like holding two completely opposite conceptions in my head that arepulling me into two different directions.

How do I take what it is that the Machzor gives me and use it, somehow, to forge a connection with a God who seems beyond my comprehension? I would like to suggest to you in these videos that maybe we get some clues here to help us out of this dilemma from one of the biblical texts that we read on Rosh Hashanah in synagogue. It’s the story of Hannah.

The Paradigm Of Hannah’s Prayer

So, it seems like whatever else we are going to say about Hannah’s prayer, she got it right — or at least the Rabbis thought she got it right. So if we read her story on Rosh Hashanah, maybe she in a way is helping us understand how to pray. I mean, we spend hours and hours praying today; shouldn’t we look to Hannah for guidance?

And if we do look to Hannah for guidance, we find some puzzling things. Her prayer is in many ways counter-intuitive, not least what she tells us about holiness. Holiness really was that conundrum that we talked about before — the thing we found so irrelevant. Well, Hannah talks about it, too. She talks about it right here.

In Chapter 2 in the book of Samuel, Hannah has her child. God has answered her prayer. She is exultant and jubilant. And the first thing she says in this rapturous song of thanksgiving is… is what? What would you say if you were Hannah?

Well, I would say this would be the perfect time to compose a Hallmark card to God: «God, I feel so close to You. I spoke and You actually listened. I have this child. He has such beautiful blue eyes. Thank you so much. How could I ever repay you?» And this would be wonderful sentiments. But strangely, these are not really the sentiments that Hannah seems to express in what she actually says.

As a matter of fact, if you look at what she actually says, in a strange kind of way, it seems to be the opposite of this. She does not speak about her sense of closeness to the Almighty. Instead, she speaks of His loftiness, of His kedushah, of His holiness. Holiness! There is that word again. There is that word that we were struggling with. What does it really mean?В

What Is The Meaning Of Hannah’s Prayer?

It seems to mean the opposite of closeness. In Jewish tradition, holiness has always been associated with separateness. “Lehakdish” means not just to consecrate, to make holy, but to set aside. God is so different from us. He is so very different than the universe itself. He is the Master of the Universe, but He is outside of it all, outside of space, outside of time. He is neither matter nor energy.

Why is she talking about all this stuff? She is talking about stuff that has nothing to do with closeness. It is the opposite of closeness. It is not what she is feeling. And what’s worse than this is she is not just giving us a theological riff on holiness. What she is actually saying, when you actually read the word, seems almost nonsensical. Here is what she says: “Ein kadosh kaHashem ki ein biltecha,” «There is no one as holy as God because there is none but You.» “V’ein tzur k’Elokeinu.” «There is no rock like our God.»

Ok, there are a bunch of problems here. We can just kind of label them 1, 2, and 3. No. 1, the most fundamental problem maybe is: What she is saying just doesn’t seem to be true. There is no one but God? Like God is …the only thing that exists? I mean, I exists, you exist, that tree exists, the plants exists, that school over there exists. so why is Hannah basing her argument on some sort of fantastical notion that there is nothing that exists but God?

But even if we accept that — OK, there is nothing that exists but God — that notion just sort of takes all the wind out of the sails of this great compliment that she is giving God. She is saying, «God, there is no one as holy as you.» Ah, that sounds like a really nice compliment. But then, she just deflates it by saying, «because there is nothing but You.» Obviously, if there is nothing but You in the world, so by definition, You are the holiest thing around, what else can compete? Why is that such a wonderful compliment?

And then, finally, even if we get past all these problems, what does any of this have to do with God’s holiness? I mean, I’m supposed to understand God’s holiness because of these mental gymnastics? Because there is no one but God and somehow that explains to me what God’s holiness is? I mean, what does that have to do with the holiness?

Is God Closer Than We Think?

I think Hannah is giving us a window into what holiness really means. She is actually attacking this issue that we’ve been struggling with. The issue of balancing closeness and distance with this God that we can’t comprehend.

The key, I believe, is a subtle problem in her words which, if you look carefully, you will see. «There is no one as holy as God because there is none but You.» There is a pronoun shift here. She is starting in third person. Third person is the language we use for distance: I’m not even talking to You, I’m talking about You. «There is no one as holy as God.»

She is helping us breach distance and closeness. She is teaching us how.

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10 Daily Habits to Get Closer to God and Draw Near to Him

Lisa Appelo

Talking about daily habits in Christianity sounds rigid. It sounds like bordering on religion rather than the relationship God has called us to. And yet, these daily habits are not a checklist. They are either steps that Jesus modeled for us in his own life or steps that the Bible tells us we should take to become more like Christ. These steps promise a closer relationship with God and the ability to rest in His presence. 1 John 2:6 tells us that if we’re in relationship with Christ then we should also “walk in the same manner as He walked.”

It’s the Holy Spirit’s work to make us like Christ. As we become more like Christ, we draw closer to our heavenly Father. “For I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will continue to perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus,” Philippians 1:6. And yet there are steps we can take each day that allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through us, making us more like Christ.

James urges people to get closer to God. “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded,” James 4:8. By confessing our sins, practicing humility, and transforming our thoughts with Scripture; we can become more like Christ and get closer to God.

These are 10 daily habits that will help you draw near to God and become more like Christ.

Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Digitalskillet

1. Give thanks.

Gratitude opens our eyes to all that God is doing around us. It helps us cultivate a heart that is satisfied and trusts God rather than complaining about our circumstances and groaning against Him.