How Can I Have a Closer Relationship With God?

The curtains wave in the breeze and a dozen songbirds chatter on the lawn. I sit with iced tea and a deep longing in my soul. At first, it feels like physical hunger. But as I sit in the silence with the longing, a question rises up from within me: How can I have a closer relationship with God?

How Can I Have a Closer Relationship With God?

Francis Chan speaks through the computer screen.

There’s a tent on the stage. It’s a red and white camping tent, a modern-day illustration of the place Moses went to meet face-to-face with the Creator of the world. God spoke to man in the tent. The tent was holy. It was awe-inspiring and filled with wonder.

Developing a Closer Relationship with God

I’m considering the complacency with which I sometimes seek God when Francis speaks these words:

“And what’s crazy to me is nowadays how we treat this time with God as ordinary or even burdensome – to where we try to squeeze in like five minutes at the end of our day, like I gotta try to get some time with him. I feel guilty ‘cause I only got like two or three minutes. And now it’s like a burden, and we have pastors that beg us . . . just give him a few minutes – just try, please, please.”

How Can I Have a Closer Relationship With God?

I think of my morning routine: me with coffee, racing through the daily Scripture reading while the little one babbles on the other end of the baby monitor. Just trying to get it done.

I think of last evening: a chapter before bed, but my eyes glazing over and sleep settling in before I absorbed a single word.

All too often, meeting with God is like one more chore on a long list. I forget that it’s the greatest honor a human could ever receive. The Creator of the universe wants to meet with me.

I give him six minutes and check it off the list. Six distracted minutes. Six minutes that were more about finding direction for my day and getting my needs met than actually connecting with his heart.

What If You Actually Expected to Hear from God in Your Bible?

What if every time I opened my Bible, I actually expected God to speak to me?

How would my quiet time be different?

What about you, friend? Would your time with God be different if you eagerly expected to hear from him when you open your Bible?

What if every time I opened my Bible, I actually expected God to speak to me? #relationshipwithGod #quiettime #encounteringGod #Biblestudy Share on X

I put down the list of tasks and silence the sermon from Francis. I open the Bible and expect God to speak. The verse reads:

And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to him. . . these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. (Psalm 56:6-7)

I see the invitation clearly.

God is inviting me to bind myself to him, and he will bring me joy. He asks me to keep seeking, pursuing, and attending to him, and he will bring me to his holy mountain. He reminds me to draw near to him, and he will draw near to me.

Keys for Growing With the Lord:

Friend, do you want a closer relationship with God? Here are a few simple steps to take today:

1. Commit to spending several minutes each day resting in God’s presence.

A few years ago, I read a book that challenged me to spend several minutes each morning sitting with God and doing nothing other than resting in the awareness that he enjoys me.

Over time, this practice has become deeply grounding for me.

I don’t force myself to perform in any way or do anything during this time. I rest with God—and nothing else. It doesn’t feel very productive, but not being productive is the whole point.

Most of us face the temptation to find our identities through what we can produce and achieve. Time spent in stillness with God pulls us out of the frenetic pace of our lives and creates space for him to remind us of the anchor of our identities: his unconditional love for us.

2. Connect with God through worship.

Throughout the past months, God has used worship to heal me, uphold me, and keep my eyes on him in challenging moments. I’ve been reminded that entering into his presence through worship can change the trajectory of an entire day.

Worship lifts our eyes off of our temporal struggles and helps us focus on God’s power, goodness, faithfulness, and provision. Most of us know how it feels to be “stuck inside our heads,” ruminating over concerns, or letting feelings of defeat debilitate us.

At times, breaking free from these mental blocks feels impossible. When this happens, we desperately need to connect with God by fighting the battle in the spiritual realm—above human reasoning.

Worship is warfare. It pulls us above worldly concerns and fixes our eyes on the greatness of our God. This is where breakthrough happens.

If this resonates with you today, here’s a playlist to get you started.

3. Connect with God by authentically connecting with other people.

Not long ago, a friend suggested a book called How People Grow by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend (Thank you, friend!). A foundational premise of this book is that we heal and grow through relationships with others.

Seeking God individually is important, but living openly and sharing our hearts with others is essential for growth.

I tend to lean toward independence and introversion, which makes the following reminder from this book especially important for me to remember:

“Many people, however, find themselves cut off from the church and the healing and protective functions it provides. In their isolation—or at least the isolated growth plan they are using—they are easy prey for the gates of hell to overpower them. This is analogous to Jesus’ story about the shepherd and his sheep (Luke 15:3-7). Wolves do not attack an entire herd. They attack the one lamb that has wandered off the path. This is the one who is in danger. As Jesus said, he would leave the ninety-nine to fetch and return the wandering one.”

Throughout the past months, God has healed some deep wounds in my heart, and this has happened exclusively because of the love and care of other people. As I reflect on this, I’m amazed that God has used the care of others to heal, in a very short period of time, wounds that have existed in the darkness of obscurity for decades. There is power in finding this kind of support. So much power.

4. Begin each day by immediately looking toward God.

Looking toward God before climbing from bed every morning also helps me stay connected with him throughout the day. For several years, I repeated Psalm 118:24 every morning immediately after waking up: “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

I don’t always repeat this verse, but I try to begin my days by greeting God, thanking him for his goodness, or taking a moment to surrender the upcoming day to him.

(Read here for more thoughts on speaking God’s Word first thing every morning.)

5. Connect with God by memorizing Scripture.

As I’ve shared in the past, our family memorizes one verse together every week (or two, or three, or four weeks!). We write it on a piece of paper and hang it on the fridge. Every morning, we practice reading and speaking the verse together. This practice renews our minds and shapes our hearts.

Often, I overhear the kids speaking our verses when they face challenging or upsetting circumstances.

God’s Word renews our minds.

Hiding it in my heart helps me keep my thoughts focused on him, provides comfort in difficult moments, and serves as an offensive weapon when the enemy attacks my mind.

How Can I Have a Closer Relationship With God?

Does the idea of slipping away to a beautiful place to recharge and refresh sound inviting? Space for Your Soul to Stretch is your personal invitation to create space to rest in God’s presence. You need only 12 minutes per day for this 8-day journey. Each day invites you to encounter God’s created world and spend time in his written Word. You will walk away from this journey replenished and refreshed each day. It is my free gift to you by clicking here.

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God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book as a free eBook on Kindle Unlimited or for 12.99 in print right here. (If you do not have Kindle Unlimited, you can try it out with a free three-month trial!) This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!

Calling all moms and daughters!

Additionally, my teen daughter, Bekah, and I are passionate about helping moms and daughters grow closer while connecting with God. We have written two mother-daughter devotionals together. Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section after each devotion.

Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, purity, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. We will help you!

Multitudes of mothers, daughters, mentors, and younger women are being transformed by these books! You can buy them as paperbacks or get your free Kindle Unlimited eBooks on Amazon right here.