Staying Close to God

“But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.” Psalm 73:28

Have you ever had the same thoughts as David had in Psalm 73:28? “… how good it is to be near God!”?

God is our source of peace and joy in the middle of a very chaotic, evil world, so it makes sense that we should want to be near Him.

C.S. Lewis said, “If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire: if you want to be wet you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them.” In the same way, if we want to experience the abundant life that God has created us to enjoy, then we have to get near or close to Him.

So, how do I personally work toward drawing near to God?

1. Give the first hour to God.

While it was still dark, Jesus was spending time with His Father in a solitary place. If it’s good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me. Every single morning after I grab some coffee, I begin my time with God by spending time in prayer. I use a couple of apps to guide me into this quietness: the Pause App (by John Eldridge); and the Lectio365 app (by 24-7 Prayer).

As I begin spending time in scriptures, I ask the Holy Spirit to help me focus on a verse or two and speak to me through those verses. Then, I spend time journaling and listening to worship music. I think music is powerful. I have a time of prayer and repentance, as the Holy Spirit brings sins to mind that I need to confess. The key is consistency.

Ryan Holiday says in his book Discipline is Destiny, “Consistency is a super power.” It doesn’t matter what day it is or how busy I am, God gets the first hour.

2. Read Spiritual Books.

Books are a key to my spiritual growth and staying near to God. At any point, I try to have several books that I am reading that will strengthen my relationship with God. If you’d like a list of book recommendations, you’ll find a resource list at dannyanderson.net.

3. Engage spiritual friends.

Psalm 119:163 says, “I am a friend to anyone who fears you, anyone who obeys your commands.” Are your friends pursuing God? Do they have a hunger for God? When I was a high school pastor, I always told the students, “Your friends are like an elevator. They take you up or down, but they never leave you where you are.”

In 1 Timothy 2:22, Paul states, “But flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” Do your close friends help you draw closer to God? If not, as I told my high school students, maybe it’s time that you fire some friends.

4. Commit to a local church.

Notice I didn’t say “attend a local church.” If you attend, you are merely a spectator, just like a sporting event. Yes, there’s some value to that, but it’s a different level of value when you actually will commit to a church. You are offering that church your spiritual gifts to be used to impact the Kingdom, and that’s how you grow spiritually. Also, it provides much-needed community that is critical to your drawing closer to God.

5. Practice the presence of God.

If you haven’t read The Practice of the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence, I highly recommend it. We all have a conversation with ourselves going all the time, and in this book, he shows us how he turned his self-talk into God-talk. When you practice the presence of God, it’s the act of remaining in a conversation with God all day long. It’s difficult to drift away from God when you are constantly talking with Him.

I believe drawing near to God is critical to our living the abundant life–one that is filled with God’s joy and peace and strength to withstand the daily battle. I pray you’ll take these 5 steps and begin to draw closer to God on a consistent, daily basis.