Feeling Close to God

I used to struggle with feeling close to God and I still do at times. There are many things that have helped me to overcome this challenge. I am going to share the things that have worked for me but I can’t promise that everything that has worked for me will work for you. I hope my suggestions encourage you in your faith journey and give you ideas for spending time with our amazing Creator.

Each person has a different experience when it comes to spending time in God’s presence. We are all unique and there isn’t one specific thing God tells us we need to do in order to start feeling close to Him. For me it took trying many different things until something worked.

It seems to be different all the time for me. Something that works one day might not work the next day. God never changes but we do. God is always here for us and He wants to spend time with us. It is important that we make time for Him.

Social Media Break

The first thing I always do when I am struggling to feel close to God is to take a break from social media. This allows me to spend more time with God and to get rid of extra distractions. As I have written about in a previous blog post, I have experienced so many benefits of spending time away from social media. I have done a social media fast for just one day and I have done it for a whole month. I experience benefits either way.

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know that I tend to take breaks quite often. I have had to set boundaries for myself. One of these boundaries is that I never use Instagram on Sundays. This allows me to have a break at least once a week in order to give God my full attention.

Social media can have a lot of distractions. It is a place where we hear so many voices and read so many different things in just a short period of time. It can be overwhelming to take in so much information. Spending time with God helps me to slow down and fill myself with His Words only.

Worship Music

I always feel closest to God while listening to worship music. Worship music is a wonderful way to praise our Creator and thank Him for everything He does. It always reminds me how amazing He is and so often He speaks to me through the music. It is amazing how often the lyrics I hear are exactly what I need at that specific moment. 

There are two places that I almost always listen to worship music. One is the shower. It sounds weird but I love praising God while I am in the shower. It is time that I am alone with God and there is nobody else to distract me. I am free to praise God without the judgement of the people around me.

I also usually listen to worship music while I am driving. This doesn’t work as well as it does in the shower because I can’t give God my full attention but it does help me think about God. It also helps me to remember that God is with me wherever I go. I arrive at my destination with the comfort that God has everything under control.

Of course, these aren’t the only two places that I listen to worship music but they are the two places that I do it most often.

Going to Church

I have also started to feel close to God at church. This seems like an obvious one but it is something I had never really experienced before this year. Church is now more of a personal experience for me. During the service, I try to focus all of my attention on the words and the message that is being shared. I used to pay more attention to the people around me but that is another distraction I have had to learn to ignore.

It is very difficult to feel close to God if you only spend time with Him during church services, but attending church is an important part of our relationship with Him. As I pay more attention, I notice God teaching me things I really need to hear while I am at church.

Spending Time Outside

Spending time outdoors has also helped me to feel closer to God. It always amazes me when I look around and think about how the God that created me also created everything around me. Usually when I am struggling to feel close to God, I can go for a walk outside and it helps so much.

Being able to pray while out in nature has been a life changing experience for me. It makes me feel as if God is all around me and the words just seem to flow out of my mind.

I have also been feeling close to God when I see and hear His creatures. I have loved listening to the birds and I have started thinking about God when I hear them. This is especially true when I wake up in the morning to the beautiful sound of the birds singing. It is a wonderful reminder of the new day that God has made!

Quiet Time

As I reflect on what has worked for me, I notice that every single thing involves alone time. While this is especially true for me as an introvert, I think this is the case for most people. It allows us to give God all of our attention with no distractions. 

Sometimes we just need to be still and sit in silence. He wants us to spend time reading His Word, talking to Him, and listening to Him. So often something I am reading in the Bible goes exactly with something I am dealing with in my life. It is a perfect reminder that God hears me and He cares. 

Feeling close to God starts with spending time with Him. Today I want to encourage you to spend some quiet time with God. He will do amazing things!