How to Get Closer to God

How to Get Closer to God "I believe in God. I go to church. I try to pray. But He just feels so far away." I hear some version of this constantly from the women I work with.

If you've felt that way, you're not alone, but be careful what you conclude from it. Feeling far from God doesn't necessarily mean God has moved away from you.

Sometimes we've drifted. Busyness takes over, prayer becomes an afterthought, and we barely notice we're spending less time with Him. But that's not the whole story. Sometimes grief makes God feel distant. Sometimes you've prayed for years, and you're still waiting. David knew what it was like to cry out, "How long, O Lord?"

So instead of assuming something's wrong with your faith, ask a better question: what's actually happening between God and me right now, and what would it look like to intentionally turn toward Him?

James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." James was calling God's people away from divided loyalties and back to wholehearted submission. Drawing near isn't a formula to make God show up. It's turning toward Him.

Why Do I Feel Far From God? There isn't one answer. You might be distracted, exhausted, or letting something else outrank your relationship with God. There may be sin you're avoiding, or disappointment because a prayer went unanswered. Or you might be walking faithfully and simply not feel His presence right now.

That's why we can't use emotions as the measuring stick for God's nearness. Feelings are real, but they don't always tell us what's true. Psalm 139 reminds us there's nowhere we can go from God's presence, and Hebrews 13:5 promises He'll never leave or forsake us. So when God feels far away, don't automatically trust the feeling. Bring the feeling to God instead.

Start With Honest Prayer Prayer isn't a performance or a formula to check a box. It's coming before God honestly, even saying, "You feel far away," "I'm disappointed," "I'm angry this hasn't changed," or "I don't understand what You're doing." God already knows.

David's Psalms are full of this kind of honesty: fear, anger, confusion, grief, questions. He didn't pretend before coming into God's presence. Jesus regularly withdrew to pray (Luke 5:16); time with the Father wasn't an afterthought.

Try starting with five minutes of honest prayer each morning. Not eloquent, just real. Tell God what's weighing on you, confess what needs confessing, thank Him for what's still true even when you can't feel it, and ask for help trusting Him with what you don't understand.

Open the Word Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." We often ask God to show us what to do while ignoring what He's already told us.

Read one Psalm or one Gospel chapter a day. Write down a verse and carry it with you. When fear starts spiraling, come back to what Scripture actually says is true. This isn't about becoming a scholar; it's about knowing God through what He's revealed. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27). The more familiar you become with Scripture, the easier it is to recognize when your thoughts don't line up with what God has said.

Obedience Matters Jesus said, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word" (John 14:23). Obedience doesn't earn God's love or convince Him to come closer, since the Spirit already dwells in believers. But we shouldn't expect deep fellowship with God while knowingly resisting what He's told us to do.

Maybe you already know where He's asking for obedience: forgiving someone, telling the truth, setting a boundary you've avoided, confessing hidden sin, or finally acting instead of waiting to feel ready. Sometimes we keep asking for more direction when He's already shown us the next step. You don't need to see the whole road. Start with what you already know.

Worship Beyond Sunday Romans 12:1 calls us to offer our lives as living sacrifices, which means worship extends beyond a church service. Your work, your parenting, a hard conversation, a decision nobody sees, can all glorify God. Thank Him while making coffee. Pray while driving. Pause for thirty seconds and acknowledge, "Lord, You are here. Help me walk faithfully in what's in front of me." Your spiritual life isn't separate from the rest of your life.

You Weren't Meant to Walk Alone Isolation is dangerous. Pulling away from other believers costs us encouragement, accountability, and people who remind us of truth when we can't see it ourselves. Hebrews 10:24–25 tells believers not to neglect meeting together but to encourage one another.

Be part of a local church. Join a Bible study. Find mature Christian women who'll tell you the truth and point you back to Christ. Christian coaching can help you recognize patterns keeping you stuck, but it should never replace church or community. We weren't designed to follow Jesus alone.

Hard Seasons Don't Mean God Has Left Some of my closest seasons with God came during the hardest circumstances of my life, not because suffering automatically draws us closer. It doesn't. Suffering can make us angry, expose fear, and tempt us to question God's goodness. But it can also become a place of tremendous growth, because it exposes where we've actually placed our trust.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9, God tells Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Paul wanted something removed; God gave sufficient grace instead. Instead of only asking why God hasn't taken something away, ask what He's teaching you about Himself in the middle of it, or what it's revealing about what you've been trusting. You may never get an explanation, but you can still know God more deeply in the waiting.

Stop Measuring God's Nearness by Feelings Some days you'll read Scripture and feel deeply connected. Other days you'll read the same words and feel nothing. That doesn't mean God changed. Your feelings about God and the truth about God aren't always the same thing.

This is where faith matters. You keep praying because God hears. You keep reading because His Word is true. You keep obeying because He is Lord. You keep trusting because His character hasn't changed. Sometimes we follow Him not because we feel close, but because we know He's faithful even when He feels far away.

Closeness Grows Over Time It grows through honesty, Scripture, prayer, obedience, worship, and life with God's people, not perfectly, but faithfully. Pray even when it feels dry. Open the Word even for five minutes. Obey even when it costs something. Stay connected to other believers even when isolation feels easier. Bring God your questions instead of running from Him.

God's faithfulness isn't measured by how close He feels today. Maybe the goal isn't figuring out how to make God come closer, but learning to turn toward the God who has already revealed Himself, trusting what He's said, and taking the next faithful step.

A Few Questions to Ask Yourself 1.​ What do I believe is creating this sense of distance from God? 2.​ Have busyness or distraction crowded out my time with Him? 3.​ Is there something God has clearly asked me to do that I'm resisting? 4.​ Am I interpreting God's character through my circumstances, instead of the other way around? 5.​ What does Scripture say is true even though I don't feel it right now? 6.​ What is one faithful step I can take toward God today?

You don't have to fix your whole spiritual life this week. Just turn toward Him, open His Word, talk to Him honestly, and keep walking even when your feelings haven't caught up with what you know to be true.

Want to Grow Deeper in Your Walk With God?

Sometimes you know the truth but still feel stuck trying to live from it. That's part of what we work on at Anchored Woman.

Christian coaching gives you a place to examine the fears, beliefs, and patterns keeping you stuck and bring them back under the truth of God's Word, then work on what it looks like to actually live differently, not just know more.

The goal isn't to make you dependent on a coach. It's to help you become more deeply dependent on Christ and better equipped to take the next faithful step.

If you're ready to stop simply knowing the truth and begin living anchored in it, explore Christian coaching with Anchored Woman.