We all long to draw closer to God and experience his goodness and unfailing love. But many times we are too busy to spend more time with God.
Lisa Appelo says that Jesus never let busyness or pressing need to keep him from prayer. He showed us an example if we want to become like him.
God wants us to draw near to him all the time, not just once in a while. We must be diligent in seeking him.
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An article on the Kenneth Copeland Ministries says, “The word diligent means ‘persevering attention, constant effort, persistent.’ In other words, when you draw near to God, you don’t just do so once in a while or when the mood strikes you.”
Draw closer to God every day and experience his great love for you. He will enrich your relationship with him, and you will be secure in it.
How to draw closer to God?
Read the Bible
According to drawforgod.com, reading your Bible is one of the best ways to grow closer to God so make time to read it often. God’s word shows us who he is and what he expects of us.
As you read and meditate on God’s word, he will reveal himself to you. You’ll find that you get closer to him the more time you spend in his word.
God gave us the Scriptures so that we can live by his principles and get to know him well. When you know God, you will trust him and draw close to him.
Pursue God daily.
Another way to draw near God is to actively pursue him. In Jeremiah 29:13 he says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
God expects that you will take an interest in strengthening your relationship with him, and he promises you will find him.
John Bevere asks two important questions.
1. Have you taken time today to pursue God?
2. Do you recognize His pull on your heart to draw near?
Don’t fail to respond! God is looking for those who are diligent in spirit, who will seek and pursue Him with tenacious persistence.
Purify your heart.
When you purify your heart, you get rid of impurities that stand in the way of your relationship with God.
Purifying your heart and getting rid of ungodly desires allows you to approach God with a clear heart and mind.
2 Corinthians 7:1 says, “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” Purify your heart by repenting of your sins and asking God to cleanse you from unrighteousness.
Pray over your relationship with him.
We draw near to God when we pour out our hearts to him during prayer. We’re not talking of formal prayers but those that are geared toward opening your heart to God.
Sometimes life can get challenging and you can ask God to help you draw close to him. He gave us the Holy Spirit to help us obey his word.
Psalm 62:8 says, “Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” When you pour out your heart to God, you give him a chance to speak to you. This builds the connection between you and him.
Below are 6 prayers to draw closer to God.
#1 Prayer for God’s Presence.
Psalm 16:11 – You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Lord, I praise you for you are my God and Savior. You are my everlasting joy and I rejoice every time I am in your presence.
I want to be in your presence always to experience the refreshment that comes from your Spirit. The transformation that comes by being in your presence is immeasurable and life-changing.
Show me the path of life so that I will follow it all the days of my life. As I spend time with you, may I never lose direction in life but always follow your leading.
Nourish my spirit as I am in your presence and fill me with your treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Make my joy complete because I enjoy being with you. Light up my heart with your words of love and give me the strength to seek you daily.
In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
#2 Prayer to draw closer to God.
James 4:8 – Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Lord, I draw closer to you because you have promised to draw closer to me. Thank you for your precious promises that give me comfort and strength.
Show me the way to everlasting life. I bare my heart before you and repent of everything that comes between you and me. Forgive my sins and cleanse me from unrighteousness.
Purify my heart that I may hear you clearly and obey your commands. Help me remove the distractions that get in the way of giving my heart to you in its entirety.
I will guard my heart and present it to you pure and holy.
Forgive me for where I have been double-minded. Give me the single-mindedness I need to focus my attention on you. Let me not look to the right or to the left but to keep my eyes on you.
Give me a renewed focus and help me not to veer off the path of righteousness.
In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
#3 Prayer for a deeper walk with God.
1 Corinthians 2:10-11 – The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except for their own spirit within them?
In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
Lord, I long to have a deeper walk with you. You are my source of life and you have given me blessings in abundance.
I thank you for always looking after my interests and teaching me to look to you for all my needs. Reveal to me deeper truths about you so that I will know you in a deeper way.
May your Holy Spirit reveal more of you to me and give me a deeper knowledge of your ways. Help me understand your heart for people and your great love for them so that I can see them as you do. I will walk with you all the days of my life.
Search my heart and create more room for you in it. Increase the capacity of my spirit and fill me with more of you. Show me how to walk with you daily and to follow your leading. Being close to you is a choice I will make each day.
In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Also Related: How to Become a Powerful Prayer Warrior.
#4 Prayer to know God more Intimately.
Romans 1:20 – For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
Lord, I praise you because you are great and mighty and your eternal power is unmatched. Creation reflects your glory and reveals to us your divine nature.
Draw me into more intimacy with you so that I will continually dwell in your presence. Help me to take my time in your word because I want to know your will and ways.
Grant me the grace to allow you into all areas of my heart so that you can minister to me in a special way. I know that when I open my heart to you, I can contain more of you.
Transform my heart as I spend more time with you and help me to be more Christlike.
Help me see Your glory in everything around me and appreciate your beauty in creation. I will partake of your divine nature with every breath I take and stand in awe of your greatness.
May I delight in spending time with you each day and enjoy hearing your voice.
In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
#5 Prayer for a closer relationship with God.
John 15:15 – I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
Lord, thank you for calling me your friend and showing me the things in your kingdom. I desire a closer relationship with you and I ask that you show me how to get closer to you.
Help me focus on the things of your Spirit so that I will not gratify the desires of my flesh. May I set my mind on the things that give me life and peace.
Help me abide in your love so that I can bear fruit for your kingdom. My will is that your desires will become mine and that you will perfect my way.
I will keep my heart close to yours and worship you in Spirit in truth. Show me how to guard my relationship with you.
Show me how to relate with you as my Father and be secure in your love for me. Help me to nurture my relationship with you and make it a priority in my life.
It is life-giving to me and I will treasure it always. I will abide in you because I know that you will abide in me, and help me bear fruit for your kingdom.
In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
#6 Prayer to rest in God’s Presence.
1 John 3:19-20 – This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
Lord, I praise you because there is a rest in your presence. I don’t have to worry when I come before you because you take care of all my needs.
I trust in you with all my heart and may I always rest in you. Your presence is full of hope and I know that my future is secure in your hands.
You know my heart and all the unsettled places in it. Help me to yield more of my heart to you and allow you to do great work in it.
May I never leave your presence because it is a place I feel your comfort and love. I know that even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you will always be with me.
Help me not to fret but to know that you are my refuge and strength. Give me the peace that comes with resting in you and the joy that comes with your Spirit.
I long to be in your presence every day and experience your great love for me.
In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Conclusion.
The above prayers will help you draw closer to God and develop a strong relationship with him. Being closer to God brings blessings into your life and makes you secure in his love for you.
According to Kenneth Hagin, when you draw near to God, you will experience a place of protection.
When you rest in the shadow of God Almighty, He rescues you from every trap, protects you from deadly diseases, covers you with His feathers, and promises a place of shelter under His wings (Psalm 91:3–4).
Make the effort today to deepen your relationship with God. It will mature your faith in him and help you grow as a person. God is waiting for you to come closer to him today because he longs to commune with you and pour out his heart to you.
How to Draw Closer to God Resources.
Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God.