Want to get closer to God
Q: I’ve been straying away from God, I want to pray and get up and do Bible study, but I’ve had no energy. I still go to church and volunteer, and go into services here and there, but I want to be closer to God, what should I do?
A: We get closer to God by the Scriptures.
Here are helps for Reading the Bible & for Prayer.
BIBLE
One thing that will help if you want to read first thing in the morning is to get a good nights sleep. At least 8 hours. And to keep your mind from over stimulation turn off all electronics (don't use them) and stay off your phone and the internet 30 minutes to an hour before bed.
You could use 15 to 30 minutes there to read the Bible, (a second time that day). And your mind retains it as you sleep. 😊
And Start a good morning routine when you wake up.
Read the Bible for 10 to 15 minutes in am b4 you have breakfast.
When it comes to reading the Bible an idea is to listen to an audio bible during the day. I listen to it while getting ready in the morning, over breakfast, during transportation anywhere, over lunch, and at a set time when I get home. There's lots of ways to add it to your day. That is a good way to start. Then get a daily Bible where it only takes 8 to 10 minutes to spend focused quiet time reading the Bible. Here is a good one.
Digital - Current day
In print Jan - Dec (Gen to Rev)
The other day I had just listened to 24 chapters of Acts without realizing how quickly that time went while doing stuff at home 😃
Other Bible helps:
What is in the Bible, & what does it tell us?
Introductory summaries of the books w FAQ*
More info to help you read and study Scripture
PRAYING
We are told to pray without ceasing so when you are thinking on something whenever it is during the day, do so 😊.
Here are ideas:
* When you are facing a temptation.
* When you encounter troubles.
* When you heard someone is having a struggle or hard time or going through a problem. Silently pray for them.
*Before every meal. Silently.
*On way to work/ School, pray about the coming day's work, things you might encounter, problems you might run into, protection of the students and faculty, ask for people not to be bullied and for bullies to not bully, pray for not being persecuted and for helping you speak truth and stand on truth even if there is persecution so you can live out your faith (even when rejecting pronouns and lgbt propoganda going on in schools). Pray to learn well today and remember stuff from school/work.
*Pray to find time to hear the Bible and meditate on it.
*Pray God to bring to your mind memory verses from Scripture to help you during the day and in any faith convos.
*Pray for true Christians in the School/wirk to be a solid witness for Christ in the cesspool of public school [if you are in public school]/worldly jobs.
*Pray to God to help you grow in confidence in the faith both by becoming firm in knowing Scripture and living it out, but also in being a witness where he gives opportunities.
* When you are in the car and see cops, pray for them and their safety on the job and for them to be good cops. When you see fire trucks pray similar, for ambulances pray for 1. Travel safety, their day, the ability to do their job well to help others today, and 2. for the ones lit up for the paramedics, nurses and doctors to help the patient. And for the patient if Christian to be able to share the gospel with staff in any situation they are there for; inpatient or outpatient.
* Pray for people in hospitals both the staff and the sick but also the Christians & Pastors/Chaplains ministering to families and people there. And for Christian staff employees in other jobs in the hospital to influence others for Christ.
*Pray God uses people to find cures to diseases and rare ones, to further help people in our current era.
*pray fir our military folk, veterans, and those in govt positions.
* Pray for your parents driving and not to be distracted driver when they take you to school today and on their way home and to work. And for the drivers around you/them to be focused and not distracted and not run red lights too. And to not have problems with pedestrians and for pedestrians to be careful too.
*Pray for your parents, siblings, grand parents, relatives, pastir, church members, all believers safe travels today and have a good day.
* Pray for the salvation of unsaved family so for someone to be brought into their path and reason with and reach them for Christ.
Pray for your pastor(s), decons, and youth leader in general, for their preparations in bringing the message God wants the congregation to know that week. And for their safety too. And for their kids ( PK kids are put under more scrutiny than regular kids in church). Pray for the PKs to get saved and live a God honoring life.
* Pray God helps you study well and your best so you do well in School.
* Pray for your siblings to do well in school and in life, and for their lives to bring respect to your parents by the community and church.
*Pray for your siblings, things you are aware of.
* Pray God helps you love your siblings, forgive and be gracious to them (saved or not they're still growing up).
* Pray God helps you honor, respect and obey your parents (while obeying God; even if they are not saved you live do what is right).
* Pray to quickly confess any sin when it happens and get counsel from Scripture about it to help you fight that sin or temptation so you have permanent victory over it.
*Pray God helps you mature in the faith, and grow in the knowledge of Scripture in general, (and today more than yesterday).
* Pray for the ministry you participate in that it will bless the church members, and that God will be glorified when you serve Him doing that work, that He will work through you to accomplish His will.
I am sure there are lots of other things you can pray about too.
And remember about prayer....
it is good to pray and ask God for these things. But we also need to understand that God allows certain things to happen to bring about His Will and while it might seem bad when something happens, God always works things out for good. Either to bring people to salvation, grow our faith, rely on him more, and gives us opportunities to share the Gospel. There are other reasons too like discipline to get the attention of his children who are straying or are sinning or have become rebellious; because it slanders His name and it is for their good to jolt-get their attention. God is weaving everything together like a intricate web like even if you could see everything connected in the worldwide web. We just need to trust Him even when we do not understand it. Job didnt really understand or have the full picture but God gave us a glimpse into His Workings. And NT tells us lots of similar things in principle in a believers life. So we do not need to fear, simply Trust God.
So the main way to get closer to God is by reading the Bible. It is how God communicates and fellowships with you. And just similarly when you pray it is you communicating and fellowshipping with God; how can we claim to be in a relationship with someone if we dont regularly interact and talk with them. So too never go a day without letting God communicate with you. It is very important.
How to improve your relationship with God /How to get closer to God Video
My mom reads 1 chapter a day in Scripture because reading is hard for her. You could do that too... and add the audio Bible as well for more time in the Word of God.
So whether you read 1 chapter a day without fail or read 10 minutes a day, that plus audio Bible will have you much further along in knowing the general and specifics of Scripture during the year, and understanding more and more over your lifetime.
It has been neat to see my mom's reading plans grow as she writes down every day what chapters she read. I see 3 or 4 pages of her one day per line journal list at Christmas or around New Years... and a little bit adds up to a whole lot 😃👏. She usually reads through the Bible one time per year now 😊
Hope this helps
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Related:
A sure fire way ...
How to Listen to the Lord (video)
Resources for Growing Believers (portal)
