Top 15 Practical Ways to Get to Know God

By David •  Updated: 12/02/20 •  15 min read

How can I get to know God better? Making time for God and prioritizing a relationship with Him can seem like an unachievable goal.

We have fooled ourselves into thinking that working towards a personal relationship with God takes up way too much time, that we’re too sinful or that it is too late to try.

Get to Know God

Photo by Hassan Saleh on Unsplash

God is always working towards building a relationship with us. It only takes us prioritizing time for Him for that relationship to blossom into something amazing.

You are reading this article because you are serious about wanting to know God. That is the first step.

Do not allow yourself to talk yourself out of making time for God. He wants you to know Him personally. It doesn’t require a playlist made of only Hill song or strict bible study to have a relationship with God. All it takes is 5 minutes.

Here are some ways to make time for God and build that personal relationship with Him.

I have listed them in order of how easy/time-consuming each activity may be.

 

15. Find a community

This has always been an extremely difficult one for me to do. Having people who encourage you to focus on your faith is a huge benefit in having a closer relationship with God. This can be difficult to achieve at first.

However, once you have found friends who are like-minded in their faiths, it’s a constant reminder to focus on your own relationship with God. 

Remember that having a community or friend group doesn’t mean you have to meet up with them every Friday night for bible study. It can be as easy as finding a group on Facebook or Instagram.

Do some research online to find online communities and groups that you can join. Make sure to find the right group for you. Once you find them, encourage them on their journey and accept their encouragement for yours. 

14. Remove negative influences

This works in tandem with the previous point. Just as having positivity in your life can improve your spiritual journey. Having negative influences that hold you back or instill doubt can seriously sabotage your relationship with God.

The reason this is so high on the list is that the negative influences may be difficult to say goodbye to. 

Think about things/people you dedicate time to and consider how you feel while spending that time. Consider why that one friend always makes you feel uncomfortable or stressed out.

You need to make the active decision to remove those negative influences from your life; anything that draws you away from God or blurs that connection that you have with Him. Try your best to only have positive influences in your life.

This can be difficult because sometimes people you love are affecting your spiritual self; things you enjoy doing are taking you away from God.

Start small. The closer you get to God the more your eyes will open to those negative things and the more willing you will be to remove them from your life. 

13. Listen to God

We all want to hear from God. The reason we want to build a relationship with God is so that we can be confident that we are performing His will and doing His work. But, actually hearing from God can be difficult.

Distinguishing between God and our inner monologue or the enemy is an important skill to learn. It is a commitment and something we should all work towards. 

I feel that we all know that person who consistently hears from God and is confident in His voice. But when we pray, we don’t hear a thing. The truth is that God is always talking to us but we need to focus to hear His voice (and be able to discern it from that of the enemy.)

When you sit down and pray or do your silent time with God, make sure to take time to simply sit and listen. Sit with your eyes closed and think of things you must do or decisions you must make and focus on trying to hear God’s voice.

Take a moment to pause from praying or talking or reading or listening to music and just listen for God’s voice. Soon enough, you will hear Him. 

12. Schedule

A huge reason why so many people don’t work on a relationship with God is that we convince ourselves that we have no time for it.

There aren’t enough hours in the day to set aside some time for God. The truth is that we do have the time. Even if it is only 5 minutes in the morning or before bed, any time that you can put aside for God, do it. 

Those times when you are scrolling through Instagram, set aside some of that time for God. Even if you must schedule your day to the minute in order to set aside as much time for God as you can.

Even if you can only set aside 5 or 10 minutes to read a few verses or have a conversation with God.

Be honest with yourself and prioritize your faith every day. 

Also Related: 55 Inspirational Bible Verses on Family.

11. Use the resources that work for YOU

It can be difficult for some people to sit and read the bible. It isn’t as easy for some people to sit and pray and have quiet time as it is for others.

My advice is to use resources that work for you. There is no right way to work on your relationship with God. If you find that you learn better from watching YouTube videos, then watch YouTube videos of bible study or Christian concepts.

Do better listening to podcasts? Do that. If you like reading articles like this one, then search for articles that work for you. 

There is no correct way to work on your relationship with God. If you want to find your faith on Instagram, find a group on Discord, sit, and read through the bible, do what works for you.

God is personal so find a personal way to work on your own relationship with Him. Research different resources and work with the best one for you. Find one that keeps you engaged and that gets you excited to do your quiet time every day. 

10. Use your God-given talents

We all have God-given talents that God gave to us and wants to see us use. Use your talents and hobbies and interests to improve your quiet time. If you are a talented singer, use praise and worship to bond with God.

Are you a talented artist? Try bible journaling or doing more spiritual pieces and focusing on God as you work on them. If you are a writer, perhaps you enjoy doing research. There are plenty of resources to dive deeper into the Word. Carpenters, resin artists, filmmakers, make-up artists, etc. 

While you are busy with something that interests you (your talents, your hobby, your job) use that time to focus and connect with God.

Show appreciation for the talent he gave you. If possible, work on more spiritual projects and share your talent with others. Your art or project may bring someone else closer to God as well. 

9. Read the Bible

This might be the most obvious activity on this list but for good reason.

Reading your bible is the number 1 thing you should be doing. So, why is reading the bible not first on this list? Because the bible can be slightly intimidating.

I know that when I started reading/studying the bible I was very overwhelmed. Where do I start? What should I read? How much do I read in one sitting? 

My very first piece of advice when reading the bible is to use reading plans. Not only will they give you what to read but often they will provide explanations and definitions on those verses. If you don’t have a bible and are low on cash, there are many bible apps for your cellphone.

Having your bible on your phone also makes it a lot more accessible and can serve as a reminder. 

I personally use YouVersion. There are reading plans included, you can download different versions and compare them. One thing that I always struggle with is opening my bible and not knowing what to read.

While reading plans are a great resource, you can also try reading a daily verse and read the chapter around that verse. There are random bible verse generators online and you can find a large array of lists of bible verses covering a specific topic. 

You don’t have to start memorizing and studying the bible right off the bat. Taking the time to analyze, dissect, and understand what you are reading is a truly amazing way to get to know God.

It’s okay if not every verse gives you a life-changing revelation but trust me, most times when you are reading the bible, the words will resonate with you. The words will be relevant to your life and open your eyes to things you hadn’t considered. 

8. Bible Journaling

Bible journaling is my absolute favorite way to get to know God but it may not be for everyone. It is using your bible as a notebook and art-book so that you can, more easily, apply the bible to your everyday life.

Bible journaling is taking a specific verse or chapter and creating a piece of art with it. There are many resources to show bible journaling techniques and methods. I love bible journaling because it is a low-pressure way to read the word and get to know the word.

The most important thing about bible journaling is not allowing yourself to get distracted. While taking notes and decorating your bible be sure to focus on the Word and God’s lessons. 

You can bible journal with a specific bible journaling bible, a normal bible, or a notebook.

You can write bible verses and do your bible journaling around it. This may be a creative way to express yourself to God. The best thing about bible journaling is the idea of applying the lessons of the bible to your every-day life. 

7. Read Daily Devotionals

Reading daily devotionals is a great way to include God in your life.

The great thing about devotionals is that they are often bible verses and a definition, explanation, and application to our daily lives. They are generally very short passages that are easy to read and get through quickly.

Find an app or website that gives a daily devotional and uses that to guide your quiet time with God, even for 5 minutes. This is a relatively quick and easy way to have God inserted in your every single day. 

God

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6. Apply the Bible to your life

There is absolutely no reason to read the bible if you are not going to take the words into account. You can read the bible cover to cover and still not learn anything. You have to be committed to hearing God’s word and learning His lesson.

When taking the time to read the Bible and learn the word, take a moment to apply what you’ve read to your life. Really sit and find a specific aspect of your life that the verse or chapter applies to.

God gave us the bible so that we could learn from it and live through it and live a Godly and spiritual life. 

Take your Bible study seriously and urge yourself to find real-life applications for the lessons that God teaches. 9 out of 10 times you will find that it will be relative to a troublesome situation in your life. God gives us the tools to fix our own problems. 

5. Listen to Christian Podcasts

Listening to podcasts and audio-books is a very popular way of taking in information nowadays. So many people are busy with tedious tasks throughout the day.

Listening to an audio-book or podcast is a great way to take in information without taking up extra time. Plus, it will keep you entertained while doing something boring. 

There are plenty of audio-books and podcasts that you can learn from and take in Christian lessons on a regular basis.

Listening to bible study sessions or Christian books will improve your spirituality and relationship with God.

It should take up no extra time. Put on an audio-book or podcast while you are busy with something tedious or boring. Let God keep you company when you are alone. 

4. Pray

Next to reading the bible, this is the most obvious thing on this list.

Praying is a very effective way to get to know God. If you are unsure how to pray, Jesus gives us a great template in Matthew 6: 9 – 13.

The Lord’s prayer is not a prayer to necessarily recite every night. The Lord’s prayer is a guide to how to pray. 

The idea is to start your prayer God-ward and not self-ward. Acknowledge God as the Almighty.

Recognize His place in heaven and your place on earth as His child. Accept that God’s will is to be done. Then you should thank God for what He has given you.

Show your appreciation for how he has blessed your life. Then ask Him for things in your life that you need or desire.

This can include physical things or even more intangible things. Ask for a stronger relationship with God. Ask for guidance on a decision.

Next, you should ask for forgiveness. Acknowledge that you have sinned and are sinful. Ask God for His salvation and His forgiveness through difficult temptations.

Ask God to help you forgive those who have sinned against you. Be an example of God’s forgiveness is forgiving others. All of us are sinners, and we should all forgive each other as God Almighty forgives us. 

3. Talk to God

Praying is the best way to communicate with God but it is not the only way. Throughout your day take a few small moments to simply talk to God. God is your friend. Talk to Him when times are tough or when you are overjoyed or when you are bored.

When someone has irritated you, talk to God, and ask Him to help you forgive that person more easily. When something amazing happens, thank God and acknowledge that blessing in your life.

This takes up no extra time and it will encourage you to see God in everything and appreciate His glorious work. 

2. Recognize God in the little things

The most beautiful thing in the world to me is the sky. I can’t think of a time when I have looked up at the sky and not been amazed at God’s beautiful work. It is a small thing that I subconsciously do every day.

Look up at the sky and thank God for blessing us with His beautiful artwork. Recognizing God in the little things throughout your day allows you to feel His presence all the time. 

In your relationship with God, as within any relationship, recognition is so important. So, when you are going through your day and you notice a blessing, recognize and thank God.

This can be looking at the sky, playing/cuddling with your beautiful puppy/kitten, hearing your sister’s beautiful voice, reading a magnificent quote. It doesn’t take a lot to recognize and thank Him for ensuring our life is beautiful and blessed. 

1. Music

Listening to music is the easiest way to get so much closer to God. I am not telling you to listen to the gospel. Maybe Hill song is not your jam.

Listening to Christian music or more uplifting and positive songs is a great way to strengthen your spiritual life. There are many bands and musicians who you never realized are actually Christian and send Christian messages. Gospel music is only a small genre of Christian music. 

There are so many raps, hip-hop, or pop artists you are Christian. There are even rock and heavy metal bands who send Christian messages in their music. Do research into the genre of music you love and make the effort to find Christian music within your genre.

Simply add that music to your playlist. I personally love to listen to heavy metal and rock music. Controversially, that kind of music would never be associated with Christianity but bands like Memphis May Fire and Skillet are actually Christian.

Every time one of their songs plays, I remember God and how He works to reach us and influence our spiritual lives. 

Listen to the actual lyrics of the songs. Look for music that is uplifting and positive and that is lifting God and His word up! Many gospel songs can mistakenly focus on the self instead of focusing on God. 

David

Is an Ordained Minister and Life Coach. He is an ordained minister since 1988. Shortly after receiving Jesus as his personal savior, he answered the call to ministry.

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