This is Part Seven of my seven-part Drawing Nearer to God series. I heard my pastor talk about “drawing nearer to God,” and I found myself wondering - how do I actually do that? So I did what I always do: I started digging, Googling, and writing. Now I’m sharing what I’ve discovered along the way.
We’ve spent six weeks talking about how to draw nearer to God—prayer, Scripture, repentance, community, even what to do when He feels silent. But here’s the twist ending: the God we’ve been trying to get close to? He’s already closer than we think.
Acts 17:27 says, “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him – though he is not far from any one of us.”
Not far. Not distant. Not hiding behind a cosmic curtain waiting for us to figure out the secret handshake. He is near.
But let’s be honest. Most of the time, I act like He’s a million miles away. I imagine I’ve got to pray harder, read longer, or behave better just to get His attention. Like God’s some distracted dad scrolling His phone until I finally say something profound enough to make Him look up.
That’s not who He is.
Jesus said in John 14:23, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.” Did you catch that? Make our home. Not “drop by for a visit.” Not “check in when things get rough.” Home. With us. Daily, ordinary, right-here presence.
That means when you pray awkwardly on the way to work – He’s there. When you crack open your Bible with one eye open and the other still half-asleep – He’s there. When you mess up, repent, and start over for the hundredth time – He’s there.
The whole point of this “Drawing Nearer to God” journey isn’t climbing some impossible spiritual ladder. It’s realizing that He came down the ladder to us. Through Jesus, God isn’t far off in the heavens – we’re indwelt by His Spirit. He’s as close as your next breath.
So yes, let’s keep pursuing Him – through prayer, Scripture, repentance, community, and stubborn faith in the silence. But let’s not forget the bigger truth: we’re not chasing after a distant God. We’re walking with a near one.
And sometimes the most powerful step in faith is simply opening our eyes to see the God who was walking beside us the whole time.
Closer than you think.
