Bible Answers
How Do I Get Closer to God?
By Sankalp Jonna · Last reviewed 2026-10-01
A plain answer for the stretch when God feels far off and you are not sure how to close the gap. What Scripture says about drawing near, what it does not say, and three ordinary things to do with it this week.
The short answer
The Bible says you get closer to God by moving toward him and trusting that he moves toward you: "Come near to God and he will come near to you" (James 4:8). The pattern it describes is simple and repeatable: seek him honestly, talk to him in prayer, stay connected to Jesus, and keep showing up. The nearness is not something you earn; it is something he meets you in.
What follows is what those passages actually mean when he feels far off, a prayer you can borrow, and three ordinary things to do this week.
What God says about getting closer to him, in his own words
People search this two ways: what the Bible says about closeness, and what God himself says. Scripture answers the second as a promise, and it puts the first move on both sides.
Come near to God and he will come near to you.James 4:8 (NIV)
The quiet thing in this verse is that it is mutual. You are not clawing your way up to a God who keeps his distance. You take one real step toward him, and the promise is that he closes the rest of the gap. When God feels far off, this says the move is small and the response is sure.
What Scripture means when he feels far off
Five passages carry most of the weight. What matters is not just the words but what they do for the person who wants to feel close again and does not.
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.Psalm 145:18 (NIV)
Notice the condition is not holiness or a perfect track record. It is calling on him, and calling honestly. If you feel far from God, the nearness is already offered to the person who simply speaks to him as they actually are, not as they think they should be.
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.Matthew 6:6 (NIV)
Jesus points closeness away from performance and toward privacy. No audience, no impressive words, just you and a Father who is already paying attention. Getting closer to God often starts with one unremarkable, unwatched conversation in a closed room.
Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.John 15:4-5 (NIV)
Jesus uses a plant, not a ladder. Closeness here is less about climbing and more about staying attached, the way a branch simply stays on the vine. The work is not straining harder; it is not letting go. Most of what you are hoping for comes from remaining, which is something you can do on a tired day.
But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.Psalm 73:28 (NIV)
This line comes at the end of a psalm where the writer nearly walked away from faith entirely. He does not land on a formula. He lands on a preference: being near God is simply good, and worth choosing again. Sometimes drawing near is less a feeling than a decision you make after a season of doubt.
But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.Deuteronomy 4:29 (NIV)
The phrase that matters is "from there." Wherever you are, including a long way off, is a valid starting point. The promise is not that seeking might work. It is that wholehearted seeking finds him. You are not searching for someone who is hiding.
More verses about drawing near, briefly
If you came for a list to keep, here are sixteen more to look up, with a one-line sense of each.
The questions people actually ask
Why do I feel far from God?
Usually it is not what people fear. The distance you feel is rarely God withdrawing, and far more often the ordinary result of a busy, exhausted, or hurting season crowding out the ways you used to connect with him. Scripture is honest that faith has dry stretches; the psalmists write from the middle of them constantly. One honest caveat: if the distance comes less as ordinary dryness and more as a flat, heavy numbness that seems to drain everything else too, that can be a sign of depression rather than a spiritual failing, and our answer on what the Bible says about depression may fit you better. Feeling far is not the same as being far. "The LORD is near to all who call on him" (Psalm 145:18, NIV) still holds on the days he feels distant.
How do I hear God's voice?
For most people it is not an audible voice. God speaks most reliably and most safely through his written word, so the main way to "hear" him is to read Scripture slowly and let it talk back to your actual situation. Jesus said, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27, NIV), and that recognition grows with familiarity over time. Be cautious with any impression that contradicts the Bible or asks you to do something harmful; those are not his voice.
What if I don't feel anything when I pray?
Then you are in good company, and you have not done it wrong. Feelings come and go, and closeness to God is not measured by whether a prayer gave you goosebumps. Jesus points to a Father "who sees what is done in secret" (Matthew 6:6, NIV), which means the value of the prayer does not depend on your emotions during it. Keep showing up to the quiet, unfelt prayers. They count, and the feeling often follows the habit rather than leading it.
How long does it take to get closer to God?
There is no set timeline, and anyone who gives you one is guessing. Closeness tends to grow the way any real relationship does: through consistent, ordinary time together rather than a single breakthrough moment. Some people feel a shift quickly; for others it is slow and quiet. The thing to watch is not speed but direction. If you keep turning toward him, you are getting closer even on the days it does not feel like it.
Do I have to go to church to be close to God?
You can draw near to God anywhere, and he meets people in closets, cars, and hospital rooms. But closeness to God and connection to other believers are not meant to be rivals. Scripture consistently ties growing faith to a community that knows you, encourages you, and keeps you honest. You do not need church to start. You will likely want it to keep going.
A prayer you can borrow
If you do not have words, you can use these.
God, I want to be close to you again, and I am not even sure how far I have drifted. You said if I come near, you would come near to me, so here I am, with not much to offer except that I am turning back toward you. Meet me where I actually am. Teach me to find you. Amen.
What to do this week
- 1Pick one small, fixed time to show up. Closeness grows from consistency, not intensity. Choose five honest minutes at the same point each day, like the coffee or the commute, rather than waiting for a free hour that never comes.
- 2Read a little Scripture slowly and talk to God about it. Take a few verses, read them twice, and then pray back whatever they stir up. This turns reading into a conversation, which is the point. A Psalm a day is a gentle place to begin.
- 3Be honest with him, including about the distance. You do not have to arrive composed. Tell God the doubt, the dryness, or the thing you have been avoiding. Naming the gap out loud is often the first real step across it, and it is the kind of prayer he answers.
- 4Read one short passage a day and ask it a single question. Pick something small, a few verses or one psalm, and read it slowly, twice. Then ask it one honest question instead of trying to cover ground: what does this show me about God, or what would change if this were true for me today? One passage questioned does more than ten chapters skimmed, and it gives God something specific to meet you in.
- 5Let other people in: a church, a small group, someone to serve. Closeness to God rarely grows in isolation. Find one place with other believers, even a single midweek group, and show up before you feel ready. Then look for one person to serve this week, a meal, a ride, a message that checks in. Drawing near to God and moving toward people tend to arrive together, and serving someone often lands you closer to him than another hour spent alone.
None of this is a formula that forces a feeling. It is just showing up, honestly and repeatedly, to a God who promised to meet you when you come near.
What Bible app users say helped
A lot of people quietly lean on Bible apps when they want to grow closer to God and are not sure where to start. While researching this space we read tens of thousands of their real, public reviews, and the ones written from exactly this place kept describing what actually helped. A few, in their own words, lightly anonymized:
“This app has been so helpful in me reconnecting with the Lord and my faith.”
Google Play reviewer“Especially if you want to build a stronger relationship with God and you feel like you've been slacking or drifting away, this is most definitely the right app for that.”
App Store reviewer“I'm a lukewarm Christian and I wanted to change that. This helped me understand more about God and see where I needed to improve. It really helped my connection with him.”
Google Play reviewerThe honest thread in all of these is that an app gave people a place to start again when they felt stuck or distant. A tool can hand you a verse and a next step at the moment you decide to turn back. It is not a stand-in for a pastor, a church, or a friend who will walk the rest of the way with you.
Want an app like the ones above? We installed and tested the Bible chat apps available today and ranked them honestly in our guide to the best Bible chat apps.
Ask your own version of this
Everything above is the general answer. Your situation is specific, and a page cannot know what actually pulled you away or what closeness would look like for you. This is where a conversation does what an article cannot. Here is the kind of exchange we are building toward:
An illustration of the kind of reply Warmpeach is being built to give. Note it cites Psalm 145:18 correctly, offers a prayer, and asks a follow-up instead of ending the conversation.
Warmpeach — coming soon
A Bible chat app — pastor and therapist in one.
Warmpeach is a Bible chat app that blends a pastor's care with a therapist's questions, grounding every reply in scripture. Join the waitlist and we'll email you when it opens up.
Sources and notes
Reader quotes are lightly anonymized excerpts from public App Store and Google Play reviews of Bible chat apps, collected in our internal review-research corpus.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version (public domain). Verses referenced: James 4:8, Psalm 145:18, Matthew 6:6, John 15:4-5, Psalm 73:28, Deuteronomy 4:29.