Want to Get Closer to God? Here’s a Simple Spiritual Growth Plan
Last Updated on August 16, 2024 by Alicia Michelle
Are you looking for spiritual meaning in your life and to learn how to get closer to God?
The good news is that God loves you (yes, you!). He wants to show you how to have a peaceful, joyful life… right where you're at.
Growing closer to God (and having a personal relationship with Jesus) starts with an open heart ready to welcome in God's loving spirit.
Let's learn about how to become closer to God, including the #1 spiritual growth skill that will help you better understand the Bible and apply God's truth to your life.
If You Want to Grow Closer to God, You Must Do This…
Here's the truth: The best way to grow close to God is to spend time every day in prayer and Bible study (a quiet time with God).
I know we all want a quick and easy way to know God personally, but I've seen time and time again that those people who have the strongest Christian faith are the ones who spend time with God daily.
It makes sense, right? If we want to have a close relationship with someone we spend time with them. Regularly.
Growing closer to God happens bit-by-bit, a little at a time each day.
As we meet with Him and share our unseen questions and anxieties He reveals himself through the insights of the Holy Spirit and through the pages of the Bible.
P.S. If you've never had a personal relationship with God before (or you're not sure what that means), read this post.
Why Daily Time with God Grows Us Closer to God Like Nothing Else
In a world full of emotion and change, spending time with God through daily bible reading and prayer fills our souls with concrete, unchanging truth.
Consider these verses (and my brief synopsis of each):
- Hebrews 13:8: Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
- Psalm 119:105: God's word is a light to our feet and a lamp to our path.
- Hebrews 4:12: God's truth is alive. It speaks to the deepest places in us, offering conviction and direction like nothing else.
Daily time with God changes us. It grounds us and centers us. It calms us in the chaos.
Daily time with God is the glue that brings much-needed refreshment and transforms the difficulties we endure into avenues for beautiful spiritual growth.
But before you load yourself up with tons of guilt and anxiety about why you have a hard time spending time with God regularly, I want to tell you that you're not alone in this struggle!
In fact, I see a pattern–3 big obstacles, in fact–that keep us from spending time with God.
Read below… which one can you relate to the most?
3 Big Obstacles to Growing Closer to God
If growing closer to God is important to many Christian women, why don't many of us spend more time with God?
I did a recent survey of ladies like us in this community and I found that most of us deal with three major obstacles:
- We don't have enough time.
- We don't know how to spend time with God or what that means.
- We don't know how to make spending time with God a regular habit.
Let's look at each one a little bit more closely, and then (spoiler alert) I want to share my solution to overcome these obstacles to growing closer to God each day!
1. We don't have enough time.
First, “not enough time” is a big obstacle for many people who want to grow closer to God, especially if their life is extremely busy.
I know you can relate because your life is probably really busy too (mine always seems full of never-ending activities). There always seems to be more things to do then I have time for.
If “not enough time” is one of the big reasons why you aren't growing closer to God, you're not alone (and hint–I think you're going to love the solution I'm going to share)!
2. We don't know how to spend time with God or what that means.
What does it mean to have a quiet time? How can we study the Bible and make biblical truth a relevant part of our lives?
In other words, what does it look like to grow closer to God (for the average Christian like you and me)?
Some of the women I spoke to said that when they read their Bible or had a “quiet time,” they literally felt like they just sat there in the silence, not knowing what to say or how to make a connection with God through Bible reading.
Yes! Knowing how to grow closer to God trips up so many of us, especially if we were never taught how to pray or how to study the Bible.
Can you relate to this? Yes? Ok, great!
Two things. First, I want to make sure that you have started a relationship with God.
I'm not talking about if you attend church or if you grew up knowing about God. If you want to have a thriving relationship with God (instead of following a “religion” or set of rules), then you have to check out this post.
Second, If you've already decided to follow Christ and have officially begun a relationship with Him (but you still aren't sure how to “spend time with God”) then you'll want to keep reading because what I'm going to share will really resonate with you.
3. We don't know how to make spending time with God a regular habit.
Being consistent about growing closer to God is also another huge obstacle that many of us face. We start out strong, but then… life sets in and we lose our momentum.
Maybe you know how to study the Bible and enjoy doing a women's Bible study, but your issue is consistency.
Do you know this was the #1 obstacle to spiritual growth for the women I spoke to?
So many of us are convinced that spending time with God is important, and have even experienced closeness with God in the past. The problem? We have a hard time following through with our commitment to grow closer to God each day.
We just keep getting sidetracked. Distracted. By both “good” things (and those “shiny objects” like cute kitten videos and that friend with the hard-to-resist Instagram feed full of gorgeous home decor eye candy). 🙂
You're not alone. But there is hope. Let me share how I've overcome this obstacle myself.
A Simple Spiritual Growth Plan for Anyone Who Wants to Grow Closer to God
I get it. After working with hundreds of women (and experiencing these obstacles myself!), I've found that the easiest way to grow closer to God each day is this:
Have a simple, easy Bible study method.
A good Bible study method:
- Makes Bible time more concentrated and focused (and thus requires less time);
- Gives you a plan on how to study the Bible and grow closer to God (no more questions about “how do I connect to God each day?”)
- Makes it easier to establish a habit because it provides clear direction on what to study (habits are much easier to maintain when we don't have to reinvent the wheel each time).
Do you see how a simple Bible study method really can solve the 3 big obstacles to spiritual growth that we just talked about?
You need a plan to know how to grow closer to God everyday–a simple way to relate to apply biblical truth to your life.
And that spiritual growth plan needs to include a simple Bible study method.
Which Bible Study Method Can Help Me Grow Closer to God?
There are many Bible study methods out there, so how do you know which is the best for you?
You need a Bible study method that is:
- easy to remember,
- doesn't use fancy “bible” terminology,
- can be used with any verse, and
- that really makes the Bible (God's love letter to you!) alive and relevant.
In short, you need a way to grow closer to God everyday that doesn't require a ton of time each day (or a seminary degree). 🙂
Let me save you some leg work here: I have researched several Bible study methods and I've found that very few meet these criteria.
I'm sure these Bible study methods help some people, and I don't want to knock them.
But for you and me? Women who lead busy lives who just want to grow closer to God (and not get lost in a sea of confusing Bible terms)?
Let me show you a better way.
Let me introduce you to the Spiritual Growth Rhythm™ and the 5Rs Bible Study™ method–a Bible study method I created about 10 years ago and that is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to study the Bible.
The Plan: Use The 5Rs Bible Study Method + the Spiritual Growth Rhythm to Grow Closer to God
The 5Rs Bible Study™ Method makes understanding the Bible and growing close to God incredibly simple, and is perfect for busy moms like you and me.
Watch this video to learn more.
The 5Rs Bible Study Method consists of 5 steps:- Read
- Rewrite
- Restate
- Relate
- Respond
Pick any Bible verse and use the 5Rs to analyze and understand the verse, and then to apply that truth to action in your life today. It's perfect for anyone who want to grow closer to God through a daily quiet time.
So what is the Spiritual Growth Rhythm™? The 5Rs Bible Study™ Method is the first step of the Spiritual Growth Rhythm–a simple 3-step plan to grow closer to God that includes Bible study, recognizing God at work and releasing worry and fear to God.
Here's a video that explains how the Spiritual Growth Rhythm and the 5Rs work perfectly together to help you grow closer to God in around 10 minutes a day!
But the best way to learn about the Spiritual Growth Rhythm and the 5Rs Bible Study is to experience it yourself!That's why I've created a free 3-Day Bible Study that walks you through how to study the Bible (and grow closer to God) using these simple spiritual growth methods.
In this 3-session video course, I'll take you step by step through the Spiritual Growth Rhythm and the 5Rs Bible Study™ Method and give you a chance to try it yourself with downloadable homework sheets.
Knowing how to connect with God everyday is a huge part of the battle, right?
And you and I know that once we have a plan, it's so much easier to create a habit of growing closer to God.
I wrote this post because I really want to help you know how to grow closer to God, and this simple, easy Bible study method is the best way I've found!
Learning how to do the Spiritual Growth Rhythm and the 5Rs Bible Study™ Method really is the best way I know to get a huge jumpstart on growing closer to God!
Let me lead you step by step with this free “How to Grow Closer to God” Bible Study course.
Growing Closer to God Through the Trials
One last thing (and it's important).
While I can testify that growing closer to God each day through a simple Bible study method does transform a person from the inside out, I want to let you know that God still will probably asks you to walk through some difficult life seasons.
In a nutshell, growing closer to God doesn't mean that we have a perfect, pain-free life.
We can still have all kinds of “why” questions, especially during life's hardest moments, even when we're spending time with God everyday and growing our relationship with Him.
But here's the good news: I've discovered that God often uses our trials and tribulations as an invitation to grow even closer to Him.
If you're discouraged by some difficult circumstances you're enduring (and those situations are keeping you from growing closer to God), I would encourage you to cry out to Him with your pain!
God cares about you and wants to help carry your burden through this trial.
Consider these verses: 1 Peter 5:7, Psalm 13:1-6, Psalm 18:1-6, 16-19.
I promise you this: God knows everything you're going through and He will use your life circumstances as a way to draw you closer to Him.
How do I know this? Because I've been there. Over and over again, I've seen trials and hard times help me grow closer to God.
You can read more about that here:
- 3 Big Questions About How to Have Joy In Trials
- When You Don't Want to Give Thanks
- 27 Inspiring Bible Verses About Trials and Hard Times
- Keeping Faith in God During Hard Times (4 Inspiring Stories)
Other Posts on Christian Spiritual Growth
- How to Study the Bible for Yourself
- 23 Tips for the Powerful Prayer Life You Want
- 5 Secrets for Real Spiritual Growth
- How to Find Authentic Happiness (Bible Verses About Happiness)
And don't forget to download the free “How to Grow Closer to God” Bible Study video course so you that can learn how to use the Spiritual Growth Rhythm and the 5Rs Bible Study™ Method in order to know how to grow closer to God each day!
The best comfort in this life is having a close relationship with God. Our relationship with God won’t ever be directly as long as our relationship with others isn’t right.
Wonderful! I’m so glad that you were inspired and encouraged by these spiritual growth principles to help you grow closer to God! Thanks for sharing!
This post was truly worthwhile to read. I wanted to say thank you for the key points you have pointed out as they are enlightening.
Great information Christian Living. Thank you for sharing this.
Michael, thank you so much for sharing this. Thank you for your service to our country! I am blessed to know another brother in Christ who truly loves God. This spiritual growth method works for anyone and everyone (not just women). I pray that God will give you a way to work this through the keyboard so that you can grow in your connection with Him!
I think it’s caring and loving of you to offer this to people. Obviously you love God and want to serve his children. God is surely in your heart and you are listening to Him and working with him using your gift or gifts to present this, which includes your study of other methods. I can’t write because I have tremor, but if this works for men, I may well be able to make it work using the keyboard which I have no trouble with. I’m a writer, a veteran, an American, and I gave my life to Jesus quite awhile ago. Again, thank you very much. Many blessing upon you and yours.
It’s great for me.