Last Updated on October 19, 2023 by Emma
Have you ever experienced Christ in a big and powerful way? Maybe it was a moment in life when you were so overwhelmed by who God is. Have you been so overtaken when worshiping God?
As Christians, we have all experienced these big moments of feeling close to God.
When we are not close to God we are eager to get back near him. The mountaintop experiences we have in our Christian walk are amazing but that is not where we live. We must come off the mountain tops and into this fallen world.
The mundane life, the trials, and even the temptations we experience begin to make us feel far from God.
God is not far though. He loves to answer our prayers. Especially prayers where we cry out to him to be closer.
I have prayed this prayer countless times throughout my walk with God. Many Christian songs ask God to come close; “hold me close”, “tether me to you,” and “prone to wonder”. Drifting away from the God we love, is something we will all have to actively fight and pray against.
James gives us some insight into how to experience closeness with God.
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8 ESV)
In the following prayers, we will be looking at a few different ways we can draw near to God and pray for him to come close to us.
We would love to hear how you are combatting drifting away from being close to God. Comment below so we can pray with you as you draw near to God.
We can’t wait to hear how God begins to reveal himself to you as you seek to be closer to him.
Short Prayer Asking God To Come Close
God, I long to be close to you. Will you please come close to me and show me more of who you are? Help me to not drift away from you, but instead hold me close.
Help me to see that the best way to draw near to you in through your Word, praying and being obedient to your calling. Please direct me on how I can be intentional about drawing near to you.
Thank you for being a God who wants a relationship with me, for being a God that wants me to be close. Thank you for being a God that can be known, the creator of the universe wants to be close to me, wow!
God, please come close. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Prayer For God To Come Close While Reading Scripture
Heavenly Father, you are holy and our king. I desire to do your will and to be close to you. I know I do not deserve a relationship with you because of my sin, but I praise you for forgiving me of my sin. I know it is only because of the grace extended to me from Jesus that I can come close to you.
Jesus, thank you for giving me so many amazing examples of what it looks like to be close to God. One of those examples is knowing God’s word. Thank you for showing me the power God’s words have when you combated Satan with them in the wilderness. (Matthew 4:1-11).
God, your word is powerful, and I know it has the power to draw me close to you. Thank you for providing and educating the people who transferred and published the Bible into my language so that I may be able to know your words.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16)
I pray today that I would begin to see the importance of being in your word. That you would use it to teach me new things about you. Allow me to be honest with myself when I read it so I can see the sin in my life.
God, I pray that you show me how to turn from that sin and correct my behavior. Help me to become more and more like Christ as I read your word.
God, help me to truly believe these are your words because if I want to be close to you I must begin to cherish the words you have given to me. Lord, help me to find other Christians that are also wanting to study your word.
God, finally help me to be in your word daily because you are my daily bread. I know I cannot live without you, so give me a craving to be in your word every day. I pray this in your name, Amen.
Prayer For God To Come Close While Praying
God, I pray that you come close to me as I pray and praise you. I know these times are important at church but help me to value this time when it’s just you and me.
Jesus, thank you for demonstrating how prayer allows you to be close to God. On many occasions in the Gospels, I see you getting away and praying to God.
Thank you for the opportunity to pray as it allows me to be close to you God. Help me to begin to pray personal prayers. Help me to pray throughout my day. Help me to go to you in prayer before I go to anyone else.
God, help me to go deeper in my prayers. Help me to pray prayers of praise when I see you moving. Help me to pray prayers of repentance when I’ve sinned. Help me to pray prayers of lament when the things of this life are hard. Teach me to pray in a new way.
Thank you for giving us the means through prayer to be close to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Prayer For God To Come Close As I Live More Like Jesus
God, forgive me for living a selfish life. I want to have a closer relationship with you but instead of drawing near you, I waste my time. Forgive me because sometimes I ask that you come close so I can feel good, but not because I long for you.
God, humble me to see where I live for my passions and not to glorify you. I do not want to be like the world, but I want to be transformed to be like you every day.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:7-8 ESV)
God, I submit my life to you. I understand that if I am to be close to you that I must recognize that you are Lord. You are in control of my life, and it is my joy to do what you call me to do.
God, help me to resist the devil. The temptations of this life are daily there, calling me to a sinful, selfish life that draws me away from you.
God, thank you for telling us the clear way to be close to you; by faith in Jesus, through the grace, he pours out, we can be cleansed and be in a relationship with you.
God, I pray that you come close and guide me as I grow more and more like Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Closing Thoughts
We cannot come close to God without first being made right before him. The promise that he will come close to us if we draw close to him is a promise for believers.
For Christians reading the Bible, praying, and obeying God are just a few ways that we can actively draw close to God. These spiritual disciplines, along with others like corporate worship, fasting, and solitude, will not only draw us near to God, but it’s through these disciplines that God will transform you and use you in the lives of others.
“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:22 ESV)
If you are not a Christian yet I pray that you surrender your life with full assurance that Jesus is Lord. Repent of your sins and turn from evil ways and Christ will wash you clean. It is then you will be justified before God and can draw near to him.
If you surrendered your life for the first time today, I pray that you will experience the closeness of God. Please, leave us a comment so we can continue to be praying for you. Finally, can I encourage you to tell someone and find a church! Welcome to the Family!
God loves when the desire of your heart is to be close to him because he loves you. It is so encouraging to know that others desire to be close to God too. I am praying for everyone who begins to use these prayers that God will help you to feel his closeness.
I pray that you will begin to take the steps of getting closer to him and see the fruits of living in obedience to God. Today I pray you to open your Bible, pray again to God, and begin to live out this beautiful life God has called you to.