Getting To Know Him

Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites. James 4:8

Great things happen in our lives when we spend time with God. We get to know him better, find out his will for us, and learn what it takes to live a life that pleases him. Time with God is absolutely essential if we want to change. Conversely, when we don’t spend time with God, we remain stuck in old lies, old habits, old unhealthy relations, and old thought patterns.

Right now you may be asking what steps you should take to cultivate your relationship with God. Sometimes it’s a matter of taking some simple, practical steps. Here are some of the tools you can use:

A concordance. My favorite electronic concordance is WordSearch by NavPress. There are many other software options and book versions, including Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and Young’s Analytical Concordance.

A Bible dictionary and encyclopedia. There are words, people groups, and customs recorded in the Bible that are new or different from the ones in your everyday life. You will gain more from a passage of Scripture if you understand its historical and cultural relevance. A Bible dictionary and/or encyclopedia will help you to understand those things.

A journal. It’s a good idea to keep a personal journal as you seek God in prayer and in Bible study. Using a journal, you can write out your questions, impressions, and feelings. You can keep notes on what God is telling you through his Word, and you can write personal notes back to him.

Time with God never happens accidentally. You must be intentional in the pursuit of time with him. Filling your spiritual toolbox with the tools I’ve listed will help you do just that.

Lord, give me direction as I make the time to seek you.