Young People Ask . . .
How Can I Get Close to God?
‘I’M HUMAN, God’s divine. I’m finite, God’s infinite. I’m flesh, God’s spirit. Then how am I supposed to relate to God?’ Thus ask many youths about God today. ‘Sometimes I wonder,’ say some youths, ‘if God even wants me to communicate with Him or if He just wants to be left alone.’ Still others complain, ‘When I pray, I don’t hear any voices telling me how to handle my problems.’
However, not all young people feel this way. Says George Gallup, Jr., in his publication Religion in America 1984: “Teenagers appear to be more likely than their elders to feel a close relationship with God.” But while 95 percent of the teenagers interviewed said they believe in God or in a universal spirit, this in itself does not mean they have a relationship with him.
Getting close to God involves more than just believing in him. It means putting belief into action, which includes cultivating a friendship with God. Thus, the Bible speaks of faithful Abraham coming to be called “Jehovah’s friend.” True, cultivating any relationship is work. But is God’s friendship worth the effort?—James 2:23.
Why It Matters
“By him we have life and move and exist,” said the apostle Paul. (Acts 17:28) Like it or not, your life depends upon God. The air you breathe, the food you eat, the water you drink—these are but a few of his provisions. Are we not thus indebted to him? This alone is a reason to want to be close to God. (Genesis 1:27, 28; Psalm 104:14) Yet, there is still further reason for you to want to do so.
“It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step,” says the Bible. Not that man cannot try, but without God’s direction he is simply not equipped to do it. (Jeremiah 10:23; Proverbs 12:15) Wars, crime, violence, pollution, and many other common situations today have proved this true. Yes, not being close to God has seriously hurt mankind. But what about you as an individual?
Being God’s friend will help you cope with personal problems. Man has “a scanty lifetime and an overload of difficulties,” says the Bible. (Job 14:1, The Bible in Living English) Yet, through the direction he gives by means of his Word, God can guide you in ways that are for your own lasting good. “Trust in Jehovah with all your heart and do not lean upon your own understanding,” the Bible urges. “In all your ways take notice of him, and he himself will make your paths straight.”—Proverbs 3:5, 6; Psalm 16:11.
God is also interested in your future welfare. His promise of everlasting life on earth—in peaceful and righteous conditions—to those who earnestly seek him makes getting close to God matter all the more. (John 17:3; Psalm 37:9-11, 29; Revelation 21:3, 4) How, then, can you begin to get close to him?
Get to Know God
Before you choose someone as a good friend, you must first get to know him. Would you choose this friend at random—not knowing his name, his personality, his interests, and even his deeper thoughts and emotions? Probably not. Likewise, to get close to God you must first learn about him. (John 17:3) Begin by studying the Bible. This helps you get to know God as a person. You learn how he thinks and what he requires of you.
Even though the Bible is written in language that is reasonably simple and clear, some amount of disciplined study is necessary. Unfortunately, for most people, the Bible remains an unread, foreign document. According to a Gallup Youth Survey, “only about one teenager in eight (12%) reads the Bible daily, and 30% never open the book or can’t remember when they last did so.” Interestingly, 52 percent say they read the newspaper every day. But to “go on perceiving what the will of Jehovah is,” reading his Word on a regular basis is a must.—Ephesians 5:17; Joshua 1:8.
However, getting close to God is not just a matter of getting facts about him. As in any relationship today, some form of communication is necessary. With Jehovah God, it is prayer.
Communicate
To some youths, talking to God in prayer seems too remote, too fantastic or unreal. Nevertheless, as 17-year-old Laverne observes, “it is hard to say you really have a personal relationship with someone if you don’t talk to him.” True, knowledge is important. But no matter how much knowledge you may have about God, without regular prayer to him, your efforts may be in vain.
Lynda was raised in a Christian family. Nevertheless, reflecting on her teenage years, she recalls, “In all those years, I rarely missed a Christian meeting, and I have never missed a month of preaching activity, yet I never really developed a close personal relationship with Jehovah.” But at a certain point in her life, when problems and tensions were building up, what helped her? “I prayed incessantly for days for answers to our problems.” She soon realized that Jehovah would help her with her problems, and she was able to cope with them.
Do you ever feel like Lynda, that you are doing good Christian things, but you still cannot get close to God? Have you tried praying to him about it? The Bible clearly states that “Jehovah is near to all those calling upon him.” (Psalm 145:18) That is why the Bible encourages us to “pray continually,” “persevere in prayer,” and “carry on prayer on every occasion.” (Matthew 26:41; Romans 12:12; Ephesians 6:18) Although this does not mean you must spend all your time—24 hours a day—praying, it does mean you need to pray regularly. But when you pray, is God listening?
He is if you meet his conditions for prayer and if you pray for the right things. Jesus Christ used his model prayer as a pattern. (Luke 11:1-4) The disciple James, though, told certain Christians in his day: “You do ask, and yet you do not receive, because you are asking for a wrong purpose.” (James 4:3) Hence, if your prayers are selfish or ignore God’s will, you cannot expect God to listen to them.
However, just talking to God is not necessarily prayer. Your prayer should involve devotion, trust, respect, and a sense of dependence on God. Pour your heart out to him as you would to an understanding father. Yes, “in everything by prayer . . . let your petitions be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6) Still, more than knowledge and prayer is needed for you to get close to God. You must also put forth an effort to harmonize your life with Bible principles.
Apply Yourself
Men, women, and young ones will spend much time, exert much effort, and even endure hardship to reach their personal goals. For example, between the ages of 9 and 19, Olympic figure-skating star Peggy Fleming spent more than 20,000 hours—an average of at least five hours each day—exercising and training herself for the Olympics. Her goal? An Olympic gold medal. Should not working at getting close to God also require considerable effort?
His Word tells us to “strip off the old personality” and to “quit being fashioned after this system of things.” (Colossians 3:9; Romans 12:2) This requires constant effort on your part. But you will never get closer to God unless you do something about it.
So, for you to get close to God, you must get to know him, communicate with him through prayer, and apply yourself by doing his will. Yes, begin to “seek God, . . . grope for him and really find him, although, in fact, he is not far off from each one of us.”—Acts 17:27.
[Blurb on page 16]
Getting close to God involves more than just believing in him
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You will never get closer to God unless you do something about it
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Many exert much effort to reach their goals. Should it require any less effort to get close to God?