Have you ever wondered how to get closer to God?
Maybe you believe in God. You pray. You go to church. You read the Bible. You genuinely want to know Him better. Yet, somehow, God can still feel distant.
If that describes you, you are not alone. And the answer may not be to simply try harder.
Getting closer to God is not about checking more boxes on a spiritual to-do list. It is about learning to live in a relationship with Him—to become comfortable in His presence, trust Him, enjoy Him, and recognize His goodness in your everyday life.
The Bible says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:8, NIV). That invitation reveals something important: God desires closeness with His children.
What Does It Mean to Get Closer to God?
When we ask how to get closer to God, we often think about what we should do: pray more, read more Scripture, attend church more often, or become more disciplined.
Those things can be valuable. But they can also become activities we perform without actually developing intimacy with God.
The goal isn't simply to know about God. The goal is to know God.
In When Goodness Finds You, Scott Boucher explores this idea of living a life of intimacy with God. The book challenges the assumption that Christianity is primarily about following rules and instead invites us to discover what it means to approach God as a loving Father.
That changes the question.
Instead of asking, “What do I need to do to make God happy with me?” we can begin asking, “How can I know Him more deeply?”
1. Approach God With Confidence
One of the biggest barriers to getting closer to God is the way we see Him.
If you imagine God as distant, disappointed, angry, or constantly waiting for you to fail, intimacy becomes difficult. You may believe He loves you intellectually while still feeling uncomfortable in His presence.
When Goodness Finds You emphasizes approaching God with faith, freedom, and confidence.
Hebrews 4:16 gives us a beautiful invitation to approach God's throne with confidence so that we can receive mercy and find grace when we need it.
God does not ask you to clean yourself up before you approach Him.
Come as you are.
Bring your questions. Bring your failures. Bring your fears. Bring your hopes. Bring your gratitude. Bring the parts of your life you don't understand.
Intimacy begins when we stop hiding.
2. Learn to Trust God Like a Child
Jesus repeatedly pointed His followers toward the faith of children.
There is something wonderfully uncomplicated about a child's trust. A child doesn't need to understand everything about a parent before trusting that parent.
The same principle applies to our relationship with God.
One of the five keys to intimacy discussed in When Goodness Finds You is becoming like a child, including learning the trust, freedom, and faith associated with childlike relationship.
This doesn't mean abandoning wisdom or becoming naïve. It means learning to trust God's character even when we don't understand His plan.
Proverbs 3:5–6 tells us to trust in the Lord rather than depending entirely on our own understanding.
Sometimes getting closer to God means admitting:
“I don't understand this, but I trust You.”
That simple prayer can become the beginning of a much deeper relationship.
3. Simplify Your Life
One reason God can feel distant is that our lives are incredibly noisy.
Our attention is constantly being pulled in different directions—work, relationships, entertainment, responsibilities, social media, finances, notifications, and countless other demands.
Sometimes we don't need more information about God.
We simply need more room for God.
The manuscript identifies simplifying your life as another key to intimacy with God.
Creating space doesn't necessarily mean abandoning everything. It can mean intentionally protecting moments when you can be still, pray, read Scripture, reflect, listen, and simply enjoy God's presence.
Jesus often withdrew from the crowds to spend time with His Father.
Try doing the same.
Put your phone down. Take a walk. Sit quietly. Open your Bible. Talk to God without rushing to the next thing.
You may discover that God wasn't as distant as you thought.
You were simply distracted.
4. Discover How God Sees You
Another powerful step in learning how to get closer to God is understanding how God sees you.
Many people carry distorted beliefs about themselves because of past experiences, failures, rejection, or the words spoken over them by others.
Those experiences can influence the way we imagine God sees us.
When Goodness Finds You spends significant attention on discovering, remembering, accepting, and walking in the beauty God sees in us.
This matters because intimacy requires vulnerability.
It is difficult to become deeply connected to someone when you constantly believe you are unworthy of being loved.
But Scripture tells us that our identity begins with God's love.
Psalm 139 describes God as knowing us completely. He sees what others cannot see. He knows our thoughts, our struggles, our strengths, and our weaknesses.
And yet He still invites us into relationship.
Getting closer to God means allowing His view of you to become louder than the voices that have told you otherwise.
5. Delight Yourself in God
What if getting closer to God wasn't supposed to feel like another obligation?
What if God actually wants you to enjoy Him?
Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord.”
That is remarkably different from simply fulfilling religious duties.
The fifth key to intimacy in When Goodness Finds You is learning to delight yourself in the Lord.
Think about the people you genuinely enjoy.
You don't spend time with them only because you are obligated to. You spend time with them because you want to.
God desires that kind of relationship with us.
Talk to Him throughout your day. Thank Him when something makes you smile. Invite Him into ordinary moments. Celebrate answered prayers. Notice His creation. Laugh. Worship. Be honest.
You don't always need a formal setting to connect with God.
Sometimes intimacy looks remarkably ordinary.
6. Learn to Listen for God's Voice
A relationship isn't built entirely on talking.
If prayer becomes nothing more than giving God a list of requests, we can miss an important part of intimacy: listening.
Jesus said His sheep know His voice (John 10:27).
Learning to recognize God's voice takes time. It requires familiarity. The more time we spend in Scripture and God's presence, the more we learn to recognize what aligns with His character and His Word.
When Goodness Finds You explores both “dancing” with God and learning to hear His voice.
This doesn't mean every thought, feeling, coincidence, or impulse is automatically a message from God.
Instead, develop a posture of listening.
Ask:
“God, what are You showing me?”
“What do You want me to learn?”
“Where are You leading me?”
Then give yourself enough quiet to notice what happens.
7. Look for God's Goodness in Everyday Life
Perhaps one of the most beautiful ways to get closer to God is to begin looking for Him in the ordinary.
We can become so focused on waiting for a dramatic spiritual experience that we overlook the goodness already surrounding us.
A conversation.
A sunrise.
A restored relationship.
A moment of unexpected peace.
A provision you didn't anticipate.
A Scripture that suddenly speaks directly to your situation.
A door that opens.
A door that closes.
A moment when you realize you aren't walking through something alone.
When Goodness Finds You repeatedly points the reader toward recognizing God's goodness and discovering the ways He is already present and active. The book's very title captures this movement: rather than believing that we must manufacture God's goodness, we learn to recognize it when it finds us.
The more you notice God's goodness, the more reasons you discover to trust Him.
And the more you trust Him, the more comfortable you become in His presence.
That is how intimacy grows.
What If God Isn't as Far Away as You Think?
If you are searching for how to get closer to God because He feels distant, start with one simple step.
Stop striving for a moment.
Be still.
Talk to Him honestly.
Open His Word.
Ask Him to reveal Himself to you.
Then begin paying attention.
God may not always reveal Himself through dramatic moments. Sometimes He whispers. Sometimes He works quietly. Sometimes His presence becomes visible only when we look back and recognize how He was working all along.
The journey toward God isn't about becoming perfect.
It's about becoming available.
It's about learning to approach Him with confidence, trust Him like a child, simplify your life enough to make room for Him, discover how He sees you, delight in His presence, listen for His voice, and recognize His goodness.
If you want to know how to get closer to God, don't begin by asking, “What religious activity am I missing?”
Begin with a relationship.
God is inviting you closer.
