Mental Practices to Draw Closer to God
In the movies, love at first sight happens at a glance across a crowded room. In a case of mistaken identity. With an averted near-catastrophe. Those moments make us smile and root for the couple to make it to their happy ending.
In reality, most of us know lasting love is a little more complicated than a movie. It’s messier. It’s often a choice more than a feeling. It’s staying in conversation and engagement and pursuit. And when lived out, love is stronger and more beautiful than any romantic comedy ending.
Similar to our favorite on-screen love stories, we can expect closeness with God to be something we just feel, as simple as love at first sight and happy endings. When we don’t feel close to Him, we feel lost and discouraged.
God loves us and reaches out for us constantly. How can we, on our ends, cultivate a solid connection with Him? One that withstands whatever we’re going through and however we’re feeling?
Here are some intentional mental practices we can use daily to “set our minds on things above” (Colossians 3:2, NIV). These make great journaling topics too.
1. Choose time with God first.
It’s proven - whenever I start my morning scrolling through headlines, emails, and updates, my whole day leans more toward anxious than peaceful; more self-focused than God-focused; more impatient than present. Maybe you can relate?
Our mindset affects so much. We set ourselves up for the spiritual battle when we choose prayer, worship, and scripture to kick off our days.
2. Meditate on God.
Take 15 minutes daily to truly worship God for who He is - his love, beauty, faithfulness, goodness, patience, and more. Consider how you have seen Him work. Rejoice over who He is. This helps put our shield of faith firmly in place to fight the enemy’s lies (Ephesians 6:16). Most often when we feel overwhelmed or worn out, focusing on God can alter our perspective of what’s going on around us.
3. Ask what God wants for you today (and listen for what He tells you).
If God arranges the times and places (Acts 17:26) and has prepared good works for us to do (Ephesians 2:10), then surely He has us where He does for a reason. Let’s pray that we have eyes to see what He wants for us, so we don’t get lost in our own ambitions.
4. Test everything according to scripture.
Sometimes lies invade our minds and hearts. It’s so important to intentionally call them out and measure them up with the Word to see if they’re really true. Psalm 119:105 NIV says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Hold up those lies to the light - lies about you, about God, about others. As a constant practice, this helps us be fully rooted in the Word and the Truth.
5. Practice gratitude.
The point still astounds me that Jesus often gave thanks to God before his miracles. (Thanks for that direction from the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.) Gratitude precedes miracles. Maybe not so much because they weren’t happening before, but because our eyes weren’t open to what God was already doing. Make it a point to be thankful for what God has provided in your life, and watch him open up your eyes to so much more.
