7 Things To Do When You Feel Distant From God
Feeling distant from God can happen for many reasons. Trauma, overwhelming life situations, faith struggles, or inconsistency in your walk with God can all contribute. Personally, I notice it when I neglect my daily Bible study and prayer. This impacts my interactions and reactions throughout the day.
Regardless of the cause, it’s important to remember that God is always there, even when we don’t feel His presence. He is waiting for us to return and will never give up on us.
See my Bible verses when you feel distant from God below.
7 Things To Do When You Feel Distant From God
There are many ways to feel closer to God, here are a few of my favorites:
- One way is to pray and read the Bible regularly. This helps to develop a personal relationship with God and to grow in one’s understanding of who God is. Join me and hundreds of other women in a monthly scripture writing and Bible study plan.
- Talk to a trust friend and accountability partner that will encourage you, talk with you, and pray for you.
- Another way to feel close to God is to serve others and to be involved in church activities. Don’t isolate yourself! Being a part of a community allows us to see God working in the world and allows others to be there for us.
- Get creative! Start doing some journaling. There is no wrong way to do this and there is just someting about being creative in our Bible study time that is good for our souls.
- Additionally, spending time in nature can also help us to feel close to God. I love going on prayer walks! Seeing His creation can remind us of His power and majesty, and help us to feel His peace.
- Remember, sometimes we feel distant from God, because He wants us to step in closer to Him. Reach out to him right now, Sisters!
Reasons Why You Feel Distant From God
Here are a few common reasons why you may be feeling distant from God:
1 – You are going through a really hard season. Suffering brings us to our knees and if we do not have a good understanding of suffering and God’s perspective of it we can start to question and begin to have our faith waver. The good news is that we can respectfully go to God will all of questions!
2 – You have stopped being consistent in your Bible reading and prayer time. Our faith grows when we study the Bible and spend time with God, so naturally we will feel distant if we stop spending time with God. Just like the relationship you have with your spouse, if you stopped spending quality time together, to develop a closer relationship, you will start to feel distant from each other.
3 – You have ongoing sin in your life. Sin is something we all have to deal with in our lives. It’s what separates us from God and can quickly grow a crop of weeds in our hearts, straining our relationship with Him. As His daughters, we feel miserable when He feels distant and the joy of our salvation is gone. Sin has distorted our relationship with our Savior, but we can always try to turn back to Him and ask for forgiveness. He will forgive you and restore you!
4 – You are lead by emotions instead of God’s truth. While our feelings and emotions are given to us by God to help us in life, they are not meant to be our guide. God wants that job. If our thoughts dictate our feelings and emotions and if we are wrong or have a wrong perspective our emotions will not follow God’s truth nor His will for our lives and that can make us feel distant from Him.
Prayer When You Feel Distant From God
Abba Father, I feel so distant from you right now. I don’t know why, but I just feel like I’m not as close to you as I used to be and as I should be. I miss that feeling of closeness and connection with you. I know you’re still here with me, but I just can’t seem to find my way back to you. I’m lost, and I need your help. Open my eyes to any sin I need to repent from. Is there anything I’m doing or that is in my life that I need to get rid of? Open my eyes! Change me! Help me to be consistent in my time with you. Heal all my wounds and wrong perspectives that hold me back from having a closer relationship with you. Strengthen my faith and understanding as I walk through this season, Lord. Please help me to find my way back to you. Guide me and show me the way. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Bible Verses For When You Feel Distant From God
Here are 9 Bible Verses to read when you start feeling distant from God:
If you’re feeling distant from God, know that you’re not alone. Many people feel this way at some point in their lives. The good news is that there are Bible verses to help you feel closer to God. Here are a few of my favorites:
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” – Psalm 23:4
David celebrates the protection and guidance of God. Sheep guarded by a skilled shepherd are led to food and water, and protected from harm. In the same way, David praises God for giving him peace. The knowledge of God’s protection and provision are a great comfort to us when we feel distant from God. – Bible Ref
“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:7
It’s a promise from the Almighty that we can give him our burdens. Our hearts can safely trust God to be there with us in hard times. God does not want his children to continue living under the weight of these burdens alone. Go to God with your burdens!
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6
We don’t always know what to do or think. Sometimes our perspective is wrong. And God tells us here to trust Him and let Him be our guide through life. When you start feeling distant from Him, ask Him to help you change your thoughts to be those He would want you to have.
“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13
Paul’s words are referring to the ability to endure the trials and hardships when we keep our eyes on Jesus. Sometimes we feel far from God when we go through hardships. Let this verse remind you that when you are intentional about seeking God, you will find Him.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. – Psalm 34:18
Isn’t it comforting to know that God is close to us when we feel broken? Our friends, family and sometimes even the church may not respond in the best way when we are walking through a hard season. But, we can find the comfort and security we need when we seek God.
“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6
Isn’t this such a great reminder of the God we serve!? He encourages us and then reminds us that He is always with us.
“But God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8
Even in our sin He still loves us and wants us to reach for Him! If only we could fully grasp this amazing love and rest in it daily.
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:35-39
Nothing can separate us from God’s love! What an amazing example of the unconditional love we have access to. We are more than conquerors through any season of life, because we have God.
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by his love; He will exult over you with loud singing.” – Zephaniah 3:17 ESV
I have always loved this verse. Through my darkest of days when I felt like the heavy go just wouldn’t lift, I would say this verse over and over. The thought that Jesus sings over me, rejoices over me and quiets me with His love brings tears of comfort to my eyes. You are so deeply loved!
I hope these verses bring you comfort when you are feeling far away from God. Remember, He is always with you even in the darkest of times.
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