I am a Christian, but sometimes I don’t feel close to God. What can I do?
Not always, but often we want to have that feeling close to God as an “emotion on demand” thing. Sometimes the feeling you are looking for comes after being obedient. Here is an example: Remember the story of Hannah, the mother of Samuel? Before she gave birth to Samuel, she could not have children, but when she pleaded with God for a son, God answered her prayer. But when Hannah made that request, it was with a promise. That she would give this beloved child back to God. When Samuel was still a young child, Hannah brought him to the temple to stay there. Think about this; Hannah has been waiting for years for a child and now she has to give him up? There was no guarantee that she would have any more children. Yet read some of her prayer found in 1 Samuel 2.
“ My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; upon them he has set the world”.
1 Samuel 2: 2,8b
Hannah was close to God because of her obedience and her desire to be. What does God want you to do? Teach a 3rd grade Sunday School class, support and pray for a missionary, go on a hike for the purpose of spending time with God, join the church choir, study the book of Ephesians. Spend more than 30 seconds in prayer. You want to feel close to God? Do something for God and with God.