If you are tired of a comfortable, lukewarm faith and want to stop playing the church game, you are likely searching for how to grow closer to God. The modern world is full of distractions and foolish traps designed to water down your convictions. However, Scripture does not call us to a passive, half-hearted existence. God is looking for men and women who are willing to live with passion, strength, and fierce devotion.
Learning how to live for Jesus daily requires moving past vague intentions and adopting concrete, actionable spiritual disciplines. Being a radical Christian is not about being wild or reckless; it means pulling your faith up by its roots and anchoring it deeply into the Word of God.
This comprehensive guide breaks down 50 ways to grow spiritually, using the exact biblical blueprint required to transform your walk from a routine into a powerful, living relationship with Christ.
Mastering Personal Spiritual Disciplines
The foundation of learning how to grow closer to God starts in the secret place. You cannot live a bold public life for Christ if your private devotional life is empty. These core disciplines align your mind with eternity.
01. Commit to True Repentance
To experience spiritual growth, you must intentionally turn away from sin and abandon anything that is not pleasing to God. True repentance is a complete change of direction, not just a casual apology.
- Scripture: Acts 17:30 – “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.”
02. Shift to an Eternal Mindset
Set your thoughts, ambitions, and daily perspective on things above rather than getting consumed by temporary worldly anxieties.
- Scripture: Colossians 3:2 – “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
03. Establish a Devoted Prayer Life
A radical believer does not treat prayer like a last resort. To grow closer to God, you must become a person of persistent, dedicated, and daily communication with Him.
- Scripture: Colossians 4:2 & 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving… pray without ceasing.”
04. Saturate Your Mind with Scripture Memory
Memorizing the Word of God acts as an immediate defensive shield against sinful thoughts and decisions. When scripture is hidden in your heart, the Holy Spirit can bring it to mind in moments of testing.
- Scripture: Psalm 119:11 – “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”
05. Pray with Authentic Motives
When you communicate with God, speak to Him directly and sincerely from the heart. Avoid performing or crafting poetic prayers designed to impress other people who might be listening.
- Scripture: Matthew 6:5-6 – “…they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men… But you, when you pray, go into your room…”
06. Practice Habitual Self-Examination
Make it a consistent habit to evaluate the true condition of your spiritual life, your underlying motivations, and the purity of what you believe.
- Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:16 – “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.”
07. Invite God to Examine Your True Motives
Open your heart completely to the Lord, giving Him permission to uncover any hidden flaws, wrong attitudes, or areas where you need deep transformation.
- Scripture: Psalm 139:23 – “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties.”
08. Confess Your Weaknesses to God Instantly
Whenever you fail, stumble, or make a mistake, do not hide in shame. Approach God immediately with an honest confession, relying on His promise of complete cleansing.
- Scripture: 1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
09. Cultivate Absolute Contentment
Make a firm decision to rely on God’s sovereignty and remain content with what you have, regardless of how difficult or unpredictable your physical circumstances become.
- Scripture: Philippians 4:11 – “…for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.”
10. Invite Jesus to the Top of Your Priorities
Actively evaluate your schedule, finances, and hobbies. Strip away anything that takes precedence over Christ, deliberately placing Him at the absolute center of your life.
- Scripture: Philippians 3:8 – “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord…”
Establishing Guardrails Against Temptation
You cannot discover how to be a radical Christian if you constantly compromise with the culture. Protecting your spiritual growth requires setting strict, non-negotiable boundaries around your eyes, your mind, and your feet.
11. Break Free from Material Obsession
Refuse to let your heart become consumed by consumerism, wealth, or the temporary status symbols offered by this secular world.
- Scripture: 1 John 2:15 – “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
12. Guard Your Property with Open Hands
Live with the radical realization that everything you currently own—your money, your house, your talents—actually belongs to God. You are simply a temporary manager of His resources.
- Scripture: Psalm 24:1 – “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.”
13. Intentionally Reject the World’s Traps
Do not let society compress you into its mold. When evaluating lifestyle trends, media consumption, and cultural norms, consciously choose a different, God-honoring path.
- Scripture: RO 12:2 – “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”
14. Protect Your Clear Conscience
Make decisions that allow you to lay your head down at night without guilt. When you maintain a clear conscience, your spiritual confidence before God remains unshakable.
- Scripture: 1 Timothy 1:19 – “…having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck.”
15. Tap Into Divine Strength During Temptation
When sinful desires press in, remember that you are never trapped. God always provides an immediate exit route and the supernatural endurance to walk away.
- Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:13 – “…but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape…”
16. Eliminate High-Risk Environments
Do not test your willpower. Make wise, proactive choices to avoid places, media, or situations that you know naturally trigger your personal weaknesses.
- Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:22 – “Abstain from every form of evil.”
17. Cleanse Your Eyes from Sexual Lust
Actively refuse to look at explicit videos, magazines, suggestive internet sites, or any digital media designed to fuel immoral desires. Protect your eyes to keep your heart pure.
- Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:22 – “Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
18. Eradicate Profanity and Foul Talk
Make a radical choice to completely stop using dirty language, crude jokes, and malicious speech. Your mouth should reflect the transformation of your heart.
- Scripture: Colossians 3:8 – “But now you must also put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.”
19. Train Yourself for Godliness with Athletic Focus
Treat your spiritual development with the same intense discipline, consistency, and sacrifice that an elite athlete uses when training for a major championship game.
- Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:7 – “…and exercise yourself toward godliness.”
20. Put Your Old Desires to Death Daily
Crucify your selfish ambitions and human ego every single morning, allowing the resurrected life of Jesus Christ to animate your words, actions, and choices.
- Scripture: Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…”
Navigating Relationships with Radical Love
True spiritual growth is highly relational. One of the most effective practical ways to serve God is by changing how you treat the people around you—both inside and outside the church community.
21. Exercise Intense Patience with Immature Believers
When dealing with Christians who are legalistic, uptight, or spiritually young, do not respond with arrogance. Show them the same patient grace that God extended to you.
- Scripture: Romans 14:1 – “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things.”
22. Proactively Meet the Practical Needs of Others
Do not just tell people you are praying for them. Look for tangible, physical, and financial needs within the body of believers and step up to meet them.
- Scripture: Romans 12:13 – “…distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.”
23. Relinquish Your Right to Settle Scores
When people hurt, betray, or slander you, refuse to execute personal revenge. Step back calmly and trust God to handle justice in His perfect timing.
- Scripture: Romans 12:19 – “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.”
24. Honor Women with Absolute Purity
Bring deep glory to God by keeping your interactions, thoughts, and relationships with women rooted in complete respect, honor, and biblical boundaries.
- Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:31 – “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
25. Avoid Habits That Stumble Other Believers
Be willing to lay down personal freedoms, habits, or gray-area activities if you know that seeing you participate in them will damage the faith of a weaker brother.
- Scripture: Romans 14:15 – “Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.”
26. Love God with Every Ounce of Your Strength
Do not give God your emotional leftovers. Love Him aggressively with your physical body, your intellectual mind, and your innermost soul.
- Scripture: Luke 10:27 – “…‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind’…”
27. Value Others as Much as Yourself
Break free from natural human narcissism. Train yourself to monitor, protect, and care for the well-being of the people in your life with the same intensity that you care for your own.
- Scripture: Luke 10:27 – “…and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”
28. Respect and Value Older Generations
Honor the older men and women of faith in your community. Respect the years of experience they have accumulated and the spiritual dues they have paid.
- Scripture: 1 Timothy 5:1 – “Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father…”
29. Respond to Harshness with Gentle Grace
When people attack you with sarcasm, anger, or cruel remarks, refuse to fire back. A quiet, gentle response defuses conflict and puts the nature of Christ on display.
- Scripture: Philippians 4:5 – “Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.”
30. Correct Your Friends with Loving Courage
When you observe a close brother or sister misplacing their spiritual priorities, do not look the other way. Have the courageous love required to speak up and keep them accountable.
- Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:17 – “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God…”
Standing Boldly in a Secular World
Living out how to grow closer to God means becoming a bright light in a dark cultural environment. These final steps focus on how to maintain your Christian witness under pressure.
THE RADICAL CHRISTIAN LIFE MATRIX
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ UPWARD (God) │
│ • Intimate Prayer • Deep Repentance │
└──────────────────────┬────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌──────────────────────┴────────────────────────┐
│ OUTWARD (The World) │
│ • Bold Witness • Pure Living │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
31. Protect the Vulnerable and the Weak
Actively keep watch over the physical, legal, and spiritual needs of those who cannot defend themselves against exploitation or hardship.
- Scripture: Romans 15:1 – “We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.”
32. Commit to Praying for Your Government
Be consistently thankful for your civil freedoms, and make it a regular priority to pray for the wisdom and salvation of your local and national government leaders.
- Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:2 – “…for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.”
33. Pursue Spiritual Mentorship Proactively
Do not isolate yourself. Seek out mature, tested, and reliable Christian leaders who have walked the road before you, and ask them to teach and mentor you.
- Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:2 – “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
34. Stay Completely Open to Spiritual Realities
Do not suppress the supernatural work of God in your life. Stay receptive, sensitive, and obedient to the inner promptings and movements of the Holy Spirit.
- Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:19 – “Do not quench the Spirit.”
35. Put God’s Commands Above Public Opinion
When the culture demands that you compromise your convictions, choose immediate obedience to Christ regardless of the social backlash or criticism you face.
- Scripture: Psalm 119:51 – “The proud have me great in derision, yet I do not turn aside from Your law.”
36. Pray Intensely for Your Enemies
When people deliberately cause you pain, gossip about you, or persecute you for your faith, do not retaliate. Intercede for their salvation and well-being instead.
- Scripture: Romans 12:14 – “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”
37. Keep a Tight Reined Temper Under Pressure
When crises explode or chaos hits, refuse to vent your anger, complain bitterly, or use poor language. Let your peace prove your trust in God.
- Scripture: Romans 12:12 – “…rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer…”
38. Honor and Submit to Authority
Unless they command you to directly violate God’s Word, maintain an attitude of respectful submission toward the employers, laws, and authorities in your life.
- Scripture: Romans 13:1 – “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God…”
39. Engage Non-Believers in Real Conversations
Step out of your comfort zone. Be bold enough to strike up deep, meaningful, and respectful spiritual conversations with people who do not yet know Christ.
- Scripture: Colossians 4:5-6 – “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside… Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt…”
40. Become a Active Peacemaker
Do not be a person who thrives on arguments, online debates, or petty division. Actively look for ways to de-escalate tension and bring peace to volatile situations.
- Scripture: Romans 12:16 – “Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.”
41. Go the Extra Mile to Settle Personal Friction
When a relationship fractures, do not wait for the other person to make the first move. Take the humble initiative to resolve the conflict completely.
- Scripture: Romans 12:18 – “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”
42. Honor and Obey Your Parents
Treat your parents with deep biblical honor, listening to their guidance and serving them—even in moments when you find it difficult to agree with them.
- Scripture: Colossians 3:20 – “Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.”
43. Befriend the Lonely and the Outcasts
Actively seek out the people who are ignored, isolated, or deemed “uncool” by society. Open up your life and offer them genuine Christian friendship.
- Scripture: Romans 12:16 – “…Associate with the humble…”
44. Live Boldly as a Beacon of Pure Light
Do not camouflage your faith at school, work, or in your neighborhood. Live so transparently for Christ that your everyday choices expose the dark compromises of the culture.
- Scripture: Matthew 5:14 – “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
45. Fill Your Mind with High Quality Thoughts
Intentionally filter what you think about. Fix your focus on things that are pure, true, excellent, and worthy of praise to protect your mental purity.
- Scripture: Philippians 4:8 – “…whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely… meditate on these things.”
46. Bring Glory to God Through Your Recreations
Whether you are hanging out online, traveling, or relaxing with friends, make sure your social life aligns with your identity as a temple of the Holy Spirit.
- Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:31 – “…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
47. Honor God in Your Physical Activities
Whether you are training in the gym, playing competitive sports, or working a manual job, execute it with a stellar work ethic that points people to Christ.
- Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:31 – “…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
48. Refuse to Defend Your Ego When Confronted
When someone points out a blind spot or a wrong attitude in your life, drop your defensive walls and gracefully receive the correction.
- Scripture: Romans 12:16 – “…Do not be wise in your own opinion.”
49. Never Compromise Your Witness for Social Acceptance
Never value the applause of human beings over the approval of God. Stand firm on scriptural truths even if it means standing completely alone.
- Scripture: Romans 12:2 – “And do not be conformed to this world…”
50. Defend the Gospel with Absolute Honor
When the message of Christ is mocked, distorted, or questioned by critics, step forward with calm, intelligent, and unashamed courage to speak the truth in love.
- Scripture: Romans 1:16 – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…”
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to be a radical Christian?
Being a radical Christian means living a life of total surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ. It involves rejecting the casual, cultural compromises of modern religion and applying biblical commands directly to your thoughts, relationships, finances, and everyday habits.
Is it really possible to grow closer to God every day?
Yes. Spiritual growth is not an emotional feeling; it is a relational reality built on daily choices. By consistently practicing repentance, engaging in sincere prayer, reading Scripture, and choosing obedience over comfort, your intimacy with God will steadily deepen over time.
How do I handle temptation when it feels completely overwhelming?
Scripture guarantees in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God never allows a believer to face a temptation that they cannot overcome. When temptation feels intense, you must immediately remove yourself from the environment, quote Scripture to capture your thoughts, and rely on the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit rather than human willpower.
Conclusion
Discovering how to grow closer to God is a lifelong journey that requires abandoning casual, half-hearted religion. By implementing these 50 practical, biblical strategies, you will systematically dismantle the worldly traps holding you back and begin living for Jesus with real, uncompromised power.
About the Author: This article was written and curated by a pastoral discipleship team dedicated to equipping modern believers with the practical, scriptural tools required to build deep spiritual resilience and impact the culture for the Kingdom of God.
Ready to take your spiritual walk even deeper? Read our definitive guide on What Is Speaking in Tongues? A Clear Guide to the Pentecostal Practice to learn how the Holy Spirit empowers believers for ministry.
