How to Get Closer to God During Quarantine: 5 Ways to Deepen Your Faith
I’m not gonna go on for ages. Yes, lockdown sucks, yes, you miss your friends, yes, I can’t wait to go for a Nandos again too. I feel ya. But one thing that has been hot topic between my Christian mates and I has been: “but how do I keep up my faith when I can’t go to church?”
I am the only Christian in my family so having to be independent and self-motivated in my faith has been my life since I was 13. I only started going to physical church about 6 months ago, so that gives me an advantage in that having my Sundays taken up by church has only been a part of my life for a short amount of time. Saying that though, I think it’s given me abundant experience in living a not so status-quo spiritual life, which means these techniques and tips have been tried and tested for many years! So, let’s crack on with ways you can keep up (and improve) your relationship with God during lockdown!
1. Establish a proper Bible study routine
We literally have so. much. time. on our hands! (obvs apart from key workers, shoutout to you guys, beyond grateful for the work you do). There hasn’t been a better time to get into the nitty gritty of God’s word. And, while you’re at it, kill two birds with one stone and establish a proper study routine in which to do this as it will keep your mental health intact when you have some form of structure to your day. For me, I start my morning with reading the Word. I’m doing a couple chapters of Ezekiel, a Psalm, a day from my plan on the YouVersion Bible app and then a prayer journal entry. This gives me variety but also allows me to research anything I don’t understand. If you’re looking for a good devotional plan, I recently completed the “Money Scriptures Every Christian Should Know” on the Bible app and WOW it was fab! Let me know if you have any more plan recommendations, I’m always on the hunt for new ones!
2. Prayer Facetimes
My two best friends and I have been praying for an hour over Facetime on a Monday night for the past two years, and it’s honestly one of the best parts of my week. I am really lucky that I have two close Christian mates, but I totally understand if that’s not available to you. So, pray with the bestest friend of all: Jesus! Set up a time each day or even once a week where you sit and you just chat to Jesus like you’re having a coffee with him. Faith doesn’t have to be formal, just personal. But if you do want someone to pray with, my comment section is always open!
3. Watch church live streams
Even if you believe the church’s beliefs are stuck in the last century (no shade…), its use of technology is definitely not. Globally, live streamed church on a Sunday is the new norm, and I am here for it! My church has a discussion live stream too where people send in questions and the vicar and another churchy-y person will discuss. And if you’ve been thinking about trying out church for the first time, this is the perfect opportunity to trial it in the safety of your own home. I know that the first time I attended church I was actually petrified and felt like people were looking at me (they weren’t, btw). So being at home by yourself might be a good way to ease your way in, and then once lockdown is over you can jump straight into “real life” church!
4. Find new worship music
No better time to find new worship music than when the government is literally telling you to stay home and entertain yourselves. My top tips would be to engage with different eras and genres of worship on something like Spotify and make your own personal playlist. I love a good Chritian RnB playlist, but I also love reworked hymns, so this method allows me to listen to a wide variety of music. And if in doubt, Hillsong it out.
5. Read theology books
Time to jump into the deep end and read some theology! For a Christian, the list of theology and philosophy books that I’ve read is far too short, so I’m using this time to (try) and read some deep thinking big question stuff. If you have any recommendations, let me know! I’m going to start out with After God by Mark C Taylor.
So there we go, five ways that you can deepen your relationship with God during lockdown/quarantine/self-isolation. It’s very easy during this time to get sucked into the world of Netflix and procrastination, but trying to keep God present throughout your day, not just for five minutes, will vastly improve your mood. Hope you are all keeping safe and healthy!
What are some ways you’re trying to grow in your faith during lockdown? Are you finding it hard?
