What’s in the name?
Most of us have heard about walking with God, but what is it? Walking with God is an analogous pictorial description from the Bible of having an active relationship with God, such as two walking on a long journey. It’s also called walking in the Spirit.
Who walks with God?
Micah say it’s for all believers, as God desires and requires us to walk with Him.
Micah 6:8 NKJV reads,
“He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?”
If we are indeed believers, then we do walk with God. The question is then ‘how can we walk well?’
I think of the days when my sons were younger and first joined a soccer league. During games, some of the young players seemed to be staring into the sky or twirling around unaware they were in a game. Many would wildly chase the ball with no regard to their assigned positions. Some would try to kick the ball but miss and some of those would fall down. And yet others seemed to really get the game. Yet all of them were playing soccer. It’s adorable when they are young, but it would be shameful years later if they continued to play without progressing. In continuing to play they would improve greatly through coaching, practice, and intention.
Our walking with God is similar.
The Bible calls out some persons that walked with God. And David, in the Psalms, provides some excellent insights into his walk with God. Let’s take a look.
Early references in the Bible of those that walked with God
Enoch walked with God for 300 of his 365 years. It seems he didn’t die but God took him away.
Genesis 5:22-24 NKJV reads,
22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters.
23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.
24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
Noah also walked with God, being just and perfect.
Genesis 6:9 NKJV reads, “This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.”
Abraham, the father of our faith, also walked with God.
Genesis 24:40 NKJV, in speaking of Abraham, reads, “But he said to me, ‘The LORD, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house.”
The broken picture of Genesis 3 is one of God coming down to the garden of Eden to take a walk in the cool of the day, looking for Adam. God finds that Adam and Eve have hidden themselves. Unfortunately there is little to describe their time prior to the fall, but it is likely that God, Adam, and Eve took walks together prior and enjoying their relationships together.
Genesis 3:8-10 NKJV reads,
8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
When we take a long walk or a trip with family or friends, communication will continue throughout the time. There may be long or short discussions, with perhaps periods of simply being together quietly. During that time, though, there are no hellos or goodbyes because we’re together.
Likewise we need not say “goodbye” to God. Walking with God brings a recognition that we are with God, and never away from Him. The walking is perpetual state of being—of being with Him.
Closeness with God
We often speak of our relationships with friends, family and God in regards to closeness. Closeness is both in regards to feelings, understanding, oneness and proximity.
As believers we don’t always have a solid understanding of where God is. We know He hears us when we talk to Him. And we are able to hear from Him in a variety of ways wherever He is. Because of this, proximity may seem irrelevant.
And considering that God is omnipresent we know He is everywhere. No matter where one is one has a spatial coincidence with Him.
This should be enough, but there’s more.
When we believe in Him, we are born again. We are born of the Spirit and the Spirit inhabits us.
John 14:16-18 NKJV reads,
16 “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—
17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
But it is not only the Spirit that inhabits us—Jesus himself does as well, and the Father in Him. John 14:23 and 17:20-23 indicate this.
John 14:23 NKJV reads, “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”
John 17:20-23 NKJV reads,
20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;
21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:
23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”
2 Corinthians 13:5 NKJV reads, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.”
All three persons of the trinity are in us! So as we walk throughout our day, wherever we go, God in three persons is there with us.
His proximity to us is not simply because of His being omnipresent but because He has quite intentionally chosen to be in us!
God perpetually lives in you and is there all the time. As you read this, take a moment to consider this reality and take it all in. There is nowhere you can go that He isn’t with you—He is intentionally in you.
I find it particularly striking that God is already with me. I tend to be more of an introvert so being intentional with people in my life is more difficult. Picking up the phone, inviting friends or family over to my home, or inviting them to dinner, or anything else is difficult. It’s so much easier if my friends or family have invited me. But once we’re together, the time together is pleasant, good and easy. Until we depart it is that way. But with God and us, we never depart from each other, so the communication can remain open.
God loves us, has redeemed us, has a wonderful plan for us, and chooses to inhabit us.
Romans 5:8-11 NKJV reads,
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 NKJV reads,
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
David’s example
David also walked with God and wrote much about his walk under the inspiration of the Spirit. God declared him a man after His own heart, so reading what he wrote can be of great value.
Acts 13:21-22 NKJV reads,
21 And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
22 And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’
Psalms 119, written by David, provides a marvelous view of walking with God. A particularly dense view comes from verses 9-16.
Psalms 119:9-16 NKJV reads,
9 How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.
10 With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O LORD!
Teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I have declared, all the judgments of Your mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts,
And contemplate Your ways.
16 I will delight myself in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.
Let’s explore the items in bold text above. Remember that since the walking is perpetual and God is ever-present within you, when you do these are you are in fact doing these together with Him. Talking with Him as you do these makes sense.
By taking heed according to Your Word:
Taking heed of the Word means that we take God’s Word seriously, reading, memorizing, believing and doing what it says. This is not referring to some sort of works-based salvation, but of the life of the believer operating under Christ’s righteousness.
With my whole heart I have sought You:
In our relationship with God, we need to be “all-in”. We need to diligently seek Him. Diligence is characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic effort. We can also think of it as simply being intentional and regular. Read God’s word and pray intentionally and regularly.
Your word I have hidden in my heart:
Hiding God’s Word in our hearts is knowing and remembering His Word. As we get to know Him the more we become like Him, being conformed into His image. Memorization scripture!
Teach me Your statutes:
Desire and expect that God will teach you. The Word of God is straight-forward and understandable, but we don’t always understand everything. As this happens, ask Him to explain it to you. Consider asking Him even when you think you understand—perhaps you haven’t or perhaps you’ve missed some subtlety.
His teaching is not limited to our intellectual edification. Teaching includes application. He can share scripture with us that is applicable to us as we talk to Him about our fears, concerns and prayer requests.
How He teaches each person may vary and it may be different than how He teaches others.
Some believers may not recognize He is teaching at all. Some may notice clarity is provided. Some may recognize meaning or concepts in their minds that aren’t their own, some may recognize words in their minds that aren’t their own. Some may hear answers audibly. He can teach in whatever way He chooses and may be different than any of these.
John 6:45 reads, “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.”
With my lips I have declared, all the judgments of Your mouth:
That which we believe should not only be within us but also flow from us. Those around us should be able to hear and know that we have a relationship with God and represent Him.
I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies:
The Word of God is God’s revelation to us. He describes His deep love for us in it, His purposes for us, His requirements of us, and His plan for our salvation through grace. He also shows us examples of many people who serve as examples and warnings to us.
I will meditate on Your precepts:
Meditating on the Word simply means taking time to think about, ponder, wonder, and look for better understanding, realization and application. There’s a relationship between meditation and God teaching us.
And contemplate Your ways:
As we contemplate His ways, we are considering His paths and His paths for us.
Psalms 1:1-6 NKJV reads,
1 Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
I will delight myself in Your statutes:
As we contemplate his Word and go all-in, we begin to know and understand Him and His plans. We can delight in all of it.
I will not forget Your word:
With true intent, remembering the Word is easy. The value of remembering is that the Word is readily available as a truth source for you and others, whether as a delight, when contemplating other scripture, for discernment, or correction. As the Word is in our hearts, we begin to align with Him, being conformed into His image. Choose to memorize scripture.
And just a bit more
David, in Psalms 37:3-8, provides yet more insight:
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.
Trust in the Lord:
Trusting in the Lord means precisely what it says. Many of us have found our own ways to handle all of life’s situations. Even in God’s promises we may be tempted to help out God. Abraham “helped” God by taking Sarah’s handmaiden. God didn’t accept that solution.
Commit your way to the Lord:
This is simply going all-in for God—letting him be Lord of your life.
Rest in the Lord:
We can find rest in all situations in life. The storms come and go, but we must trust in the Lord and find rest in Him even in the storms. Rest with Him in the bow of the boat in the storm.
Every day walking
Walking with God must be a practical endeavor. Most of us either work for a living or have other substantial responsibilities and commitments. We have spouses, children and friends. Our time is going to be divided such that some periods of our day are well suited to exclusive time with God, some partially and some not so well.
Setting aside specific and regular times, particularly earlier in the morning is the most helpful. Ensuring that the time with God happens is important, and doing so before the day gets on can help us align our thoughts with God for the rest of the day. In my opinion, this time set aside is best used for reading and studying scripture, and focused prayer.
Commuting to work is an excellent time to meditate on the Word or talk with God. For those of us with longer commutes, playing an audio version of the Bible is nice as the entire Bible can be heard in about 70 hours. If you’re driving, be sure you are also well-focused on your driving!
While we work, our focus needs to be on our work. If our work tends to be more tedious, we may have the ability to mediate or pray to some degree. If the work requires more thought, then meditating or praying may be limited. Nonetheless there will be times that we can at least momentarily focus on God.
When we are with our spouses or family while eating dinner, playing games, talking, etc., we need to be present with them. A long drive in the car with them may offer some opportunities for time with God but with the need to transition back and forth between talking with God or meditating and talking with family members. This is similar when around friends.
As we spend time with family or friends, the time can also be used to have conversations about God, scripture, or to minister to them.
Walking with God is all about being intentional. The specifics of what happens when are not terribly important—it is, after all, a relationship.
Lastly, as you grow in your walking with God, be sure to share your experiences with others so they can grow in their walking with God as well.
Version History
1.00 – November 19, 2018: Initial version
1.01 – December 9, 2018: Added references to John 14:23
1.02 – Grammatical cleanup
Walking with God in The Way 