How To Know God Personally (Not Just About Him)

This blog is about how you come to know God personally for yourself.

(My internal thoughts are in green)

Have you ever assumed that because you’re around God, you automatically know Him? I think that’s one of the easiest traps for us to fall into because we can attend church every week, serve faithfully, volunteer, lead Bible studies, sing on the worship team, help with outreach, and we can be the dependable one, the one people can count on, and still not know God.

We can grow in all the right places… and still not truly know the Lord. And Scripture paints this exact picture, and once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it, and I believe you will too.

Samuel’s Is A Prime Example

1 Samuel 2:21 says, “The boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord.”

Now initially, I was like, Yesss, grow in the presence of the Lord, but this is why we have to keep reading because a chapter later, we read 1 Samuel 3:7, ‘Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealedto him.” So at this point, I am like, wait, what’s the difference? Then, only a few verses later, everything came full circle in 1 Samuel 3:21, “And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.”

In these three verses, we see that Samuel was growing, serving, and very faithful, but he did not yet know the Lord. Then God revealed Himself, and transformation came when the Lord revealed Himself to us. It’s an encounter with the Lord that changed everything.

Growing in God’s Presence

What does it actually mean that Samuel “grew in the presence of the Lord”?

I think it speaks to external proximity, faithful service, and good character. Samuel was physically raised in the tabernacle at Shiloh under the High Priest Eli. He was surrounded by worship. He was serving God daily. Scripture even tells us he grew in stature and favor (1 Samuel 2:26).

He was in a godly environment; he was obedient, trustworthy, and faithfully carrying out his responsibilities.

In today’s language? Samuel might have been the one serving every Sunday, greeting people in the lobby, helping with outreach, volunteering wherever he was needed, always showing up, like most of us, right? He was growing externally, but here’s the catch: growing around God is different from knowing God. Being close to spiritual things isn’t the same as having a personal relationship with the Lord.

“Samuel Did Not Yet Know the Lord”

That phrase is a little convicting because it doesn’t mean Samuel had never heard of God, because we knew he had. It means the Word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him personally. Knowing About God is Easy, Knowing God Changes Everything and that’s why, when God called his name, Samuel ran to Eli instead. He recognized Eli’s voice, but hadn’t yet recognized God’s.

Samuel was a godly, obedient young man serving in the temple. But he still needed a personal encounter with God. He needed revelation. He needed to move from faithfully performing duties to personally knowing the One he was serving. I wonder if God is calling you to the truth that knowing about God is not enough; you have to know Him personally. Isn’t that exactly what Jesus warned about? Many people will say, “Lord, Lord…” and they’ll point to everything they’ve done in His name. Yet Jesus says, “I never knew you.” Matthew 7:21-23 ESV

Jesus doesn’t say they never did religious things. They did many things.

But activity is not intimacy. It’s possible to be in close proximity to God while never actually approaching Him, and here’s the truth: God wants to be known. To truly know something means you have a deep, personal understanding, a direct experience.

Routine or Reverence?

If we’re honest, it’s easy for us to fall into the same trap.

We attend church because that’s what we’ve always done. We serve because we’re scheduled. We sing the songs because we know the lyrics. We read familiar passages because we’ve heard them a hundred times before. Without realizing it, what once flowed from reverence can slowly become routine, familiarity without connection.

So let me ask you a few questions:

When was the last time you opened your Bible simply because you wanted to hear from God? Not your pastor, or your favorite podcast, or favorite teacher, but just you and the Lord.
Do you come to church hungry to know God more deeply, or have you settled into habit and familiarity?

Sometimes we’re so busy doing things for God that we stop spending time with God. Then we must confess and say, “Lord, Lord… I never knew you. Help me to know you.” So, how do you know God personally (Not Just About Him)? Let’s get into it.

We Cannot Know God Unless He Reveals Himself

Samuel’s story doesn’t end with him not knowing the Lord. It ends with “The Lord revealed Himself to Samuel…by the word of the Lord.”

That’s how Samuel came to know Him through His Word. This is true for us today.

God has chosen one of the most extraordinary privileges in the world (knowing Him personally) to come through His revealed Word.

We meet the Lord through His Word.

We hear and read Scripture.
The Holy Spirit opens our hearts. We recognize it as the very Word of God.
And there, we meet Him.

The goal of reading Scripture isn’t simply gaining more information. It’s knowing the Author.

How do we come to know the Lord? By the Word.

As we spend time in Scripture, pray, worship, listen to the Holy Spirit, and walk in obedience, something beautiful happens that’s so hard to explain but something you have to experience for yourself. You don’t simply gain knowledge; you are transformed.

Little by little. Day by day. One encounter at a time.

BONUS: A Word for Parents

This also makes me think about our children. Maybe you were not raised in church like me, and you’ve decided to give your children what you wish you’d known as a kid, and many of them are growing up exactly like Samuel. They’re raisedin Christian homes, they go to church, hear us pray, watch us worship, and they listen as we talk about God.

But eventually, they must come to know Him for themselves.

Our responsibility isn’t only to teach them about God. It’s to teach them how to meet Him, hear His voice, and spend time in His Word. How to pray. How to worship. How to recognize His leading because borrowed faith eventually has to become personal faith.

There is a wonderful podcast, Helping Your Kids Want a Relationship with God – Ken Claytor and Chris Estrada, that has encouraged me in this area, and I’d love for you to check it out.

Our Prayer

Lord, open my eyes, my ears, my mind, and my heart to know You personally for myself. Help me move beyond routine into relationship, beyond familiarity into intimacy, and beyond simply knowing about You into truly knowing You. Amen.

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Thank You

We hope you loved exploring this topic with us. We pray it blessed you to surrender, dwell, and abide in God’s Presence. Now, it’s your turn; which question stood out most to you? Which one will you ask someone today? Drop a comment below, and let’s keep the conversation going! We can’t wait to hear your thoughts!

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