What does it mean to walk with God?

Walking may seem tedious to some people. But this simple exercise is the most common metaphor in the Bible for something profound: our relationship with God.

For example, Micah 6:8 says, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God ?” 

And Colossians 2:6 says, “As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”

What does it mean to walk with God? To answer that question, let’s look at Abraham, the only person in the Bible God called “My friend” (Isaiah 41:8). Abraham wasn’t perfect, but he understood what it meant to walk with God.

1.  Walking with God means trusting in God’s power. 

God promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation. But at age ninety-nine, Abraham was still waiting for the promised child. Romans 4:19 says, “Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead.” When Abraham looked in the mirror every morning, he certainly didn’t see anything to encourage him! 

Perhaps your own circumstances seem bleak right now. Maybe your bank account is dwindling, your children are rebelling, or your health is deteriorating. Trusting in God’s power doesn’t mean you deny the reality of your situation; it means you focus on the greatness of your God.

Romans 4:20–21 says Abraham “did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.” Instead of focusing on his problems, Abraham focused on the greatness of God. And he concluded that God was bigger than his circumstances.

What about you? Do you believe God is bigger than your circumstances?

Genesis 17:1 says, “The Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty.’” To this point in Scripture, God had been known by the Hebrew name Elohim, Creator God. But now God identified Himself as El Shaddai, God Almighty. 

In other words, God not only created everything, but He also controls everything in creation, including your circumstances. Walking with God means trusting in God’s power to accomplish His plan for your life, no matter what circumstances you face.

2.  Walking with God means listening to God’s voice. 

Genesis 17:3 says, “Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him.” Likewise, you and I must set aside time each day to listen to God’s voice by meditating on God’s Word, allowing it to penetrate our hearts, and by spending time in prayer.

If you want God to speak to you, then echo David’s prayer in Psalm 139:23–24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” Whenever you ask God to show you anything in your life that displeases Him, He will answer that prayer.

3.  Walking with God means obeying His commands. 

When Abraham listened to God’s voice, he received God’s command to be circumcised as a symbol of God’s promise. And look at Abraham’s response: “In the very same day Abraham was circumcised” (Genesis 17:26). Abraham not only listened to God, but he also immediately obeyed God.

That’s what walking with God is all about: trusting in God’s power, listening to His voice, and obeying His commands. It may seem pedestrian, but it’s the best thing you and I can do for our spiritual health.

Sharing the Truth of God’s Word,

Dr. Robert Jeffress