Draw Me Nearer

“Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died.
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To thy precious, bleeding side.”

The Christian life is not simply about knowing about God. It is about drawing nearer to God.

James writes, “Come close to God and He will come close to you” (James 4:8). That simple invitation captures something fundamental about our relationship with God: He calls us into fellowship with Him, and our lives should continually move toward Him.

The hymn I Am Thine, O Lord, written by Fanny J. Crosby, expresses that desire beautifully: “I am Thine, O Lord… Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord.” The hymn describes a Christian journey of drawing closer to God—a journey that involves faith, surrender, fellowship, and hope.

And at the center of that journey is the cross.

Drawn to the Cross

The chorus of the hymn tells us exactly where we are being drawn:

“To the cross where Thou hast died.”

The goal is not merely to feel closer to God. We are being drawn toward Christ and toward the cross where He gave Himself for us.

Jesus said:

“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.”
— John 12:32

The cross is where God's love is demonstrated, sin is confronted, forgiveness is offered, and we are reconciled to God.

Paul writes:

“But now in Christ Jesus you who previously were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
— Ephesians 2:13

The closer we come to Christ, the closer we come to God. The cross is therefore not merely an event we look back upon. It is central to our relationship with God.

But what does drawing nearer actually look like in our lives?

Faith: Hear His Voice

The first verse of the hymn begins:

“I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me.”

Drawing nearer begins with hearing.

Paul tells us:

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
— Romans 10:17

Jesus likewise said:

“My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”
— John 10:27

There is a progression here:

God speaks → I hear → I believe → I draw nearer.

Hearing God's word should produce faith. But biblical faith is more than simply believing that God exists. It means trusting Him enough to follow Him.

Hebrews 11:6 says:

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him.”

And Proverbs reminds us:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.”
— Proverbs 3:5–6

So we should ask ourselves: Am I merely informed about God, or am I trusting God?

The hymn expresses that desire to move beyond simply hearing:

“But I long to rise in the arms of faith,
And be closer drawn to Thee.”

Faith draws us nearer because God's word tells us who He is, reveals His love, and gives us reason to trust Him.

Surrender: Give Him Our Will

Drawing nearer to God also means surrender.

The hymn says:

“Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the power of grace divine.”

To consecrate something is to set it apart for God's purposes.

Drawing nearer to God isn't simply about receiving something from Him. It also means giving ourselves to Him.

Paul writes:

“Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
— Romans 12:1

The question is not simply whether we have given God a place in our lives. Have we given Him our lives?

The hymn goes even deeper:

“Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.”

God doesn't merely want our obedience. He wants our will.

Jesus demonstrated this perfectly in the garden when He prayed:

“Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”
— Luke 22:42

And Paul later described his own life this way:

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
— Galatians 2:20

Drawing nearer to God means increasingly surrendering our own will to His.

That makes an uncomfortable but important question worth asking:

Where am I still saying, “My will be done”?

Fellowship: Spend Time With Him

Drawing nearer also means spending time with God.

One of the most beautiful lines in the hymn says:

“O the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend.”

Prayer is not merely something we have to do. It is time spent with God—a privilege and a source of fellowship with Him.

Paul writes:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
— Philippians 4:6–7

Prayer brings us into God's presence and gives us His peace.

It also gives us joy:

“You will make known to me the way of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”
— Psalm 16:11

Perhaps one of the best questions we can ask ourselves is:

How do I think of prayer?

Is it something I have to do?

Or is it somewhere I get to be?

The hymn describes prayer in deeply relational terms:

“When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God,
I commune as friend with friend!”

Scripture likewise describes our relationship with God in terms of fellowship. We are called into fellowship with Christ, and our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son (1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 John 1:3).

Jesus told His disciples:

“Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.”
— John 15:4

He also said:

“No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
— John 15:15

Drawing nearer to God means cultivating that fellowship with Him.

Hope: Look Forward to Being With Him

Finally, drawing nearer to God involves hope.

The hymn reminds us:

“There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea.”

There is a limit to what we can comprehend now. God's love is greater than our ability to fully understand it.

Paul prayed that Christians would be able to comprehend:

“the width and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God.”
— Ephesians 3:18–19

We can know Christ's love—and yet never exhaust it.

But the hymn looks beyond what we experience now:

“There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee.”

Our relationship with God does not end at death. It reaches its fullness.

Paul writes:

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known.”
— 1 Corinthians 13:12

Our citizenship is in heaven, where we eagerly await our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20).

And Revelation gives us a picture of the ultimate fulfillment of that hope:

“Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.”
— Revelation 21:3

There will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain.

Our present fellowship with God is a foretaste.

Our future fellowship with Him is the fulfillment.

Drawing Nearer in Four Ways

The four themes of the hymn describe a continuing Christian journey:

Faith: God reveals His love; I believe and want to draw nearer.

Surrender: I give myself to His service; I want His will rather than mine.

Fellowship: I spend time with Him; I commune with Him.

Hope: His love has depths I haven't experienced; I long for complete fellowship with Him.

And throughout all four, the cross remains central.

The cross demonstrates God's love and gives us reason to trust Him. It shows us what surrender looks like in Christ and calls us to surrender ourselves. Through Christ's sacrifice, the barrier of sin is removed and we are brought near to God. And the cross gives us hope: the One who died for us will ultimately bring us home to God.

Are You Drawing Nearer?

The hymn begins with the words:

“I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice…”

And it ends with the hope:

“…till I rest in peace with Thee.”

Those words capture the Christian journey:

Hear His voice.
Have faith in Him.
Surrender to Him.
Have fellowship with Him.
Hope in Him.
Rest with Him.

So perhaps the most important question is simply this:

Are you drawing nearer to God?

Are you listening to His voice?

Are you trusting Him?

Have you surrendered your will?

Do you delight in prayer?

Are you looking forward to being with Him?

And throughout that journey, may our constant prayer be the prayer expressed by Fanny Crosby's hymn:

“Draw me nearer, blessed Lord.”