Over the past decade of walking alongside men on the path to becoming who God created them to be, some of the most common questions I get at our workshops and events are variations of this one:
How do I develop a more personal, intimate and ongoing relationship with God?
I love this question because it expresses a desire to experience God, hear his voice, feel his presence, and receive his counsel and guidance throughout the daily events of life, and not just during a church service or a “quiet time”.
This question reveals our heart’s longing to walk intimately with God every day—which is exactly what we were created for.
The problem is that somehow we have lost what God originally intended—for us to experience complete union with him—to live in him, at all times.
This is the invitation Jesus extends to each and every one of us:
““Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing.””
But we rarely, remain in him.
We may wake up in the morning and seek him, pray, ask him to bless our day, our work and our family.
But then, we quickly “hang up the phone” and go about our business on our own, only to give him another “quick call” before the next meal.
No wonder we find ourselves exhausted, grasping for anything that may give us a little life—a beer, a TV show, mindless scrolling through social media…or worse.
He was not lying—”Separated, we can’t produce a thing”.
How, then, do I develop a more personal, intimate and ongoing relationship with God?
How do I remain in him in the dailies? How do I walk with him during “the conversation my wife wants to have“, or when my son is disobeying again and I feel I’m about to pop, or when I need to make a business or personal decision?
The full answer, as you can imagine, comes down to the way you would develop a more personal, intimate and ongoing relationship with anyone.
But there is a form of prayer that over the past decade has radically transformed my walk with God throughout the daily events of my life.
This simple, but powerful one-word prayer has allowed me to walk with him—remain in him during the day, cultivating a much more “intimate and organic” relationship.
Now, this prayer only makes sense if we assume that Jesus is with us, in us, and therefore understands perfectly well what’s going on in and around us at any given moment.
“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
It also assumes that he wants to speak and offer the guidance and support we long for.
““My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.””
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”
And finally, it assumes that we’re willing to pause and listen, and then follow him.
““…Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.””
If you have issues with any of the above, this one-word prayer may not be for you.
But for those of us who don’t want to keep striving and doing life on our own, and who are hungry for that intimate, ongoing relationship with him that he invites us into:
Here is the most powerful one-word prayer I know:
“Jesus…”
That’s it… Really.
And this is what it looks like in action:
After a meeting that goes terribly wrong:
“Crap. That could have gone better. I should have prepared more. I should have foreseen these objections…”
But before the internal chatter fully takes over, I take a deep breath…
“Jesus…”
I pause, breathe and repeat… and then again.
I become aware of his presence within me... I keep breathing, repeating his name…
An when I’ve allowed my soul to slow down enough to hear him, he reminds me:
“Cast all your cares upon him because he cares for you.” - 1 Peter 5:7
“Ah, yes, Jesus, I give it all to you. I trust you with all outcomes of this issue. I am in your hands. Thank you that you care for me. Thank you that “it is not up to me.””
During my commute:
Before my autopilot chooses to play a podcast, playlist or audiobook. Pause… deep breath and…
“Jesus…?”
Then I simply wait… As if he was right there with me (because he is).
Sometimes I just feel his presence, which fills me with confidence for whatever is ahead.
Sometimes I sense a prompting—a few words in my heart. ”Call her”.
I know he means my wife, so I call her and her response puts a big smile on my face: “Oh, thanks for calling me—you know how much that means to me”.
Boom! “Thank you, Jesus.”
As I arrive home:
I am fried from the demands of the day, but I also know that “stuff” may also have happened to my wife and kids during the day, and that I may be about to encounter “sensitive emotions” in there.
And although I have no reserves in the tank, I know that they deserve my best and my most.
So I stop on the driveway and before I get out of my car. I pause and take a deep breath… and then another one…
“Jesus…”
I repeat it a few times as I keep taking deep breaths.
And as I connect with my own heart and with him in my heart, I begin to feel his presence, then his restoration, his strength.
I feel like he’s filling my tank back up with some sort of supernatural fuel (because he is).
Then I picture my wife and my kids and I feel my deep love for them… Ah, there’s my smile again.
“Ok, thank you, Jesus. I’m ready. Let’s do this”.
As I chat with my son before bed:
He shares some personal challenges and then asks me for my opinion.
I could jump in quickly (like I’ve done so many times before) and tell him exactly what I think he needs to do.
But this time, right before I start talking, I feel a kind nudge…
So instead, I tell him:
“How about we ask Jesus?” He agrees, so together we pray:
“Jesus…?”
And together we wait. And we listen.
Yes, sometimes I don’t hear anything. Sometimes I’m too frazzled and the internal chatter is too loud, so I have to come back and try to connect with him again later.
And sometimes I move forward with what I thought I heard from him, only to experience something confusing or opposite to what I would have expected.
Just like when I relate personally and intimately with anyone else.
It takes practice and patience. I don’t always understand well. Many times I even rush to action, instead of being patient and lingering a bit longer to understand better what he’s saying.
But this constant practice has radically changed my walk with God, and the way that I experience life with him, daily.
He is right there with you—in you. Longing to restore your union with him. Ready to walk with you in the small daily things of life and in the big ones too.
You were created for union with God, and separated from him you can do nothing.
But united with him—when you remain in him, you can do anything.
“…And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty.”
I hope that as you choose to risk reconnecting with him throughout your day in this way, with practice and patience, you may also come to experience the supernatural life that he wants to generously supply to you—just like the vine does to its branches.
Much love,
— Pablo with WILDSONS
P.S. Who in your world needs to receive this email? Feel free to forward it, or invite them to sign up here.