How To Hang With God

Spending time in His presence is kind of like watching TV with your family

God just wants you to sit with Him. It’s as simple as that.

The practice of spending time in God’s presence seems to be a lost art.

We talk about it, hear about it at church, think it’s a good idea, but how many of us actually set aside time to hang out with God?

To be in His presence.
To listen for His voice.
To build a relationship with Him.

Part of the problem is we complicate it. We think there has to be the perfect time and place to sit quietly in His presence. There has to be gentle music playing in the background. We expect some mystical experience to take place.

Being in God’s presence doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as watching TV with your family.

Sitting silently builds relationship

I recently started going to a silent prayer group.

It’s an interesting concept that many churches no longer teach or practice. Of course, every church I’ve ever been in teaches about spending time in God’s presence, but giving practical ways to do that often fall short.

The silent prayer time goes like this:

• Open with chitchat and catching up.

• The leader reads a passage from a book and a scripture.

• Everyone sits silently for 20 minutes (a timer is set).

• Everyone journals thoughts, impressions, words for a few minutes.

• Then we share if we want to.

It’s so simple but effective in teaching an important discipline: being with God.

Just being.

Sometimes people hear deep things and see impressions. Sometimes it takes the full 20 minutes to decompress and settle thoughts. Sometimes it’s simply peaceful and restful.

The last time I went, one of the other members shared a vivid impression the Lord gave her. It was a full picture of where she was at spiritually.

I was amazed she’d gotten so much out of that 20 minutes while I struggled to quiet my thoughts and just be still the entire time.

I was a little jealous and frustrated. Why can’t I have an experience and relationship with God like that?

Comparison kills.

But then a thought came to me. Maybe it was from God giving me encouragement.

Being in God’s presence can often be like watching TV or running errands with your family.

It doesn’t have to be magical or groundbreaking

As my kids get older, we’ve found it harder and harder to stay connected with them.

And so we hold on to the simple things.

We watch TV together. We run errands together. We take an interest in the things they’re interested in.

It’s in those simple, easy, no-pressure moments that relationship builds and maintains. We laugh together, we chat, or we’re simply together…in each others’ presence.

That is enough.

My husband and I always ask our 14-year-old daughter to run errands with us wherever we’re going.

When she’s with me, sometimes we’re completely silent. Neither of us are big talkers.

Sometimes we chat about nothing. We laugh and joke.

On rare occasions, she opens up and lets me see her heart. Those moments are golden.

On many occasions, she invites me to her room for a real chat. I’m always ready. I’m always there for it.

But I would never have those moments with her if I didn’t take the time to be in her presence. Every time we are together we’re establishing trust, building ease with each other, learning new things, remembering old things, staying connected.

Hanging with God is also like your relationship with your dog

As I was thinking about this article this morning, I was sitting on the couch with my tiny Shih Tzu curled up at my feet. Completely at ease, sound asleep. Lying in my presence in complete trust.

Just to be clear, my dog is us humans in this analogy and I’m God. (Laughing out loud about that.)

We have two dogs, and over the 2–3 years of having them, we’ve established a solid relationship.

They trust us completely. They know we’ll feed them, love them, take care of their needs. They never flinch or run away when we move toward them because they know they’ll only receive love and acceptance.

The only way they learned that is by being in our presence.

If we had kept them chained up outside, they might’ve known us as caregivers but not much else.

Instead, they are constantly in our presence. My little one follows me around all day long. She lays at my feet when I’m working, she moves when I move. She is constantly aware of my presence.

And here’s the cool part: I’m constantly aware of hers.

She puts herself in my line of vision. She makes herself known to me.

When we constantly put ourselves in God’s line of vision and make ourselves known to Him, it’s so much easier for Him to see us and connect with us and give us all we need.

And it’s so much easier for us to receive.

Turn your face toward Jesus

I was listening to an author/preacher recently, and he said at night before he goes to sleep, he turns his face toward Jesus.

Such a beautiful picture. So simple and sweet and uncomplicated.

He does the same in the morning and all throughout the day.

Being in His presence doesn’t have to be complicated.

It’s simply a matter of turning our attention to Him every moment of the day. Whispering to Him throughout the day. Being aware of His presence.

When you’re cooking, God is there hanging out with you.
When you’re at work or driving in your car, He’s there with you.
When you’re sitting on the couch reading a book, He’s sitting with you.

All those moments you choose to be aware of His presence deepen the trust and relationship. The simple, easy moments will lead to more easily sitting silently in His presence, which will lead to those deep, golden moments.

Start making a practice of hanging out with God and see what happens.