April 2024

Being with God

A practice of being with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit

By JP

In the Christian Wholeness Framework, we have 5 steps where the first step is ‘the connect step.’

From the picture above, we can see that part of the connect step is this idea of ‘accompany’ which means ‘being with’. There are so many different ways to connect/’be with’ with God.

Some people connect with God through the Scriptures, nature, journaling, music, sports, arts, fellowship and many through coffee/tea! Our God is a God who loves to be with us and connect with us. His promises to us in Matthew 28:20 (‘And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’) and Hebrews 13:6 (be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”)

One of the ways that I find connecting with the Triune God is through centring prayer. The name might be a little different to what you might think it is or looks like. Essentially it is a way of being with God through awareness of your body, mind and hopefully spirit too!

The benefits of centring prayer which I have experienced is: an experience of being with God rather than knowledge of God, a deeper sense of his presence in my life, peace and calmness, the essence of being present and practicing listening to His voice.

This has transformed my relationship with God through experience which has given me a deeper trust in Him, recognizing He is control, experiencing his love for me and strengthening my identity in Him.

When I do this practice, I realise I am calmer, and therefore harder for me to become angry, anchored in who I am and not swayed by what others say or the situation around me and it is easier for me to be fully present and aware.

To do this, first you will need to find a quiet place and position where you feel comfortable. For me this is usually in the living room either sitting on the couch or on the floor. Next you can do this eyes closed if that you find it helpful. The next step is to focus on your breathing.

Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 2 seconds if possible and then breathe out for 4 seconds. 

As you breathe in, hold and breathe out, it helps your mind if you can think of something related to God, for example, as you breathe in you can say in your head ‘Je’ and as you breathe out ‘sus’ or you can think of a promise of God, such as ‘God is with me’, ‘Jesus loves me’ or another bible verse or bible truth. As you breathe, it is natural for other thoughts to come in and distract you or things that you need to do. If there is something that really needs to be done and you want to remember it, you can write it down and then go back to breathing. As you get distracted, acknowledge it and then turn your thoughts back to the Triune God. This process is normal and as you do it more, you will find it easier to turn your thoughts back to the Triune God.

You could start this practice for 2-3 minutes once or twice a day and then build up to 20minutes once a day. Through this exercise I have found it helpful for my body to be aware of my body, my mind and my spirit. It has helped me to experience God rather than just knowledge. It helps to spend time with God, experiencing him and bringing transformation. I would encourage you to give it a try.

So my question is to you is, ‘How do you connect/’be with’ with God?’ I would love to know and share in the LW community. Let us know in the comments below.