Frequently when the two of us pass our church while doing errands, we stop in to spend a few minutes with Jesus. Often no one else is in the sanctuary except for us and Jesus in the Tabernacle. Our first words of prayer are “Jesus, we were in the neighborhood and just wanted to stop in to say hello”—just what we might say in greeting a friend upon arriving unexpectedly at His house. From there you choose your path.
Our daughter just sits in the pew not trying to talk and not trying to listen. Just being. One of us (Vic) begins with praise for our Lord and Savior, while Judy simply tells Jesus, “I am here.” After that, we both sit in silence as we try to unite ourselves with our friend Jesus and stay open to what He wants to say to us during this time with Him.
Quite possibly, it isn’t even our own initiative to stop in to pray. More likely, it is Jesus inviting us to His house because He loves us and wants to spend time with us. How many times does He invite us, and we respond tacitly, “We are too busy today. Maybe tomorrow?”
Who is Jesus to Us?
Jesus is our Lord and Savior. He is true God, the second person in the Trinity, and is deserving of our worship and adoration. We have a dichotomous but not contradictory relationship with Jesus. We rightly worship Him as our savior and our mediator with the Father, and we bow before Him in humility. We also recognize Jesus as our friend and constant companion who is always calling us to be with Him: “I no longer call you servants…instead, I have called you friends” (Jn. 15:15).
God sees us as friends! He has redeemed us from the role of “servant” and elevated us to chosen companions. He has walked the earth as we do and has experienced the joys, disappointments, friendships, betrayals, and pains that we experience. He has experienced the temptations of the devil. He can relate to us, and we to Him in a special and very personal way.
Developing Our Friendship with Jesus
So how do we develop our friendship with Jesus? Well, how do you develop any friendship? You spend time together, you talk together, you share things, you listen. With your best friends, you share some of your most intimate thoughts, concerns, and feelings.
Develop your friendship with Jesus in the same ways. Make Jesus your very best friend, with whom you want to share everything, the good and the bad. And not just the most important things, but also ordinary things, all while taking time to listen to Him, too.
All the ordinary things that go on in our daily lives are opportunities to keep Jesus involved on a very personal level. We don’t converse with our friends exclusively in their homes, but wherever and whenever we are together. Most mornings we are greeted by a rainbow created by the rising sun shining through the stained-glass window in our house. For us, that is Jesus saying good morning, so we respond to Him with a good morning and with thanksgiving for bringing us to the beginning of a new day. We unite with Jesus by appreciating His rainbow together.
When you live your life like this, always being aware of Jesus’ presence, you really do begin to develop a close relationship with Him. In bringing Jesus into your daily life in such an intimate way, you truly treat Him as your best friend. You begin turning to Him often—not just in the big ways, but also in the small ways of daily living. Jesus is the best friend who will never abandon us, is always ready to listen to us, and who will always act with our best interest at heart.
As with any friendship, it is important that we engage in some one-on-one time with our friend Jesus—time to be quiet and listen, instead of doing all the talking. Unlike with our daily prayers, where we set the agenda (usually focused on our own concerns, intercessions for others in need, thanksgiving for gifts, and contrition for sins), we sometimes need to let Jesus set the agenda. As Luisa Restrepo writes about the teachings of St. Teresa of Avila:
We are accustomed to praying by asking. In what often becomes a one-sided dialogue with God, we speak to Him about our needs, worries, and difficulties—and most of the time, we focus very little on Him and much more on ourselves…The first thing we must understand, then, is that our prayer life is about being with Jesus—spending time with Him and allowing Him to speak to our hearts.
Each of us approaches our quiet time with Jesus differently. There is no formula for how to be with Jesus—be guided by Him and determine what feels right for you. How long we remain with Him is less important than just being with Him.
When Jesus puts thoughts in your head when you are quiet and listening, how will you respond? Are you motivated to act on those thoughts?
If He seems to be asking you to do something you don’t feel comfortable doing, do you just dismiss those thoughts? Doesn’t this indicate a lack of faith that Jesus will supply for you Himself? Is it in fact fear of doing His will, or is it that you see that responding would be inconvenient, time-consuming, or expensive?
Visiting with Jesus and being open and honest about your hesitation in doing what you believe He is asking of you can help you grow in your spiritual life. We deal with such feelings by praying, “That you give me all the strength I need for what is asked—Jesus, I trust in You,” from the Litany of Trust. And how often have you said something like, “If Jesus would just tell me what to do, I would do it!” Maybe He has been trying to tell you, but you haven’t been listening or open to His message!
Just as we would do with friends, if there is something going on in our lives that concerns us, we take the time to share that with Jesus before we leave His house. Then we listen as He opens our hearts and minds to what we should be doing relative to that concern. And often what we should be doing is trusting in Jesus and His plan. “That Your plan is better than anything else—Jesus I trust in You!” (Litany of Trust).
It is time to ask yourself if you really want Jesus as your best friend. If you do, you need to put Him in that spot. Find ways to spend time with Him to develop that friendship. He is always eagerly ready and waiting to become closer to you. While stopping by church is one of the ways that works well for us, it isn’t the only way. What is important is that you figure out where and how to make time to be with Jesus and listen instead of talking.
Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash
