Golden Hours: Hour of Presence
Written by: Careese Mukulu
Jesus knew how to transform lives.
He could have built his ministry through large crowds, impressive sermons, or public displays of power. Instead, he invited ordinary people to spend time with him.
Before they preached, before they performed miracles, before they changed the world, they learned to just be with Jesus.
John 1:35-42 (CSB) shows us this very important progression.
The next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and noticed them following him, he asked them, “What are you looking for?”
The people that he chose weren’t sent off to seminary. They were invited to simply be present with Jesus.
They said to him, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come and you’ll see,” he replied. So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.
They didn’t just talk about Jesus. They didn’t just learn more about him. They spent time being present with Jesus.
Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed him. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated “the Christ”), and he brought Simon to Jesus.
The disciples heard and heeded the words of John the Baptist. They inquired about where Jesus would be staying. They spent the rest of the day with Jesus.
Clearly, this time with Jesus stirred something within them, because just a few verses later, Philip approaches Nathaniel with the news that they’ve found the Messiah! Nathaniel is also invited to come and simply experience the presence of Jesus.
Mark 3:13–15 echoes this progression: Jesus appointed the Twelve first to be with him and then to be sent out to preach and minister in his name. Time in his presence comes first.
The text doesn’t tell us what was discussed that afternoon with Jesus, so we’ll never know exactly what took place. Whatever it was, it was enough to change the trajectory of their lives. Time in God’s presence can do that.
Though it will look different for each of us, Jesus invites us to spend our days with him as well.
Perhaps a day with Jesus sounds wonderful but feels out of reach. Maybe you’re a student, a parent, or a caregiver, and it’s nearly impossible to carve out large blocks of time simply to be with Jesus. Does that mean you can’t experience his transforming presence?
Absolutely not. Jesus is always with us. The key is not to make Jesus present but to become more aware of the presence that is already with us. According to John Mark Comer, to be with Jesus is “to spend every waking moment aware of his presence and attentive to his voice. To cultivate a with-ness to Jesus as the baseline of your entire life.” Rather than a physical location, being with Jesus is a posture of the heart and an awareness we can all cultivate.
Long hours in prayer and contemplation are beneficial, but not realistic for everyone. St. Ignatius of Loyola felt this same tension. One of Ignatius’s goals was to erase this division between sacred and secular that exists for so many of us. Many of us see praying as holy, but gardening as secular. Ignatius was against this view. He wanted to find God in all things, eliminating the need for categories. He didn’t want to separate his faith from his life, or separate his faith from his work. He wanted to experience God in his daily life, and in his work.
And he wanted the same for everyone else.
To train your spiritual muscles in this practice, try the Prayer of Examen, one of St. Ignatius's best spiritual tools. The Examen, typically prayed at the end of the day, invites us to look back over the previous hours and notice where God was present and active.
A simple Examen might look like this:
Settle yourself and ask God to guide this time of reflection.
Give thanks for the gifts of the day.
Recall moments when you sensed God's presence, turned your heart toward him, or responded to his leading.
Recall moments when you ignored God's voice, turned away, or missed opportunities to respond.
Offer yourself to God once again.
Ask, "Lord, what would you have me do tomorrow?"
The Prayer of Examen is powerful because it trains us to recognize God's presence in the ordinary moments of life. Over time, we begin to notice that God is not confined to church services, quiet times, or spiritual retreats. He is present in our conversations, our work, our responsibilities, and our relationships.
When I experienced a crisis of faith several years ago, I leaned on the Examen as I wrestled with profound questions about the nature of God. A friend suggested using the Examen to review my day, and over time it created a written record of God's activity in my life.
In a season when I felt abandoned by the Lord, those pages, recorded by my own hand, proved to be a powerful weapon against the lies of the enemy.
Most of us cannot spend an entire day solely in prayer. But we can learn to spend our days with the presence of Jesus.
