18. The way Jesus and I communicate with each other has changed during my spiritual journey.

As you reflect on your relationship with Jesus do you find that you hear Him in different ways from how you did at an earlier time?

When you think about how you connect with Jesus, or God, is it a “feeling,” a “hearing,” or a “sensing”?

Have you experienced confusion or anxiety in times when your connection to Jesus was changing?

As you reflect on the paragraph below describing the different ways that we might communicate with God, do you find yourself in one of these? Do you find yourself drawn to one?

In a healthy spiritual journey, we can anticipate changes, growth, and increasing maturity. We should expect to look and live differently because of our journey with Jesus. One typical area of change is the way that we communicate with Jesus.

Early in our journey we may not know how to hear Jesus. But once we have learned this, we begin to explore a rich conversational life with Him. However, we may not stay in this season rich with words.

As we continue along the path, we may begin to hear fewer words and our relationship with Jesus may seem quieter. We may hear fewer specific words or messages, but we have a deeper sense of a knowledge of God, of Jesus, and His ways and values. We may find that God communicates large blocks of information that have no words attached. We talk less, listen more, and understand God at a deeper level.

Although we may not hear specific words, information is being exchanged and knowledge is being acquired. In this shift, although we hear fewer specific words, we are more aware of His presence. We have less need for specific answers to our prayers and direction for our life. We become more at peace, aware that Jesus is constantly with us, and we trust that He will direct us, with or without words.

We also move away from thinking and acting as though it is up to us to initiate the conversation and relationship and we become more aware of and at ease with Jesus doing the initiating. Put another way, in the beginning our conversation with Jesus involves connecting with Him through our body senses. From there it typically moves to communicating with Him in our minds with thoughts and information. Finally, it develops into a heart-based relationship that is less about what is communicated and more about a deep exchange of love.

The descriptions here are just some of what a person might experience in their conversational life with God. Certainly, each person will have their own unique journey that may include some of the above descriptions and may also include some not mentioned. What is important to know is that it’s normal to have changes in how we communicate with God as we journey with Him.