What would possess a dozen men to gather in a home for a sleepover, you may ask? Well, we could think of no better way to spend a weekend than learning how to know Jesus Christ a little better—in practical experience. This theme occupies much of our time together, as it turns out. But this particular weekend in August we determined to focus a little more intently on discovering how we can sense Him, hear Him, and be with Him in the stillness of our hearts.

Of course, we find Him in the everyday activities of life as well. We are “in Him” and He envelops our lives so that anything we touch or experience is simply another way to know Him. But we find it invaluable in our walks with Him to set aside time every once in a while for the express purpose of quieting our minds from the restless motions of regular life in order to rest our attentions and affections on Him alone. More often than not this is done by taking some scripture that speaks well of Him and speaking it back to the Lord, or else letting Him speak through those words as we read them. Then we simply spend time sitting with Him, enjoying the stillness and attentiveness to His presence. Does that sound strange to you? If you have Him inside you, you will find in time that it is second nature to one who is indwelt by Him.

We heard some encouraging and practical talks from Tim Richey, a brother who helps us with these things from time to time, and then we arranged to have a different brother rise every half hour to be with the Lord in silence. A lamp and a little table were set up to receive each of us at the appointed times. On the table was a journal in which each of us could write about his experience as the evening and early morning progressed. We took verses from Paul’s letter to the Philippians and rewrote them as a conversation between the Father and the Son. After all was written and morning dawned we took turns reading aloud what we had written, while we listened to the unfolding conversation. We sang some together and prayed some together. In the end we probably came to know one another a little better, too.

Many thanks to Tim for setting up such a beautiful and restful evening for us to be together, away from the busy-ness of our schedules. We had a great time.