Small talk—it’s the kind of conversation that fills awkward silences but leaves us feeling empty. We’ve all experienced it: those surface-level interactions that never go deeper than “How’s work?” or “Crazy weather, huh?” While these exchanges have their place, they don’t satisfy our deeper longing for connection. Our souls crave meaningful conversations that go beyond the superficial.
Interestingly, this reveals a deeper spiritual truth. Just as small talk leaves us unfulfilled in human relationships, shallow interactions with God leave our spirits unsatisfied. Too often, we settle for routine prayers, mechanical worship, or reading Scripture without genuinely connecting with the Author of the Scriptures. We fall into a pattern of spiritual “small talk” with God—going through the motions without encountering the depth of His presence.
Superficial interactions with God remain at the surface level, lacking emotional connection, spiritual depth, and personal encounter. They are marked by habit rather than heart, leaving us spiritually unfulfilled because they fall short of truly seeking or experiencing our great God.
Yadah calls us to engage with God deeply and personally, moving us beyond ritualistic routines to genuine, experiential knowledge and relationship. It invites us to truly know God—not just know about Him—through intimate, heartfelt encounters that transform us from the inside out.
In Hebrews 8:10-11, God promises: “They will all know Me, from the least to the greatest.” The Hebrew word for “know” here is Yadah, which signifies intimate, experiential knowledge. It’s not about rehearsed songs, prayers, religious rituals, or traditions; it’s about encountering the living God—Almighty I AM, Yahweh—in a deeply personal way.
In my book, The Almighty I AM, I emphasize that Yadah is about knowing God on a personal level—not merely through religious duty but by experiencing His presence, nature, and character firsthand. It moves us beyond shallow interactions and into an intimate, life-changing relationship that revives our soul.
Just as meaningful conversations require intentionality and vulnerability, so does our relationship with God. We are invited to go beyond the surface, to move from distant acquaintance to intimate friendship, and to truly Yadah—know Him.
But how do we move from merely knowing about God to truly knowing Him? And how do we guard against the danger of becoming too familiar, losing our reverence and awe for Him? Let's explore this through the Hebrew concept of Yadah, using the relatable illustration of a couple’s journey from strangers to lovers, and see how it parallels our walk with God.
From Strangers to Lovers: The Journey of Yadah
Imagine a man and a woman meeting for the first time. Their initial conversation is filled with small talk—safe questions about work, hobbies, and the weather. It’s superficial, but it’s a start. As they spend more time together, their conversations deepen. They move from acquaintances to friends, sharing personal stories, dreams, and fears. Eventually, they become deeply connected, forming an emotional and spiritual bond that prepares them for marriage.
By the time they get married, they intimately know each other’s hearts. They can communicate without words, anticipate each other’s needs, and feel each other’s joys and pains. This depth of relationship comes from years of shared experiences and intentional investment in each other.
However, marriage is not the end of this journey of knowing; it’s just the beginning. As they share deeper levels of intimacy, they continue to discover new aspects of each other’s personalities, dreams, and even weaknesses. They grow together not only through the joyful moments but also through challenges, conflicts, and life changes.
As the years pass, children may come, careers evolve, and circumstances shift. Through each new season, they learn to adapt and support each other in ways they hadn’t anticipated. They see each other in different roles—spouse, parent, provider, nurturer—and this ever-unfolding journey deepens their understanding and love for one another.
They continually learn to navigate life’s changes together, growing not only in understanding but in true, heartfelt intimacy. Their shared history becomes a tapestry woven with experiences that shape them individually and as a couple. This ongoing discovery and growth create a bond that grows richer and more profound over time.
In the same way, our relationship with God is meant to be dynamic and ever-deepening. Yadah invites us into an ongoing journey of discovery, intimacy, and growth with God. Just as in marriage, it’s about continually learning, experiencing, and loving on a deeper level.
This journey mirrors how we come to know God. At first, we might hear about Him through sermons, books, or other people’s experiences—like learning about someone from secondhand stories. While these testimonies can inspire us to seek God more and even impart a hunger for deeper intimacy, they can never replace the personal experience of encountering God firsthand.
No matter how powerful someone else’s revelation is, nothing compares to receiving that revelation directly from God during your own intimate times with Him. It’s in those personal encounters that God’s Word comes alive, transforming head knowledge into heart experience.
Even when reading the Bible, true understanding only comes when you personally experience the truth behind the words. Without this experiential knowledge, the Scriptures remain just text on a page. But when God breathes life into His Word during your private moments with Him, it moves from information to transformation. This direct, experiential knowledge of God surpasses anything we could read in a book or hear from others. It is the heart of Yadah—to know God personally and intimately.
But God invites us to go deeper—to move from distant acquaintance to intimate friendship and passionate love. In James 4:8, it says, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” This shows that our relationship with God is reciprocal—when we seek Him, He responds by coming closer to us. Psalm 27:8 also reflects this longing for deeper intimacy: “My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek.” This should be the desire in our hearts—to know God more personally and intimately.
Throughout the scriptures God is inviting us into a closer, more meaningful relationship with Him—one that grows as we spend time in His presence, listen to His voice, and experience His love firsthand. Just as a couple’s bond deepens through shared experiences, our relationship with God flourishes as we intentionally draw near to Him and experience His love firsthand.
Yadah is the Hebrew word that captures this intimacy. It’s not about head knowledge or ritualistic worship; it’s about relational, experiential knowing. In the Old Testament, Yadah is even used to describe the intimate union between husband and wife, symbolizing the deepest, most vulnerable form of connection. This is how God wants us to know Him—not as a distant Deity but as a loving Father, faithful Friend, and passionate Bridegroom.
The Danger of Familiarity: From Lovers to Indifference
Even in the closest relationships, there’s a danger: Just as a married couple can drift into complacency and routine, losing the excitement and awe they once had, our relationship with God can suffer the same fate if we allow ourselves to become too familiar.
In marriage, the journey from strangers to lovers is thrilling, marked by curiosity, passion, and discovery. But over time, if intentionality is lost, couples can fall into familiarity. They start to take each other for granted. Conversations become shallow, romance fades, and emotional distance grows. This is the danger of familiarity—it breeds indifference, which can gradually lead to emotional distance and coldness in the marriage, and ultimately, to separation.
Likewise, in our walk with God, the journey from sinner to child of God, from servant to friend, and from acquaintance to lover is breathtaking. We first come to God in awe of His holiness, overwhelmed by His love and grace. But if we’re not careful, we can fall into a routine. We pray out of duty, worship out of habit, and read the Bible as a checkbox on our spiritual to-do list. The danger of familiarity with God is that we begin to lose our awe and reverence. We lose our sense of curiosity and wonder about who He is, and we no longer expect Him to speak, move, or transform our lives.
Jesus warned about this in Revelation 2:4-5 when He spoke to the church in Ephesus: “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first.” The Ephesians were doing the right things but had lost the passion and intimacy they once had with Christ. They fell into spiritual small talk—going through the motions of routine, religious duty, and man-made traditions, all without a genuine, heartfelt connection to God.
Similarly, Zephaniah 1:12 warns against complacency: “I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad.’” Complacency dulls our spiritual senses, leading to a routine faith without expectation or hunger for God’s presence.
Yadah keeps us out of this comfort zone. It calls us to pursue God continuously, to hunger and thirst for His presence, and to rediscover His beauty every day. It’s about knowing God in such a personal way that we’re constantly amazed by His nature, character, grace, love and power.
This should be a lifetime of Yadah
In conclusion, God’s invitation is clear: “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). He desires to be known deeply. “Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him…I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:3, 6)
Let’s respond to that invitation by pursuing Him passionately, encountering Him personally, and choosing daily to Yadah—to know and be known by the Living God.
Yadah: Moving from Shallow Routine to Deep Encounter
1) Pursue Depth, Not Duty: Don’t settle for religious routines. Approach God as a loving Father, not a distant deity. Spend time in His presence to encounter Him, not just to fulfill obligations.
2) Keep your Curiosity Alive: Just as couples stay in love by continuously discovering new things about each other, pursue a deeper understanding of God’s nature and character.
3) Practice Meditating and Soaking: In prayer, don’t just speak—take time to soak in God’s presence. Soaking involves quietly resting in His presence, allowing your heart to become still and receptive. It’s about waiting expectantly, listening for His voice, and letting His Spirit minister to you. Ask God to speak to your heart, then simply wait—without rushing and without an agenda. Just be still and allow Him to reveal His heart to you. He loves to speak to those who linger in His presence, soaking in His love, peace, and wisdom.
4) Stay Hungry and Thirsty: Complacency is the enemy of intimacy. Continually hunger and thirst for more of God. Stir up your desire for God by seeking His face daily.
Scriptures to Ponder:
Pursue Depth, Not Duty:
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” — Jeremiah 29:13
“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” — Psalm 145:18
Keep your Curiosity Alive::
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” — Jeremiah 33:3
“But the people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits.” — Daniel 11:32
Practice Meditating and Soaking:
“Be still, and know that I am God.” — Psalm 46:10
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” — John 10:27
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles.” — Isaiah 40:31
Stay Hungry and Thirsty:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” — Matthew 5:6
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” — Psalm 42:1
“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you.” — Psalm 63:1
Take time to reflect on these passages. Allow them to guide you deeper into the journey of Yadah—to know and be known by the Living God.
Embracing a Deeper Journey … with the Almighty I AM
Yolandita Colón