Experiencing God's Presence #235

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.

John 14:16

Imagine yourself alone with Jesus in a place where your spirit and His freely commune. It can be anywhere: a beach, a hillside, a living room, wherever. Ask Him to inspire your thoughts and fill your heart with Himself. Picture His face—don’t worry if you get all the details right or not—envision His gestures, and hear the tone of His voice. Ask Him questions. How does He respond? What do you hear?

This is an exercise in Presence that bothers some people for its subjectivity. But relationships are subjective by nature, and if we’re going to have one with Jesus, it will need to be so. Granted, it takes practice; no one sees and hears completely in the Spirit. But all are invited to meet Him there. In fact, He promised that we would. He assured us we would have an Advocate or Counselor—a highly relational term—and implied that we would be able to communicate with this Counselor and He with us. Do we trust that He will speak to us when we ask Him to? That He can fill our thoughts with Himself? Or do we believe instead that when we ask this relational God for clear communication with Him, He will ignore our request and abandon us to deception? Clearly, Jesus meant for us to experience Him through His Spirit who lives within us, not just in some abstract theological sense but in real person-to-Person communication. We can trust Him to follow through.

Spend ample time communing with Jesus—picturing Him, listening for His voice, trusting His Presence. Measure what you see and hear against Scripture, but be open to His personal touch. He wants to give it. Meet Him in the secret place where His Spirit and yours can freely commune.

Jesus, I envision Your Presence because You’ve assured me it’s true—that You speak, counsel, and commune with me. Make our relationship rich and full with Your nearness and love.

From the book