might kill me. And if a gentle touch and three
softly whispered words were enough to do that,
what might encountering God face-to-face do to
a man? I do not doubt the apostle John whatsoever when he writes that he saw the risen Christ
and fell before his feet as though dead. I got
out of bed, fell on my face before the Lord, and
poured out thanksgiving to Him. I was overwhelmed.
For a moment, the God of the universe, the creator of all things,
wanted me to remain in His presence for awhile longer talking with
,
Him.
Here was the personal relationship I had always
longed for, the lack of which had always made
church seem so dead and dry to me. The words
of the Psalmist came to mind: “What is man, that
you take thought of him? And the son of man,
that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:4).
Since then, I have heard the Spirit’s gentle whisper on a number of occasions, and almost never
when I expected a reply. Once, I was praying for
a couple that was having trouble in their marriage, and while I was still speaking that gentle
voice interrupted and clearly said, “I can’t help
them if they won’t yield to me.”
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I’m fully aware that I risk my reputation as a reliable, level-headed individual by sharing all of this
so openly, but I know what happened to me, and
I know that there are believers out there who are
every bit as disillusioned with what they feel is a
dead, dry religion as I once was.
To those who feel this way, I say,
take heart, dedicate yourself to
seeking God fully, and you will find
Him.
I’m no one special, and God is no respecter of
persons. Cast yourself into the Word and prayer,
seeking Him especially in the quiet watches of
the night, believing that He is just as capable of
speaking today as He did in the past.
“You will seek Me and find Me when you search
for Me with all of your heart.” - Jeremiah 29:13
“He who has My commandments and keeps them
is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will
be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will
disclose Myself to him.” - John 14:21
“He made from one man every nation of mankind
to live on all the face of the earth, having determined that they would seek God, if perhaps they
might grope for Him and find Him, though He is
not far from each one of us...” - Acts 17:26-27.`