In my walk with God I have been blessed with some strange, some beautiful, and some mystical experiences. You will have to wait for my book to come out to read most of them, but I thought I would share a very recent experience that is relevant to this blog.
Over the past year or two I have learned how important it is to listen. To listen to people around us, to listen to good teachers, to listen to God. I believe listening to God is essential for anyone who wants to walk with Him or follow Him. That requires us to have an open mind, for a closed mind cannot hear the voice of God, or anyone else for that matter.
In his wonderful CD, Revival in Belfast, Robin Mark reminds us of how important it is to know the heart of God. How can we know the heart of God? By reading His word. But reading his word is not enough – we must also be listening to the Holy Spirit as we read. It is the Spirit who brings the light and life into the written word.
Just sitting and listening to God is another way to get to know God. Listening is, I believe, the highest form of prayer. There’s a story I heard about Mother Teresa being on the Larry King show many years ago. I haven’t been able to verify it, but I have little doubt as to its accuracy. It goes like this:
Larry – What do you say when you pray?
Mother Teresa – I don’t say anything; I just listen.
Larry – Then what does God say to you when you’re praying?
Mother Teresa – He doesn’t say anything either; He just listens; and if you can’t understand that, I can’t explain it to you.
Communication in prayer is at a level we humans cannot even begin to grasp, not just to and from God, but somehow between the pray-er and any person for whom they are fervently praying. That’s what I believe anyway.
So back to my experience – it happened on New Year’s Eve. My wife had gone to bed early and I was sitting alone mulling over 2014 and talking to God. After a while, I slipped off the sofa onto the floor and laid my head on the sofa. I thought about what it must have been like for the young apostle, John, who laid his head on the chest of Jesus at the last supper.
I imagined him listening to Jesus’ heart beating, pumping that priceless blood throughout His body. Then I listened more closely as though it were I who was listening to His heart. And I heard reflected from God’s heart the cries of 250 million children who have been sexually abused in this century. And I felt the frustration of God in not being able to get the attention of more than a few Christians to pray for them, and His inability to interfere with the abuse without the prayers of His people.
Then I listened more and heard the moans of millions of children going to bed with empty stomachs. Stomachs that ache for food – and they are supposed to go to sleep like that. And again I felt the frustration of God in that western societies throw out more than enough food to feed all the hungry people in the world.
And I felt God’s dismay that His people were so ambivalent toward the suffering of others. They are too busy with their self-interests to take the time to hear the heart of God, to know that God suffers with each and every child. And I knew the frustration of God in giving us more time to get into a right relationship with Him but at the cost of the incredible suffering of hundreds of millions of hungry and abused children.
I found myself crying like I haven’t cried for years.
The heart of God is not like the human heart – subject to one emotion at a time. God is so big He feels many emotions simultaneously. But I believe that the immense suffering and His frustration with man is taking a bigger and bigger portion of His heart, and I cannot believe that He can let it go on much longer.
Are you ready to stand before Him in judgment? When He asks you what you did for ‘the least of these’ will you have an answer? I pray that you will.
Over the past year or two I have learned how important it is to listen. To listen to people around us, to listen to good teachers, to listen to God. I believe listening to God is essential for anyone who wants to walk with Him or follow Him. That requires us to have an open mind, for a closed mind cannot hear the voice of God, or anyone else for that matter.
In his wonderful CD, Revival in Belfast, Robin Mark reminds us of how important it is to know the heart of God. How can we know the heart of God? By reading His word. But reading his word is not enough – we must also be listening to the Holy Spirit as we read. It is the Spirit who brings the light and life into the written word.
Just sitting and listening to God is another way to get to know God. Listening is, I believe, the highest form of prayer. There’s a story I heard about Mother Teresa being on the Larry King show many years ago. I haven’t been able to verify it, but I have little doubt as to its accuracy. It goes like this:
Larry – What do you say when you pray?
Mother Teresa – I don’t say anything; I just listen.
Larry – Then what does God say to you when you’re praying?
Mother Teresa – He doesn’t say anything either; He just listens; and if you can’t understand that, I can’t explain it to you.
Communication in prayer is at a level we humans cannot even begin to grasp, not just to and from God, but somehow between the pray-er and any person for whom they are fervently praying. That’s what I believe anyway.
So back to my experience – it happened on New Year’s Eve. My wife had gone to bed early and I was sitting alone mulling over 2014 and talking to God. After a while, I slipped off the sofa onto the floor and laid my head on the sofa. I thought about what it must have been like for the young apostle, John, who laid his head on the chest of Jesus at the last supper.
I imagined him listening to Jesus’ heart beating, pumping that priceless blood throughout His body. Then I listened more closely as though it were I who was listening to His heart. And I heard reflected from God’s heart the cries of 250 million children who have been sexually abused in this century. And I felt the frustration of God in not being able to get the attention of more than a few Christians to pray for them, and His inability to interfere with the abuse without the prayers of His people.
Then I listened more and heard the moans of millions of children going to bed with empty stomachs. Stomachs that ache for food – and they are supposed to go to sleep like that. And again I felt the frustration of God in that western societies throw out more than enough food to feed all the hungry people in the world.
And I felt God’s dismay that His people were so ambivalent toward the suffering of others. They are too busy with their self-interests to take the time to hear the heart of God, to know that God suffers with each and every child. And I knew the frustration of God in giving us more time to get into a right relationship with Him but at the cost of the incredible suffering of hundreds of millions of hungry and abused children.
I found myself crying like I haven’t cried for years.
The heart of God is not like the human heart – subject to one emotion at a time. God is so big He feels many emotions simultaneously. But I believe that the immense suffering and His frustration with man is taking a bigger and bigger portion of His heart, and I cannot believe that He can let it go on much longer.
Are you ready to stand before Him in judgment? When He asks you what you did for ‘the least of these’ will you have an answer? I pray that you will.
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