daily | God encounter

have you heard of it? tried it? or are you thinking i’m crazy?
i promise i’m not crazy. 😉

years ago when i was working at lifeway i found myself shelving new books and one in particular caught my eye. God Encounter | by Lisa Tawn Bergren.
what is this i found myself thinking.
like most bookstore employees i then plopped on the floor (criss-cross apple sauce style) and cracked the spine. my heart started getting heavy – and i could tell this book was beautiful – set apart.
the next day (a saturday) i was alone in my dorm room and i settled on the floor and re-opened the book.
it was a day that forever changed my life.

i learned how to connect with God on a more intimate level – a level i didn’t know existed.
at that moment in time i had been a Christian for years, years, and this was something new to me – fresh – exciting – moving. did you catch that – i was moved.
the first time walking through one of the chapters took me an hour.
i laughed.
i cried.
i cringed.
i felt whole.
and when it was all said and done i felt like a weight had been lifted – i also felt the weight of the Holy Spirit – and boy was it beautiful.

so what is creative prayer?
what is this book?
is this some kind of “weird christian thing?”

creative prayer is about using your imagination (which how cool is it that God designed us with that) to put yourself in a more personal and vulnerable place for you to meet God. each chapter walks you through how to do the prayer (deep breaths, quieting your mind, prompting you on what to see in your imagination) – it lays out a story before you, an opportunity to meet the Most High King.

do i use the book daily? no, no i dont.
i’ve found that i crack open the book when i’m in a place of needing to meet with God (more so than my normal prayer life).
& is it a weird christian thing? i don’t think so…but i’ve always been an imaginative person.
i believe that this book could radically change your prayer life, if you are open to giving it a shot.

recently – i opened this book again (to the chapter you see above you).
i’ve been feeling far from God – empty – broken – and like He wasn’t talking to me.
i needed to hear Him.
to be comforted by Him.
to be in His presence.
the flesh side of me didn’t want to dig deep – it tried to distract me from opening this book
i did it anyway.
and i met God in the desert.
and i was grounded.
God knelt on the ground with me, gathered me in my arms and whispered you are mine.
over. and over. and over again.
you are mine.
and He drew his Hand down my arm, interlaced our fingers, pulled me to my feet and hugged me.
it was surreal.
yet it was real.

there is a time in my life where God encountered me in a really real way (that i will have to share with y’all soon) that had the same message as this past time – i am His, He is present, He will comfort me. This is a message that did not come by mistake or without thought – in that season God also reminded me to remember that moment – for little did I know He would be silent for quite some time. God is so incredibly personal – and meeting Him in the desert to hear Him say, you are mine, brings life to my struggling heart.

have you experienced God in a way that changed your relationship with Him?
i really would love to hear all about it?