An Encounter with God

A true encounter with God can transform your entire way of thinking.

I just love a testimony relating a "close encounter" with God that completely redirects a person's life! Jack Deere tells of his experience learning that God still speaks to his people today in an awesome book- "Surprised by the Voice of God." Likewise, I have had many such experiences. Here's one of my first:

We had a special guest, Kathy Schaller (now Kathy Gregg, I think), come to teach a seminar on Prayer and Intimacy with God. We had a workbook, but never got to it, because she said we needed some "prayer ministry." What was prayer ministry?! Oh well, sounds good- prayer and ministry put together.

So we all started to pray and she went around the room praying for people. I was near the front, so I couldn't see anyone she prayed for behind me. However, I knew who she was praying for! She was saying things she couldn't possibly have known about these people- she didn't even know their names, much less their personal struggles and such. It was incredible! But all the while, I'm stewing with jealousy- "Why are they getting all the good stuff? Didn't I ask her to come?"

Just then God spoke to me as clear as a bell (he didn't "speak" to me much before then- or rather, I didn't know it was him when he did speak!). "Don't you regularly ask me to touch people's live in this chapel? Well, that's just what I'm doing- relax, I'm answering your prayer!" My heart broke over my selfishness. Then, just when I became excited for what everyone else was getting, Kathy came up to me and started praying.

She spoke prophetic words over me- some I liked, others I didn't believe at the time. But within a year, everything she said had either happened or was happening! There was more to this "God stuff" than I had been taught!

That prayer ministry time changed my life. Since then, I have gotten much closer to God and he's taught me a lot about the truth of Christianity. It's not about religion, it's about relationship. A relationship with Jesus and his people.

I believe it- A true encounter with God can transform your entire way of thinking!