Experiencing God
Eternal life means to know and experience You as the only true God and to know and experience Jesus Christ as the Son whom You have sent. — John 17:3
Prayer isn’t a subgroup or some department of the church. Relating to God is the whole point. Experiencing God is the big picture. Eternal life isn’t a destination; eternal life is a relationship. This relationship with God is our inheritance, and we get to enter it now.
If we’re too busy to relate to God, then we’re simply too busy. If we’re working so much that prayer feels like “another thing” to add to an already exhausting list, then we are working too hard.
All of our inheritance is found in relating to the One who loves us best and most. Read the text again! Read the words of Jesus again! We don’t have to “do” anything. Jesus tells us plainly that the world will know Him, the world will see Him when we are experiencing oneness with Him and one another. Union with Christ is good evangelism. Union with God is effective ministry.
There is a river within. It bubbles up and rushes over, soaking the dry places of our hearts until nothing more can be absorbed. We’re living in a state of complete saturation, and then it gushes out, renewing all we touch. Jesus, our rock, the cornerstone of all we hope and believe, brings us into the current of His limitless love. We are carried away. It’s time to get carried away.
Eventually, the river quiets, and we’re brought to the bank to rest in the pasture. We look up and see that a table has been set. Nothing for you to do, nothing for you to prepare; it’s all been done for you. It’s already finished. He has prepared a table for us (Psalm 23). His body and blood, our communion, our invitation to come higher up and deeper in.
The Kingdom of Heaven is within. Whatever else we do, whatever else we teach, prayer, union with God is how we access our inheritance. He is our inheritance. The guardianship is over! Claim what’s already been given and go in! Just shut your eyes and go in.
For further guidance and resources on experiencing God through prayer and spiritual practices, be sure to check out my website’s dedicated Resources Section.
