une question.
looking for helpful counsel--
what do you do when you teach on listening prayer to teens, and a girl comes up to you after and tells you that she didn't see Jesus?
this happened to me.
so i told her that if she is living in deliberate sin, and doesn't believe that He exists, then that would do it.
but she claimed it wasn't so.
so we tried it again, one on one, a few times. every time she pictured herself somewhere, Jesus didn't come onto the scene, even after she asked Him out loud to come because she wanted to see Him.
so we waited. i prayed. and nothing happened.
she had to leave-- i told her not to get under guilt or shame, or believe that because she couldn't see Him she was a worse person than anybody else. and i encouraged her to stop sinning, and to seek His face earnestly every day.
what could i have done differently?
olivia.
what do you do when you teach on listening prayer to teens, and a girl comes up to you after and tells you that she didn't see Jesus?
this happened to me.
so i told her that if she is living in deliberate sin, and doesn't believe that He exists, then that would do it.
but she claimed it wasn't so.
so we tried it again, one on one, a few times. every time she pictured herself somewhere, Jesus didn't come onto the scene, even after she asked Him out loud to come because she wanted to see Him.
so we waited. i prayed. and nothing happened.
she had to leave-- i told her not to get under guilt or shame, or believe that because she couldn't see Him she was a worse person than anybody else. and i encouraged her to stop sinning, and to seek His face earnestly every day.
what could i have done differently?
olivia.
posted by Holysession at 3:42 p.m.
9 Comments:
hey Olivia,
I wonder if this girl has some unforgiven sin. Has someone hurt her and she is still hanging on to that instead of trying to let go and forgive. IF people are hurt first they have to realize that it was not there fault, but for there own spiritual well being they have to forgive and let go.
That was my first thought when I read this.
When I first started this with my kids it was hard for some of them to find God.
I have heard wonderful things that you are doing!
Go Girl!
See you in maine!
jane
I thought as Jane did, and also thought that maybe Jesus was showing himself in another form(not human)...a bird...another animal. I don't know. Sometimes taking in the entire scene is a good idea, instead of only looking for Jesus in human form...not saying you didn't do this, just putting the thought out there. ;)
It's also not always a visual. Sometimes you feel His presence. I was just reading "Can you Hear me" and sometimes someone will be like - I can't see Him! But when asked they say, but I know He is on the left hand corner kneeling down.
Maybe ask her if she "knows" He's there. Does she sense His presence.
This actually happens a lot to me. I know where He is, but can't see Him.
Maybe that will help.
Just from a completely different perspective, sometimes God chooses not to reveal himself to us. He's not a magic trick that we can conjure up (which I know we know) and sometimes He remains hidden for a reason. And while we may not know the reason, it doesn't have to be for evil. Sometimes God remains hidden for our good. It can be hard and difficult but it doesn't mean that we don't have to seek him. Samuel was found as a boy sleeping next to the ark even though He didn't really know what it was. But He was seeking God's presence without any assurance of what was there.
How do you really know what Jesus looks like? We can have a reasonable guess - but it is an image in your mind - nothing more. Maybe Jesus was a black man with curly hair. Maybe he was brown skinned, short and fat. I have to say that the image of the brown haired blue eyed Jesus carrying a lamb over his shoulder is overly sappy and rather pathetic - Jesus of the Hallmark Card - hard to picture him as the counter-cultural revolutionary who flipped over all the tables in the court of the Gentiles at the temple!
I applaud your effort to be with her one on one, and to offer her spiritual guidance. Unfortuantely, this will sound very harsh, but who are you to comment on her state of sin simply because she couldn't see what YOU thought she should?
My two cents? Ask questions. Ask what she does see. Keep asking. You can't assume what she sees is nothing, even if that's all she will tell you. Nor can you assume that what she is seeing is wrong in any way. She may, however, be afraid of what it is that she does see...
But prayer can never be wrong. It is between her and God regardless of the form it takes.
true statement-- i have no idea what Jesus looked like in human form (there are some descriptions of how He appeares now in Revelation).
and to clarify: no commenting on her state of sin, just asking her. i believe her when she says that she's not living in deliberate sin.
-olivia.
well i lOVe you
olivia!
juanitos
I really enjoyed looking at your site, I found it very helpful indeed, keep up the good work.
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I like it! Good job. Go on.
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