How can I bring the presence of God into my room or other "intimate" place?

TruthSeek3r · Nov 12, 2020

I want to start this thread by sharing with you several testimonies of people who have experienced the presence of God. Some of these testimonies are quite long, so I'm giving you the videos with the timestamps included in the links so that you can watch from the exact second they start telling their experience. Please, watch at least a few videos to understand what I'm talking about:

1) From model/to New Age witchcraft/To saved by Jesus Christ
2) New Age to Christianity // My Supernatural Experience with God
3) WOW! A Jewish lawyer and a leader in her synagogue who turned to Jesus in a supernatural way!
4) (Clip) Testimony of Being Filled with the Holy Spirit by Zac Poonen
5) Christian Life Testimony•BAPTISM of HOLY SPIRIT
6) From New Age to Jesus - My Unexpected Encounter with God
7) My Testimony Finding Jesus / Demonic Encounter / Hearing God's Voice!
8) Testimony of Andres Bisonni. Daystar Television Network
9) HERE'S WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN AN ATHEIST GETS SURROUNDED WITH 80 PRAYING RUSSIANS!
10) MY TESTIMONY (X-New Ager converts to CHRISTIANITY after seeing Jesus Christ)
11) Steve Hill - true encounter with God
12) From Atheist To Believer In Jesus Christ: How Jesus Cured My Eating Disorder, Christian Testimony
13) My Testimony - From New Age to JESUS
14) "I was Face-Down in the Presence of Jesus Christ"- Instantly Delivered from Drug Addiction
15) Paul Washer- The Presence of God
16) From New age and ayahuasca to Jesus
17) Muslim Man's Journey To Christ
18) Testimony - How did a Jew meet Jesus in Israel by Keren (한글)
19) Muslim only by name finds Jesus. Psychedelic, spiritual realms. Jesus saved me.My personal testimony
20) My testimony -Jesus changed my life!
21) (Sermon Clip) Crying Out In Prayer All Night In the Snow by Paul Washer
22) Paul Washer believes that the Holy Spirit still works today.

What is the secret to be able to have such an intimate experience with God? Do we have to cross our fingers and hope for the best, or are there concrete actions that one can take to develop an intimate close relationship with God and have experiences like these in one's room or any other intimate setting (and hopefully on a frequent basis)?

com7fy8 · Nov 12, 2020

TruthSeek3r said:
What is the secret to be able to have such an intimate experience with God?

In video #1), for example, GirlWhoLuvsJesus7 talks about how she was not so spiritual when God revealed Himself in His holiness and love and forgiveness to her. My point is one can come to experience God . . . coming from not being with God, not being spiritual, not because of doing some magical check list.

A more obvious example is how Saul was on his way to Damascus, full of hatred, when Jesus revealed Himself to Saul. He had not status, no spirituality, no methods which helped him to become with Jesus.

When, then, God blesses a person with a special experience, this can be not because the person is right with God, but because the person needs this. The disciples of Jesus personally shared with Jesus, but they were not right with God; He met with them because they needed to meet and share with Him so they could get real correction!!

TruthSeek3r said:
Do we have to cross our fingers and hope for the best, or are there concrete actions that one can put into practice to develop an intimate, close relationship with God and have experiences like that (hopefully on a frequent basis)?

No, we do not cross our fingers, but take up our cross daily > Luke 9:23 >

«Si alguno quiere venir en pos de mí, niéguese a sí mismo, tome su cruz cada día, y sígame.» (en Lucas 9:23)

Then, in my opinion, it is great if God blesses us with experiences. But what we need is to constantly be submissive to God in His peace > constantly discovering how He shares with us and guides us while also correcting us.

Actively seek God's correction > Hebrews 12:4-14.

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." (Colossians 3:15)

If you please, you are welcome to visit "obey God in His peace", on YouTube. This has to do with ongoing submission to God, and how this has us sharing with one another as His family . . . not only experiencing God, but sharing with one another. God is about family; so it possibly is not His priority to grant experiences to individuals.

Another example is how Paul had that "thorn in the flesh" > 2 Corinthians 12:7-15. He had a problem with that, but Jesus would not grant Paul some convenient experience of being delivered from that thorn. But then Paul had a little talk with Jesus and learned to submit to how God's grace would take care of him. His experience of talking with Jesus was not because he was being spiritual, but he needed Christ's confrontation with correction so he would live in God's grace all the time. And while we are submitting to God in His grace, we are continually experiencing Him . . . not only having isolated experiences.

TruthSeek3r · Nov 12, 2020

com7fy8 said:
And while we are submitting to God in His grace, we are continually experiencing Him . . . not only having isolated experiences.

What does it mean to be continually experiencing Him? Like you constantly feel God's presence with you? Is that possible?

fm107 · Nov 12, 2020

I've watched a few mins of a few clips.

These cases are very special in that these are cases of people having the weight of their sins lifted and their peace being made with God - a one-off conversion experience where they pass from death to life. Really, we could say these are Damascus Road conversions but many christians don't have Damascus Road conversions. Many christians (such as myself) were brought up in a Christian home and were always brought up to know the Lord as saviour.

You can't possibly have a close relationship with God unless your first born-again. John 3:3

If your born-again, you'll produce the fruit of the spirit. Galatians 5:22-23
Born-again christians are to live by faith and we don't go looking for "experiences" or special feelings.
If you want to walk with God, you live a life that honours him in obedience, if you do that, you'll continue to have peace with God and enjoy the knowledge of salvation and communion with Him.

As we go on life, we fail, we sin, we disobey, we grieve the Holy Spirit and then we lose the joy of our salvation. We need to keep short accounts with the Lord, if we sin. We also need to be daily reading His Word, by application of it we are cleansed from the defilement of the World, otherwise, we have no part (communion) with Him. John 13:8

TruthSeek3r · Nov 12, 2020

fm107 said:
I've watched a few mins of a few clips.

These cases are very special in that these are cases of people having the weight of their sins lifted and their peace being made with God - a one-off conversion experience where they pass from death to life. Really, we could say these are Damascus Road conversions but many christians don't have Damascus Road conversions. Many christians (such as myself) were brought up in a Christian home and were always brought up to know the Lord as saviour.

You can't possibly have a close relationship with God unless your first born-again. John 3:3

If your born-again, you'll produce the fruit of the spirit. Galatians 5:22-23
Born-again christians are to live by faith and we don't go looking for "experiences" or special feelings.
If you want to walk with God, you live a life that honours him in obedience, if you do that, you'll continue to have peace with God and enjoy the knowledge of salvation and communion with Him.

As we go on life, we fail, we sin, we disobey, we grieve the Holy Spirit and then we lose the joy of our salvation. We need to keep short accounts with the Lord, if we sin. We also need to be daily reading His Word, by application of it we are cleansed from the defilement of the World, otherwise, we have no part (communion) with Him. John 13:8

But beyond conversion (which is once in your lifetime), is it possible to bring the presence of God to the secret place post-conversion? Say, praying and fasting and having an encounter post-conversion?

fm107 · Nov 12, 2020

TruthSeek3r said:
But beyond conversion (which is once in your lifetime), is it possible to bring the presence of God to the secret place post-conversion? Say, praying and fasting and having an encounter post-conversion?

I don't know what you mean by "secret place" but if your asking if you can have that born-again experience again, I would say no. Our sins are washed away but once at conversion John 13:10 and therefore we will never again have that conversion experience.

Being born-again should give us a settled peace in life in the knowledge that our sins are forgiven and we exhibit the fruit of the spirit - Galatians 5:22-23.

But that doesn't mean we can't continue to enjoy fellowship with God, quite the opposite. We will be able to do so if we are pleasing to Him (that is, if we are obedient to Him in our lives) and not grieving Him by the things we do, think or say.

TruthSeek3r · Nov 12, 2020

fm107 said:
I don't know what you mean by "secret place" but if your asking if you can have that born-again experience again, I would say no. Our sins are washed away but once at conversion John 13:10 and therefore we will never again have that conversion experience.

Being born-again should give us a settled peace in life in the knowledge that our sins are forgiven and we exhibit the fruit of the spirit - Galatians 5:22-23.

Not born-gain, but like being filled with the Holy Spirit or experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit multiple times post-conversion?

About secret place, I mean, when you are alone with God, maybe I should change that to "prayer room" or "prayer closet" or "the place where you have intimacy with God". I'm borrowing expressions from the many testimonies I've watched to be honest.

TruthSeek3r · Nov 12, 2020

fm107 said:
I don't know what you mean by "secret place" but if your asking if you can have that born-again experience again, I would say no. Our sins are washed away but once at conversion John 13:10 and therefore we will never again have that conversion experience.

Being born-again should give us a settled peace in life in the knowledge that our sins are forgiven and we exhibit the fruit of the spirit - Galatians 5:22-23.

But that doesn't mean we can't continue to enjoy fellowship with God, quite the opposite. We will be able to do so if we are pleasing to Him (that is, if we are obedient to Him in our lives) and not grieving Him by the things we do, think or say.

What if I've never had any experience at all?

fm107 · Nov 12, 2020

TruthSeek3r said:
Not born-gain, but like being filled with the Holy Spirit or experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit multiple times post-conversion?

About secret place, I mean, when you are alone with God, maybe I should change that to "prayer room" or "prayer closet" or "the place where you have intimacy with God". I'm borrowing expressions from the many testimonies I've watched to be honest.

The Holy Spirit is a person so just to be clear, we can't be filled more with a person, we either have the person of the Holy Spirit abiding in us or we don't. Being filled with the Holy Spirit really means being under His control. Our lives are so filled with disobedience, sin and defilement, the Holy Spirit is impeded because we are too busy doing what pleases us. If we do what pleases Him and make the Lord master of our lives then we will be filled with the Holy Spirit, a servant ready to serve, the Holy Spirit in control - a spirit filled person.

As far as experience / feelings go, we can feel a peace, a joy in our lives and this is how we should feel knowing that we are saved. But if we are living lives not in keeping with our calling then we will be miserable because we are grieving the Holy Spirit who abides in us.

In regard to prayer, we can feel that intimacy with God but again, if our lives are a practical contradiction or we have unconfessed sin, we will not feel that closeness with God that you refer to. In which case, confession and repentance is needed so one can be restored. When a son does wrong, his relationship with his father is somewhat distant (albeit the relationship doesn't cease). The son needs to go to his father and repent, then the closeness and joy of that relationship can be enjoyed once again.

fm107 · Nov 12, 2020

TruthSeek3r said:
What if I never had any experience at all?

May I suggest you check out a youtube channel called living waters. It has loads of videos where a street preacher talks to random people on the street and explains the gospel to them in an easy to understand way. Sadly, they've also added some comedy videos on there too which is a shame because it detracts from the seriousness of the message. I'd be interested to hear if you found the videos helpful.

com7fy8 · Nov 12, 2020

TruthSeek3r said:
What does it mean to be continually experiencing Him? Like you constantly feel God's presence with you? Is that possible?

Yes. Except while I am sinning, "of course". There are times when I am going along with paranoid and immoral imagination stuff. I am not experiencing God during that stuff.

However, I find from scripture and from experience that we can continually experience God while we are submitting to Him. If you are personally submitting to how God rules and guides you in His peace, yes you will experience being personally ruled by God in His peace . . . as is a basic of our Christian calling >

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." (Colossians 3:15)

And as for when I am sinning > Hebrews 12:4-14 guarantees how our Father corrects every one of His children. And this correction is "painful" or "grievous". We experience how God grieves our selfish nature with His correction.

By correction, I do not mean punishment. I mean correction . . . how God changes our character to be more like Jesus, as I understand Hebrews 12:4-14 does mean.

As much as God changes us to be like Jesus, yes we do not only experience Him, but being like Him . . . as is another Bible basic >

"Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17)

We experience how God's love effects our character and how we relate with others. You can read and feed on how God's word says to relate with other people. I have offered the YouTube video "obey God in His peace". This talks about things like this, in about thirteen minutes.

TruthSeek3r said:
What if I never had any experience at all?

God is quite, never silent. Part of experiencing God, in my opinion and experience, is we trust God to change us so we are pleasing to Him . . . in His love's "gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." (in 1 Peter 3:4)

How to be has so much to do with this. Please consider how Jesus started His Sermon on the Mount > He talks about how to be >

poor in spirit

merciful

meek

pure in heart

How to be is basic to being able to connect with God and share with Him. And there is how He desires for us to relate as His family. No one can be great in Jesus, all by oneself, but we are God's family ministering the grace of this to each other > 1 Peter 4:9-10. So, we need our qualified pastoral examples of this, plus our others who help to feed us with this.

But there can be religious groups who make it seem like God is just distant and theoretical; and so with such people you can not have the example you need. Plus, now I suspect there are ones who claim to experience God, but they teach false doctrinal and moral things and may misguide attention to mainly social cause and political things; and we are human so we can be fooled. So, we need to trust God to make sure He changes us to be with Him . . . through Jesus. He knows what you are thinking, right now; trust Him.

NBB · Nov 12, 2020

You need to pray a lot, if you don't know what to say, just ask for help, express your desire to get closer to him, and invoke the name of God. Seek God.

A pastor said that the secret of those ministers that seems to be very close to God and that God does things through them IS: there is no secret its just PRAYER.

NBB · Nov 12, 2020

Have faith and ask Jesus to be filled with the Holy spirit, then you will have experiences with God "guaranteed". You need to be commited to at least pray to try stopping sinning and pray during the day because if not this is not going to last too long, and that can be discouraging.

NBB · Nov 12, 2020

There is stuff to experience with God, and is awesome and faith increasing, life changing, etc etc, have faith! God does things to his childs, this should be normal.

TruthSeek3r · Nov 12, 2020

fm107 said:
May I suggest you check out a youtube channel called living waters. It has loads of videos where a street preacher talks to random people on the street and explains the gospel to them in an easy to understand way. Sadly, they've also added some comedy videos on there too which is a shame because it detracts from the seriousness of the message. I'd be interested to hear if you found the videos helpful.

Yes I know Ray Comfort and his channel, he is quite popular for the street preaching and also for his debates with atheists. I've watched several videos from his channel already. Thanks for sharing.

DiscipleHeLovesToo · Nov 12, 2020

TruthSeek3r said:
What if I've never had any experience at all?

(Joh 20:26) And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
(Joh 20:27) Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
(Joh 20:28) And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
(Joh 20:29) Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
(Joh 20:30) And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
(Joh 20:31) But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

base your faith in God by believing His written Words in the Bible, rather than seek an experience of the flesh (feelings, dreams, visions, voices, etc.) - experiences can be misunderstood or even deceiving, but His Words do not change. root your faith in His Words, and if experiences don't come, your faith will remain effective - if they do, you'll be able to measure experiences against His Word to see if they are actually from Him.

(Joh 6:63) It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

(Luk 4:3) And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
(Luk 4:4) And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

aiki · Nov 12, 2020

TruthSeek3r said:
What is the secret to be able to have such an intimate experience with God? Do we have to cross our fingers and hope for the best, or are there concrete actions that one can take to develop an intimate close relationship with God and have experiences like these in my room or any other intimate setting (and hopefully on a frequent basis)?

The problem with spiritual deception is that it is so often mixed with some truth. Separating out what is of God from what is not, discerning truth from error, in the stories shared in the videos you listed would take an enormous amount of time. All of what people in the videos are claiming as their special experience of God has to be taken entirely on faith. Was it really God they met with, or their own psychology and desire? Maybe the devil was providing one of his many subtle counterfeits, too. How can one tell? Well, by assessing those claims and experiences against what the Bible says is the normal Christian experience of God. And when I do that, the videos I looked at all appear really sketchy.

Much of what was shared in the videos I watched were experiences that were very sensual. "I felt this or that...," "This sensation of xyz...," "I was overcome with...," seemed to be the preoccupation of the stories; the individual believer - how they felt, what they did - was center stage in the videos I watched. That's always a huge red flag - especially when it subtly maneuvers the listening believer into thinking their less dramatic experience of God is lesser precisely because it is not as intensely sensual and emotional. Such things have little to nothing to do with interacting with God. Conviction of sin (John 16:8), illumination of God's truth (John 14:16; 16:13), a hunger for holiness (1 Corinthian 6; Ephesians 5:3-15), strength in the midst of trial and temptation (Philippians 2:13; Romans 8:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24), the development of the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), divine discipline (Hebrews 12:5-11) - these are the experiences of God the Bible indicates are the normal, daily experience of truly born-again believers, not shivers, tingles, and tongues, not visions, prophetic dreams and being slain in the Spirit (which is just disguised New Age paganism).

If you really want to know God and experience Him fully, the Bible's instruction to you is to surrender (Romans 12:1), yield (Romans 6:13-18), submit to God (James 4:7-10) and die to yourself (Matthew 16:24-25; John 12:24-25). Only when you decrease does God increase in your life (John 3:30); only when you humble yourself under His mighty hand will He lift you up (1 Peter 5:6); only when you die to Self do you discover true life in Christ (Galatians 2:20).

But this route to intimacy with God isn't sensational, it isn't sensual or at all fleshly, but spiritual, engaging with your mind first and foremost, not your senses and emotions. The more one's pursuit of God follows the physical, the flesh, the less spiritual it is and the more in conflict you'll actually be with the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:17). Beware, then, those who urge you to chase after wild, sense-oriented experiences with God.

splish- splash · Nov 12, 2020

Make sure, you don't just wait till its bed time, before you talk to God. Chat with Him, even when doing your house chores. Involve Him in your day to day plans. Even when you don't feel like talking to Him, just praise Him with scripture. Make known to Him your innermost feelings and worries. Have set times/seasons for fasting. Your fasting shouldn't be for material blessings all the time but ask to be filled with the holy spirit instead/ fast for a close and personal relationship with God/ fast so you will understand God's word/ pray that God will take out your heart of stone and give you Jesus.

TruthSeek3r · Nov 12, 2020

aiki said:
Much of what was shared in the videos I watched were experiences that were very sensual. "I felt this or that...," "This sensation of xyz...," "I was overcome with...," seemed to be the preoccupation of the stories; the individual believer - how they felt, what they did - was center stage in the videos I watched. That's always a huge red flag

Would you mind indicating the specific videos you watched? I think it would help to make the discussion more productive if we know the exact videos you watched.

aiki said:
But this route to intimacy with God isn't sensational, it isn't sensual or at all fleshly, but spiritual, engaging with your mind first and foremost, not your senses and emotions. The more one's pursuit of God follows the physical, the flesh, the less spiritual it is and the more in conflict you'll actually be with the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:17). Beware, then, those who urge you to chase after wild, sense-oriented experiences with God.

Do you think that both extremes should be avoided, namely 1) denying experiences completely and 2) overemphasizing experiences? Is there a happy medium between these two extremes?

aiki · Nov 12, 2020

TruthSeek3r said:
Would you mind indicating the specific videos you watched? I think it would help to make the discussion more productive if we know the exact videos you watched.

#7, #11, #15, #17

TruthSeek3r said:
Do you think that both extremes should be avoided, namely 1) denying experiences completely and 2) overemphasizing experiences? Is there a happy medium between these two extremes?

I don't think I've advocated for no experience of God whatever...I warned against a sensual and hyper-emotional "experience" of God that seems to be in its character exactly the opposite of what the Bible describes as the normal Christian experience.

I don't see Paul indicating a happy middle ground between the spiritual and the sensual which is to say, between the flesh and the Spirit. Paul indicates that, to the degree one insinuates the sensual or the fleshly into one's walk with God, to that same degree the less actual walking with Him there is. (Galatians 5:17; Romans 8:5-8)

How can I bring the presence of God into my room or other "intimate" place?

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