Hi, I'm new here. I'm also a writer (mostly about education and the Middle East) and am currently researching a book about people who have had direct encounters with Jesus. Indeed, I am writing this book in response to my own direct experience; an experience that has continued to reverberate through my life for the past six or seven years.
I had come up against a huge problem with my stepdaughter and I couldn't see a way around it. She was heading in one direction, and it wasn't up!
Consequently, one October evening in 2017, I found pacing around the living room talking to Jesus. It wasn’t prayer per se; I was simply explaining the problem and asking for help. However, I have since come to recognize that it was a prayer – a ‘walking prayer’. Now, I wasn’t so arrogant as to think that Jesus had time for me! I think I was simply ‘offloading’ and had no thoughts of receiving any kind of response.
My walking prayer (rant) lasted for around twenty minutes and finished at approximately 8.30 pm, give or take five minutes. I then slumped down onto the sofa, still very anxious and depressed about the behaviour of my stepdaughter. After an uneasy evening, I retired to bed at roughly 11.00 pm, feeling exhausted from all of my thoughts, deliberations, and fears. It wasn’t easy to drop off to sleep, but eventually, I drifted into the arms of Morpheus.
I awoke at almost exactly 2.00 am and I was in a complete state of bliss, where the usual concerns about past or future were momentarily set aside. There was a profound sense of inner peace and tranquillity; a feeling of being in harmony with oneself and the surrounding environment. There was also a deep sense of gratitude for life, existence, and the positive aspects of one’s circumstances, despite the overwhelming challenges of my stepdaughter. Even more of a shock, I felt a very real and personal connection with Christ, including a sense of presence, guidance, and comfort. It is hard to find the words. In fact, I don’t think there are words, but I’ve done my best.
I then drifted back off to sleep. This was strange in itself following such an experience. Indeed, I was still in a state of bliss as my consciousness faded away once again. Perhaps more strangely, I was an insomniac, and if I woke during the night it could take me one, two, or three hours to doze off again. Putting the experience and the insomnia together, I shouldn’t really have fallen asleep, but I did and slept soundly for three hours.
At bang on 5.00 am (I had a clock alongside the bed), I awoke again, this time needing the bathroom and still in a total state of bliss. I was euphoric. I felt understood and loved by Christ – it was palpable and as real as anything I would do in the day ahead. In fact, it was more real. I did get out of bed and go to the bathroom, and I think here, I may well be able to claim a world first: I was standing having a pee in the middle of the most intense mystical experience. And you know what, I think I could sense Jesus chuckling. It was that real and loving.
So my question is, would other people like to share any experiences they may have had? I'm happy to give anonymity if desired. I look forward to the possibility of some interesting and inspiring replies!
I had come up against a huge problem with my stepdaughter and I couldn't see a way around it. She was heading in one direction, and it wasn't up!
Consequently, one October evening in 2017, I found pacing around the living room talking to Jesus. It wasn’t prayer per se; I was simply explaining the problem and asking for help. However, I have since come to recognize that it was a prayer – a ‘walking prayer’. Now, I wasn’t so arrogant as to think that Jesus had time for me! I think I was simply ‘offloading’ and had no thoughts of receiving any kind of response.
My walking prayer (rant) lasted for around twenty minutes and finished at approximately 8.30 pm, give or take five minutes. I then slumped down onto the sofa, still very anxious and depressed about the behaviour of my stepdaughter. After an uneasy evening, I retired to bed at roughly 11.00 pm, feeling exhausted from all of my thoughts, deliberations, and fears. It wasn’t easy to drop off to sleep, but eventually, I drifted into the arms of Morpheus.
I awoke at almost exactly 2.00 am and I was in a complete state of bliss, where the usual concerns about past or future were momentarily set aside. There was a profound sense of inner peace and tranquillity; a feeling of being in harmony with oneself and the surrounding environment. There was also a deep sense of gratitude for life, existence, and the positive aspects of one’s circumstances, despite the overwhelming challenges of my stepdaughter. Even more of a shock, I felt a very real and personal connection with Christ, including a sense of presence, guidance, and comfort. It is hard to find the words. In fact, I don’t think there are words, but I’ve done my best.
I then drifted back off to sleep. This was strange in itself following such an experience. Indeed, I was still in a state of bliss as my consciousness faded away once again. Perhaps more strangely, I was an insomniac, and if I woke during the night it could take me one, two, or three hours to doze off again. Putting the experience and the insomnia together, I shouldn’t really have fallen asleep, but I did and slept soundly for three hours.
At bang on 5.00 am (I had a clock alongside the bed), I awoke again, this time needing the bathroom and still in a total state of bliss. I was euphoric. I felt understood and loved by Christ – it was palpable and as real as anything I would do in the day ahead. In fact, it was more real. I did get out of bed and go to the bathroom, and I think here, I may well be able to claim a world first: I was standing having a pee in the middle of the most intense mystical experience. And you know what, I think I could sense Jesus chuckling. It was that real and loving.
So my question is, would other people like to share any experiences they may have had? I'm happy to give anonymity if desired. I look forward to the possibility of some interesting and inspiring replies!
