How has God changed your life?

[DirectionSeeker]

This is probably more pertinent to those who have walked with the Lord for at least 3 years, with daily prayers/scripture reading etc. I'm genuinely curious about the degree of influence God can have in our lives today assuming we do what I aforementioned, as opposed to tending the spiritual life at the whim.

I firmly believe God will do something specifically great in my life one day because I asked Him about it and I've received multiple positive answers, although I had to patiently wait for them. Hearing how God has altered your lives would be a great encouragement for me as I wait - and man is it hard sometimes! - for the Lord.

 

[Rene Loup]

1. Recognition that I am normal: A human being made in God's image who has problems, just like everyone else. None of us are labels nor stereotypes, but people with our own stories.
   
2. Improved mental health, character, and sense of value.
   
3. Motivation for self-care, education, romantic relationships, and a social life outside the internet.
   
4. Reading the Bible has taught me various skills such as writing, rhetoric, critical thinking, character development, and many other things.
   
5. Attending church and Christian communities gave me much healthier relationships than the ones I grew up with.
   
6. Renewed sense of purpose, especially with the skills I took for granted.
   
7. Hope.

My life is my testimony. God bless!

 

[Freth]

I've been blessed my whole life. I'll use bullet points instead of long-winded paragraphs.

• I was born and raised into Christianity by a devout single mother.
• I grew up on welfare, but we were richly blessed, much to the thanks of the church.
• I was baptized at age 13. By that time I had all of the books of the Bible memorized and was quite versed on scripture.
• At age 16 I found myself floundering in belief and wanted a chance to decide for myself. I was at the age I could decide who I wanted to live with, so I moved in with my father. He was also a Christian, but didn't go to church regularly.
• God, but He blessed me with a life-long career out of high school. I was laid off twice before I got hired in as a regular employee.
• I told myself that I would search for the "truth". That's what I did in my spare time for the next thirty years.
• Whenever I would look for proof of God (always in places where God wouldn't be), I was guided by reasoned conclusion. This went on for thirty years, until I came to the proof I needed for the existence of God, which was the proof of the existence of Satan.
• I came back to Christianity at age 46 (2016). Immediately, I started to see God's influence in my life all along the way.
• All of the scriptural knowledge I thought I had lost came back.
• I started to get answers to questions through scripture, without having to look for them.
• I started to "hear" a guiding voice in my mind. It has been steady since 2016.
• A long series of so-called coincidences have happened in my life since.
• Blessings and intuition are a regular occurrence in my life and haven't ceased, but have increased.
• I have been able to get rid of all of the addictions in my life (there were so many), thanks to Jesus.
• I can name at least once in my past that I was saved from death. Another time when I saved someone else's life.
• Many of my friends noticed the change in me and I've been able to witness to them, even convert them.
• My mother fell away from the faith, after having raised her children to be devout. I was able to bring her back, which I credit to the Holy Spirit working in her through our discussions.
• I retired at age 49 from a 30 year career. I'm debt-free and living on a meager pension, which I'm perfectly happy with. Life is good.

So many things. I'm just naming them off of the top of my head. Blessings are real and tangible, as is the Holy Spirit working in my life. It's been five years now and I'm having daily, even hourly revelations and blessings from the Lord.

If there was a piece of advice I could give, it would be to approach the Lord with a sincere repentant heart in prayer and let go of anything you are holding back. This includes sins in your life. It was only when I turned myself 180 degrees from the world and put myself fully in Him that I saw an instant change—and it hasn't let up. I have some hair-raising stories.

 

[dqhall]

This is probably more pertinent to those who have walked with the Lord for at least 3 years, with daily prayers/scripture reading etc. I'm genuinely curious about the degree of influence God can have in our lives today assuming we do what I aforementioned, as opposed to tending the spiritual life at the whim.

I firmly believe God will do something specifically great in my life one day because I asked Him about it and I've received multiple positive answers, although I had to patiently wait for them. Hearing how God has altered your lives would be a great encouragement for me as I wait - and man is it hard sometimes! - for the Lord.

I was vagrant 37 years ago. I was homeless with my possessions in a backpack walking along a rural road. I paused to look upon the charred remains of a house burned down long before I arrived. God promised God was going to lift me off the ash heap. I suffered, but eventually learned about Jesus’ mercy. God gives people jobs and tasks to do so they may have good things.

 

[DirectionSeeker]

I've been blessed my whole life. I'll use bullet points instead of long-winded paragraphs.

• I was born and raised into Christianity by a devout single mother.
• I grew up on welfare, but we were richly blessed, much to the thanks of the church.
• I was baptized at age 13. By that time I had all of the books of the Bible memorized and was quite versed on scripture.
• At age 16 I found myself floundering in belief and wanted a chance to decide for myself. I was at the age I could decide who I wanted to live with, so I moved in with my father. He was also a Christian, but didn't go to church regularly.
• God, but He blessed me with a life-long career out of high school. I was laid off twice before I got hired in as a regular employee.
• I told myself that I would search for the "truth". That's what I did in my spare time for the next thirty years.
• Whenever I would look for proof of God (always in places where God wouldn't be), I was guided by reasoned conclusion. This went on for thirty years, until I came to the proof I needed for the existence of God, which was the proof of the existence of Satan.
• I came back to Christianity at age 46 (2016). Immediately, I started to see God's influence in my life all along the way.
• All of the scriptural knowledge I thought I had lost came back.
• I started to get answers to questions through scripture, without having to look for them.
• I started to "hear" a guiding voice in my mind. It has been steady since 2016.
• A long series of so-called coincidences have happened in my life since.
• Blessings and intuition are a regular occurrence in my life and haven't ceased, but have increased.
• I have been able to get rid of all of the addictions in my life (there were so many), thanks to Jesus.
• I can name at least once in my past that I was saved from death. Another time when I saved someone else's life.
• Many of my friends noticed the change in me and I've been able to witness to them, even convert them.
• My mother fell away from the faith, after having raised her children to be devout. I was able to bring her back, which I credit to the Holy Spirit working in her through our discussions.
• I retired at age 49 from a 30 year career. I'm debt-free and living on a meager pension, which I'm perfectly happy with. Life is good.

So many things. I'm just naming them off of the top of my head. Blessings are real and tangible, as is the Holy Spirit working in my life. It's been five years now and I'm having daily, even hourly revelations and blessings from the Lord.

If there was a piece of advice I could give, it would be to approach the Lord with a sincere repentant heart in prayer and let go of anything you are holding back. This includes sins in your life. It was only when I turned myself 180 degrees from the world and put myself fully in Him that I saw an instant change—and it hasn't let up. I have some hair-raising stories.

It seems the face of the Lord has shined upon you a great deal. Could you share some of those hair-raising stories you mentioned? Also, if you don't mind naturally, could you share some concrete examples of those "revelations" you talk about? Have you for example ever asked God if x, y or z is something worth pursuing, and God replied with a yes/no?

 

[friend of]

he stopped me from being an alcoholic and saved me from schizophrenia

 

[Freth]

It seems the face of the Lord has shined upon you a great deal. Could you share some of those hair-raising stories you mentioned? Also, if you don't mind naturally, could you share some concrete examples of those "revelations" you talk about? Have you for example ever asked God if x, y or z is something worth pursuing, and God replied with a yes/no?

Saved from Death

I was in my mid-to-late twenties. I was at my father's house, working on my 1966 Plymouth Satellite. What I knew about working on cars I learned from my father and older brother. I had pulled the car up on stands so that I could get under it to pull out the drive shift. Common sense escaped me—that if I removed the drive shaft, the car would roll off of the stands. That's exactly what happened. I pulled the drive shaft out and the car rolled off of the stands with me underneath it.

This car sat low. The drive shaft was resting on my leg when the car came down on top of it. My father and brother were in the driveway next to where I was working on the car. It all happened so fast. They rushed to get me out from under the car, using a hydraulic jack to raise it.

I didn't have a scratch on me, only a large bruise where the weight of the car rested on the drive shaft on top of my leg. When I moved the car, the ground where I was had an indentation the shape of my body. While this particular story isn't supernatural in any way, I credit the fact I wasn't crushed to the fact that the Lord had other plans for me.

Saved from Death 2

A couple years ago, I was in the process of eliminating some bad habits. One of them was a caffeine addiction.

I was in the Starbucks drive-thru. I rounded the bend, in line, waiting to get up to the intercom to put in my order. I noticed some smoke rising from the landscaped area, which was covered in mulch. I assumed it was a cigarette someone had tossed out their window and was smoldering, but something wouldn't let me dismiss it as such.

I moved forward, gave my order, then pulled up next to the smoke and got out of my vehicle to have a closer look. The exact second I realized it was an underground electrical box shorting out, a young woman came out the back of Starbucks with a bucket of water to throw on the fire. I stopped her and told her it's an electrical fire. If I hadn't been there at that exact time, she may have been electrocuted.

The Right Bible

I frequent Half Price Books, because I like to collect old Christian books from the 1800's. One day I was at the store, in the Religion section, standing next to the Bible bookshelves, but looking at other Christian books.

A woman walked up and was browsing. An employee came by and asked her if she needed help. She told him she was looking for a study Bible with certain features. The employee tried for several minutes to find what she was looking for, but finally gave up and apologized; that he couldn't find it.

They were both giving up when I leaned over and pointed out a Bible that I had looked at a few minutes earlier. She picked it up and it ended up being the one she was looking for. She thanked me and left.

I don't credit myself at all, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. This happened in a matter of a few minutes after I arrived in the store, it wasn't like I was there for an extended period of time before she showed up. If I hadn't been there, she may never have purchased that Bible. These sorts of coincidences happen to me all of the time.

The Gift Returned

My mother owed me some money for a computer repair. I had bought some parts and she wanted to pay me back. She happened upon some money and paid me $100. A few days later, I decided to go to Half Price Books and see if there was anything new. I spent $25 at the store, purchasing a couple books. As I was leaving, driving through the large plaza parking lot, I noticed an elderly woman off to the side with a sign in her hand. She looked to be in her 70's, standing out in winter weather.

I drove past her, but turned around and parked. I got out and talked with her for several minutes, asking her about her situation. I ended up giving her the remaining $75. Several days later, my mother called me and said she wanted to bring over a couple grocery items she thought I would like. While we were visiting, she mentioned to me how the Lord had blessed her with a number of vouchers for food, worth upwards of $100. I relayed my story to her about the homeless person.

Not two days later, my friend asked me to help him clean out his mother's apartment (she had passed away from COVID; pre-existing health issues). During the process of helping him clean out the apartment, he gave me the whole pantry full of food. There were so many canned goods, among other things, that the weight broke my grocery cart that I was using to carry it from my vehicle to my apartment. The cans were stacked four high and I had six boxes of cereal, loads of pasta and more. Proof that the Lord blesses those who give.

Questions Answered

One occasion that stands out... I had purchased the Bible in audio format, so that I could listen to it in my vehicles. I placed it on a 256GB USB flash drive, which was nearly full of secular music as it was. Every audio Bible I looked into had audio files of complete books, not chapters. I spent hours separating the files into chapters, so that I could pick a chapter and listen to it in the car.

I always leave my car stereo on randomize for the USB drive. One of the first days after I added the audio files, I went to drive my car somewhere. On my mind was a scriptural question that I wanted answered, but was too busy at the moment running errands to stop home and pick up a Bible.

As I drove, almost like clockwork, a chapter played that answered my question. This would be the first of many such incidences. It started happening in various ways. Through a sermon video, for instance. One time a question popped in my head, I opened up the Bible and the answer was right there on the page.

Stuff like that happens all the time. I also notice regular guidance in my life. Answers that come almost as quickly as I think them. Yes, this includes yes/no answers and things like moral dilemmas, which are made clear without effort. I have also been led from one subject to the next, in succession (through various means), so that I can receive the complete picture.

Those are just a few of the many instances in my own life.

 

[Richard Mulcahy]

This is probably more pertinent to those who have walked with the Lord for at least 3 years, with daily prayers/scripture reading etc. I'm genuinely curious about the degree of influence God can have in our lives today assuming we do what I aforementioned, as opposed to tending the spiritual life at the whim.

I firmly believe God will do something specifically great in my life one day because I asked Him about it and I've received multiple positive answers, although I had to patiently wait for them. Hearing how God has altered your lives would be a great encouragement for me as I wait - and man is it hard sometimes! - for the Lord.

God has completely changed my life. 21 years ago I knelt and prayed to the Lord asking him for help to turn my life around. And that is exactly what he did.
I quit drinking alcohol three months later, I quit smoking, I was healed from debilitating anxiety, and depression.
21 years on and I have escaped debt and am now headed toward financial independence. Where I was sad and heavy-laden Jesus has made me glad. My entire worldview has changed and I see the dark, fallen world for what it is. God has opened my eyes.
If I think about all God has done for me I feel blessed and I am eternally grateful to Him because I was a wretch.
God is amazing.

 

[DirectionSeeker]

Saved from Death

I was in my mid-to-late twenties. I was at my father's house, working on my 1966 Plymouth Satellite. What I knew about working on cars I learned from my father and older brother. I had pulled the car up on stands so that I could get under it to pull out the drive shift. Common sense escaped me—that if I removed the drive shaft, the car would roll off of the stands. That's exactly what happened. I pulled the drive shaft out and the car rolled off of the stands with me underneath it. This car sat low. The drive shaft was resting on my leg when the car came down on top of it. My father and brother were in the driveway next to where I was working on the car. It all happened so fast. They rushed to get me out from under the car, using a hydraulic jack to raise it. I didn't have a scratch on me, only a large bruise where the weight of the car rested on the drive shaft on top of my leg. When I moved the car, the ground where I was had an indentation the shape of my body. While this particular story isn't supernatural in any way, I credit the fact I wasn't crushed to the fact that the Lord had other plans for me.

Saved from Death 2

A couple years ago, I was in the process of eliminating some bad habits. One of them was a caffeine addiction. I was in the Starbucks drive-thru. I rounded the bend, in line, waiting to get up to the intercom to put in my order. I noticed some smoke rising from the landscaped area, which was covered in mulch. I assumed it was a cigarette someone had tossed out their window and was smoldering, but something wouldn't let me dismiss it as such. I moved forward, gave my order, then pulled up next to the smoke and got out of my vehicle to have a closer look. The exact second I realized it was an underground electrical box shorting out, a young woman came out the back of Starbucks with a bucket of water to throw on the fire. I stopped her and told her it's an electrical fire. If I hadn't been there at that exact time, she may have been electrocuted.

The Right Bible

I frequent Half Price Books, because I like to collect old Christian books from the 1800's. One day I was at the store, in the Religion section, standing next to the Bible bookshelves, but looking at other Christian books. A woman walked up and was browsing. An employee came by and asked her if she needed help. She told Him she was looking for a study Bible with certain features. The employee tried for several minutes to find what she was looking for, but finally gave up and apologized; that he couldn't find it. They were both giving up when I leaned over and pointed out a Bible that I had looked at a few minutes earlier. She picked it up and it ended up being the one she was looking for. She thanked me and left. I don't credit myself at all, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. This happened in a matter of a few minutes after I arrived in the store, it wasn't like I was there for an extended period of time before she showed up. If I hadn't been there, she may never have purchased that Bible. These sorts of coincidences happen to me all of the time.

The Gift Returned

My mother owed me some money for a computer repair. I had bought some parts and she wanted to pay me back. She happened upon some money and paid me $100. A few days later, I decided to go to Half Price Books and see if there was anything new. I spent $25 at the store, purchasing a couple books. As I was leaving, driving through the large plaza parking lot, I noticed an elderly woman off to the side with a sign in her hand. She looked to be in her 70's, standing out in winter weather. I drove past her, but turned around and parked. I got out and talked with her for several minutes, asking her about her situation. I ended up giving her the remaining $75. Several days later, my mother called me and said she wanted to bring over a couple grocery items she thought I would like. While we were visiting, she mentioned to me how the Lord had blessed her with a number of vouchers for food, worth upwards of $100. I relayed my story to her about the homeless person. Not two days later, my friend asked me to help him clean out his mother's apartment (she had passed away from COVID; pre-existing health issues). During the process of helping him clean out the apartment, he gave me the whole pantry full of food. There were so many canned goods, among other things, that the weight broke my grocery cart that I was using to carry it from my vehicle to my apartment. The cans were stacked four high and I had six boxes of cereal, loads of pasta and more. Proof that the Lord blesses those who give.

Questions Answered

One occasion that stands out... I had purchased the Bible in audio format, so that I could listen to it in my vehicles. I placed it on a 256GB USB flash drive, which was nearly full of secular music as it was. Every audio Bible I looked into had audio files of complete books, not chapters. I spent hours separating the files into chapters, so that I could pick a chapter and listen to it in the car. I always leave my car stereo on randomize for the USB drive. One of the first days after I added the audio files, I went to drive my car somewhere. On my mind was a scriptural question that I wanted answered, but was too busy at the moment running errands to stop home and pick up a Bible. As I drove, almost like clockwork, a chapter played that answered my question. This would be the first of many such incidences. It started happening in various ways. Through a sermon video, for instance. One time a question popped in my head, I opened up the Bible and the answer was right there on the page. Stuff like that happens all the time. I also notice regular guidance in my life. Answers that come almost as quickly as I think them. Yes, this includes yes/no answers and things like moral dilemmas, which are made clear without effort. I have also been led from one subject to the next, in succession (through various means), so that I can receive the complete picture.

Those are just a few of the many instances in my own life.

Wow, thank you man! This is the sort of stuff I was looking for. God is definitely active even today. Hopefully soon I'll have my own testimonies to share here!

 

[Freth]

Wow, thank you man! This is the sort of stuff I was looking for. God is definitely active even today. Hopefully soon I'll have my own testimonies to share here!

I'm glad to share. I have no doubt you will.

 

[bèlla]

Great thread!

The most resounding truth I’ve discovered is everything has a purpose and nothing happens by mistake. My birth, family, upbringing, and all that followed was divinely authored. Seeing His fingerprints across my lifespan is very humbling.

I was born in a God-fearing Christian family. Everyone believed on both sides. The legacy of faith my parents received was priceless. We were shown the value of love, hard work, and togetherness. The family was a unit and that included everyone. Even cousins and beyond. I learned the importance of community through my family.

We were instructed to use the gifts and talents we received and not to squander them. God blessed us and we should honor Him. We were given the freedom to soar and warned against following others and compromising our principles for acceptance. They taught us how to thrive in adversity and the power of adaptability.

I didn’t know they were laying the foundation for my calling and providing the tools I’d need to stand alone and against wrong influences. But God did. He placed me in their care so they’d love and nurture me and prepare me for challenges to come. Things I’d never imagined I’d face.

He fed my spirit through priests and relatives whose hunger for the word and wisdom became my guidelines. I asked the Lord to make me wise. I was 10. I wanted to be like Solomon and Athena. I loved mythology. He granted my request.

I had an inner knowing I was meant to do something for Him. Being a nun was the only option. But He led me to the answer and freed me from the past and spiritual vexations en route.

Once He reestablished me in Him He recalibrated my mind and flesh. Removing the maladies that hindered my flight. When He finished the prognosis was healed, renewed, and restored. I was a new creation inside out.

He extracted the intellect, courage, and grit and redirected them. I’d work for Him and have a roadmap to follow. It was an unchartered path. I had no experience or expertise. But I leapt. I never hesitated or second guessed His request. I was all-in completely.

I gave Him my mind, time, passion, and resources without complaint or reservation. I worked tirelessly for years developing proficiency. Never drawing a salary. Every morsel was returned for His use.

The hunger enabled me to minister to His sheep and the lost in all echelons. From the homeless to those with means. Shifting gears was easy. He made sure I knew how. The early teachings came to fruition. I began to see His mastery.

Then He revealed my purpose. My kingdom mission for the time apportioned here. All the dreams, meditations, and childhood loves came together.

And I said oh and began to cry. He’d given me the desire of my heart as no one could. He wove it around my hopes and dreams. A holy thank you which utilized everything. Every morsel of me. It was a recognition of the losses, sacrifices, and dashed hopes. He returned them one-hundredfold.

And this joy I have.
This peace I have.
This love I have.
The world didn’t give it to me.

God did.

Yours in His Service,

~bella

 

[Freth]

Escaped Death and Long-Term Pain

Back in 1996, I owned a sport quad and used to ride it at a friend's house and a state park. One evening, after a day of riding, we were still riding around, things were wrapping up, it was getting to be dusk. A couple of my friends were on my brother's quad and started chasing me. I kicked in the throttle and whipped around the house.

I looked back to see where they were, turned back and saw a huge bush right in front of me (I hadn't been on that side of the house before). It was too late, I was going something like forty mile an hour. I braced for impact. I hit something solid, I assume a large rock under the bush, and flew over the handlebars. I landed on my hands and knees, then my quad ran me over, slamming me into the ground.

The quad twisted my ankle, despite the fact I was wearing riding boots. The frame of the quad hit me so hard my sweater had paint streaks from the frame on it. My friends were laughing at me, but I was in pain. (Funny side note, I had told a co-worker I was going quad riding over the weekend and he told me I was going to break an ankle. Imagine his surprise when I arrived to work Monday on crutches. Good laughs were had that day.) I had badly sprained my ankle.

For years after that, I had chronic ankle pain. It never healed properly. Something would always happen to inflame it again. It didn't take much.

Sometime after 2016 (my return to Christianity), I was dealing with ankle pain again. I prayed for the Lord to please heal my ankle, since by this time it had been a constant issue in my life. It wasn't immediate, but sometime a few months later, I was pain free and I have yet to have another ankle incident. I have been pain free. If I tried I could cause it injury, it's not brand new, but it is far stronger than it has ever been and it doesn't get inflamed any more.

 

[Gentle Lamb]

I've been blessed my whole life. I'll use bullet points instead of long-winded paragraphs.

• I was born and raised into Christianity by a devout single mother.
• I grew up on welfare, but we were richly blessed, much to the thanks of the church.
• I was baptized at age 13. By that time I had all of the books of the Bible memorized and was quite versed on scripture.
• At age 16 I found myself floundering in belief and wanted a chance to decide for myself. I was at the age I could decide who I wanted to live with, so I moved in with my father. He was also a Christian, but didn't go to church regularly.
• God, but He blessed me with a life-long career out of high school. I was laid off twice before I got hired in as a regular employee.
• I told myself that I would search for the "truth". That's what I did in my spare time for the next thirty years.
• Whenever I would look for proof of God (always in places where God wouldn't be), I was guided by reasoned conclusion. This went on for thirty years, until I came to the proof I needed for the existence of God, which was the proof of the existence of Satan.
• I came back to Christianity at age 46 (2016). Immediately, I started to see God's influence in my life all along the way.
• All of the scriptural knowledge I thought I had lost came back.
• I started to get answers to questions through scripture, without having to look for them.
• I started to "hear" a guiding voice in my mind. It has been steady since 2016.
• A long series of so-called coincidences have happened in my life since.
• Blessings and intuition are a regular occurrence in my life and haven't ceased, but have increased.
• I have been able to get rid of all of the addictions in my life (there were so many), thanks to Jesus.
• I can name at least once in my past that I was saved from death. Another time when I saved someone else's life.
• Many of my friends noticed the change in me and I've been able to witness to them, even convert them.
• My mother fell away from the faith, after having raised her children to be devout. I was able to bring her back, which I credit to the Holy Spirit working in her through our discussions.
• I retired at age 49 from a 30 year career. I'm debt-free and living on a meager pension, which I'm perfectly happy with. Life is good.

So many things. I'm just naming them off of the top of my head. Blessings are real and tangible, as is the Holy Spirit working in my life. It's been five years now and I'm having daily, even hourly revelations and blessings from the Lord.

If there was a piece of advice I could give, it would be to approach the Lord with a sincere repentant heart in prayer and let go of anything you are holding back. This includes sins in your life. It was only when I turned myself 180 degrees from the world and put myself fully in Him that I saw an instant change—and it hasn't let up. I have some hair-raising stories.

Your testimonies are so encouraging. Thank you for sharing, God bless you.

 

[Adversity]

This is probably more pertinent to those who have walked with the Lord for at least 3 years, with daily prayers/scripture reading etc. I'm genuinely curious about the degree of influence God can have in our lives today assuming we do what I aforementioned, as opposed to tending the spiritual life at the whim.

I firmly believe God will do something specifically great in my life one day because I asked Him about it and I've received multiple positive answers, although I had to patiently wait for them. Hearing how God has altered your lives would be a great encouragement for me as I wait - and man is it hard sometimes! - for the Lord.

Life has been filled with storm after storm for me (one of the reasons of why I'm here on this site), but at the same time there was always blessing and the assurance that God is Emmanuel and He can bring me through - if only I'd trust Him. It's even tougher when I am naturally a head rather than heart sort of person. It might have come from being raised by very "sola scriptura" type Anglicans (not really bad thing) and an upbringing with a strong focus on education, which attracted certain peers and then college and job choices (not a lot of Christian influences among finance/silicon valley types). It made it very hard to see the supernatural in things - but at the same time it also made my faith immune from emotional highs and lows. However, I sometimes wished I was more "spiritual" and able to experience some sort of tangible presence and power. I feel that I do sometimes, but faintly.

Then there was one experience that blew everything out of the water. It happened when I was at friends and family gathering. There was a pastor and we asked him to pray over the food before we dug in. Pretty routine occasion so far. The pastor casually asked if anyone needed healing before praying over the food. A distant aunt of mine who was from another faith said "Well why not?", citing she had a sore leg that day. He began praying after asking her to repeat after him, being probably unaware that she was of another faith. She actually didn't mind, and then - he ended the prayer along the lines of "Jesus, you are my Lord and Saviour. Salvation and healing only comes through you."

Silence from my aunt. Her hands were clasped and her eyes were still closed.

She was silent because she wasn't Christian and at the same time she didn't object. How respectful! I thought. Then the pastor repeated it again. And again. And again. Silence.

"Unclasp your hands." The pastor said to her. But why? I was confused at that moment, because I was seated right in front of her.

"Unclasp your hands." My aunt didn't budge. This was getting really odd. I mean, I expected my aunt to stand up any moment to tell him how disrespectful he was being and that she wanted nothing to do with Christianity, but that was when I realized she was not in control of her own body anymore.

"Everyone, pray in tongues." The pastor ordered.

"Unclasp your hands."

Although her eyes were still closed, my aunt was starting to unclasp her hands, finger by finger. It was very interesting.

"You" He pointed to me, since I was the closest to her. "Open up the bible and claim Philippians 2:9-11." This was the Psalm:

Therefore God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father

I repeated this verse aloud and that was when my aunt, eyes still closed, shifted into a weird stance. Her legs adjusted to a cross-legged position with her hands were pressed firmly together in front of her chest in a praying position, elbows out at the sides.

"Again" Said the pastor.

And that was when her eyes flew open. Still seated in that stance, she started shouting in a language that sounded like Thai which was puzzling. My aunt has never been to Thailand. Maybe it wasn't Thai but it certainly wasn't any known language in our country. She pointed to herself and said some name, which I assume is the name of the entity manifesting itself. I repeated that verse again. And the pastor proclaimed loudly: Jesus is Lord! But she kept wagging her finger, still pointing to herself and shouting that name. But then she also seemed intimidated by being surrounded by us. There was fear on her face. She closed her eyes again and inverted her cross legged stance. Her eyes opened again, and she pointed to herself, and said a different name (I purposely do not want to recall it, but it started with M).

Then she stood up and walked. At this point, the hairs on the back of my head, arms, legs, everywhere were all in attention. She started scolding us in that language, and pointed to 7 people in the room, the only Christians there and shouting her name. We refused to repeat it and just followed the pastor's response by saying "Jesus is Lord!" each time she pointed at one of us. Then, as if having a revelation, she realize that we couldn't understand what she was raving about. So she started signing. She pointed to herself, and started to make her hands the shape of a pagoda. All the while, I was trying to think of some medical explanation, but the sentience behind this manifestation was too much for me to deny what this actually was.

Since the Christians did not respond, she turned to her dad, who was not a believer and demanded that he repeat that second name. However, through the coaxing of the Christians he refused. She then blacked out and crumpled to the floor (I'm not sure if the entities lost power because no one acknowledged their lordship). We shifted her to a comfortable position and she woke in fear 10 minutes later, not remembering anything and not knowing why she was afraid.

One of my atheist uncles became a Christian that day. He was freaked out by the whole episode and could not reconcile it to any logical explanation, and felt he clearly had to "choose a side, since they existed". I could never question whether the supernatural existed after that day, no matter how much I've been through. I also realized that my mum had zero fear despite being in a situation right out of a Van Helsing movie. When the entity was confronting everyone, she did not dare look my mum in the eye.

Today, I am no longer hopeless when it comes to engaging the "spiritual". From time to time, I do hear from God the words he has for others. It does not come in an audible voice. I just "feel" that something is surging inside me, and I then say what I think should be said to people. After which, they will respond with "Wait, how did you know?" or "Now that was accurate". That's how I know that God was speaking through me. I hope this was an encouragement to you, brother/sister in Christ.

 

[Gentle Lamb]

Life has been filled with storm after storm for me (one of the reasons of why I'm here on this site), but at the same time there was always blessing and the assurance that God is Emmanuel and He can bring me through - if only I'd trust Him. It's even tougher when I am naturally a head rather than heart sort of person. It might have come from being raised by very "sola scriptura" type Anglicans (not really bad thing) and an upbringing with a strong focus on education, which attracted certain peers and then college and job choices (not a lot of Christian influences among finance/silicon valley types). It made it very hard to see the supernatural in things - but at the same time it also made my faith immune from emotional highs and lows. However, I sometimes wished I was more "spiritual" and able to experience some sort of tangible presence and power. I feel that I do sometimes, but faintly.

Then there was one experience that blew everything out of the water. It happened when I was at friends and family gathering. There was a pastor and we asked him to pray over the food before we dug in. Pretty routine occasion so far. The pastor casually asked if anyone needed healing before praying over the food. A distant aunt of mine who was from another faith said "Well why not?", citing she had a sore leg that day. He began praying after asking her to repeat after him, being probably unaware that she was of another faith. She actually didn't mind, and then - he ended the prayer along the lines of "Jesus, you are my Lord and Saviour. Salvation and healing only comes through you."

Silence from my aunt. Her hands were clasped and her eyes were still closed.

She was silent because she wasn't Christian and at the same time she didn't object. How respectful! I thought. Then the pastor repeated it again. And again. And again. Silence.

"Unclasp your hands." The pastor said to her. But why? I was confused at that moment, because I was seated right in front of her.

"Unclasp your hands." My aunt didn't budge. This was getting really odd. I mean, I expected my aunt to stand up any moment to tell him how disrespectful he was being and that she wanted nothing to do with Christianity, but that was when I realized she was not in control of her own body anymore.

"Everyone, pray in tongues." The pastor ordered.

"Unclasp your hands."

Although her eyes were still closed, my aunt was starting to unclasp her hands, finger by finger. It was very interesting.

"You" He pointed to me, since I was the closest to her. "Open up the bible and claim Philippians 2:9-11." This was the Psalm:



I repeated this verse aloud and that was when my aunt, eyes still closed, shifted into a weird stance. Her legs adjusted to a cross-legged position with her hands were pressed firmly together in front of her chest in a praying position, elbows out at the sides.

"Again" Said the pastor.

And that was when her eyes flew open. Still seated in that stance, she started shouting in a language that sounded like Thai which was puzzling. My aunt has never been to Thailand. Maybe it wasn't Thai but it certainly wasn't any known language in our country. She pointed to herself and said some name, which I assume is the name of the entity manifesting itself. I repeated that verse again. And the pastor proclaimed loudly: Jesus is Lord! But she kept wagging her finger, still pointing to herself and shouting that name. But then she also seemed intimidated by being surrounded by us. There was fear on her face. She closed her eyes again and inverted her cross legged stance. Her eyes opened again, and she pointed to herself, and said a different name (I purposely do not want to recall it, but it started with M).

Then she stood up and walked. At this point, the hairs on the back of my head, arms, legs, everywhere were all in attention. She started scolding us in that language, and pointed to 7 people in the room, the only Christians there and shouting her name. We refused to repeat it and just followed the pastor's response by saying "Jesus is Lord!" each time she pointed at one of us. Then, as if having a revelation, she realize that we couldn't understand what she was raving about. So she started signing. She pointed to herself, and started to make her hands the shape of a pagoda. All the while, I was trying to think of some medical explanation, but the sentience behind this manifestation was too much for me to deny what this actually was.

Since the Christians did not respond, she turned to her dad, who was not a believer and demanded that he repeat that second name. However, through the coaxing of the Christians he refused. She then blacked out and crumpled to the floor (I'm not sure if the entities lost power because no one acknowledged their lordship). We shifted her to a comfortable position and she woke in fear 10 minutes later, not remembering anything and not knowing why she was afraid.

One of my atheist uncles became a Christian that day. He was freaked out by the whole episode and could not reconcile it to any logical explanation, and felt he clearly had to "choose a side, since they existed". I could never question whether the supernatural existed after that day, no matter how much I've been through. I also realized that my mum had zero fear despite being in a situation right out of a Van Helsing movie. When the entity was confronting everyone, she did not dare look my mum in the eye.

Today, I am no longer hopeless when it comes to engaging the "spiritual". From time to time, I do hear from God the words he has for others. It does not come in an audible voice. I just "feel" that something is surging inside me, and I then say what I think should be said to people. After which, they will respond with "Wait, how did you know?" or "Now that was accurate". That's how I know that God was speaking through me. I hope this was an encouragement to you, brother/sister in Christ.

What a mighty testimony. Jesus is Lord!!!!!

 

[Chrystal-J]

I grew up with mostly atheists. But, God was always calling me--even from an early age I could feel His presence. I would have dreams where I would get biblical-type messages. Such as dreaming that I was walking across a white room to a table. On the the table was a piece of paper. I picked it up and it said "He is Alive!". I've continued to have dreams that pointed me toward Christ--even to this day. In one, Jesus Himself spoke to me about an acquaintance who was having major issues. He didn't tell me what they were, but told me to "offer up my sufferings" for this individual. When I told the man about what happened in my dream, he was taken aback. He said that he'd been suffering greatly, but that it had recently stopped--on the day that I suffered for him. I praise God for that miracle.
Having mainly atheists relatives has been hard. I don't understand why they're so blind to the Truth. I pray for them often and hope that they turn away from their unbelief. That's probably one of the most trying situations in my life. Not only do they not believe, they're hostile to the Faith, sad.

 

[ripple the car]

This is probably more pertinent to those who have walked with the Lord for at least 3 years, with daily prayers/scripture reading etc. I'm genuinely curious about the degree of influence God can have in our lives today assuming we do what I aforementioned, as opposed to tending the spiritual life at the whim.

I firmly believe God will do something specifically great in my life one day because I asked Him about it and I've received multiple positive answers, although I had to patiently wait for them. Hearing how God has altered your lives would be a great encouragement for me as I wait - and man is it hard sometimes! - for the Lord.

He has given me friendship, graces, help, protection, miracles, strength, and insights which are helpful and practical.