'Those who know their God, will be strong and do exploits!' (Daniel 11.32)
I know Jesus is alive – I talked to Him this morning! The reality of our relationship with Christ is not in repeating prayers and phrases, it’s KNOWING Him. I talk to Him, He talks to me!
If God is going to give you a real spiritual experience, to deal with you personally, He will do something unusual. So often we want what other people have, to copy their experience with God. However, in my relationship with Him, I have never wanted what somebody else had. I wanted something unique: I only want what God has for me personally!
It may surprise you when I say that I do not want what you have, I want what God has. I do not want to be like other people, I don’t want to preach like other people, I want to be different. I want to be God’s man. If you understand this, your life can be changed – it will never be the same again.
Nothing is achieved without prayer. In the school, every morning at Assembly, we used to sing a hymn, then there was a reading from the Bible, and then we all had to repeat the ‘Our Father’. I could not repeat those words with the others, because the boys around me did not pray with their hearts, the words meant nothing to them, it was just a meaningless repetition, they blasphemed, using other words, because they did not know God. But I have wanted all my life to understand the power of prayer which will be answered. Anyone can pray. In a crisis, even unbelievers will pray and cry out for deliverance. It is easy to cry for help. But it is more difficult to establish a relationship with God in prayer. The disciples asked Jesus, ‘Lord, teach us how to pray!’ That is what I have asked all my life! – And I am still learning.
The more I read the Bible, the more convinced I am that the most important thing after our salvation, is our relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s not just our worship, not the length of our prayers, nor how much we read the Bible, it is the FAITH we have in Him, how much we TRUST Him! That is the only thing that clearly, unmistakably marks our relationship with Jesus Christ.
Even in a human setting, trust is one of the most important defining factors in the relationships which we have with other people. In business, how can we deal with people we don’t trust? In the marriage partnership, how long does it last when there is no trust between husband and wife? In fact, lack of trust will undermine even the greatest love between people. Faith in God is TRUST. Do you trust Him? Do you believe Him? Yes, if you love God enough you will trust Him whatever happens – in every trial and temptation, in sickness and in health, in poverty or in wealth – the list is endless, because He can never betray your trust! Only the life you live, your words and your actions, will show how much you trust, and love Him!
We can all have this relationship with God. If you are sick, or crippled, in despair, alone, whoever you are, wherever you are – God WILL hear you, God will answer your prayer. The miracle of my release from a communist prison in 1973 (for Bible smuggling) was so big, because of the media publicity, it changed my life. I was asked to travel all over the world, people wanted to know my story, because I have a God who answers prayer. – I know how to worship Him, how to praise Him. I have never been the same because of that experience. It’s not about religion, it’s not about ceremony – in that prison I found a new reality, a new relationship with Him. I know my God is alive, every day, every morning I get out of bed, Jesus is alive, Good Morning, Jesus!