“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will make Our abode with him.” (Jn. 14:23 NASV)
If you are like me, you hunger for fellowship with God. This aspect of my Christian walk improved dramatically when I chose to obey the Lord concerning an issue He was dealing with me about. As Jesus tells us in the verse above, communion begins with obedience. Not obedience to religious traditions, or the type that results from fear, but that which is based on love. As a young believer, I was struggling with overcoming the smoking habit. I wanted to quit but my commitment was weak, and my motive was wrong. I was trying to meet the expectations of others. Although it was the Lord that was talking to me about this area of my life, I was not discerning His voice. It was not until I clearly heard His rebuke that I became committed to overcome this habit.
Even with the desire to obey, I still needed His help, so I asked for a word to help my faith. The spiritual understanding that came with the following Scripture supplied what was needed. “Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings; for it is well that the heart be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited their adherents.” (Heb. 13:9 RSV). Of course, the context of this verse was not about smoking, but the message to me was clear. Rather than fighting the cravings with human willpower, I was to replace it with grace. To help with this, I decided to fast food for a few days. Every time a craving came, I asked for grace, and the Holy Spirit would strengthen me in the inner man (Eph. 3:16). As a result, my sensitivity to His presence increased. From then on, there was no way I would allow anything but His grace to strengthen my heart. When you drink the water of life that Jesus gives, you do not want anything else (Jn. 4:14).
With this increase in spiritual sensitivity came a desire to spend more time in His presence. This led me to read books on communion with God. My entire focus in prayer changed. Every moment I could, I would spend time communing with God. I learned to first talk to God about the things I wanted help with. The Spirit would then instruct me on how to pray effectively for those situations. With the knowledge of His will, I could more easily pray in faith. And, because of the presence of the Greater One in me, I could more effectively exercise spiritual authority.
Despite these experiences, there are still times when my spiritual passion would wane. It is easy to get too busy to pursue God. That is why we must purpose to set our minds on things above, not on things that are on the earth (Col. 3:2,3). There are many Biblical illustrations we can use to commune with God. For example, by meditation on our union with God (Jn. 17:21), we can shift our thoughts from the natural to the spiritual. We can also imagine opening the door of our heart to God so He can dine with us (Rev. 3:20). I often use my imagination to begin my time of fellowship. I find that the Holy Spirit uses this to bring me into fellowship with the Father and the Son. I do not try to create the experience; I merely use a Biblical image in prayerful meditation, to open the conversation.
As every believer’s function is different in the Body of Christ, our experiences will be different as we commune with God in the Spirit. Our sensitivity to spiritual things depends on our function (or motivation) gift, and the proportion of our faith (Rom. 12:6-8). Since my gift is teaching, my experience will be different than someone with a prophetic gift. Spiritual experiences are important, but even more important is how we respond to them. “But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2Cor. 3:18). This transformation does not occur simply because we are exposed to God’s glory. It is obedience to His words that bring change. As we spend time in His presence, however, we receive the motivation and the ability to obey His words. “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Phil. 2:13).
At first, when I commune with God, I am blanketed by a peace which removes all anxious thoughts (Isa. 26:3). Then, as the peace of God guards my thoughts, I come into union with the mind of Christ. (Phil. 4:7; 1Cor. 2:16). The Holy Spirit may bring to my remembrance some things that Christ has previously spoken to me, or He may bring a new message. While I ponder His words, I receive spiritual understanding which will helps me to bear fruit (Matt. 13:23). As I continue to experience “times of refreshing” from the presence of the Lord (Acts 3:19), I am strengthened with grace to be a doer of the word (Jas. 1:22).
In God’s presence, we become “rooted and grounded in love” (Eph. 3:17). We come to know the love of Christ, which causes us to “be filled up to all the fulness of God (Eph. 3:19). We no longer feel a need to earn God’s approval by our works, because “we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us” (1Jn. 4:16). As we behold Him, we become like Him. We become partakers of His divine nature (2Pe. 1:4) and walk in love as He is love.
Highway in the Wilderness 