My (new) friend Jesus

Worship and praise are important to me. Exalting the God who is our Creator as well as our Saviour. But He also wants to be a wonderful friend. This encounter occurred fifty-something years ago when I was a young Christian.


Not long after I became a Christian, I spent a few months in a little community where we were given a crash course in Christian living. Some of it was more formal than the things I already knew, with my own beginnings of a 'walk with God', but I found some of the teaching helpful.


                         Fietzfotos


One day we were out on the community’s farm.

‘Now, I want you all to separate. Go and sit somewhere nice and pray,’ the leader told us. I chose a grassy patch beside a fence post and sat there, ready to pray. As a young Christian, having grown up in a godless family and then been involved in the arty scene in Sydney, I had no idea how to pray. When I became a Christian, Brisbane was enjoying the charismatic renewal, where the key features were joy and praise. Even some healing miracles. So I tended to approach God with a sense of awe or excitement, praising Him. My daily struggles and any issues on my mind would flee as I approached Jesus.

That day on the farm I had been feeling very ‘down’, so I swept those negative feelings aside as I began to pray. I gazed at the green, cushiony grass, wondering how to express something I really felt.

Birds twittered. Cicadas shrilled in the hot sun. My eyes feasted on acres of green stretching around me. Peace was everywhere except inside me, where turmoil raged over a few relationships in the community. I focussed on the acres of green and began a few tentative words to God.

Suddenly the green faded and the birdsong dimmed. Something – someone! – stood beside me, emanating powerful love and peace. Tears sprang to my eyes. It was Jesus! I stopped trying to pray and soaked in His wonderful presence. Then He surprised me.

‘Just be yourself, your whole self, when you come into my presence,’ He told me. (I’d figured He already knew what I was feeling and had no desire to hear about it again from me.) He continued, ‘I want to hear it all – the hurts, any bitterness, I want you to share it all with Me.’

Tears streamed down my face as I began to tell Him about the unfairness I felt I was receiving from a few people. They were not very charismatically inclined – but charismatic gifts were what I’d encountered and received as a brand new Christian. I poured it all out. Then, as I sat there beside the old fence post, a little miracle occurred: the pain inside me began to melt away as His presence touched the hurting areas. Spontaneous worship rose from my spirit. Peace filled me.

The biggest miracle from that encounter was that I found I had an ongoing close relationship with Him. I could tell Him anything and everything! He was my God but also my dearest friend. Yes, He already knew the things weighing on my mind– but He wanted to hear it all from me! To share it. We had a close, loving relationship from that day. Fifty-something years later, we still have that close friendship.

Thank you, Jesus!

We all have our own ways of praying. I’d love you to tell me about yours.








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