Surprise Visits from Jesus
Unsought and uninvited, Jesus will bring a word of peace into your heart even during times of stress and haste. Time spent alone with Jesus will open ongoing communication with Him, enabling Him to send messages to your heart when you least expect them. You will gladly recognize these messages as His, and they will sustain, strengthen and bring joy to your heart.
The Abiding Presence of Jesus
Our hearts are too often like Bethlehem. Great crowds move through them, and there is “no room for Jesus in the inn.” But time spent alone with Jesus in the secret place prepares a place of lodging for the Lord.
Listen to this promise beginning in John 14:21, “…and I will love him, and manifest Myself to him…and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him” (John 14:21, 23, KJV).
Notice the progression in this verse. First, Jesus promises to love. Yet because you cannot always see or feel that love, Jesus then promises to manifest Himself to you in a way that will enable you to experience direct contact with Him.
Even after you’ve had a good glimpse of His character, God may yet remain distant. So Jesus promises still more—that God the Father and He will come to you. And, if that’s not enough, They promise to make Their abode with you.
God isn’t coming to visit, the Lord is coming to stay. More than an occasional visitor; God wants to be a permanent resident in you.
Originally published in “Come Up Higher” newsletter volume 3, number 6 June 1997
This series on persistent prayer continues next week.