One Place I Always Experience God
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Photo by ekaterina krusanova via unsplash
There’s a scene in Anne of Green Gables where Marilla, Anne’s caregiver, is teaching her to say her evening prayers.
Trying to understand what is essentially a foreign concept to her, Anne says, “Why must people kneel down to pray? If I really wanted to pray I’ll tell you what I'd do. I'd go out into a great big field all alone or in the deep, deep woods and I'd look up into the sky—up—up—up—into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness. And then I'd just feel a prayer.”
If I was to define prayer, I would say that it generally does include words (though I don’t think kneeling is necessary!). It is, in essence, simply talking with God and is usually more than a feeling.
But still, Anne’s words really resonate with me.
They remind me of when I started spending more time outdoors and in the woods as an adult. I would go into the woods thinking I was going for a “prayer walk.” And though I sometimes did articulate thoughts, requests, and thanks to God, it wasn’t often on those walks that I heard God necessarily “speak” a specific response to what I said.
To be honest, this puzzled me. I’d expected to experience something more dramatic during my prayer times in the woods. Not that I expected to hear an audible voice, but I did hope to experience some sense of reciprocal communication between God and myself—something involving words of some kind.
However, while I didn’t often hear God “say” anything, there was something I did experience. Pretty much always, especially when I took the time to sit in the woods and just quietly be, I would feel God.
SPIRIT-TO-SPIRIT COMMUNION
It took me a while, but eventually, I came to realize that simply sitting in God’s presence, my spirit wordlessly communing with His, is just as important and powerful as hearing from God.
It’s not that different from a human relationship. Sometimes you experience just as much closeness while quietly sitting together watching the sunset as you do when you’re deep in conversation. Of course, both types of interaction matter. There would be something big missing from our relationships with others and with God if we never spoke to each other.
But in our noisy, word-heavy culture, I think it’s easy to miss out on the richness of quietly being together—of communing, even then there’s no direct communication happening.
MY ULTIMATE PURPOSE
Lately, I’ve been thinking about my quiet times in the woods with God because, for whatever reason, I haven’t been spending as much time there in recent months. Yet I know it’s one place almost without exception where I can encounter God in a tangible way.
And isn’t that my ultimate purpose?
To enjoy a love relationship with my Creator? To not just know about Him but to experience Him?
So I’m planning to make a little extra effort to get myself back out into the woods—a place where I can feel God and bask in His presence. A place my soul can be mended and the weight of life lifted, even if just for a few minutes. A place I feel peace.
TIME IN GOD’S PRESENCE
Where do you experience God, my friend?
Do you, like me and Anne of Green Gables, feel God in the outdoors—in big open fields or in stands of birch trees?
Do you feel Him while you’re molding clay or painting in your studio?
When you're in your garage building things with wood?
When you’re in a greenhouse sinking seeds into rich, fragrant soil?
Wherever it is, I encourage you to make time to spend with God in that place. After all, when you’re enjoying God’s presence, you are fulling your ultimate purpose!
And it’s these times of intimate communion that birth all the strength, courage, and inspiration we need to do all of the other things God has called us to do during our stay on Earth.
Today, whether words are involved or not, I pray that you encounter God in a fresh, new way!
As always, you are in my thoughts and prayers, and I’d love to hear from you! You can contact me here or through the comment section below.
In purpose and faith,
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