This post is part of a series on approaches to developing your awareness of the Holy Spirit.

Summary

Imagine a safe place, and then, in your mind’s eye, locate yourself, then Jesus, in that place.

Details

1. The place – This could be a place from your childhood, a vacation spot – anywhere you feel or felt secure. One of our forum contributors meets his grandpa in his workshop.
2. Locate yourself in the place – Before you meet Jesus, start with someone you’re more familiar with: you.  Ask yourself: Where am I in this space? What am I doing? Why? The answers will sometimes yield insights into what’s going on for you (spiritually, psychologically…).  At other times, they’ll simply get your imagination working.

3. Next, ask yourself, where is Jesus? What is He doing? Why? Although it may sound odd at first, you’ll inevitably be able to imagine Him – somewhere. After all, it’s what your imagination is for: Imagining things. But here’s the peculiar thing: You may find yourself imagining him somewhere or doing something you didn’t expect.

And sometimes, this is where the work begins.  For example:

• A clash – There may be a clash between what we as Christians know about Jesus and what you see. I’ve seen Jesus as weak, tyrannical, or inflated like a huge balloon. I’ve even seen Jesus be inappropriate with me. One day I saw a prince with his crown askew. It wasn’t until writing it in this blog and reflecting on it later that I recognized this was merely symbolic of how I felt about him. If what you see doesn’t match the biblical Jesus, Spirit probably wants to address a lie you’re believing about Jesus right now.  If this happens, ask the Spirit to show you the real Jesus.
• An unexpected, true emphasis– On the other hand, you may see Jesus in a form that puts a magnifying glass on an aspect of his true nature, one that’s important for you to acknowledge at this point in your life. I’ve seen Him exceptionally loving, taking risks fearlessly, or simply asking if He could take over the tiller of the sailboat we were in. In the case of the prince with his crown askew, it was after journaling about it that I then saw Jesus as superhuman, sovereign over my troubles.

4. Try to get closer: Next, you want to get closer to Jesus. In your imagination, try to move closer to him. Until you’re next to him.

Again, how this plays out in your mind can be telling. At times, I’ve found I’m unable to get closer, no matter how hard I try. At other times, I’ve found myself beside Him without knowing how I got there.

If it’s difficult to picture yourself getting closer to Jesus, ask yourself why that might be.  Perhaps there’s a way in which you believe you can’t be close to Him: Perhaps there’s something you need to acknowledge or accept. You find that when you admit it, the struggle is over and you’re beside Him. At other times, getting creative with the picture can help.  Try asking Him to help you come to Him.

5. How is He feeling? Assuming you eventually make it to Jesus, imagine looking into His face. Ask yourself how He’s feeling. You wouldn’t think it, but at this point, you instinctively know how Jesus is feeling. And, when you consider the matter, you know why He is feeling that way.

Again, your answers to these questions can help you understand how He’s reacting to you, or the world around you.

6. What else does Jesus have for you? Sometimes Jesus wants to take you somewhere, give you a gift, or a hug.  Let Jesus do whatever he wants in this space.

 

Advantages, Disadvantages and a Modification

Advantages

• It can help you discover more about how you really feel about Jesus
• It can be a vehicle for God to speak to you in fresh, compelling ways

Disadvantages

• Due to the fact that there’s so much flexibility, interpreting what you’re seeing can be confusing, especially the first few times or if you don’t really know who Jesus really is

Modification

• Get a helper who to guide you through the steps, and help you interpret what you’re seeing. The best helpers let you talk for 85 % of the time,  and when they do talk, 90% of what they say are questions. This allows the content to come from you but keeps you on task so you can experience the revelation and determine a useful interpretation for yourself. People trained in Immanuel Prayer use this approach. You can request Immanuel Prayer on our request for coaching page.

Resources

A big thanks to Brad Jersak, author and university lecturer, who has significantly advanced the church’s grasp of this approach, with his book, Can You Hear Me? Tuning Into the God Who Speaks