Kingdom of God in a mountainside village

Praying with people in a village yesterday, I experienced such an encounter with the presence of Jesus that I will never forget, and I know it has changed me.

The people have such a deep faith and trust of God, because they know how much they need Him. Here I was, praying for them. And yet their faith invited an encounter that changed me.

I was given this week off from school to come on this trip. Yet the Lord has me in His school, teaching me to pray and live in a new way.

We were in a village of makeshift homes on the side of a mountain. The homes have dirt floors, with metal pieces for walls and roof. The people moved there from three days' walk away, and they don't know when they might need to uproot. Many of the folks work in the fields nearby, and others work farther along the highway.

We had never served in this village before. The people welcomed us warmly and made us feel comfortable as we set up our mission areas: medical, children's VBS, food and clothing, and prayer. The people were expectant, knowing God is who they need, and knowing He is their help and strength.

They asked for prayer for basic needs, for work, for family, for provision. We prayed for healing of stomachs, ears, eyes, throats, coughs, epilepsy, diabetes. One woman asked for healing after being hit, as a pedestrian, by a motorcycle. She knew God is her Healer, and He was healing her, and He protected her during the accident. A little girl asked us to pray with her for her daddy, who has to work in the United States to support their family.

The local pastor was leading prayer, and the team of 5-7 folks from the local church and I prayed out loud but softly as he led prayer. I prayed mostly in the spirit, sometimes with a few English words whenever I felt led to speak words of healing. I cannot speak the language, and I am not leading the sessions, so I don't need to be alert to many things. I can simply be present with the Lord, and watch Him.

As one woman sat down, I felt the presence of the Lord move in, with an intensity I had not experienced before. Possessive (in a good way) is the best way I can describe it. I could see the Lord as clearly as I ever have, and I could hear His heart: "She is Mine." The love I felt from Him toward her is indescribable. It took my breath away and all I could do was weep.

Jesus was so big. So consuming. So ... Love. So focused on this beautiful daughter of His. His presence filled the tent. His heart burst at the seams. In an instant I felt a deeper sense of who He is than I have ever known. I felt His power. His wisdom. His peace. His utter control of everything. I felt what He is able to do, and it was beyond imagining.

His presence changed everyone and everything in the room. Jesus is here, and His presence is all we need.

"Focus on Me," I felt Him say. "Focus on Me and all of heaven opens around you."

My prayers changed. My prayers became a response to His presence. As I let Him consume me with His presence, suddenly words came, for the woman. The words came from His heart for her, and with an intensity and boldness I've never felt before. He knew what He wanted for her, and He would move mountains to fulfill His plans for her.

What I would have prayed for her needs were so small in comparison with what He wanted. What His heart desires for her trumps everything. And He takes care of everything.

I had started to become so tired to that point. After that encounter, and praying differently, I felt so revived.

Jesus' heart spoke of one person belonging in His family.

He spoke of another person drawing closer to Him - closer, closer, closer is what He wanted.

For another, He desired for her to expect everything He is to be hers.

Things I wouldn't know to pray without focusing on His heart. Things way beyond what the person might dream to ask for in prayer.

Some of those prayers might be a deep, unspoken longing of that person's heart, and the person might not even know. Others, desires for that person's life beyond anything that person might have expected.

This continued quite a while, and then the Lord prompted me to walk the grounds of the village and pray. I could see Him everywhere, more alive than I've ever known. On that remote hillside, among those makeshift homes, I didn't just glimpse the kingdom of God. It was alive all around me.

The Lord's presence shook me to the core. We had felt a mild earth tremor that morning, on the heels of a fierce lightning storm in the night, and I knew the Holy Spirit would move in power. But this was beyond anything I could have expected. The Holy Spirit rearranged me from the inside out, more profoundly than lightning or earth tremor ever could have.

This encounter came as such a gift, in one of the most desert seasons of my life. The Lord took me to a place where I would not be distracted or focused on anything but Him, and He shook me to the core.

The invitation was not just for a week in Guatemala. It is a lifetime invitation of surrender, of presence, of focus on the Lord. The place has no bearing, because the kingdom of God is everywhere. Jesus told us the kingdom of God is already here, among us.

Through this encounter, the Lord reminded me that any of us has barely scratched the surface of who He is. There is so much more of Him to know ... to love ... to be known and loved. It is an invitation to fall deeply in love with Him, and keep falling more deeply into His heart. It's the best kind of fall, into a bottomless well of love beyond imagining.

As I move in prayer where God leads me, whatever I pray for others needs to come straight from His heart. As I move through my day, every breath must come from His desires for me.

He has got to be everything.

He is everything.

Love from Guatemala - Janet Eriksson

"Nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." - Luke 17:21