"You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You"
so St Augustine said once.. and was used to describe how God fills the gap in our lives in my Alpha away day I attended this weekend. Certainly since I rediscovered God, or should I say, He brought Himself to my attention, there is a fulfilment that is unparalleled, and a protection and comfort. It has cemented everything for me, the final renovation of my person who is happy and rounded and content.
I recall one time recently when I was using my PC, and I felt something say from nowhere "Talk To me Louise" and so I did, but not in English, in a different tongue, something which seems to be growing in maturity and vocabulary recently. After which point, I felt the atmosphere grow heavy in my room and a consciousness to be present and for around a day following talking in this was, I felt like I was being closeted and protected within a big feathery duvet... It was a lovely feeling...
Anyway, back to Alpha. The first bit was a lot of speeches and coffee and it was good to hear that I was not alone in hearing the calls of God telling someone they loved them continually, and other stories included:
One gentleman told of how he had received an impression that he should pass by to see a friend, and turned up just when they were about to leave for an emergency and had been wanting someone to pray with... he had also earlier that week described how he had been jogging in the dark on his own on a campus full of worship for God and been told ( what he thought was quite audibly) to kneel, which he did, slightly baffled and and when he got up he felt a wire clothes line scrape the back of his neck which he would have run into
One of the Church staff recalled how he had healed someones back who had thought they would never work again and how he had been told to pray for someone, at the exact time of an accident they had had in a different country.
One lady told of how she had been on a previous alpha, and how she had given a woman with very cold hands a pair of gloves, and when later that woman placed her hand on her shoulder heat just shot through her body but when she felt the womans hands they were still really cold.
It always helps to have personally experienced such things, as it can be challenging to have faith in the unseen, and some people were quick to point out "I have never experienced anything like this" - and so one feels tremendously grateful that God has imparted such tangible experiences and to which one lady responded to this to "Expect nothing" and I thinks it helps to think like this - as when God does impact to you a tangible experience it is unexpected and all the more joyful for it.
Reinhard Bonnke who puts things so succinctly and well recently posted on Facebook "God is not a radio to be turned on at will" and I feel this is so true.
At the end of the session, which was in a beautiful village called Ardington, which has a lovely post office and bistro with what looks like a fabulous menu ( sorry I had to add that bit in because great menus inspire me!) there was prayer and people were 'prayed for' - I was happy to be sat where I was and I prayed in tongues, but this time unlike the hurried fashion of before ( where I almost didn't want to hear what I was saying in case because the experience was strange at me and I was worried that if i slowed down I might think I sounded a but nuts - :o)) I settled into it this time, and the sound, the depth and variety of what I had to say had become more rounded, and sounded much more mature and I was no longer afraid of hearing it which was, a positive step in the right direction.
More importantly I sat next to one woman who was in tears and had been greatly touched by her experience. I didn't know her but I was happy that she had been so profoundly touched and made sure she was ok, before saying my goodbyes and toddling on home...
I recall one time recently when I was using my PC, and I felt something say from nowhere "Talk To me Louise" and so I did, but not in English, in a different tongue, something which seems to be growing in maturity and vocabulary recently. After which point, I felt the atmosphere grow heavy in my room and a consciousness to be present and for around a day following talking in this was, I felt like I was being closeted and protected within a big feathery duvet... It was a lovely feeling...
Anyway, back to Alpha. The first bit was a lot of speeches and coffee and it was good to hear that I was not alone in hearing the calls of God telling someone they loved them continually, and other stories included:
One gentleman told of how he had received an impression that he should pass by to see a friend, and turned up just when they were about to leave for an emergency and had been wanting someone to pray with... he had also earlier that week described how he had been jogging in the dark on his own on a campus full of worship for God and been told ( what he thought was quite audibly) to kneel, which he did, slightly baffled and and when he got up he felt a wire clothes line scrape the back of his neck which he would have run into
One of the Church staff recalled how he had healed someones back who had thought they would never work again and how he had been told to pray for someone, at the exact time of an accident they had had in a different country.
One lady told of how she had been on a previous alpha, and how she had given a woman with very cold hands a pair of gloves, and when later that woman placed her hand on her shoulder heat just shot through her body but when she felt the womans hands they were still really cold.
It always helps to have personally experienced such things, as it can be challenging to have faith in the unseen, and some people were quick to point out "I have never experienced anything like this" - and so one feels tremendously grateful that God has imparted such tangible experiences and to which one lady responded to this to "Expect nothing" and I thinks it helps to think like this - as when God does impact to you a tangible experience it is unexpected and all the more joyful for it.
Reinhard Bonnke who puts things so succinctly and well recently posted on Facebook "God is not a radio to be turned on at will" and I feel this is so true.
At the end of the session, which was in a beautiful village called Ardington, which has a lovely post office and bistro with what looks like a fabulous menu ( sorry I had to add that bit in because great menus inspire me!) there was prayer and people were 'prayed for' - I was happy to be sat where I was and I prayed in tongues, but this time unlike the hurried fashion of before ( where I almost didn't want to hear what I was saying in case because the experience was strange at me and I was worried that if i slowed down I might think I sounded a but nuts - :o)) I settled into it this time, and the sound, the depth and variety of what I had to say had become more rounded, and sounded much more mature and I was no longer afraid of hearing it which was, a positive step in the right direction.
More importantly I sat next to one woman who was in tears and had been greatly touched by her experience. I didn't know her but I was happy that she had been so profoundly touched and made sure she was ok, before saying my goodbyes and toddling on home...
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