Jesus Hugged Me!

In early September, 2012, I attended a training workshop teaching people how to pray and how to have a direct, two-way conversation with God. 

During a practice session that was about ten minutes long, I followed the "four-in-one" method taught and started praying. I practised what I was taught:

•  I quieted my spirit and focused on Jesus (first component is "Stillness"), and
•  I relaxed to let thoughts flow naturally to me. It usually comes like a still small voice in my thoughts (second component is "Spontaneity"), and
•  I let pictures come to my mind (third component is "visions and imagery"), and
• I started to write down the flow of thoughts  (fourth component is "Journalling"), 

and all four components were done together at the same time. 

As I did that, I saw an image of Jesus and me, sitting in a boat in the sea of Galilee alone. That was the only boat in the sea. In that imagery, Jesus and I were sitting facing each other. I felt a little distant from Him. 

Then I saw Jesus reached out His hand to touch my hands. He started telling me how precious I was to Him, and that I was chosen for a special calling. Then I asked Him what was His calling for me. He gently smiled and said that He would tell me later. For now, it's more important that my inner being was soaked in the depth of His love. Then He got out of His seat, came around to sit next to me, and said, “I know what you have been going through. I know you really needed a hug”. Then He just hugged me for a very long time, in that imagery.   

After the training workshop, all attendees were asked to line up to be prayed over by the prayer ministry team of the workshop. I was catching up with church friends who also attended so I was late and ended up lining up at the very end of the line. While it was far from my turn, a prayer ministry team member just walked right up to me. She looked directly in my eyes and gently asked if she could hug me. I was shocked. I asked why, it was not my turn, why she prayed for others before me but came to hug me instead. She just smiled and kindly said with a sense of certainty, "that was the ministry I was burdened to do at the moment". Then she went ahead to give me a deep long hug. With my jaws dropped, I showed her the journal entry of my imagery. After reading it, she smiled and said, "I know.", then she went off to pray for other people.

WOW!! I did hear Him right! Jesus did hug me! Knowing that I am a left-brain, logical person that would dismiss such an intangible, illogical "impression" in no time, He went out of His way to make sure that I know He really hugged me! 

I was speechless. His extravagant love for me has filled me up, overflowing. It took me a while for that to sink in. It so happened that weekend was Holy Communion Sunday.  During worship, as I reflected His suffering on the cross, His blood and the torture of His human body, my heart and my spirit finally caught up with what His love means to me and how much it had cost Him. I just could not stop myself from crying as I ate that bread and drank that cup. 

Since then, I felt a sense of freshness in my spirit. I felt that He has strengthened me with power through the Spirit in my inner being as the Spirit creates elements of new nature in me so I can be more like Jesus.

Footnote: As I keep practising the method that I learn to converse with the Father, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, my sensitivity in hearing God has noticeably  gotten better than before. 

This is my testimony of Christ's love the way I experienced it on September 7 & 8, 2012

P.S. After I finished my initial entry of this blog, I "accidentally" ran into this picture that came close to the imagery that I had other than the positioning of the boat and the colour scheme are completely different.