Great Weekend

I had a great time at Ladies Retreat this weekend. It’s nice for me because Glacier Bible Camp isn’t far from my home. A quick 25-minute drive and I’m there. I had the privilege of doing worship again this year. I was blessed to have help setting up and tearing down the sound system and all my prayers for “smooth and happy technology” were answered.

I love experiencing the Lord’s Presence in worship and I love the power of His Word. The Word communicator this weekend was Jodi Detrick. (You can find her blog here.) I so enjoyed all she shared with us. The first two sessions, Jodi spoke about the woman at the well in John 4 and her encounter with Jesus.

A Glimpse into God’s Heart

“Jesus replied, ‘If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water” (John 4:10 NLT). If you only knew… Jodi said Jesus says that over us sometimes. That has stayed with me.

• If you only knew…the gift God has for you.
• If you only knew…the joy Jesus takes in you.
• If you only knew…the answer almost here for you.
• If you only knew…the bright future in store for you.
• If you only knew…how MUCH He loves you.

If we only knew….then we would ask and He would answer. Isn’t that just it? If we could remember Who we are talking to, we would ask and receive. John 16:24 tells us, “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” Our joy will be complete when we ask and receive.

Prayer Partnership

God has set up a partnership in prayer with us. This is the way it works:  We ask and He answers–not that God is a vending machine, but that we work in tandem with Him. We ask, He responds and our joy is complete. I think that’s because every time we ask and we see His answer, we are again in awe of the fact that God cares enough to answer our prayers. Every time He intervenes, we are amazed at His love for us. We remember He is real. We are thrilled to see His hand at work. It’s the coolest thing to get to say, “Yeah, that was God. He did that for me!”

Ask Bigger

If we really knew all the good things God wants to give us, how He really feels about us, we would ask…and ask BIG. The Lord put that on my heart recently. I was praying, but He said to “Ask BIGGER.” Huh. I was praying maintenance prayers. I was praying for “just enough” to get by. I wasn’t praying with vision. I wasn’t praying with big enough faith. Lord, enlarge my vision!

I’m still mulling these things over. When Jesus looks at me, what is He saying, “Erica, if you only knew…” about? I need to think about how HE sees me and how HE feels about me. Because…if I can really grasp the gift God has for me, Who it is that speaks with me, I will ask Him and He will give me more Life!

In what area do you need to listen to Jesus and hear His, “If you only knew…”?