I want MORE of Jesus!

In our walk with the Lord we find ourselves praying to Jesus, I want MORE of you! We are asking to have a deep encounter with Him. This prayer may be arising because we do not know what to do amid difficult times or a crisis when we do not know what to do. We know that Jesus can satisfy the needs of our heart and resolve the circumstances in which we live. But often our prayers, though sincere and with a genuine understanding of who God is, are made with an expectation that the answer will be what we desire it to be!

In the story of Jesus with a woman from Samaria (Luke 4:1-26), she said to Him: “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” (vs.15) The Samaritan was asking for something she thought would help her have a better life. She did not know with whom she was talking and the relevance of that question.

“I know in my own life I have come to Jesus with many of my expectations. But He has His own plan and it is often different from mine and always better. I might expect Him to take certain sorrows or troubles out of my life, but He instead just tells me to trust Him and wait patiently. I might expect Him to teach me one thing, but He teaches me another instead. Jesus likes to remind us that He has the matter under control, and He so often answers our prayers with something better.” *

“There have been times when I have come to Jesus wanting Him to help me deal with someone who was frustrating me. But instead, He asked me to answer the question, “What is it in your heart that needs to change in the way you interact with this person? In what ways are you not believing that the gospel applies to this person?” Jesus is patient and reveals things to us when we need to hear them in ways to which we can respond. Jesus always goes deeper.” *

Luke 4:16-17 reads, “He told her, ‘Go, call your husband and come back.’ ‘I have no husband,’ she replied.” Jesus knew the circumstances of her life and her specific needs.  He also pointed out to her the difficult situation in which she was living; she already knew but it was brought up in this conversation. Jesus always goes deeper and offers us His grace. (In the words of the hymn writer, “Amazing Grace How Sweet the Sound…”)

In that process to go deeper, Jesus points us to our shortcomings. Ouch!  It hurts when the Holy Spirits reveals that we are imperfect people and we need Him for everything in our lives. When we truly have an encounter with Jesus, He will reveal who we really are.

“Sometimes we don’t want to have our sin pointed out to us, and that can even make us not want to come to Him. But we should remember that He is kind and patient and He does not show us our sin without also being there to help us overcome it and change. When we truly encounter Jesus, we can be certain that He will get to the heart of the issue, no matter what we do to try to distract from it.” *

Yes, I want MORE of Jesus! I pray that our hearts will always long and thirst for His presence. I pray that when He reveals the real needs of our souls, we will take them to His feet on the Cross and allow Him to transform them for His Glory.

  • This article includes some excerpts from a beautiful blog titled, “5 Things That Happen When You Encounter Jesus” by ccbcfamily.org

Hilda Maysonet Roman

Hilda was born in Puerto Rico. Women's ministry has always been part of Hilda’s life. Hilda and her husband, Rosilio, work at the C&MA National Office and attend North Springs Alliance Church in Colorado Springs, CO.

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