How To Experience Conscious Contact With God Series

There was an evangelist of yesteryear named Wilbur Chapman. One day he was talking to William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army.

Chapman asked Booth, “General Booth, God has used you in a great way. What is the secret of God’s use of you?”

Booth moved the hair out of his face, looked at Chapman with his piercing eyes and said, “There have been men with greater brains than I, men with greater opportunities; but from the day I got the poor of London on my heart, and a vision of what Jesus Christ could do with the poor of London, I made up my mind that He would have all of William Booth there was. And if there is anything of power in the Salvation Army today, it is because God has all the adoration of my heart, all the power of my will, and all the influence of my life.’”"

This started for William Booth when he was very young. At the age of fifteen Booth came to faith in Christ in a Methodist church. He wrote in his diary: ‘God shall have all there is of William Booth.’

Booth didn’t want to go half in, half out. He wanted to make sure God had full possession of him.

That’s our first point for today, Let God have all of you.

It makes me think of Mark 14:35-36, when Jesus wanted things changed. He wanted God to take the cup of the cross from him. It says…

“And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Letting God have all of you is this: When you disagree with God, not wanting to do what God says, but do it anyway. You say: “not my will, but yours be done.”

That is the beginning of “God have all of me.” It’s surrender to God’s will. It’s letting Him be in control.

This is a work of God in you. You can’t force it to happen. But you can cooperate with God in it. You can decide in prayer, as Booth did, that this is your goal in Christ.

But God is doing the miracle. Let God do it!

“As the Lord gradually begins to do this, to take full possession of you, it is true that you will begin to enjoy a sense of His presence. You will find that this sense of the Lord's presence will become very natural to you. Both the prayer with which you first began and a sense of His presence which comes with that prayer, will eventually become a normal part of your daily experience. An unusual serenity and peacefulness will gradually spread over your soul. Your whole prayer, your whole experience, will begin to enter upon a new level.” -Jeanne Guyon, ch. 12

Second point, the royal road to God having all of you in through basic prayer. Prayer is talking to God. I know most of you think of prayer as “God give me this, God help this person, God change this situation.” That is certainly a part of prayer. But prayer must go deeper then that.

Prayer is more often for me, telling God how I’m feeling. Explaining to God about what I’m struggling with. Telling God about my emotions. Telling God stories about what happened today. Telling God what I’m worried about. Telling God about my dreams. Talking to God about my future plans. Talking to God about my friends and family. It’s a lot like a conversation.

Let yourself begin to get excited about this conversation. Enjoy spending time with God. Sit down on your front porch, or balcony, or at the park, or by the river, and simply stare out into nature, and talk to God. Pray to God. Tell God about your problems. Make requests of Him. Invite Him to change you.

It’s like putting your boat on the river. You don’t do a lot. You simply allow yourself to be in God’s presence. And then the current takes you.

As you learn to pray more and more, talking to God in the morning, praying over meals, praying at night, praying at mid day, praying at church, and praying at home, eventually you’ll find that something changes. You’ll realize over time, wow, my entire day is turning into a dialogue with God.

All day, in your mind, you’re talking to God. While you ride your bike, you’re talking to God. While you’re at work you’re talking to God. You’re whispering prayers to Him in your car. You’re whispering prayers to Him at home. You’re constantly engaging in conversation with God. Eventually even, it’s not just a prayer, it’s your heart crying out to Him. Not even in words. But in your emotions in your heart, your heart cries out to God throughout the day, and that becomes a prayer in itself. And it’s beautiful.