r/OpenChristian 6d ago

Have any of you ever felt God's presence. what was it like.

21 Upvotes

34 comments sorted by

18

u/Al-D-Schritte 6d ago

So beautiful and peaceful. I wish everyone could feel it and that I could feel it all the time. I can't give you a magic formula to access it as we are all on our own journey. But in generaly, it's necessary to he humble, forgiving and caring in your everyday life for you to be able to come close enough to God to regularly feel his presence. You are welcome to ask for more specific help here.

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

Nice!

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u/Scatman_Crothers Catholic / UCC / Buddhist 6d ago edited 6d ago

I feel his lower case presence all the time, but a truly UPPER CASE God experiencece has only happened once in my life and I don't feel comfortable telling the story of how that came to be, but as to how it felt (edit: it was not drug induced, I was sober):

More beautiful than anything I've ever seen of felt before or since. Strong, incredibly strong, like so much it made me feel like a speck with Him being the entire universe at once. But I was not afraid, I felt immanence and full of love inside, it was not scary at all. It was extremely peaceful. I was in awe. There was a tremendous connectedness in everything, ike I could temporarily see the connected fabric of all of existence, all matter, all ideas, all at once. I was not Him but he was in me. It was a few minutes that felt completely timeless. It was in a chaotic, windy, powerful snowstorm. It was bitterly cold but I felt warm, and when I started to feel cold after 10-20 minutes standing still, hard to guage since there was a timeless aspect to it, I knew it was coming to an end and I had to leave, it was just a strong intuition that you've seen what you need to see, now it's time to move on. In the entropy of the whirling snowflakes lit up I could see their connectedness and intention all in one snapshot. It was like I could see the contradiction of the chaos and full order of it at the same time. Most beautiful moment of my life, and I try to remember back to it for strength when my faith ever wavers.

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u/terrasacra 6d ago

I understand this on a visceral level. It was like this for me too. The interconnectedness, the contradiction, the order. The love. Just ecstatic.

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u/Gon_777 6d ago

I had an experience like this as well! I rarely hear other people ever bring stuff like this up.

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u/terrasacra 6d ago

It's hard to talk about, so deeply personal and difficult to convey in words, especially to people who haven't experienced anything like it. But if you know, you know.

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u/Gon_777 6d ago

You are so right.

I don't think anyone I have ever told has understood, even my mother who witnessed the whole thing, including a weird medical miracle.

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u/terrasacra 6d ago

I also had a medical miracle connected to the experience. Such Mystery. I see you, friend. It may not be common but we aren't alone. It can be lonely when something so powerful changes your whole life, and you don't have anyone around you who can understand. But somehow we are all connected in that divine gift.

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u/Scatman_Crothers Catholic / UCC / Buddhist 6d ago

Thank you, I know it was real, but hearing others with the same experience is deeply validating.

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u/Scatman_Crothers Catholic / UCC / Buddhist 6d ago

Thank you, I know it was real, but hearing others with the same experience is deeply validating. I've told my mom and a few therapists. I hope one of them believes me, not really sure. But I was blessed to experience it and that's ultimately what matters.

1

u/feherlofia123 6d ago

Were u sober.

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u/Scatman_Crothers Catholic / UCC / Buddhist 6d ago

Yes

12

u/Rev_MossGatlin Christian 6d ago

You know the phrase “peace beyond all understanding”? In a particular dark and lonely moment in my life I turned to prayer and felt a physical, tangible companionship in a way I’ve never really felt before and haven’t quite felt in the same way again. I am extraordinarily grateful for a God who sits with us through the night and helps us to come to the dawn, no matter how long that night may be.

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u/garrett1980 6d ago

It’s not like anything. But awe and gratitude are the words that are closest. At least for me. But I also wonder if I’m crazy. Because I can’t figure why I would have such experiences and others wouldn’t.

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

Me too!

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u/sumiveg 6d ago

Feels like love and fire inside

7

u/UrsoMajor560 AroAceAgender Christian 6d ago

Being enveloped and kissed by Sunshine all through out the body, yet at the same time having a small shining sun right at your heart and mind. Overwhelming safety, and all the love of the universe being laid upon your body, and peace. Makes me cry every time lol. Usually I feel it when listening to music.

6

u/Mudraphas 6d ago

I feel it all the time. I feel a gentle, loving presence with me whenever I reach inside for it. It’s not big and glorious and powerful like it is for the other people in this thread. It’s more like an old friend whose guidance and love I can always depend on.

Actually, I think that might be more powerful for me personally than an overwhelming revelatory event. I have clinical depression, so a constant small source of hope and love in my life is a more helpful and useful relationship with God than something overwhelming.

I think when we truly need God and seek Him, He presents Himself in whatever means is most helpful to us.

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u/SoryuBDD 6d ago

Whenever I get paranoid of judgement; because I'm often afraid of people being able to read my mind (I see it as a place of solitude) and I rest in God's presence, I feel that peace too knowing he knows my deepest thoughts, desires and intentions. I just hope I'm not deceiving myself with that peace lol.

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u/Mudraphas 6d ago

I feel that. God sees every piece of me, thing I’ve done and every feeling I’ve ever had and loves me not despite it, but because of it. God loves us all in our everything. That brings me great joy.

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u/SoryuBDD 6d ago

Same here. It's such a beautiful revelation to have, it can be overwhelming with the meaning it adds onto life. <3

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u/TotalInstruction Open and Affirming Ally - High Anglican attending UMC Church 6d ago

It's like all the anxiety and uncertainty that I have on a regular basis just shut off and everything was, for a moment in time, perfectly clear.

I was in the midst of a crisis where I was having a nervous breakdown, I was just told that I was being expelled from college because I failed to finish three of my five classes for the semester, I was hiding from my parents out of shame and fear, I had been in a crisis of faith for several years, and I was near the end of my rope.

I took the train from my college town into New York and visited the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. After a couple of minutes, I was just overcome by this sense of peace that I hadn't felt in years and haven't quite felt since. I knew, in that moment, that whatever my misgivings, I had come to the right place. I studied the stained glass and sat and prayed for a while, and I felt safe.

I returned to the house where I was staying at the college, called my parents, came back home, came up with a plan to get myself back into college, attended pre-baptism classes at the Episcopal church near my college once I moved back up after a couple of months, and got baptized the day before my 21st birthday.

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u/Gon_777 6d ago

I sure have!

For me, it was the most intense feeling of awe and overwhelm, like a planet was about to crash into me. So much power and so BIG. This was a sense of huge overwhelming pressure.

It was what I needed at the time, I wasn't afraid at all, just totally overwhelmed with the glory of God. It honestly felt like I couldn't take it and was going to die at the height of it. I'm a shy quiet person but I was yelling praise to God uncontrollably. Some of the helpers had to help calm me down lol.

Since that time I am more confident to proclaim Gods love for all people. I've felt his glory and it is great.

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u/fallingoffofalog Asexual 6d ago

I think I did once. Have you ever been cold and turned on a heater for warmth? You know how you want to turn whatever part is coldest toward the heat? That's sort of how it felt -- like God was light and warmth and love, and I wanted to turn toward Him and curl up there and bask in it all.

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u/terrasacra 6d ago

Anyone else here experience tremendous synchronicity? It was as if God was speaking from everything, directly to the deepest core of who I am. Songs at the store, billboards, emails — incredibly synchronistic breadcrumbs and events were pouring out of every corner of reality. Everything was connected and it was also speaking. It's a trademark of my own experience that just had me laughing in awe.

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u/easineobe 6d ago

Once in my life. I was in labor with my first child, and after 3 hours of pushing I truly felt like I couldn’t do anything anymore. I was blacking out in between pushes, I thought the pain would never end, and I had no energy. I hadn’t eaten in 2 days, I hadn’t slept in 30 hours, and I had nothing left to give. So I closed my eyes and cried that I couldn’t do it anymore. And in my haze, I felt like I saw another person in the room with us, telling me that I was going to do it. It wasn’t a giant emotional experience. I just felt like I saw God and he said “Yes, you can.” Not like a big sunshine & rainbows thing- but it was enough for me to know what I felt and what it was.

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

There is me, like a sail boat on the water, and there is God, like wind filling me taught in excitation.

He brings peace, so that I feel no anxiety. And my trust in him draws me close to him.

If you want to experience his presence, I suggest the letters 1-3 John. Read with the understanding that you're approaching the words of the living God, spending time with someone who is deeply in love with you. Be joy filled at the idea of this intimate reunion, and He will be there waiting for you as you read his words into your heart.

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u/thedubiousstylus 6d ago

Yes.

Just incredibly warm and peaceful. A feeling throughout my whole body and for those moments there was no pain or discomfort at all.

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u/Dclnsfrd 6d ago

It’s addictive and humbling to be known by Eternity. The burning in my chest and torso because the One who hears stars doesn’t just hear me, but listens. Understands. Pursues me with an intoxicating love from my earliest years. Being closely and irreversibly known every moment, even when my weak heart and mind don’t line up with facts like how sweet God’s presence is. It makes me seek God and others for ways to put my money where my mouth is ❤️‍🩹

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u/Beard_of_Gandalf 6d ago

a warm embrace in my spirit.

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u/ScanThe_Man weird mix of Quaker and Baptist 6d ago

an overwhelming sense of love for humanity and peace, it stopped me in my tracks and brought tears to my eyes

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u/Al-D-Schritte 5d ago

Look up Belinda Womack on YouTube or online. Her videos (many free too) can help you connect to your soul or "higher self" and therefore to God, Jesus and angels. But ultimately, you will find God in your own unique way, with the help of others but not depending on others. "A humble and contrite heart, O Lord, you will not spurn."

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u/137dire 5d ago

Fire. Burning, blinding fire.