Followers of Jesus are called many things in the Bible. We are called the Bride of Christ, co-heirs with Jesus, among other titles. One of my favorite descriptions we are given is the title of overcomer. When we have encounters with the true Jesus, we get to see and experience power that comes only from him. 

When people have a real interaction with the true Jesus, there will be power involved. Think about the time you met the true Jesus for the first time. I know I can point to many times over the years when I had a powerful experience with Jesus. 

My Experience With The Power Of Jesus

A few years ago Brett and I did a training on prayer. We were taught a way to pray with others called the Immanuel Approach. In this method of prayer you have the person first think of a happy memory. Then you ask Jesus to show himself in this memory. As you progress in this prayer method you can address trauma people have endured. With Jesus driving the session, you ask Jesus questions. By the end of the session, the goal is to allow Jesus to heal those traumas in your life. As Brett and I progressed in this training, we arrived at the part where trauma was involved. I was going to go first, and while I wouldn’t say I have a ton of trauma in my past, we all go through something in our lives that our bodies perceive as trauma. 

I suddenly became terrified of what Jesus would reveal to me during this prayer session. The leaders told us that if we weren’t comfortable with diving into trauma, we could pass. I looked at Brett and told him I didn’t want to do it. He, in his loving and patient way, encouraged me to trust Jesus and do it.

I sat there quietly for a few seconds thinking. It was then I heard the voice of the Lord ask, “Do you trust me?” I silently prayed, “Yes, I do trust you.” I heard a reply of, “Then trust me to do this with you.” Suddenly I found the courage to tell Brett I would do it. The moment I said out loud that I would do this, the fear left. I simply had to come into agreement with what God wanted to do in my life in that moment and fear could no longer stick around. 

Some Background

Before I tell you about my powerful interaction with Jesus during that prayer session, I need to give you some background. You see just a few days before we had a huge blow up with someone we considered a close friend. As time went on, we discovered this person had a huge wound that caused him to become a narcissist. Unfortunately, he was not the first blow up I had with a narcissist. 

During worship that morning I saw a shelf with large books on it. Each one had the name of the narcissistic person who hurt me. I saw another one being added from the most recent hurt by a narcissist. I thought it was nice that I could put the more recent hurt on that shelf and leave it there. In my mind it was a done deal and I got my healing right then and there. 

Now Back To The Story

That afternoon Brett led me through the healing part of the Immanuel Approach. In my vision, Jesus led me to that room. He took all of the books, and led me outside. When Jesus and I got outside there was a huge bonfire. Jesus then handed me the books and told me to throw them into the fire. I took them from Jesus and did just that. Then Jesus said, “Now they are ashes. They have no more power over you.” I felt relief wash over me. 

It’s amazing because I can feel the physical effects of what happened in my vision. When I think of those people I have neither negative nor positive emotions toward them. My feelings toward them are similar to those feelings I have toward a stranger on the street. It feels wonderful to be able to think of these people and not feel a twinge of pain!

In the past, I described it to Brett like a new scar that is still sensitive when it is bumped. The wound is healed, but there is still pain felt when it is hit. That is how I felt about these people. My wound was healed, but there was a scar that was still tender. Now, it’s as if there was never even a wound to begin with. The scar has been healed and that area of my heart has been made brand new. That is the power behind an interaction with the true Jesus is all about! Only Jesus can heal like that! 

The Power Of The True Gospel

This is the same kind of work the people in Thessalonica likely experienced when they heard the gospel and accepted the gift of salvation. It says in ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭1‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬, ”For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.“  Perhaps the power that came to these people is the power of inner healing like I experienced that day in prayer. I have no doubt some of the power these guys experienced was the power of both physical and emotional healing done by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Testimonies Are Important

Did Paul and Silas give testimonies of other people Jesus healed in other cities as they traveled? I’m sure they did. We need to remember our testimonies about what Jesus has done in our lives is important. Just like my testimony above gives you a feeling of excitement, so it is when you tell others about the things God has done for you. You may feel like you don’t have any exciting stories to tell. If that’s you I encourage you to do two things.

1. Don’t discount anything God has done in your life as unimportant. You never know, but that the person who hears your story is going through something and your story gives them the hope they needed. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that what I find as normal, someone else finds incredible and wishes they could do what I find so easy.

2. Ask Jesus to give you more stories to tell. Spend time with him and ask for an encounter with him. Then you will have another story to tell people about the powerful encounter you had with Jesus.

I promise it will be worth your time! Plus it’s so fun sharing all the extraordinary things Jesus does in your life simply because you asked!