I was really interested to read Jonny Baker's report on the dekhomai presence at the London Mind Body Spirit Exhibition this year, particularly in the experience he describes of the presence of God experienced not only by the team but also by the visitors who came:
"god was present. i often had a sense of god's presence when i prayed with people but what was more interesting was how many visitors we had who came in and pretty much said the same thing. they weren't christians but said things like - god is here; there is a lot of energy in here; can i sample your energy?; ooo - it's the old holy ghost i sense; when i came round the corner i could sense something different and it's you guys; it's very peaceful in here; i've been told to come and visit this stand - i've heard it's interesting... and when we had prayed for people they might have shed tears, sensed tingling, healing, heat or peace and so on...
i was surprised how many healers we prayed for. maybe it's because they are amongst the spiritual seekers as opposed to the shoppers and tourists? but one of the days i was there we prayed for a lot of reike healers in particular - and they were very open to being prayed for. why were they coming to us?"
I have to say that this runs very close to my experience with the Journey Into Wholeness Stands around the country. More than once and a couple of times even as we have been setting up folk have remarked on the "strength of the energies" surrounding not only our stand but tangible upon our teams. God as Jonny has said is present.
We too often pray for a number of healers, and following one exhibition in Lincoln the team were faced with a queue of stall holders, healers and therapists who wanted to receive a blessing from us ( we were "offering" blessings that weekend) before they went home.
When I step back to reflect upon this I guess we shouldn't be surprised, we pray before each exhibition, and I don't mean rattled off one liners I mean real prayer seeking guidance and wisdom, blessing and insight, we pray for ourselves and for those who will visit us, asking God's blessing for them...
And God answers us, with us when we offer words of knowledge, and dream interpretation, with us when we pray, with us when we talk with us because s/he loves and and s/he loves all of the folk who come to us ( and I have to add those who don't).
One of the questions I am often asked about this field is whether the other stall holders want us there, and whether we meet spiritual oppostion. I have to say that we have had our problems with other stall holders but quite often that has been when we have been on the defensive and failed to show grace, and frankly that happens when we forget that God is with us and we fail to place ourselves firmly into God's hands...
God is here, we don't go into these spaces without him, but then we don't go anywhere without him...
Which brings me to a twist in our practice, it is all very well to go into Mind Body Spirit Exhibitions, to pray and to know that God is with us, to seek to bless people of all shapes sizes and spiritualities, but surely this should be a big part of our day to day practice. So often our meetings are exercises in so much hot air, we forget to pray, we forget to seek wisdom and guidance and strength, we too easily become (in the case of Methodists) a hymn singing club.
BUT I believe in the God who speaks, who heals, who strengthens, who pous his grace and wisdom and ways into and through our lives when we let him...
I don't want to be noticed as different (in a good way) only within the walls of an MBS exhibition, I want our churches to be places of peace and dare I say power, where God can be known and experienced and "felt". We are called to be participators in the mission of God not bystanders or onlookers...
When we ask ourselves again about the seeming ineffectiveness of our works perhaps we would do better to fall to our knees and pray, to seek God's vision, wisdom, strength, love and grace; and then just maybe things will change.
For God IS here...
