IBOGIRLLIVING

I've often heard different people share how they picture God in their minds and hearts when they pray, praise or worship Him. For some, He is like the loving Father who scoops up His little baby girl in His arms lovingly attentive to all she has to say to Him. For others, He is a most majestic King seated on a golden throne surrounded by angels singing His praises night and day.

For a long time I copied the first description of my heavenly Father almost forcing myself to view Him in the same way. Although this is a beautiful depiction and image, it was not my own. So the other night as I praised and worshiped, the Holy Spirit showed me what my image of God was and it was a breath-taking montage of my life's experiences and memories.

All of the good moments throughout my life that brought me happiness and joy along with all the bad ones that were filled with tears and sadness. As I started to flip through this mental and emotional catalogue of memories, I was shown images that elicited such strong emotions like when my baby sister (who is almost 30 now by the way) was born and the joy we all felt as we held her at the hospital. I smiled as I watched in my mind all the weekends my sister and I spent with my dad listening to all of his favorite records and tapes, dancing to songs by George Michael and James Brown. God was with me in those precious moments as I danced with my dad and held my baby sister as she yawned from sleeping all day.

In my saddest and toughest moments also, God was with me offering me His comfort, peace and love even though I didn't know it at the time. The tears I cried when my brother passed away, the shame that enveloped me when I was raped and the hurt I suffered through when my marriage fell apart. He was there through it all and has been with me all of my life. As the Holy Spirit showed me these images that had been relegated in the back of my mind, I cried in gratitude at just how loved and protected I have been since my childhood. THIS is how I picture God when I pray, praise and worship and nothing is more beautiful and meaningful than seeing Him in this personal way.

So how do you picture God when you pray? What is the image you have of Him because how you see Him matters a great deal to revealing how personal He wants your relationship with Him to be. If you have never thought about this before, I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to paint a picture of God to you that's personal and special. This will help you recognize today moments in your life where you felt like God was either absent or non-existent when in truth, He has been with you the whole time!

XOXO

Ibogirl