The Uyuni salt flat. Photographs of this geographic wonder are the closest I can get to portraying what I saw in a vision. Someday I’d like to go there, but I don’t think it will be nearly as spectacular as the vision I was given.
A sermon I’d heard once explained the gift of praying in tongues. The pastor said breakthrough comes if you persist in prayer and give plenty of time for the Lord to respond. One morning I tried to persist in prayer. After trying to pray in tongues for at least an hour, I believe my Lord told me I am trying to reach him out of my own efforts. That’s not how God works, I’ve learned. In Zechariah 4:6, it is written:
‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit’ says the Lord Almighty.
When I began getting disoriented or started picturing things in my mind, I assumed I was getting distracted. I tried to bring my focus back to God or Jesus. However, too often I forget God may be the one trying to direct my thoughts. I needed to learn to let go of control, even in my prayers and while I’m meditating on him. When I did, he showed me something magnificent!
Before me was the very Throne room of God, but I don’t think I was in it. It looked like Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia; the ground was a reflective mirror that melted into a vast brightly lit sky. In the center was God on his throne, brilliant with indescribable light! There were thousands and THOUSANDS of people surrounding him. Still, they did not take up the vast expanse of the bright, reflective area they were in, and I didn’t feel claustrophobic or overwhelmed. I was somewhere between peaceful, amazed, and super excited! Some of the people I saw were sitting; most were standing, and some appeared to be floating in place. The experience was very brief. At the end I got to see my full name in the Lamb’s Book of Life. The book had ancient, yellow looking pages with beautiful black calligraphy writing, and I felt relief at seeing my name included therein, but not just relief. I also felt a responsibility to make sure my name didn’t get erased (Revelation 3:5).
This vision, and the other intimate experiences I’ve had with God, are not to glorify myself or suggest I’m “holier than thou”. They are not meant to make anyone jealous or solidify my membership in the crazy person club. Last night I read a chapter from the book of Revelation to my children. Chapter 12 verse 11 states:
And [God’s people] have conquered [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony… (ESV)
The reason I share my experiences with my heavenly Father is so I can be a conqueror, and so you can become a conqueror. I’m not special. God loves you just as much as he loves me. There’s nothing he would like more than to have an intimate relationship with you as well. He wants to show you what he’s shown me, and challenge you to become a better person, like he has me. There is nothing our Lord doesn’t know. There’s nothing he can’t forgive. There’s no one our Lord doesn’t love, and that includes you! Ladies, in all honesty my relationship with my Lord has been the safest and most satisfying relationship I’ve ever been in! No offense, Sweetheart!
And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. Acts 22:14-15
Katie Nelson Rau 
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