My senior year in college I was taught a prayer that God has been radically answering for 3 years.
“Jesus, I want to experience the incredible power of the gospel. I surrender complete control of my life to you. Turn my world upside down.”
In my nativity on the power of prayer, I recited these simple words…on repeat. And woah you guys, prayer works. My world literally turned upside down.
Despite my plans to move to California, I took a job at my church (shout out to Crossroads) in Cincinnati where I video produced for two years. Those years shaped me in amazing ways and my perspective on who God is grew exponentially.
I began to learn more about the upside down world that Jesus preaches about all throughout the gospels. A world where the last are made first, the proud are humbled, the meek are magnified. I fell more in love with him.
Now three months into the Race, I’m realizing just how radical this claim is—that I’m in love with God. Many interactions I’ve had remind me that my reality of having a relationship with God seems extremely far fetched and possibly even delusional to many. This is heartbreaking because you guys, it’s so real.
Many people have asked the honest question: “how can you be so sure?” And there are more questions that follow. From “how can you know there’s life after death?” To “all religions are basically the same, what’s different about this Jesus dude?” Or “okay, I believe Jesus was a good teacher, but what makes you so sure that he’s God?”
I love these questions because they always lead to fruitful conversations and challenge me to truly ask myself, why do I believe in the gospel? Could it be because it was the belief system I was born into? Or perhaps because it removes the fear of being reincarnated into a mosquito in my next life. While these could present a good case for following Jesus, the truth is that it’s so much deeper and far more intimate.
I’m reminded of a the most WILD conversation I’ve had on the Race far. It involved a Jesus-loving Hindu high priest, a super sweet agnostic German man, a hilarious and questionably Buddhist-ish Swede…and my dear friend Farrah. (Side note, she wrote this blog about the same night and it’s incredible. It explains what happened that night in full detail, HIGHLY recommend you check it out.
The five of us were deep into a conversation discussing theology, spirits, dreams, and so on. Our high priest friend got really into the conversation and took over for a bit—it was amazing. For context, this guy belongs to the highest caste level in India. At 22-years old he is extremely wealthy and explained that according to his status he is able to speak directly to the Ultimate God whereas other Hindus in lower caste levels can only pray to the other millions of gods. (Not sure how theologically sound this is, but that’s just what the dude said).
Anyway, directly after explaining this, I kid you not he started preaching the gospel to our agnostic friend who had many questions:
“This is how it is in my religion, but I love Christianity. I’ve read the Bible, the Quran, and Hindu scripture. With Jesus you can speak directly to God and it’s beautiful! I love the Bible – I love Mark and Colossians and the other letters from Paul. Yes that is a very good way. That is the right way. Everyone can speak to God, you should try it! Sometimes I like to just wrap myself is God’s arms and talk to him. He’s like a blanket that wraps around you.”
As he continued on, me and Farrah’s jaws dropped. Wait……..is this high priest literally preaching the gospel? He went on to talk about how he’s healed people in Jesus name and has seen him in his dreams.
I know this might sound crazy, but honestly it was even crazier for me to experience. And his understanding of who Jesus is was pretty on point in my opinion.
For me, having a relationship with God truly is like wrapping yourself in a warm blanket. It’s tangible. I have felt the physical presence of God through worship, prayer, and conversations with others. I’ve seen people get healed, demons casted out (freaky, I know), and the spirit realm operate on earth in ways words would do no justice. It’s hard to put in words because there is truly nothing on earth comparable to knowing God. But, it’s exactly what Jesus came to offer everyone, regardless your upbringing. We can all experience the gift of heaven on earth: Love in it’s purest form.
To be honest based on the ways I’ve experienced God and how they align with scripture, I think the better question is: how could I not be sure?
I believe that night was a direct answer to that dangerous prayer. It was a taste of the upside down world where it’s possible for a Hindu high priest to do a better job explaining the gospel than I even had the words for. God is bigger than we can imagine and he truly cannot be boxed in. His methods of revealing himself are far greater than what I could ever conjure up myself.
Do I still have a TON of unanswered questions about God? Yes, of course. There is mystery to how the spirit realm operates. But the more I seek him, the more he answers. And what I know for sure is the mystery of who God is was revealed through Jesus—whose very being is love.
The danger that comes along with that prayer is that if you truly mean it, God won’t hold back. He can literally turn your world upside down and what he has to offer is worth the cost of full surrender. We all have access to him. It’s just a matter of saying yes and allowing him to rock your world.
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Thank you for following along my journey! Please feel free to message me directly if you have any questions or if you’re curious to learn more about what following Jesus could look like for you 🙂
Much love, always!
IG: @stellagee
YouTube: Stella Udeozor
