Can we see God in this life already?

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Baptism in the Holy Spirit, being born again, experience, eyes of the heart, faith, glory, Holy Spirit, John of the Cross, Martha Jesus, presence of God, seeing God, the dark night of the senses, the dark night of the soul, the dark night of the spirit, the new self, the old self, the promised land

SEEING GOD means a shift in perspective… 😉
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

It seems to me that there are at least five different stages of perceiving the presence of God. Our perception, or even sight of Him, increases and improves when we have reached the next stage. All happens by the grace o God, of course. What I did not include here are dreams and visions which are something that can happen anytime whether we find our selves in stage 1, 2, 3, or 4. However, they are not as important as being led by God continuously. In fact, from my own experience I know that an immense amount of dreams and visions have their origin in the dark realm of Satan who loves to appear as the Angel of Light. Stage 5, finally, is the fully enlightened and perfected saint who can see God directly and does not need dreams or visions any longer (regarding dreams and visions I was just paraphrasing John of the Cross). Here is my biblical approach on these five various, progressively blessed conditions of heart, mind, and soul.

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Where Do You Suppose to Start with the Prayer without Ceasing?

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Augustine, experience, Francisco de Osuna, Gerhard Tersteegen, God's love, heart, Jeanne-Marie de la Motte-Guyon, mediation, meditative reading, mind, prayer, prayer without ceasing, presence of God, Teresa of Ávila

Madame de la Motte-Guyon

Whether it was Augustine, Teresa of Ávila, or other famous saints, I too made the same experiences they had made before me, that is, for many years I neglected daily prayer because…yes, I was bored with that daily routine. Teresa even admitted that she forgot about it for 14 years during which she lived a “worldly life” (her words) until she found a helpful book from another Spanish spiritual author, Francisco de Osuna, who introduced her to the prayer that finally led her into her inner life in the presence of God.

Instead of presenting another excerpt from Gerhard Tersteegen, I decided to offer you two excerpts from a French woman whose writings were translated by Tersteegen into the German language. Tersteegen as a Reformed Christian also translated Teresa of Ávila’s spiritual writings into German. Thus he gained enormous insight into the riches of Catholic mysticism and was eventually able to present a way deeper gospel to his Reformed fellow Christians.