If you received an invitation to meet with a member of the royal family, would you accept it? If you already had plans for that day would you re-arrange them so that you could accept the invitation? You would certainly tell friends and family. When the day came, you might be both excited and nervous. Afterwards, the memories would stay with you for ever. How amazing that you received such an invitation and experienced that meeting! That one-to-one encounter was so different to seeing them on the TV or just reading about them – you now know them in a different way than when you just admired them from afar.

I have received such an invitation – but not from a member of the royal family. It is from the King of Kings. This invitation is open to all but few accept it. Amazingly, God, the creator of the universe, wants to meet personally with every man, woman and child on Earth. A personal encounter with God is a tremendous experience and changes us forever.

In the Bible, we can read about God. In church, we can hear about God. In the countryside, we can see God’s creation. Other people may show us something of God’s loving care. All these are great ways of learning who God is and what he is like. But none of them is a substitute for a personal encounter with the living God.

God invites you to have such a personal encounter with him. What is the time and place on the invite? God leaves that open for you to choose. It does not have to be in church (although it can be) – it can be at home or in the open air. It just needs to be somewhere you can quietly and honestly pray something like the following:

“God – if you are there, and I’m not sure you are, but if you are, I want to get to know you.”

Then be open to allow God to speak to you. God’s answer may not be instant but if you remain open to him, he will reveal himself to you through the Bible, through a still small voice, or whatever way is right for you.