There are hundreds of references to heaven in the scriptures, with Jesus himself saying, I’m going ahead of you to prepare a place for you. Christians can be confident there is a place called heaven. The power of heaven may even be in helping us deal with some of the challenges we face here on earth.
Understanding that God is the One who has everything under His control, and knowing that He has prepared a place for us gives us hope. Can the promise of heaven help alleviate some of the pain we feel today?
Former Pastor Peta Soorkia is now a Christian Therapeutic Life Coach, who leads the organisation Empowering You. Peta recently joined us on 20Twenty to share her thoughts on heaven, and whether we can actually experience it here on earth.
Connecting with God
‘Who is more heavenly than the person of Jesus Christ?’ says Peta. ‘He points us towards God and of course the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us. So we can actually, in a way, meet heaven by having an experience with the person of Jesus Christ.’
For most people, the first time they encounter Jesus is a heavenly experience. It’s a meeting with someone you can’t see, yet you absolutely know is real. Any interaction we have with Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit is perhaps transporting us to a heavenly dimension.
‘If you’ve had an encounter with God, you’ve experienced a little bit of heaven on earth,’ says Peta. ‘It might be something like hearing a word from the Lord. It might be hearing some worship music that really touches your heart and transports your soul, knowing that God is in that song. ‘
The Lord’s Prayer talks about God’s kingdom coming, and His will being done on Earth as it is in heaven. We can bring that connection from heaven to earth as Christians. The Bible tells us we are seated in heavenly places, and we can bring heaven down to earth for others.
‘The Bible says, as we come close to Him, He will come close to us,’ says Peta. ‘That’s the promise as we pray. As God hears us and we receive revelation, that’s another connection. Dreams and visions are also a way that God can communicate with us. Connection with heaven can come through many different ways.’
Prayer and Worship
When we pray for someone, we’re praying for God to intervene. We’re inviting the power of heaven to influence life on earth. ‘Somehow we have this power, this dimension that we just can’t see,’ says Peta. ‘But that doesn’t mean it’s not there. We are connecting with heavenly beings and the heavenly places.’
Peta believes that when we worship, we are bringing that dimension down here. ‘The Lord inhabits His praises, and it’s certainly true that many people come to the Lord through music,’ she says. ‘Worship music is very often quoting scripture.’
‘We are praising, using words of God. We were created to do that. Each time we worship down here we’re touching that other dimension.’
Listen to Peta’s full interview on 20Twenty below or for more resources visit our Vision Store.
