Trance

 . . . in a trance I saw a vision.

 - From Acts 11

The expansion of God's plan to all people began with a trance.

This crazy notion, that everybody on earth will be able to live forever; regardless of situation at, or of birth, wealth, popularity, bloodline, DNA . . . began one afternoon as Peter was praying. And when we say he was "praying," we mean, probably while fasting, hungry, lacking nourishment, maybe lacking sleep. He fell low to the ground and implored God passionately. We spent a couple dozen minutes just asking for forgiveness. He spent twice that asking God to purify his thoughts and words. And then he prayed double that, again, for the people around him, and the growth of the church.

There were so many natural reasons why he might begin to see things. But what he did see was very good: a vision representing God's favor to all men and women!

It was an important moment in the "coexist" movement. It was a solidifying of a central Christian message: we all are equal. No one is more important, or more valuable, than anyone else.

I think that I experienced something like a vision once. In the lowest point of my divorce year, I prayed fervently that God would fix my marriage and bring my family back together. After several weeks of nothing happening, I asked God to fix me. I had been feeling hate towards the males that had come into my ex's life; you know, the predictable people (male and female) that come along and encourage their friends to get a divorce. But in the prayer where God fixed me, I began to see a vision. It was the faces of all of the men that I had hurt through the years, by influencing their wives/girlfriends to break up with. And then it was the faces of other people I had hurt, for any kind of reason.

The images were flung into my line of site, one after another. They had expressions of anguish as they looked me in the eye.

This vision caused me to cry.

I think you have to be utterly broken to have a vision. And while it is possible for a person to put him or herself into a trance, and then to see whatever they want to see . . . still, there are ample examples of a vision, or trance, resulting in good things: like Peter's vision, and mine.

Do we want to connect with a higher intelligence? Do we want to approach God's throne?

You have to be broken. You have to lose the baggage. You need humility. You need to be ready, and you need to listen.

Apparently, it can be done.