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When Jesus Answers by Loren Loving (Chapter One below)

When Jesus Answers by Loren Loving

When Jesus answers, we have hope. In a world filled with anger, and hearts bound by despair, our hope is found as we listen to the intimate, healing voice of God. His voice alone is the essential secret to peace and contentment, to freedom from all fears.

When Jesus Answers will open your heart to hear God speak His words of truth and love, enabling you to truly live the life you were created to live—within the intimate embrace of His presence. With an engaging collection of personal testimony, Biblical scripture, allegory and powerful songs of hope, Loren Loving clears the path back to our faithful and most gracious Heavenly Father.

We all need the great news of a Messiah who heals our brokenness and sets us free from our bondage. In Him alone we find healing, transformation, and the refuge of eternal peace and love.

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“Loren Loving’s book has taken many years of tears, struggle and personal vulnerability to write. They say if you want to be a writer just open up a vein and bleed on the page. Loren has done that for you. She has poured out her heart’s passion, along with Christ’s, to help you find the healing and love you crave. Loren’s book is not just a book about healing, it is a book that heals and empowers. It will transform you.”

Ken R. Unger, author of The Ultimate Breakthrough – Spiritual Therapy for Emotional Pain

Chapter One

The Day Hope Died

The Lord is my Shepherd,
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid,
for You are close beside me. Your rod and Your staff comfort me.
Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life.
And I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
—Psalm 23:1, 4, 6 NLT

In October 2007, while I was living in Italy, I lost a dear Italian friend of mine. She was beautiful and talented, a loving friend and mother, and she was only thirty-six years old. I had already endured the death of a dear child, and the death of my marriage of twenty-nine years. My walk through the shadows of the darkest valleys was a very long journey. When I thought I would never find a way out of that darkness, my Shepherd took my hand and led me to a place I had never been. I had not known it even existed. But when I heard Him speak His words of truth to me, I knew I would never leave that place. Oh, how anxious I was to take my friend’s hand and journey along beside her in her valley, for I knew the way out; I knew the path to take.

The day finally arrived when my friend and I commenced our journey together, passionately pursuing life as it was intended to be lived. It seemed like our pilgrimage had just begun when, one day, our winding path brought us to a small gate, a beautiful gate. We stood there together, waiting expectantly, listening for inaudible direction. I will never forget that day. The Shepherd walked up to my friend and smiled radiantly at her! And when He spoke to her, creation paused to listen. He unlatched the gate and opened wide its door. There before us was a narrow garden path. The edges of the path were manicured and unruffled. Few had journeyed here. The garden before us spoke of wondrous beauty, unfathomable love, of being home. As we walked through the gate, my friend paused, and smiled at me when she told me what her Shepherd had said to her! We continued on our journey together, hand in hand, our Shepherd, my friend, and I. My friend’s eyes began to glisten. I felt the radiant warmth of peace surround us, of love consume us.

The Way It Was Intended to Be

Day by day, as I prayed for my friend, I was certain—so very certain—that she would be healed of her terminal illness and that she would dance again with her children. However, just a few months later, my friend went to sleep one night, never to awaken again in her home on earth. I struggled terribly with her loss. Confused and heartbroken, I would spend much time each day reflecting upon the tragic circumstances and difficult questions surrounding her death. Many days I would write about my deepest feelings, hoping that putting them down on paper would end their constant domination in my mind. What I discovered on paper and in prayer about this experience became not only the first chapter of this book but also a summation of its theme.

I have learned in my travels of over fifty years, through over a dozen countries, and through the deepest of heartaches, that life is simply a journey back to where we were created to live. When we return to that place, we experience what we were created to experience: peace unshakable and love inexpressible. Truly, everyone’s heart has been broken, and many people do understand the need for healing. Unfortunately, however, most understand neither how God heals nor the true destination of the healing journey.

To understand this destination, we have to go back, very briefly, to the beginning—to God’s original plan. God created us in His image to be like Him, so that we could live intimately with Him in a perfect environment, a garden. God Himself planted Eden especially for mankind. There we would see our Creator and meet with Him daily. We would walk and talk with Him and hear Him call us by name. We were loved perfectly and unconditionally, and we radiated that love—a love so wondrous and glorious that it enveloped us. It was our only clothing. God designed us, in His image, to be literally clothed in His glory—His perceptible or manifested Presence—so that we could experience the depths of His love and then radiate that love to others. God was not only our Creator, but He was also our heavenly Father—our protector and provider, the perfect parent, and our very best friend. As we listened to His voice, His words of truth and love spoken to us each day would nurture complete confidence, security, and peace in our hearts. We would grow to become just like Him, to think like Him, to love like Him. Our lives were fulfilled and content as our heart beat in unison with our Father’s heart.

Tragically, that incomparable and inexpressible intimacy with our Father in Eden was broken when mankind chose to listen to another voice that said God is not good and life would be better apart from Him. That choice stole the light of truth from our hearts and tore us from the peace of our Father’s Presence to live in a world of confusion and fear—a world in which we never intended to live.

Now, instead of being molded by God’s love, our value and purpose are influenced by the actions, opinions, and judgments of imperfect people. So our once tender, spiritual heart, created to be so sensitive to the sound of our Father’s voice and the feelings of the love and peace of His Presence, became imprisoned to the lies of the enemy. Life is no longer lived in a garden but upon the battlefield of lies, where war is waged for the healing of broken hearts, and broken homes.

I would like you to please pause here and take a few minutes to listen on YouTube.com to Misty Edwards’ songs “Take My Heart” and “All I Know.” Though named as two separate songs, “All I Know” is really the ending of “Take My Heart.” Click here to listen to the song on YouTube. I don’t know of any other song that more powerfully communicates the reason we were created and, accordingly, the resulting, deepest cry of every heart. As with all the songs I share with you throughout this book, the music is as important as the lyrics. And truly, this song cannot be fully appreciated without the musical communication. Whenever you listen to the songs, be sure to close your eyes and picture the words. There is so much more to see, and hear.

The Incomparable Love of God

But God, full of mercy and compassion and unfailing love, would not forsake His original plan for us. Knowing that every heart living outside of Eden would be broken, God, our Father, sent His Son, Jesus, to rescue us—to heal us and set us free from a life of bondage to fear. His Presence would be our refuge.

Fear is the heart’s response to separation from our Father’s Presence (Genesis 3:8, 10) and the remedy for fear is love, perfect love. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love (1 John 4:18). Imagine that. We are the ones who went our own way and turned our backs on God’s perfect plan for our lives, and yet perfect love died for us on a horrible cross (Isaiah 53:6)! The beauty and power of God’s resurrection plan would be the Spirit of Jesus Christ living inside of us, speaking His words of truth and love into our hearts to set us free from the lies that imprison us. Only the voice of Jesus can do this. Once freed, we can live again in a garden of wonder, a refuge of peace, clothed with His beauty.

I know that my friend entered into the garden and refuge of God’s Presence here on earth despite the emotional and physical pain she endured. I know this with absolute certainty because she told me the words of truth Jesus spoke to her in our last prayer together—words that could have come only from the Lover of her soul. That day her Healer gave her a brand-new name, a name that spoke His heart. Truly, my friend discovered the narrow and often hidden path to the refuge found only in His Presence. And this is what I hope you, too, will discover in this book as we travel together on a journey few have taken, to the place of safety and rest, where peace pervades and where perfect love can be seen and felt.

The Short Life of Valchiria

My friend Valchiria and her younger sister Vanessa were born in Rome, Italy. When Valchiria was eight years old, she, Vanessa, and her mother were abandoned by their father. A heartbreaking divorce ensued, followed by years of painful financial and emotional struggles for the broken family. At age fourteen, Valchiria met Piero. Almost ten years later, Valchiria and Piero became husband and wife, and their marriage was blessed with two beautiful children. It seemed that Valchiria’s broken life had been healed. But then tragedy returned. In February 2006, Valchiria was diagnosed with stomach cancer. In December 2006, Piero was killed in a motorcycle accident. Valchiria grieved terribly over the loss of her loved one. A little less than a year later, on October 11, 2007, Valchiria died. That day was also Piero’s birthday. The children had lost both parents. They were only and nine and five years old. How could this happen? It made no sense.
Many people had earnestly prayed with and for Valchiria. We prayed the Lord would heal her as we also fervently contended for the healing of her children’s hearts. I had been in the mission field for four years and had witnessed many miraculous healings prior to the time I began praying for Valchiria. I had no doubts that Valchiria would also be miraculously healed despite her surgeon’s prognosis. Isn’t God Jehovah Rapha, the almighty Healer?

At the Tomb of Jesus

One of the last times I prayed with Valchiria was shortly before her last birthday. We were talking about one of my favorite passages in the Bible, John 20, the story of Mary Magdalene weeping at the tomb of Jesus. We often talked about the Presence of Jesus—about hearing Jesus speak His words of truth and love to us. That day I told Valchiria I had heard Jesus speak to me for the first time in my life while reading the story about Mary Magdalene. I had been a Christian for more than thirty years but had never known such intimacy with the Lord. As I read John 20, I paused to reflect on the setting and surrounding circumstances. Verse 3 states that Mary was all alone, weeping at the tomb of Jesus. I wondered where the disciples were that early morning and why they weren’t at the tomb of Jesus. Then the word “hiding” came into my mind. Verse 19 later revealed that the disciples, afraid of the religious leaders who had Jesus killed, had retreated to their own homes and locked the doors. This raised an even more important question in my mind: Why wasn’t Mary Magdalene afraid? What was so special about Mary that she was not afraid and that she was chosen for a personal visit from Jesus Himself that early morning? Several other women had also been to the tomb that day, but they had not seen Him. Mary, however, was the very first person to whom Jesus appeared after His resurrection (Mark 16:9). So what was it about Mary that brought her, unafraid, to the tomb? Why did she remain there alone, weeping at the grave of Jesus?

I told Valchiria that as I sat there that day wondering why—why it was that Mary was there alone and unafraid—a response suddenly came into my mind. The response was not in audible words, but in this thought: “Jesus healed her.” I was absolutely surprised! Where did that thought come from? Of what was Mary healed? I researched every passage in the Bible about Mary Magdalene and discovered that she had suffered from emotional torment—probably terrible despair or depression—and that Jesus had mercifully set her free by expelling seven evil spirits from her soul (Mark 16:9). Thereafter, in most of the passages that mentioned Mary, she was always near Jesus, listening to Him, worshiping Him. When I discovered this, I understood why Mary wept at the tomb of Jesus, for I too had experienced His healing touch in my broken heart. Traditional counseling (psychotherapy) never reached the depths of my brokenness and could never heal the emptiness. When Jesus broke the chains that had bound me for so many years—chains formerly unknown to me—He gave me a new heart that became very sensitive to His voice and overflowed with His love. A heart that has been touched with the healing love of Jesus possesses a love that simply cannot be contained. That heart’s deepest desire is to be with Jesus, listening to His words of truth and experiencing that truth filling every empty and broken place with peace and love. This desire means that the only unbearable sorrow in life arises when there is no sense of His Presence. That is why Mary sobbed, “They have taken my Lord away, and I don’t know where they have put Him” (John 20:13 NIV).

The Compassion of Jesus

Valchiria and I talked about the deep compassion of Jesus as revealed in other Scriptures where He personally sought out the brokenhearted—the blind man whom Jesus healed and who was then thrown out of his synagogue by the religious leaders; Peter, after he lied about knowing Jesus; the Samaritan woman at the well (no Jewish man would ever approach her); the widow whose son had died; His followers after His resurrection, etc. We talked about Mary not recognizing Jesus when He came to her (John 20:14). And we discussed the things that keep us from seeing and hearing Him in this broken world. Many times this is due to our ignorance of the fact that He speaks to us and of the way He speaks His truth into our minds—His Spirit speaks to our spirit through thoughts and impressions of truth and love. Jesus said our existence is entirely dependent upon the words that He speaks into our minds as they are “spirit and they are life” (John 6:36). (His spoken words will always be consistent with His written words in the Bible.) Very often, we don’t hear Jesus simply because we aren’t listening. Also, it can be due to the wounds in our souls from the wrongs committed against us and the wrongs we have committed. But the fact remains, He is always there, right beside us. So Jesus, the essence of compassion and mercy, asked Mary why she was weeping (John 20:15). He knew how important it was for her to pour out the pain in her heart. Then Jesus asked her the most important question of life: “Whom are you seeking?” That one question reveals the ultimate source of and resolution to all our sorrow—we have not found the love of the One for whom we were created. We have not heard Him speak His words of truth and compassion into our broken, wandering souls, and we have not felt His love in our hearts.

I asked Valchiria, “What do you think was the most wonderful thing Mary heard in that garden as she knelt there sobbing? What was the most precious thing Jesus spoke to Mary?”

Valchiria paused, looked at the passage again, and said, “Her name; Jesus speaking her name.”

I emphatically agreed. “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out … and his sheep follow him for they know his voice” (John 10:3, 4 NIV). He speaks individually and personally to us. ( A wonderful song about Mary’s encounter with Jesus at His tomb is “Alive” by Natalie Grant. Listen to the original lyric version on YouTube.com by clicking here.)

Mary had not recognized Jesus until she heard Him call her by name. It could have been the special way He had always pronounced her name or possibly the personal inflection in His voice. But one thing was certain in Mary’s heart, His voice was the only life-giving voice and it was unique to Jesus alone. It was His voice that had set her free to be all she was created to be. So I asked Valchiria if she had ever heard Jesus call her by name. She said no.

A Brand-New Name

A few weeks before this day, while I was praying for Valchiria, a question about the meaning of her unusual name came into my mind. Upon investigation, I discovered that a valchiria is a mythological figure that gathers the dead bodies of heroic warriors who have been killed in battle, to take them to a special grave where they wait to fight again for the god Odin. As I pondered that, the Lord brought to my mind Isaiah 62:2–4: “You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will name. You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no longer be termed forsaken … for the Lord delights in you.”

So I read those verses to Valchiria. Then I asked her if she would like to pray and ask the Lord what new name He would give to her. She assented and we invited the Lord into our midst to speak to us. I encouraged her to wait quietly for the response in the form of thoughts or pictures the Holy Spirit would bring to her mind and said, “Whether that wait is a few minutes or a few days, I promise you He will speak, in His perfect timing” (John 10:3).

Both of us paused and listened like Mary “at the feet of Jesus.” In only a few minutes or so, Valchiria looked up at me and smiled. “Loren, He called me Hope, Hope of the nations.” I was amazed, intrigued, and so very thankful that she had heard Jesus speak, and speak such a powerful name to her! Colossians 1:27 states that Christ’s Spirit living in us is our “hope of glory.” Only the words of Jesus can speak hope into every situation, as only the words of Jesus can combat the enemy’s lies of hopelessness. The name Jesus gave to Valchiria, the name Hope, revealed that she was “a crown of glory” and “a royal diadem” in His hand. Jesus had certainly not forsaken her, and He replaced her doubts of His love for her with His words of delight in her.

Ever since that magnificently wonderful time with Valchiria and Jesus, I always called her Hope, the name Jesus gave her—His name. “Your words are what sustain me. They bring me great joy and are my heart’s delight, for I bear Your name, O Lord God Almighty” (Jeremiah 15:16 NLT).

Prayer for Hope

The last time I saw Hope was the evening of her thirty-sixth birthday party at her home in Guidonia, just outside Rome. A few days later, I returned to the States to be with my sister, whose only child was having surgery. The Lord answered our many prayers for my little niece, and despite the busyness of that trip home, I never missed one day praying for Hope. During those weeks back in America, I never doubted that Hope would be healed. Every morning as the sun rose, I talked with the Lord as I listened to worship music about Him. One particular morning, I was singing and praying the words to Hillsong’s “Mighty to Save.” The first verse talks about our need for compassion, a never-failing love, and mercy found only in our Savior. Then the next line states, “Everyone needs forgiveness, the kindness of a Savior, the Hope of nations.” The chorus talks about how mighty God is to save us (which also means to heal us) and how He moves formidable mountains in our lives because “Jesus rose and conquered the grave!” (Listen to this song on YouTube.com by clicking here.)

As I listened to the words “the Hope of nations,” a sense of God’s Presence surrounded me so strongly that tears filled my eyes for Hope. Each of us is fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), and each one of us feels God’s all-consuming love in a particular way. When I sense the intimacy of His Presence, tears will immediately appear in my eyes. So once again I prayed for Hope’s healing, knowing that Jesus had just poured His heart into mine.

The Day Hope Died

A few days later, I received a phone call from Stefania, my dear friend and hostess in Rome. She revealed the reason the Lord had sent those tears. We needed to pray harder. Hope had taken a turn for the worse and was suffering from the cancer. I saw in my mind the faces of Hope’s children and her mother and sister. I told Stefania we needed to gather the church (people who love God) together so that we could all fast and pray until the Lord healed Hope. I booked a return flight to Rome.

As I walked through the long corridors of the Munich airport, my connecting city, I sensed an unusual emptiness in my heart. It was cold and raining outside, and the skies were very gray that eleventh day of October, 2007. My connection seemed intolerably long. Usually I enjoy reading and writing during the long, quiet hours I travel. But on this trip, I was very anxious to get to Rome and pray with everyone. Concentration escaped me. I wandered through the airport and down the myriad corridors of my mind, pausing at the gates in my own life’s journey, an unexpected journey that had brought me to Italy, and to pray for Hope.

Stefania met me at the Fiumicino airport in Rome as she always did to help lighten the last leg of the long transatlantic flight. She greeted me in the wonderfully gracious and Italian way, a kiss upon each cheek. However, Stefania’s welcoming hug held a distant emotion. This was not Italian. I looked inquiringly into her eyes, but she glanced down to pick up my bag, and we were off. Once out of the airport traffic, Stefania steered her car a little distance off the road and we stopped. She looked at me and told me words my ears would not hear, words my heart could not accept. “Hope died this morning.”

“No,” was the only word I could utter; the only word I could cry. My shock and disbelief turned the hour-and-half ride to Hope’s home into a dazed silence. I was not at all prepared emotionally to see Hope’s family, much less to speak with them. However, it would be my only opportunity to visit with them before the funeral. Because many Italian families do not embalm their loved ones, the funeral service was scheduled for the next day.

When I stepped inside Hope’s home, most of the family and friends were at the end of the hall in the kitchen. Vanessa had picked up Hope’s children at school and sought refuge for them in the home of a friend. Instead of going back to the kitchen, I tried to think of what I could possibly say to Hope’s mother. I found no words. My heart was so broken.

I stood in the hallway, paralyzed and praying for the Lord’s help, for His words and strength to face Hope’s family. Then I felt Stefania’s arm around mine as she said, “Let’s first go see Hope.” Stefania pointed to my left, to Hope’s room, where she was lying peacefully in her bed.
I walked into Hope’s bedroom and looked down at her terribly thin body. As I stood in that room, the first thing that came to my mind was that this was the place we last prayed together. I got down on my knees to pray next to Hope. And then it came, the bursting of the floodgates of my broken heart, cascading tears of anguished, painful sorrow. I cried out to Jesus, “Where are You in all this!” My anguish was a very deep disappointment, maybe even anger with Him. But it had to come out. Did I fear He was not true to His word?

The Greatest Healing of All

I don’t know how long I knelt there, but I do remember once more asking Jesus where He was. Then, quietly and gently, into my mind came a thought; it flowed into my consciousness as a stream of inaudible words. “I’m right here.” I laid my head down on the bed and felt an indescribable rest come upon me. I told Jesus how I was so certain, so very certain, that He was going to heal Hope (my way), just like He did in so many other miraculous healings I had witnessed. I was not expecting a response from Jesus, but into my mind came two words: “I did.” Immediately, thoughts of Hope hearing Jesus call her by name filled my mind and flooded my soul!

Those two words, “I did,” sealed a conviction I now believe with all my heart. The greatest healing we can experience upon earth takes place when we humbly enter into the Presence of Jesus, pour out the deepest burden we carry in our hearts, and then listen to Him respond with His words of hope—words of truth and love. When Jesus speaks His words of truth, we are set free from the hidden lies that have imprisoned our minds and brought so much pain and emptiness into our lives. And when He speaks His words of love to us, we experience an intimacy with Him that fills us with His peace, which “passes all understanding,” and answers every heart that cries,“Why, God?”

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). His love is deeper and more freeing than any human love we can ever experience. Only His love sets us free to be everything He created us to be—His child who bears His image and identity, a radiance of great worth and affection. And only His love can set us free to experience everything we were created to experience—His Presence clothing us, filling us, and fulfilling us as His love flows from our hearts in the hearts of others. This is our destiny.

Living Hope

Today my dear friend Hope is alive with Jesus, and for that I am so very thankful. We were consoled and encouraged by this wonderful truth at her memorial service. Often I think of Hope forever looking into the face of Jesus and being overwhelmed by the love in His eyes for her. Oh, how she must be dancing and singing joyfully in the brilliant radiance of His Presence. In heaven God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away (Revelation 21:4).

Many people long for a day like that so much that they actually give up on life here on earth. Physical exhaustion from the battle and deep emotional wounds, both hidden and known, such as the loss of a loved one (as Hope had experienced), can cause people to choose to escape rather than to fight to live. When we choose to live in the garden of God’s Presence, we find a place of refuge. (The power to choose is truly a life-and-death power.) It is the only place where every tear—shed for the sorrow of death, the fear of loneliness, the shame of our sin, and the pain of sickness and rejection—is wiped away. It is a place where we can never be shaken by economic, political, and geological disasters, or by wars and terrorism. When Hope and I welcomed the Presence of Jesus and prayed to hear Him call her by name, an amazing, pervading peace came into Hope’s room. There was no room for thoughts of cancer or tears of sorrow, just peace and quietness as we listened to His still, small voice speak her name, “Hope.”

Our Journey Together

This book is about the journey back to the garden of God’s Presence which every heart must take to discover life as it was intended to be lived. In the following chapters, I share my own healing journey into the heart of Jesus. My intent is not to focus on pain but upon a Person—upon the unrelenting faithfulness and unstoppable love of the passionate Pursuer of broken hearts. As you see the many ways the Lord was trying to get my attention, to speak to me, to rescue me, please know that He has been trying to talk with you, too, throughout your life. Every day He stands at the door of your heart, calling out to you. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). He will never stop pursuing you. Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life (Psalm 23:6 NLT). One of the most powerful songs I have heard about our passionate Pursuer is called “Unstoppable Love” by Kim Walker-Smith. I hope the love you hear in that songs touches you deeply. Please listen to this song on YouTube.com by clicking here.

By the time you arrive at Chapter 8, you will have the hiking gear to begin your own personal, life-changing journey. You will travel this road through the eyes and the world of a brokenhearted boy who is still just a child. Jesus says, “Whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will by no means enter it” (Luke18:17). This child journeys through a small gate and follows the narrow way of the journey few have taken, which is the title of Chapter 8’s allegorical and music-directed healing journey. He is lost and alone, and desperately seeking his way home. Indeed, this book has been written for those who have chosen to do whatever it takes to find healing, to find purpose and peace. And you will certainly find it: “But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29). Truly, it is in our brokenness and through our brokenness that we find our Healer and the Author of our life—life as it was intended to be lived, in a garden.

Hope’s Song

Please know that the journey you are on must include music. You will miss the point, purpose, and effectiveness of this book if you do not also follow its musical path. God said we are to enter into His Presence, fight every battle, and communicate to others with songs about Him. We are to speak to, teach, and admonish one another not with lectures and arguments, but with songs, hymns, and spiritual songs (Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16). Note that God Himself “inhabits” the praises of His people. That is why when we worship Him in song, we most powerfully sense His Presence. Hence, His music will open the closed doors of our hearts, doors that prose can only knock upon, so we can enter into the deepest place of His heart. I realize musical tastes vary greatly, but I know that many of the songs, both contemporary and traditional, in this book will speak to you even more personally and profoundly than this book ever could. With songs that are new to you, be sure to listen to the song a couple of times as you close your eyes and picture the words. After the song ends, just sit quietly and wait for thoughts and pictures of truth and love to come to your mind. This is Jesus speaking to you.

I can think of no better song to conclude this particular chapter than a song written by Hope’s husband, Piero, shortly before he died. “La Tua Presenza Gloriosa” (“His Glorious Presence”) is a very simple song that communicates profoundly a truth you will experience in this journey: God’s glorious Presence is a love and a peace that can be felt. Listen to this song by clicking here. The English translation is provided.

If you’ve enjoyed chapter one of When Jesus Answers by Loren Loving, click here to find the book on Amazon.com, or ask for it at your favorite bookstore.