Learn to Better Understand God’s Influence in Your Life
How you ever witnessed or experienced God in any of these ways?
Feeling profound love as you kneel in prayer.
Feeling guidance about how to heal a relationship.
Experiencing a moment of divine protection from serious harm.
Being given peace and strength to endure a time of adversity.
Witnessing a miraculous healing.
My Witness Tree is built around the symbol of a leaf. Each created leaf is a witness of God. Like leaves, our witnesses are composed of essential parts. Better understanding how and when you experience God can increase how often you recognize God’s influence as well as magnify the impact those experiences can have in your life.
With the wide variety of internal experiences, external evidence, and pathways, each leaf truly is one-of-a-kind.
Divine Witnesses
What follows is a framework we have thoughtfully developed that we believe can help you more clearly see, hear, and feel how and when God is influencing your life.
The Anatomy of Divine Witnesses
Every witness of God is made up of an internal experience and/or an external evidence along with a possible connection pathway.
Internally, we typically feel, “hear”, or understand something divine, something that comes from beyond ourselves. These are moments that only the individual can truly experience, interpret, and understand.
Externally, we observe through hearing, seeing, or experiencing something in the physical world. Often others can observe them as well, though they may interpret them differently.
Pathways are frequently a part of a “leaf” which occur through some channel, tool, environment, person, or situation.
In More Ways Than You Realize
Most people have never consciously considered all the ways that God has influences and impacts their lives. We have found that as people expand their understanding of how and when they can experience God, they remember so many moments that were once forgotten and also begin to recognize divine influence more and more in their lives.
We invite you consider the many ways God has touched and guided your life. The lists that follow are not exhaustive, but we do hope they provide a comprehensive and relatable overview of what people commonly experience despite their faith or religious identity.
25 Ways to Internally Experience God
Internal experiences make up what is perhaps the most influential part of someone’s spiritual reality and can have the most profound and lasting impact. These are direct, personal, and intimate connections between God and man.
In what ways has God influenced your heart, mind, and soul?
Feelings and Presence - Awe/Wonder, Comfort, Gratitude, Hope, Joy/Happiness, Peace, Compassionate Love, Divine Love, Confidence/Strength
Direction and Guidance - Prompting, Inspiration, Reassurance, Warning/Caution, Affirmation/Confirmation
Understanding, Light, and Truth- Discernment, Deeper Understanding, Foreknowledge/Future Insight, Conviction, Goodness, Remembering, Idea
Growth, Healing, and Change- Changed Heart/Transformation, Correction, Inner Healing, Forgiveness/Cleansing
18 Types of External Evidence
External evidence provides what some would consider empirical proof that God is real, is aware of, and cares about individual. These are things that can be observed and experienced by the individual and others. They can be extraordinary events such as a healing miracle or quiet witnesses like holding a new baby that points to something more than what we can see.
How have you seen God’s hand and fingerprints?
Timing, Circumstances, and Provision - Closed Door/Redirection, Inspired/Connected Events, Divinely Orchestrated Timing, Open Door/Opportunity, Financial/Temporal Blessing, Unexpected Solution
People and Relationships - Inspired Communication, Love Through Others, Relational Healing, Relationships/Connections, Transformation in Others, Unity
Wonders, Miracles, and Fulfillment - Beauty/Order, Tender Mercy/God Wink, Physical Healing/Recovery, Enhanced Strength/Ability, Nature Events, Deliverance, Protection
27 Connection Pathways
Many of the internal experiences and external evidence people witness and attribute to God come by way of some channel, catalyst, environment, or situation that meaningfully contributed to what happened or what was felt. Understanding how we each connect with God can help increase our ability to experience and witness God each day.
What are all the different ways you and God have connected?
Faith Practices - Faithfully acting, Fasting, Prayer, Ritual/Sacrament, Sacred Place, Sacred Text/Scripture, Worship
People and Community - Ancestors, Conversation/Sharing, Faith Community/Church, Family, Religious Leader, Serving/Being Served, Through Another Person
Learning and Reflection - Media, Pondering/Meditation, Reading/Study, Writing/Journaling
Nature and Creativity - Art, Creating/Problem Solving, Exercise/Movement, Music, Nature
Life Events and Challenges - Dream/Vision, Celebration/Holiday, Major Life Event, Trial/Adversity