A Testimony: My 3am Encounter with God
Be careful what you ask for lol 🙏🏾
Let me be real with you….my life feels like a madness right now, so many things going on, so many emotions churning, productivity, relearning, reallocating, serving, and resting.
Saying all that, writing this might be one of the more difficult things I’ve ever done, but here I am, sharing it with you all. Pray for me, yeah? Because I must be losing my mind, lol. I’m joking really.
So everybody, just a little testimony coming up…..what if I told you God came to me vividly?
The Feeling I Couldn’t Shake
Ever since I became filled with this zeal for God (around early September probs), I’ve been feeling this strange, unshakable feeling. Yeah, I know it’s not uncommon for new Christians or believers to experience this fiery passion early on in their faith journey. I’m aware it’s that initial spark that, over time, matures into a steady and enduring commitment. But still, this feeling is different—something I couldn’t quite put into words.
One day, I decided to share this with a friend while we were driving. He’s from another church, so I figured maybe he’d offer some insight. Instead, he smiled and told me to read the book of Micah. Now, let me tell you—he must’ve thought I was losing it, lol. He’s the only person I’ve told about this specific feeling in more detail, and to this day, I still think about why he suggested Micah. Bro…if you’re reading this… 😅
At the time, I was already deep into reading Matthew, but eventually, I went over to Micah as he suggested. After reading the whole book, I couldn’t find a clear connection to what I’d been feeling. To be honest, I still don’t fully understand the relevance, but I trust God will reveal it to me in His time. For now, it’s one of those things I’m continuing to bring to Him in prayer, waiting for clarity.. or maybe my friend referred the wrong book? Lol I dunno. But never underestimate the power of prayer.. trust me.
From Self-Reliance to Faith
Now follow me here. When I first started walking as a proper follower of Christ last September, the prayer I leaned on the most was simple but sincere: to have more faith in God and to TRULY live out the two greatest commandments. I prayed for faith over and over, asking God to help me believe more and to genuinely seek Him more, even when it felt impossible.
You see, I used to be an atheist/agnostic (apart from the Muslim stuff), so this whole “faith” thing was completely foreign to me. It wasn’t something I just grasped overnight, especially since I didn’t come to Christ through some miraculous or supernatural event. For someone like me, whose mind is wired to think practically, logically, and rationally, trusting in something unseen felt unnatural. (You know I think God sometimes wires people in various ways so we come to Him and glorify Him in our uniqueness.. but that’s another topic).
With all that said, this scripture from Hebrews came to mind: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” -Hebrews 11:1
Let me try to explain. In my old life, if I had a goal…whether it was making money or achieving something—it wasn’t about hoping for it to happen. I’d strategise, plan, and hustle until I got it. Everything was about relying on my own power, intellect, and hard work. Faith? It meant nothing to me. It made no sense really. To be honest, I used to criticise Christians for leaning on faith when they didn’t have answers. If they couldn’t explain something, they’d just say, “You have to trust God.” Back then, I couldn’t understand how anyone could live like that.
But now, looking back in hindsight, I see something I didn’t see then: God was already working on me, even in those moments of doubt. He’s been shaping me, answering those prayers for faith in ways I couldn’t have imagined (He was answering them before I even prayed for it… maaaaad). God is so great man!!! It didn’t happen instantly, but over time, He’s been breaking down those walls of self-reliance and showing me what it really means to trust Him.
“Am I Chosen?”
Now here’s where it gets weird. That strange feeling I mentioned? It had me thinking, “What if I’m, like, extra chosen? Like God’s got some next-level mission for me.” I’m talking some Neo-from-the-Matrix kind of vibes, lol. Writing this feels mad embarrassing, but I have to be honest. And a lot of it could be rooted in pride and insecurity when I really deep it… plus others may feel the same at times.
I was like, “God, what does this even mean? Why do I feel like you’ve chosen me for something bigger than I can understand?” “Why did you choose to call me now, and send someone to plant that final seed in me?” “With my mad past, can I really live a life like this forever”?. I was bugging out.
The Encounter
Now, fast forward months later to Christmas Eve 2024, 3 a.m. I’m sitting in my car alone on a very quiet street in Paddington, you know, some downtime while working late, when I decided to buss out into prayer. I was raw with God. I said, “God, if you can reveal yourself to me. Show me who I am and what you want from me. If you could say something, show me a sign, anything”. Then I followed with “But Lord, I get it if you know I can’t handle it and be too frightened, or if I’ll just go snitch and tell everyone about it, haha.” Then I remember thinking “yea… I’m doing too much right now”, and carried on in prayer.
Then boy.. after about 3 minutes in prayer (I think), something happened. The lights in my car flicked on once. Now, this happens sometimes when I’ve been sitting with the engine off, so I brushed it off. But I’ve noticed recently—and truly believe—that God sometimes uses the natural parameters of the universe or the physical world to communicate with us. Even though I could easily brush it off as something my car normally does, it still felt intentional. So, I thought, “Okay, understandable,” and I wasn’t really startled… yet.
So I continued in prayer just talking to God.. can’t really remember what.. But then after a few minutes it happened again (now this has NEVER EVER happened before in all my years of knowing this car). And let me tell you, my heart started racing. I was frightened. I even opened my eyes, expecting to see… I don’t even know what.. an entity, a presence etc. If someone else had told me this story—or something similar—I’ll be honest, I probably would’ve pretended to believe them, but in my mind, I’d be brushing it off. I’d be thinking, “Poor thing, maybe they were just caught up in their emotions, had a bit too much of that ‘pure’ lol, or were half asleep.” I would find some logical explanation.. cus let’s be real, we human beings are emotional creatures. But anyway…
Still, I pressed on in prayer, even though my hairs were standing on edge and I was starting to sweat in fear. And then, about a minute later, it happened a third time. But this time, something shifted. The fear melted away and turned into an overwhelming peace. Relief swept over me, and tears just started flowing. My car could’ve been flooded with all the tears, mate. I couldn’t hold it back.
I said tearfully, “God, I understand now. I see what You’re saying.” And I just kept thanking Him in prayer. Though small, it was the most surreal, life changing experience I’ve ever had.
Confirmation Through Scripture
A couple days later, I was reflecting on that moment, and scripture started to tie it all together—especially the peace and tears. I found, so far, about it in Philippians 4:7:
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
But here’s where it gets funny that I forgot to say: remember when I said to God in the prayer that I understand if He won’t reveal because I’ll just go snitch and tell everyone about it? Sooooo, about 10 minutes after the encounter happened, I couldn’t help myself—I snitched, lol. I messaged my family and friends group chat, pouring my heart out about what had just happened. 😂🤦🏾♂️. God knew I’d do it! You see how God works, yeah? Lool.
Strangely enough, my brother-in-law was awake at that exact moment. He asked me, “You saw Him or heard Him?” I explained briefly what had happened,
and he responded with, “If you understood the message, then yeah, you can say you encountered Him ☺️.” (I’m literally copying and pasting the messages here, lol).
Then I said, “Maybe he reveals himself more vividly to those who can handle it… maybe I can’t.”
And he replied, “Or He did it in the best way for you…” What a guy, right? Man’s full of wisdom, haha.
Then he added, “Must be awake for some reason ay 😄.”
So, I replied, “Init, why are you awake still, looool?”
And he said, his daughter (my baby niece) was awake.
You see? Even in little details like that, God has His hand on everything.
The Humility Test
You see what I’m getting at with all this is, I’m conflicted. I still sin. I’m human, and I admit it. At the same time, I feel so full of zeal for God—I’m constantly praying, constantly trying to live out the two greatest commandments: to love God with all my heart and to love others as myself. It’s like I’m striving to humble myself more and more. But even those thoughts where I think it’s all me trying to do that…it’s actually God. He’s using methods that make it feel like it’s coming from me, but in reality, it’s Him working through me.
But sometimes, I admit, it feels like people think I’m doing too much, like I’m being strange or even faking it. And to be honest, even I doubt myself at times. I question whether my zeal is real, my servitude is real, or if I’m falling short in ways I can’t even see. But deep down, I know this isn’t about perfection…it’s about growing closer to God, one step at a time.
But through all of that, I finally brought these thoughts to God very recently. In His way, He spoke to me through various means, revealing that this is a test of humility—a process to confront and strip away my unhealthy ego and pride.
It’s like a test to see if I’ll surrender to Him or let myself fall into the trap of arrogance, and self importance like Satan did. So while I do feel an extraordinary closeness with God, I’ve had to remind myself: who’s to say others don’t feel this too? Who am I to think I’m so special because God revealed Himself to me like this? And thinking I’m more important than anyone else?? The audacity, right? It’s humbling, to say the least.
And Remember, I Also Prayed For More Faith
Remember, from the very beginning, a thing I prayed for, over and over, was more faith. And God, in His unfathomable wisdom, chose to answer that prayer in a way so vivid (the encounter) that there’s NO WAY I can ever go back to who I was. It’s like He said to me, “I’m going to make you believe without a shadow of a doubt.” Amen to that.
For someone like me—logical, rational, and not naturally inclined to trust in the unseen…God knew exactly how to reach me. When I share this with people now, I joke that there’s no way I could ever go back to my old ways, even if I wanted to.. (I laugh, but I’m really not joking lol). And when I feel my flesh desiring worldly things? It’s like my conscience immediately goes into overdrive, firing off warnings left, right, and centre. Not to say I won’t ever do the wrong things, but this feeling I have is there that was never really there before.
It’s changed everything—whether it’s wanting to swear, appetite for certain music 😩, not standing 10 toes on Jesus’ name, entertaining inappropriate thoughts, worldly intent with females, gossiping, falling into lust, greed, pride, or even doing things just to look better than others etc. God’s hand on me has made it nearly impossible to sit comfortably in those sins without feeling His conviction. It’s like He’s taken my past—the things I’ve done, the way I used to think—and completely turned it around. He’s shown me what it means to truly belong to Him, to be fully surrendered to His will. (I know there’s a hint of pride in how I’ve said this, but I’ll leave it as it is for now.)
Zeal and Imperfection
Now listen, even though I feel this closeness to God, I still mess up. I still sin. And that makes me question myself sometimes—am I faking it? Am I just being extra? But here’s the thing: zeal and imperfections can coexist. Even Paul, one of the greatest apostles, said:
“For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing” - Romans 7:19.
The fact that I’m so much more aware of my sin now and constantly seeking repentance? That’s not failure. That’s growth. That’s the Spirit working in me. And I know many of you can relate.
And here’s the thing: when I start questioning whether I’m being too much or worry much about what people think of me, I remind myself of Galatians 1:10:
“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
This verse helps me stay grounded. It’s not about whether others think I’m being extra or whether I even doubt myself… it’s about pleasing God. My zeal isn’t for show; it’s because I genuinely want to honour Him—whether anyone sees it or not—even in my imperfection… and trust me, I’ve got plenty of those.
I’ve also learned not to get caught up in over-the-top self-righteousness, where you’re doing so much that you burn yourself out. When you really think about it, a lot of that self-righteous behaviour—at least from what I’ve seen in people’s examples—often seems rooted in seeking validation from others in some way, even if they don’t realise it.
So sometimes, take it easy. Sometimes, you will make mistakes. Sometimes, you just won’t feel like it. And that’s okay. For me, I’ve learned to SURRENDER all of that to God…my efforts, my shortcomings, and my fatigue—and trust Him to do what’s best for me and for others.
What I’ve Learned for me
Here’s where I’ve landed:
1. Reflecting Christ: God isn’t calling me to be this special entity, but to reflect Him. To live a life so centred on His love and truth that others are drawn to Him through me.
2. A Unique Mission: Maybe God has a specific purpose for me, I dunno.. Maybe it’s leadership, ministry, something else, or just living faithfully where I am. It could even be planting a seed in someone, and they go on and do that huge thing. I’m still seeking clarity, but I trust He’ll reveal it in time.
3. Humility: This is the big one for me. God is testing me to make sure I don’t let pride or ego take over. It’s about surrendering fully to Him. I always try to check myself whether it’s a pride or ego thing creeping in.
So, What About You?
I’m sharing this because I know I’m not alone. God speaks to all of us in different ways, even if it’s not as dramatic as flickering lights in a car. If you’re feeling uncertain about what God is doing in your life, here’s what I encourage you to do:
• PRAY FOR WISDOM: I want to take this even further by you praying for wisdom consistently, asking God to make your purpose clear without fear or confusion. I encourage all of us to do the same. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” - James 1:5
• TEST THE SPIRITS: Compare your experiences and feelings to scripture. God will NEVER contradict His Word. Whether it’s our own thoughts, others’ words, or even spiritual impressions.
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” 1 John 4:1
• SEEK COUNSEL: Talk to trusted mentors or friends in faith to help discern God’s will. (I guess some of you reading this are my Christian family.. so any counsel is welcomed.
• FOCUS ON JESUS: Stay grounded in His teachings, His love, and His grace.
“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” - Romans 7:24-25
I’m tired of writing now… but God is working in all of us. Never, ever ever, ever be ashamed to glorify Him, no matter how He chooses to reveal Himself to you. Stay humble. Stay faithful. Stay in love with the One who called you.
Peace and blessings to you all, Amen.
Adrion Hart
1 Timothy 4:12- Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example for the believers in your speech, your conduct, your love, faith, and purity.
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