How Ian Christiensen found Jesus

Jonathan: Now I happen to know that you are also a Christian minister. You have planted churches all over the world and also you are really keen on encouraging people on the importance of prayer. So, what is prayer all about and how important is it?

Ian: There are some people who say that it's almost like man instinctively knows that there's a God, even though he has been taught otherwise. In crises, even in black boxes on TVs they hear people crying out to God both negatively and positively when a plane is crashing. Some of those people would maintain that they don't believe in God.

I remember when I worked in the civil service, there was a young man opposite me. I didn't know a lot about Christianity at the time as I had only just become a Christian. I asked him, 'Were you baptised?' And he said, 'Yes'. So I said, 'You're a Christian?' And he said, 'No'. So I said, 'Were you confirmed?' And he said, 'Yes.' So I said, 'You're a Christian?' And he said, 'No, I'm not a Christian.'

I didn't know too much about Christianity. I didn't know you could go through all this and still not believe. So I said, 'You don't believe in God?' And he said, 'No, I don't.'

One day we were sitting opposite each other and he got upset with someone on the phone and he banged the desk. He jumped up and he shook his fist and he started swearing at God. I said, 'Hang on a minute; I thought you said you don't believe in him, why are you swearing at him?'

It's almost like, instinctively people know. There's a verse in the Bible that says, 'whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord, shall be delivered, shall be saved.' Unknowingly that's what I was doing in the midst of my crises.

That's where prayer begins, crying out to God. Of course there are deeper dimensions of prayer, but I think whenever a person has a crises or a problem and they just cry out to God, even if they say, 'God I don't even know if you are real, but if you are, will you please help me! Would you reveal yourself to me?' That's the kind of point where I started. I came into something that changed my life. Prayer starts with a cry to God and then once we develop our relationship with God there are many things we could learn about prayer and how to pray successfully.

Jonathan: Why do you think people find it hard to pray, particularly people that have already begun a relationship with God?

Ian: You know I think originally man lived out in nature. There were trees, birds, rivers and fish and as you look around it's almost you're aware there's something out there. We live in concrete blocks, drive in and out of cars. We live in a very fabricated world and maybe that blocks God out of the picture.

God is very good at penetrating through all the blockages that we put up though, because he loves us so much. He doesn't have to, but when he sees someone who is down and depressed, on drugs and marriages breaking up, there are financial difficulties, if people will cry out to Him, I know as a minister for 30 years, I've seen God help so many people. People will find this hard to believe, but I prayed for a lady in front of me and her eyes opened up. She's been blind from birth. There's no medical explanation. The amazing thing about that miracle was that she had been to Harley Street specialists and there's documented evidence that she was blind from birth. They spent £24,000 trying to fix her eye. When we prayed for her, God opened her eye. There is no explanation for that. It's not mind over matter. It's not the power of positive thinking, because she wasn't thinking positively at the time. We prayed for her and God's power came in and created an eye. After you've seen those kinds of miracles you don't need to be convinced that God is real. After you have seen him helping people; he's changed my life and I've seen him change the lives of hundreds of people.

God is real and anyone with a problem who cries out to him, the answer may not come instantly, but it will come if you stay in there and pray and cry to him.

Jonathan: I wonder whether you will end this by just praying for those reading this interview, who might want to have your prayer as a part of helping them in their journey.

Ian: Yes sure, I'll pray for anyone out there who just wants God to help them now. I'll even say a prayer that can be repeated and as you pray this prayer I believe God will come into your situation and begin to help you.

'Lord Jesus I just pray for everyone who's reading this right now. I thank you that I have been able to share my testimony and I pray for all who have read it today that as they're crying out to you, that if there is anyone out there who is crying out to you, I ask you to touch them with your mighty power right now.'

If you want to pray a simple prayer that I prayed years ago asking Jesus to come into my life and to forgive me; I am just going to say a short prayer and you can say this after me and I believe it will make an incredible difference to your life. Just say this after me.

'Heavenly Father I open my heart to you now. I ask you to forgive me my sins and remove every barrier between me and you. Come into my life Jesus and help me to have eternal life. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. Amen.'