Many of us say, "I want to know God. I want to be closer to God. I want to experience His presence. And we live our lives… sometimes getting clearer glimpses of God in different experiences, but most often just wondering when we will grow closer to Him. We keep wondering, "When will I truly know God… experience real intimacy with Him." Perhaps, we resign ourselves to wait for heaven.

Do you know that God lays out a pathway for us to know Him more? In the Gospel of Mark we read of a large crowd following Jesus. They were pressing in to see Jesus do another miracle - to heal a girl who was almost dead. Suddenly, Jesus stopped in the midst of the crowd.

"Who touched my clothes?" Jesus asked.

"You're in a crowd. We're all touching you," the disciples answered.

"No, this touch was different. I felt power go out of me."

The woman - now healed - came trembling before Jesus.

"Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace," Jesus said.

It was the woman's humility - her recognition of need, and her hunger to meet Jesus - that she would reach out her hand in the midst of a crowd, while Jesus was on his way to heal someone else - that made the difference. The woman's faith, shown by her humility and hunger, brought about the life-changing encounter with God. The crowd that was pressed up against Jesus didn't know God to that depth. It was the faith of the woman that resulted in a deeper knowledge of God.

In the same way, there was a blind man - Blind Bartimaeus of Mark 10 - who was on the side of the road as Jesus passed by.

When the blind man heard it was dJesus passing by, he called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me."

The crowd told the blind man to be quiet. In other words, they were saying, "Stop bothering Jesus. He's too important for you." But the man did not quit. He called out all the louder.

Jesus stopped and responded to the man's hunger - to his desperation. Jesus called the man over and asked what he wanted. The blind man said, "Lord, I want to see."

Jesus said, "Go, your faith has healed you."

The man received his sight. He met and experienced God because of his faith - shown by his humility and hunger.

Will you reach out to God in humility today? Will you call out in desperation, in hunger to experience His touch and power in your life? Your faith matters. You can be on the pathway of experiencing God today.