The power of free will is in the willing choice of God, in recognizing and accepting God through His character of love. There is no magic, techniques or rituals which can replace an encounter with a personality. Meeting God through His personality shows that we choose God because of his moral attributes and not out of the selfish motives.

Jesus asked us to dinner because he wanted to point out the intimacy of that meeting:

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." (Revelation 3:20-21)

However, the encounter of man with holy and righteous God, with his attribute of true and unselfish love, provokes a great trauma of his sinful nature. Let us think of these Biblical personalities:

Adam:

"And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Gen. 3:10)

Isaiah:

"Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, ... for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." (Isaiah 6:5)

Daniel:

"And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves." (Daniel 10:7-8)

Peter:

"When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." (Luke 5:8)

John:

"And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:" (Revelation 1:17)

Priests and Roman soldiers:

"As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground." (John 18:6)

Priests and Roman soldiers, meeting the glory of Christ godliness, felt it and fell down to the ground, but Peter, with similar experience, chose to obey to the non-sinful Spirit.

Expressing his unworthiness with words: "Go out from me, my Lord, because I am a sinful man", he fell down to Jesus' knees telling him this way that he did not want to leave Him like patriarch Jacob, who said during his fight with angel:

"I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." (Genesis 32:26)

When we submit to His Spirit, then we are saved:

"I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." (Genesis 32:30)

Trying to avoid a traumatic ascertaining of his real spiritual state - his sins and dirty consciousness and the conflict of those motives with God's character - man forms a "protective blockade" in his relationship with God.

The same mechanism exists in the relation between people. If a parent is sad because of his misdemeanor toward a child, he is going to give him better money-pocket, to calm his conscience and to show that he loves him. But the relationship is not resolved in essence. This parent did not have energy to apologize for the sin and to ask for forgiveness. Between the parent and the child there will always remain a blockade in their relationship.

We can read of a similar mechanism in the instance of Mary and Martha:

"Now as they went on their way, he entered a village; and a woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving; and she went to him and said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.' But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her.'" (Luke 10:38-42)

A more intimate encounter of Martha with Christ would result in her ascertaining of her spiritual emptiness that she tried to suppress by her zeal and concern toward being hospitable to her guest. Only when one stops trying to approach God with his own righteousness and merits, he is ready to accept the righteousness of God Himself and to accept His merits.

We notice that a real love results in a trauma of human sinful nature, no matter whether it is a consequence of interpersonal relationships or that with God. Only in meeting with God's love (through Bible) and through accepting it (through prayer) one can find a real encounter with God and salvation.

Studying the Bible is not the end in itself but has the sole purpose to create in our consciousness such a high picture of God's character through which the Holy Spirit can be able to communicate with us and to have made a miracle of goodness in us. The idea of God's character we are to create in ourselves through the Scripture daily:

"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. ..." (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

Studying the Bible and prayer help us to introduce and choose God and salvation. If we do not respond to the invitations of God's Spirit, studying the Bible or prayer can become a "techniques" or "system" in which we are looking for salvation instead in God.