It is clear that Jesus considered imagination as reality in the spirit realm:
MATTHEW 5:28 But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
However, we need to clearly understand that these laws, which were set in place by God, can be used for good or evil.
We know that what you focus on, you connect with (or connect with the spirit behind what you focus on).
1 Corinthians 3:18 encourages us to focus on or visualize the Lord, and as we do so, we connect with Him and begin to change within.
2 CORINTHIANS 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
To set our hearts upon the Lord involves the focus of our minds, our emotions and our wills.
2 CORINTHIANS 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
These laws are neutral.
The New Age movement uses these same laws with great effect. These laws are neither good nor evil; it is how they are used that determines their merit or validity. Using God’s laws in a spirit of rebellion and independence places one in the New Age category.
The use of God’s laws and ways to advance our own agendas and purposes, speaks of a humanistic approach to life. It was humanism that led mankind down the path of sin and depravation.
Even prayer can be used for good or evil.
Prayer that seeks to control another person crosses the boundaries laid out for righteous petitioning and moves into witchcraft. Even God will not violate the sovereign will of man.
The desire to be our own god and run our own lives by using the universal laws of God is basic New Age doctrine.
Jesus laid a very clear foundation in the Gospel of John when He says, JOHN 5:19 I do only those things I see the Father doing.
It is quite valid to use your imagination to connect with the Lord. We are told to set our affection on things above.
COLOSSIANS 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
However, in order to walk with the Lord at a level where the Lord Jesus appears to you (or you experience being with Him in heaven), it requires much more than just focus — it requires a breakthrough.
JEREMIAH 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD:
The prophet Jeremiah clearly encourages us to seek the Lord with all our heart in order to find Him, thus laying a foundation that we can work from, and allowing us to reach into the higher places in our walk with the Lord. God requires that we pursue Him in order to find Him. One of the reasons for this is to test our genuineness in our search of Him. There is also a refining work that begins during this quest. Seeking, knocking and fasting are all necessary if we are to seek the Lord in order to experience a new and higher level of relationship.