All About Visions: When Healing Comes

**For the previous posts in this series on visions, search the labels for "all about visions"**

One reason that God gives visions is that they quickly and effectively convey to us messages and thoughts.  They allow us to conceptualize and see something that might be hard to explain with words!  For these reasons, God often uses visions to reveal how He wants to carry out a healing.  In the context of prayer for others--healing prayer in particular--a mental image or vision can bring us into line with God's will.  And these visions might apply to a situation in any number of ways.  And these ways might overlap!  God is so dynamic. Anyways, here is a list of common reasons for visions as they relate to healing.  There are many more, but this post is just an outline.  Below are some common ones....

1)  The vision reveals what is physically wrong

For example, you may be praying for a stranger and see by a vision that their ankles have been damaged.  And God reveals the negative so that you can pray for the positive!  This type of vision is a pretty literal word of knowledge.

2)  The vision reveals what is spiritually wrong

Or, you may be praying for someone, whether with them in the physical or in spirit, and see many pins and needles all over their body.  This probably isn't the case literally!  It's more likely a symbolic representation of many sharp, tiny spiritual attacks.  I find that visions that highlight spiritual issues are usually more symbolic than visions that highlight physical issues.

3)  The vision reveals the healing taking place

Let's say someone you're praying for does have that ankle injury.  While in prayer for healing, you let God lead.  And when you're praying into His will, He shows you a ray of light coming down and touching that bruised ankle!  Praise God!  He wants to encourage us.  This type of vision also builds faith in that very moment when faith is needed for God to work.

4)  The vision reveals how we should pray

Reasons 1-3 have one major thing in common: they all show us how we can best pray.  Which leads us to number four--the vision shows us more literally just what we should do.  Why do you think Jesus put mud into the blind man's eyes?  Probably because it was an idea--which was imparted through a vision--from the Father.  In the same way, we may not know exactly what is wrong with that stranger, family member, church friend, etc., that we're praying for.  And that's OK!  But it is important to understand how to pray, how to lay hands, how to impart, and so on.  And that's where a directive vision comes in.

This is actually all pretty simple.  If God is going to heal someone, He might also give the one praying encouragement as to what's taking place.  That's what He wants to do!  All we need to do is have eyes to see and eyes to accept whatever the Holy Spirit wants to show us.

"Denominationalism": When The Little Foxes Creep In

This all started when Vanessa and I were talking about John McArthur and other cessationalists while doing some errands a few days ago. We were driving along and pondering how and why some people go wrong in their teaching, and we saw a custom license plate that said, "LIL'FOXS"

"Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom."
Song of Solomon 2:15

First, we need to realize that Song of Solomon is a parable.  The Lover in that book can be likened to Jesus, and the Beloved can be likened to His bride, the Church!

The true Church, the sons and daughters of Father God, will be able to look across various churches and discern that some things may have went wrong.  Little foxes have crept in.   Left untouched in the vineyard, they can ruin it's plants and spoiled it's fruit.

I've read parts of Arthur Burt's "There Shall Be No Ebb", and he stated that every denomination was formed right where the Holy Spirit first began a new move of God.  John Wesley began a revival and holiness movement that, once plateaued, became known as Methodism.  The Salvation Army was once a group of powerful evangelists that did just what their name entailed.  And the Baptist Church also started off with more passion and Spirit-given life than they generally have now.  You can go on and on.

And it's been this way since the start.  Even the Azusa street revival was split by theological differences into various subsets and denominations. A newly introduced 'Finished Work' doctrine divided the movement and caused the largest revival ever to ebb.  Six year after it started, Azusa was finished, because the pride and tradition of man opened the door for some little foxes to come in.

And we can gather from the past a pattern.  It starts off with God's Spirit and ends with divisions:

1) Revival starts!  The Church is taken back to the Book of Acts.  Awesome!
...Mass salvations, signs and wonders, and Holy Spirit fire follow.

2) With revival comes the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.
...The Word comes alive as God teaches the revived how to walk in it.

3) Those involved receive a key revelation to the scriptures
...A Kingdom mystery is revealed, and people realize just what they've been missing.  So they start walking in this or that newfound truth.  Good!

4) Pride creeps in.
...Usually, this begins in the person whom God has been using the most.  And a measure of the glory goes, because God gives grace to the humble.

5)  People who have received revelation become presumptuous.
...And they assume that the scriptural key they received is THE key. They stress their new revelation above all others.  They broaden the scope of their revelation by using out of context scripture to support it.  And they begin to look down on others.  The attitude of a revival shifts from welcoming to competitive.  And what really counts is then overlooked!

...Oneness Pentecostals claim that speaking in tongues in critical to salvation.
...Baptists may believe that baptism in water is essential to salvation.
...Holiness preachers stress the importance of works and perfectionism
...Catholics talk about penance, purgatory and prayer to saints.
...Cessationalists claim that tongues and healings are of the devil (hmm, doesn't that sound familiar?  Jesus was accused of such things by the pharisees).

At this point, revival is over, having been stifled by the pride of us people.  And the need surfaces to start a new denomination!

And the end result of all these errors is that church congregations lose their good fruit.  With that, they lose members.  And worst of all, they lose the favor of God.  All they have is a memory of what the Lord used to do.  All they have is a watered-down testimony.  All they can do to retain some measure of hope is look back.

Those who look back become more and more deadened to the present reality of God.  They create denominations that become increasingly watered down.  Some even discount the present work of God almost entirely, stripping the Gospel of everything but salvation.  That's where cessationalism (the belief that spiritual gifts have ceased) comes in. That's where pride, even an actual spirit of pride, can take over.  People fall deeper and deeper into err, because they understand neither the scripture nor the power of God.  They respond by lashing out at those who are still moving, still operating, and still loving by the Holy Spirit.  This is a vicious cycle, as people fall further and further from the actual, scriptural truth.

At this point, a once fruitful vineyard has become bitter and barren.  A church does not have the presence of the Holy Spirit, so much as they have a man-made template signifying who He seemed in the past to be.  Moves of God are stifled.  Gifts from God are discounted.  Conversely, a church may become hyper-charismatic and try to replicate God's gift with an effort out of the flesh.  The church becomes overrun with little foxes--spirits of pride, envy, hatred, mockery, 'pharisee spirits', and spirits that bear false witness.  The fruit of the Spirit is gone because the Spirit itself is gone, save for the measure that God, in His grace, retains so that there is still the reality of salvation.

The above is a sad reality in many churches today.  What is the solution?

...To welcome the Holy Spirit
...To humbly accept the implanted word
...To walk in love--from which all else flows:  kindness and patience and humility and meekness and           peace and hope and faith and joy
...To acknowledge that we see in part--therefore, our insight is not the only insight, nor is it the most critical one.  We need to remain teachable
--To fulfill the law, not through this or that theology, but for an overwhelming love for God and others

Let's address this by looking to the Word:


"So be careful how you live; be mindful of your steps. Don’t run around like idiotsas the rest of the world does. Instead, walk as the wise! Make the most of every living and breathing moment because these are evil times. So understand and be confident in God’s will, and don’t live thoughtlessly. Don’t drink wine excessively. The drunken path is a reckless path. It leads nowhere. Instead, let God fill you with the Holy Spirit. When you are filled with the Spirit, you are empowered to speak to each other inthe soulful words of pious songs, hymns, and spiritual songs; to sing and make music with your hearts attuned to God; and to give thanks to God the Father every day through the name of our Lord Jesus the Anointed for all He has done.  And the Spirit makes it possible to submit humbly to one another out of respect for the Anointed."       Ephesians 5:16-21


*thank you Angel S. for the timely scripture (:*

This is what we need to do.  We need to keep in tune and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit in order to keep any bond of peace.  We need to stay sensitive, patient, and humble.  We need to give all the glory to God, so that all the discernment can be with Him, as well.  We need to steward His Spirit and His works in love and power.

Snapshot: Jesus Sows The Prophetic Word

Last week, I saw a vision where the Lord Jesus was holding a large, intact loaf of bread in His hands, just waiting and smiling at me.  Then He began to break off pieces and throw them up into the air, where they were caught in the wind and scattered across a larger area. It was really cool!  This vision was confirmed the next day in the natural, because Vanessa and I started feeding our chickens old bread by hand, first breaking it up and then throwing it to them.

And the Lord also gave the knowing into the vision--what He was holding was our daily bread.  He was breaking it up according to His will, and each piece of bread represented a specific and personal prophetic word.  He tossed the pieces, pretty much all at once, into the air, and it was the Holy Spirit than distributed each message to it's recipient.  Wow!

"So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."
Isaiah 55:11

It is Jesus who sends out the word.  He's the one mediator! (1 Timothy 2:5)  He's the one through whom all blessings flow.   His testimony is by the Spirit of prophecy, and by this same Spirit, we ourselves receive a message that points us back to Him. (Revelation 19:10)

"All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills."
1 Corinthians 12:11

So Jesus sows this word, which is our daily bread, and then the wind of the Holy Spirit carries out the Father's will in delivering each message to the intended person.  One person gets one message, another gets a different one. They all come from one body of life, which is Jesus, and they are all given to one body--the Church.  And it's the Spirit that elevates the prophetic message so that it can be carried to it's recipient!

"Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth."
Ecclesiastes 11:1-2

Sometimes there is a lag time between a message from God and it's fulfillment.  There probably will be!  The revelation is waiting for it's appointed time (Habakkuk 2:3).  We need to give our prophetic words, our gifts, back to the Father, and trust Him with them.  We need to acknowledge His faithfulness, and we need to acknowledge the work of the Holy Spirit.  He may deliver the same word again and again, in dynamic ways, until it is finally fulfilled.  Jesus casts our bread upon the winds of the Spirit, and once we have received, we may need to wait patiently, knowing that our promise will not be lost.

Once our word returns to us fulfilled, then we can share it with others!  Then we can use God's message to redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16).  When disaster happens, mercy can triumph over judgement. (James 2:13)  And then we can look back to Jesus, hopeful that He will continue to give us our daily bread.

Snapshot: Psalm 20:6

While in Church a few weeks ago, the Lord gave me a vision where He scooped me up from where I was at, and lifted me to a higher place of worship.  His right arm, specifically, reached down and brought me up to Himself.  I realized that deliverance had come--God was providing a safe place where I would be free to worship in Spirit and in truth.

The rest of the worship session was fantastic!  I knew God had lifted my head up--I knew He had came down and rescued me.  And then I happened to turn to Psalm 20, verse 6.  But I know it was intended by God:

Now this I know: The LORD gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand.

Praise God!  For me, that was such a confirmation.  God was reaffirming what He'd first told me through the vision.  He confirmed that He is faithful, that He is powerful.  He confirmed that He gives saving victory to His anointed.

We can always rely on God's promises.  If He had His way, He'd fulfill every single one of them through our lives.  We just need to trust Him!  We just need to meet the conditions--and then focus on Him.

"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me."

Psalm 138:7

All About Visions: Walking into the Vision

**For the previous posts in this series on visions, see these links:

All About Visions: Discerning the Meanings
All About Visions: Sharing the Message



Visions come in all sorts or different ways.  Many of them are interactive!  This was the case in Bible times, and this is still the case today.

Then He said to me, "Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel." So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. He said to me, "Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you." Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.

Ezekiel 3:1-3

Here we have Ezekiel in a vision that transcended his current reality.  It was much more real than 'real' life!  I would call this sort of experience a trance vision.  In it, one may move, touch, taste, smell, etc. the things being seen.  They may talk to other people or to angels.  I would consider this kind of thing to be an out-of-body experience.

And it all started for Ezekiel when "the heavens were opened" (Ezekiel 1:1).  That's when it starts for all of us!  God comes down and sets up habitation with us.  And that's when the supernatural things of God start to happen.  That's when we can 'walk into' a vision and really experience it--earthly senses included.

Interactive visions may come for many reasons--but one of the main reasons is so that we know how to intercede.   Visions are a wonderful way to conceptualize God's will, and if we know His will, then we'll also know how to pray for others.  We'll know how to intercede and pray into God's target. (More on this in a future post).  So, how do we have an interactive vision?  Let's look to the Word:

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."
Matthew 7:7-8

"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?"
Luke 11:11

So, we can ask in faith, not doubting, and then receive!  Now, seeking may be a process, even a long one, of drawing closer and closer to the Lord.  But He gave us a wonderful promise there!  We ask, we believe, we receive--and we do so by living within the Holy Spirit.  While we're there, God will decide exactly what to give us, but we can trust that He is gracious an faithful to give.

If God is willing to give of Himself, then the question is, how do we position ourselves?  How do we get into the Spirit?  Music can be a major way.  Praise and worship can intensify the work of the Holy Spirit, who is already alive and active within us.  Music can activate the prophetic, it can activate visions ...it can activate our understanding of a parable that the Lord has already spoken.  Music can bring us into the Spirit.  Let's take a look at the Word, again:

But now bring me a minstrel." And it came about, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him. He said, "Thus says the LORD....
2 Kings 3:15

"I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre."
Psalm 49:4

John was in the Spirit when God gave him revelation (Revelation 1:10).  He was told to "Come up here" (Revelation 4:1)!  And it can be just the same today. We get into the Spirit and the Lord extends His arm and takes us into a vision.  He allows us to walk into it, to interact with it, and to change it, all for His purposes and all for His glory.  We may see the resurrected Jesus.  We may see angels. We may see family members that we need to pray for.  Or we may see things that are mostly symbolic.  It's God who gives the vision, and it's God who decides what He will.

We should all be seeking the Lord for a full portion.  He wants to give us all our daily bread.  He wants to give us all something powerful enough to radically change us!  God satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things (Psalms 107:9).  He fills them!

All About Visions: Sharing the Message

**For the previous post in this series on visions, see this link:

All About Visions: Discerning the Meanings

So, say that the Lord gives a vision.  It may be come in personal prayer, it may come while praying with others, it may come unexpectedly.  It may be an open vision.  Either way, it's a gift from God, and that's awesome!  And it's likely that the Lord will give us ourselves the interpretation, also.  (If not, all the more reason to share!)

We all see in part (1 Corinthians 13:9), so it may just be that God withholds the meaning from us--even if we were the one who had the vision-- so that the faith of everyone can be built up.  If we are in a corporate setting with other believers, I think it's safe to assume that any God-given vision can be shared in order to obtain the full revelation on it.

So, we receive a message, a vision or mental picture from God.  We will probably get some sort of interpretation.  What should we do with it?  Often, we should share!  Often...but not all the time. Let's look at a few responses we might have after God gives a vision.  Keep in mind that there are a lot of variables here.  But more than that, know that if God can give a vision, He can also give the receiver a knowledge of what to do with it.

Keep in mind that many times, vision are for our own edification and upliftment.  They may not be meant to share.  But the following categories can apply to that, too:

1)  We share the vision--not knowing ourselves exactly what it means

Like I said, if we are surrounded by loving brothers and sisters in Christ, this could happen often! God may want us to share, so that someone else can be edified in getting the interpretation.  Or, He may want us to share because the vision is meant to prophetically apply to someone else present, in a way only they could understand.  It can take a level of boldness to just throw the message out there, but we can have faith that it can and will benefit someone else.  We probably won't know how--but God does!

It's also possible that a vision is shared and several people receive a personal interpretation that is perfect for them.  And that's awesome!  Every vision God gives is perfect, in accordance with His Word, so this kind of simultaneous edification can be hoped for and expected.

2)  We share the vision and our own interpretation

So, God gives a vision and also gives us that knowing into it's primary meaning.  Then we should share both the vision and it's interpretation.  It may apply to just one person, or it may apply to a large group of people.  It may apply to your home church, or to the Church in general.  The Lord may give me a vision that is just meant to build up Vanessa...or He may give Vanessa one that is meant to build up several people.

Don't be surprised if you get the vision while in prayer for one person, and then realize that it also applies to several others later on down the road.  Christians are of one mind (hopefully...), and it's pretty common for God to 'recycle' a vision and use it over a variety of people.  His timing is intricate and perfect!

Also don't be surprised if, after sharing, others have a different interpretation for what you saw. You yourself probably received the primary meaning...but not necessarily!  Even so, there's almost always more than one meaning. The fact that many people are contributing their own interpretations is good--it means that you are all digging further into the revelation!

3)  We don't share the vision--it just gives us a foundation for our prophecy or prayer

This is also pretty common.  Say you're in prayer, and the Lord is giving visions that help you know what to pray for.  He probably doesn't expect you to share all of them.  It's more so a case of doing only what you see the Father doing (John 5:19). These visions are being delivered so that we can understand how to pray His will onto the earth.  Once they are given, it's our responsibility to 'pray into them', so to speak.

4)  We don't share the vision--it's not yet a 'now' word

The revelation that God gave you may just be waiting for that appointed time. (Habakkuk 2:3)  We need to deliver a vision when God says so!  Often, He wants us to share right away, but sometimes we may need to hold back the message for a season.  I find that God likes to come in at just the right time.  He creates better stories than we do.  So, we need to be in tune with Him...it may be that He tells us or leads us into not sharing right away.  In this case, the vision may not be prophetically attuned to the 'now'...but it may be 'waiting' for God's hand to move, so that after He moves, we can deliver to this or that person a confirmation on what just happened. God wants all of His words to be released in their season.

5)  We don't share the vision--it's just for us

We don't share the vision, because it's encouragement from God to us that deals with personal issues. There are a lot of things that I don's share.  God may want us to lay low for awhile.  He may want us to withhold from sharing what He's doing in a certain area of our lives.  Maybe He's forming a testimony, or maybe He's going to allow us to overcome a certain major struggle.  Maybe at that point He'll prompt us to share.  We'll see!

It isn't always a good idea to share if other people won't understand.  Jesus said not to throw our pearls to pigs--not to disclose spiritual gifts to the undiscerning (Matthew 7:6). This is especially true if the vision God gave is symbolic.  A non-spiritual person just won't get it! Only a spiritual person--someone filled with the Holy Spirit--can lovingly discern all things (1 Corinthians 2:15).  We don't want to risk being trampled and having our faith mocked.

 In general, some things are better left withheld.  At least until God says share!  If He does, then trust that He's opened the door to an awesome opportunity.  It may be that the vision He gave you will apply to a nonbeliever in ways that you yourself couldn't imagine.  That's what personal prophecy is all about.  It shows the reality and redemption of Jesus!  But I'm hesitant to go around sharing every symbolic vision.



More posts on visions in the near future.   I feel that this is a very important topic.  God wants us to be able to convey the word!  So, more on this later.

Dream: Shattered Glass in My Tongue

Last night, I had a dream that I was taking a vase off of a shelf, but dropped it, and it shattered everywhere from the fall. I knew I had made a horrible mistake, and began to hate myself. Shortly after this, I began to have pieces of glass in my tongue and in the palms of my hands. I don't know how they got there. For the next few days in my dream, I was picking big pieces of glass out of my hands with tweezers, and was hardly able to talk to people because of the glass pieces in my tongue. Finally, at the end of the dream, all the glass was out of my hands, and right before I went to have surgery at the hospital, the glass in my tongue disappeared.

I woke up this morning and had no recollection of the dream upon waking. I went to have my time with God, and while I was raising my hands in front of me, I opened my eyes, and saw two big scars on the centers of the palms of my hands, where I had picked the glass out in my dream. This is how the Lord helped me to even remember the dream, as it had completely gone from my awareness. But during my quiet time, He helped it came back to my memory. I began asking the Lord what this meant.

He reminded me of scriptures He had given me the past few days about the tongue, and about how I've developed a way of speaking negatively. He also reminded me of a time in my life where I was "shattered by a fall." I've not only grown so angry at myself because of this mistake I made, but was extremely hurt by "the fall", and in turn it has cause me to have negative thinking patterns or habits, and words as well... for "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." (Luke 6:45)

A couple days ago, the Lord gave me Proverbs 15:4 - "A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit."

He has been working on me so much regarding my tongue, because lately I've been speaking hopeless and despairing words because of my health, wondering if I will receive healing like Thomas and I see so often on the street. It's been 6 months now that I have had a virus that has stollen my energy, my joy, and lately, my hope.

The Lord is teaching me in this season to be careful what I say. Because I feel low, it's easy to speak words mirroring my low spirit. Thankful words bring life, and words of complaint, hopelessness, or negativity make me feel worse right after I say them.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones." (Proverbs 17:22)

I am ready to make a huge effort to be careful what I say to others, regardless of how I feel or how frustrated and confused I am about my health. Sometimes I can't answer questions that people ask me- especially when I see so many people miraculously healed before my eyes. I can't explain why the Lord hasn't healed me- well, actually I can. The word "Job" is a fine enough example of suffering that believers go through, to be refined in the fire. To be made righteous. To be tested to the painful roots of issues. What if that's why some of us aren't healed? Maybe the Lord wants to use our pain and sickness to refine us in the fire and make us pure as gold, so that even in the lowest of our lows, a point where we have no energy or joy, we will still say, "My God reigns." And not only that, but to teach our tongue to stop complaining, being defensive, and speaking words that only drag ourselves and others down.

I am hopeful that I will learn this! It is my goal to begin the upward climb to stop speaking words that drain me, and start declaring thankfulness and praise to God, no matter how low I feel. This surely is a learned discipline. I do believe that once I learn this, his purpose for my sickness will be complete. If I can learn to speak righteously at my lowest of lows, I will be able to carry that habit in the good seasons too.

Mark Four: Mysteries and Parables

So, onto the second part of Mark four.  Jesus gives the disciples several other parables and explains to them that these parables speak of Kingdom mysteries.


 Later, when Jesus was alone with the twelve disciples and with the others who were gathered around, they asked him what the parables meant.

He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders, so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:

‘When they see what I do,
    they will learn nothing.
When they hear what I say,
    they will not understand.
Otherwise, they will turn to me
    and be forgiven.’” 

Mark 4:10-12


It's taken me a little while to realize, but God still speaks in parables today.  And He does so in a way that is modeled by how Jesus did so for His disciples.  Often I'll perform an everyday task, just going through the motions, when the Lord reveals to me a parable relating to what I just did.  God wants to turn even the little things into a learning experience for us.  He wants to give us revelation and understanding on the big things by speaking to our minds as we work on the small.

It is a great feeling when you are working on something, and then the Lord begins to speak.  He tells you the symbolism behind what you just did, and how you essentially just walked out a Kingdom principle by your actions.  He gives you a now word that reveals a new segment of truth.  Our God wants to redeem every bit of our time--provided we are using it to try to please Him (Ephesians 5:16).  He wants to re-purpose the ordinary and turn it into an opportunity to learn from Him.  He wants to speak to us through parables!

And it's within our own minds and in our time alone with the Lord that He reveals to us something that unbelievers just wouldn't understand.  He reveals a spiritual truth out of the ordinary, and as we spend more time with Him, He imparts more and more.   The parable may be played out in public, but the interpretation, the knowing, comes with His inner stillness as we take time to put our attention onto Him.


Then he added, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”

Mark 4:24-25


There is no end to the depth of revelation we can find in a parable.  God can just keep giving more and more!  He may symbolize His love by our action first, and as we go deeper into the parable's symbolism, He can then reveal a message of spiritual giftedness, too.  If we listen, He will continue to speak.  If we listen more closely, He will speak more deeply!  We can be comforted in knowing that if we try, God will come in and equip us with all the understanding we need to discern what He's saying.

We need to take every message from God seriously.  Every word from Him gives life, and every parable from Him gives understanding.  If we have an ear to hear, He can speak to us nonstop!  He can redeem every action, and turn it into a parable or an opportunity to learn.  God wants to speak to us about even the little things--He wants to give us that 'blessed assurance' even while we work on smaller tasks.

Confirmed:  The Lord spoke to me about Mark four yesterday afternoon, and in the evening, I came across a new word on the Elijah list.  It's called "God Has a Specific Word Waiting For You", and for me, it in itself was a very specific word, as it ties in so closely to what God had just been showing me!  So cool.  That's the link, if you have time to read it.   

Mark Four: Sowing a Better Word

Earlier today, the Lord said "Mark 4", and told me to read it.  And so I turned there, and it was the parable of the sower!  And I realized that it was such a word in season. The Lord has led me to start gardening this Spring, in hopes of one day restoring our farm, and so the concept of sowing seeds really resonated.

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn't have deep roots, it died. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

Mark 4:3-9

SOWING WITH OTHERS

All of us are spiritual farmers.  All of us can sow a seed.  And all of us should--we should all speak the truth in love so that others can hear and believe. All we need to do is lay out God's word in front of others.  The more God draws me near, the more I have a desire to sow the truth among those who have not yet heard it.   And once we share, our work is done--we can rest in the knowing that God will work!  

We need to sow goodness into those who don't yet possess the light.  We need to encourage and exhort.  And we will probably need to rebuke.  But we need to do all of this in love and in the spirit of prophecy.  We need to plant into the minds of the lost and confused good thoughts.  And all of us will feel lost and confused at some point! So we can sow truth into both believers and unbelievers.

Sometimes we may give the truth to others, only to see satan come in and steal that word away from them.  And that's sad--but we need to know that we did what we could, that we pleased God.  We are not accountable for the effects of someone else's shallow or thorny soil--we are just accountable for our own efforts to sow.  Once the Word is sown, it's up to the receiver to humbly accept it (James 1:21).

SOWING WITH OUR WORDS

So we sow seeds among those with less knowledge; among unbelievers and less mature Christians. And that's great!  But we also need to sow good seeds in our own life.  We do this in 3 ways:

1)  We speak life over ourselves 
2)  We speak life over our surroundings and families
3)  We make sure that our soil is good

Remember that the power of life and death is in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21).  Let's make positive confessions accordingly!  We can speak life in many ways--by thanking God, by declaring His goodness, by claiming His promises, etc.  Praying in tongues--praying in the Holy Spirit--is also a way of speaking life.  It's a way we can speak life and build ourselves up in our most holy faith (Jude 1:20).

If the seeds sown are good, then we should ensure that our soil is,too.  We are not of the world, so our thoughts, emotions, and words should be sanctified.  We can then walk in humility and accept any seed of truth that might come along.  Anything opposing our belief of the truth needs to be cast down by the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5).  Then we can say something over ourselves or our families--something pure and true--and also be conditioned to believe it.  If we confess and believe, not only are we saved (Romans 10:9), but we will also become more and more fruitful!

SOWING WITH GOD'S WORD

We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).  And we sow into others because He first sowed into us!  We need to let Him sow. by the Word.  We need to accept His truth and accept His reality, because that is when more can be given.  We need to accept all that He has to give us.  This, too, happens in 3 ways.

1)  We receive God's written Word
2)  We receive God's personal (prophetic or specific--rhema) word
3)  We prepare our soil to accept God's power.

Step one is obvious, but it's most important.  There are so many promises in God's Word.  These are the seeds Jesus was referring to!  And many are conditional.  Just like seeds, they will not grow nor become fully manifested unless properly nourished.  So we need to read and believe the Bible, God's written Word.

Step two is also important.  God stills speaks today, so we need to continue to listen.  He gives personal promises.  He speaks mysteries and talks of the future.  He reveals to us great and mighty things, which we otherwise would not know (Jeremiah 33:3).  We need to position ourselves and spend time in the presence of the Most High.  We need to hear His loving, comforting voice for ourselves.

Step three--we need to get ourselves out of the way!  God dreams big, and I think it's very biblical to say that He also likes to show off.  Don't be surprised if He says something daunting.  Don't be surprised if a personal promise from God seems unlikely--or even impossible.  On your own effort, it is!  The solution starts with a transformation of our own thoughts into His, as we take on God's mind.  We need to have enough faith and enough trust to believe God for something great.  We need to do away with old ways of thinking and old strongholds, in order for our soil to be a nourishing climate for God's rhema words.  In short, we need to acquire from the Lord new wine skins (Matthew 9:17)!

If we receive and accept every word that God speaks, we will also receive every one of His blessings. We will become more and more fruitful in bearing good fruit!

"You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you; And light will shine on your ways."
~Job 22:28

Asking or Commanding?

 **Note:  This post refers mostly to how we should approach praying for others--especially if they are in need of healing, miracles, deliverance, or release from opposing spirits.  These instances are the main times when we should command.  Asking God for something is not wrong of sinful if it is done in faith.  We should all ask God for things everyday!  But there is a definite time to accept the power of God and tailor our prayers in accordance with the fullness of His will.**

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

John 11:38-44

We need to realize that Jesus is our Master and Lord, as well as our role model.  The works He did, we can do, too.  And so it follows that the ways He walked in, we should walk in, also.  We should talk like He talked, pray like He prayed, and think like He thought--all on the way to loving like He loved.  So let's look at how He prayed, and aspire to do the same!

HOW DID JESUS PRAY?

We can learn through the Word that most of Jesus' prayers for miracles were short and to the point. Jesus did not repeatedly ask or beg the Father to move His hand.  He simply spoke out of assurance and commanded the change.  In the instance with Lazarus above, Jesus says one of His most interesting prayers.  He actually prayed more than a couple sentences for this miracle, but not for His sake or for the Father's!  He only did so for the sake of the understanding of those listening! He didn't say a long prayer just to go on and on.  He never incorporated cop-outs into His prayers. Whenever Jesus prayed, His words were only a means to an end--that end being a manifestation of the Father's will.  And that manifestation always came quickly!

ASK OR COMMAND?

So let's say we are in a situation where someone needs and is seeking a healing from the Lord.  What do we say?  What do we ask God for?  Many times, people make the mistake of begging and begging God for something, something that He is much more eager to do than they are!  People sometimes ask God for something--they ask Him to carry out a promise--as if God otherwise was not so into keeping His promises.  I feel God wants us to command His true will, rather than ask Him if He might consider changing a situation that has been caused by the enemy.

COMMAND WITH EXPECTATION

We need to trust God enough to be in tune with Him.  And then we can be in tune with Him enough to command!  We command the will of God out of a place of knowing the will of God.  We need to pray with enough faith and enough passion that the end of our prayer is the best part--because that's when we can see that the faithfulness of God has achieved the desired effect!  That's how praying should be.  We should know that just a few of our words is enough for God, in His goodness, to completely change things.

COMMAND IN THE SPIRIT, NOT THE FLESH

Now, there is a danger in our commanding if it is done in the flesh.  Commanding away an affliction in Jesus' name is much, much different than trying to order God around.  We need to stay in the Spirit to avoid presumption and pride.  We need to be in the Spirit and operating in Christ's love whenever we pray and command on His behalf.

COMMAND UNDER THE APPROVAL OF GOD

So the solution to praying correctly is to pray in the Spirit--driven and under the influence of God's will.  Realize that if we are in the Spirit, we may still ask God for the healing.  We just ask Him before any corporate prayer begins--we ask Him on our own time, so that we can command when the time to see the manifestation comes.  We may ask God beforehand, or we may just have the inner witness of the Holy Spirit. The important thing about commanding anything is this: we need to be driven and guided by God up until the point of prayer.  

COMMAND WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S GOODNESS

When we command by the Spirit, guided by His love, that's when we become fully convinced of God's goodness.  That's when we realize what we're up against--and it's not God!  We realize that what we are commanding out is opposed to God.  And we realize that His will is nothing other than a completed overcoming. We can realize victory, because Jesus has already won the victory.  We can realize God's passion and longing for us to triumph.  Most of all, when we're in the Spirit, we are so assured that God's will is healing and not sickness, joy and not depression, purity and not pain.  We don't need to ask Him if things are any different!  And we don't need to ask out of doubt, because God's truth comes in and moves us to decisive action.  God wants to take us to a place of being moved to accomplish His true and perfect will.

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Romans 12:2

Snapshot: Just Focusing on The Lord

During worship in Church last Sunday, the Lord gave a simple vision that helped me understand how to worship in full truth.  He showed me a funnel being placed directly above my head.  The wide end was down, leaving me to look up only through a narrow whole.  And I was supposed to look up to Him, but only through the end of this funnel.  Then I was fully able  to pinpoint and focus on the Lord.

And God revealed to me that this was a way to stay safe during worship.  We can only be spiritually caught up with Him if we have full fixation on Him.  And the Lord was demonstrating to me the importance of this focus--especially when in the Spirit during praise and worship.

"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."    John 4:21

Confirmed:  On Monday, Vanessa randomly comes up to me and puts a funnel on top of my head, just like the Lord had done for me spiritually the day before.  What a funny confirmation!  She said I looked like a certain cartoon character.  But I knew what God was trying to say. Let's have such a focus in worship that the Lord can entrust to us the revealing of His love, His glory, and His Kingdom mysteries.  

"So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."       Isaiah 55:11

Why Healing May not Come

I've been thinking about making this post for a while now.  In the future, I'll make more elaborate posts on barriers to healing, with explanations for each reason.  But for now, let's look at a shorter outline.

Sometimes healing doesn't come, and I feel God wants us to receive a revelation as to why.  If healing is God's will, then we need to accept that every block and obstacle to full healing has a reason and/ or root behind it.  We need to realize that healing is God's reality.  Good health is God's reality and His will for all of us--eventually.

He said, "If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you."

Here we can see many keys, or conditions, to healing. Remember that so many of God's promises are conditional.  Health and healing is conditional! Blessings and healings may not rest on us if we are not meeting God's conditions. And three conditions  are listed in the above verse:

Blockages to Healing:

1)  Not listening to God's voice

2)  Not doing what is right in God's sight

3)  Not obeying God's commands and decrees

Now, if we do not walk in obedience, healing may not come!  But God is so gracious--He allows us to come to repentance.  He allows us to allow Him to make all things new.  Repentance is the way that we close the door to sickness brought about by sin.  If our sins are forgiven, then it should follow that our diseases are healed.  As soon as God forgives us, He blots out the above three barriers.  But if we do not repent, that will also become a blockage.  The above three reasons can be summed up in one--we need to repent and be converted:

4)  We are unrepentant

Some of the other reasons that healing may not manifest are more complex.  Sometimes healing is a puzzle!  Sometimes there's a web to undo.  Like I said, I'll elaborate in a future post.  I hope this shorter outline still gives insight and keys to healing that may have been overlooked:

5)  We are harboring unforgiveness towards others

6)  We are harboring unforgiveness towards God

These two reasons above require posts of themselves.  Someday...hopefully soon!

7)  We are under a generational curse

8)  We are under a relational curse

9)  We are under an internal (inner vow) curse

These curses relate to familiar spirits and/ or the words that we ourselves--or even those close to us--speak.  Words are powerful!  The above three reasons may be grouped together as different kinds of bitter roots. Thankfully, God's Word trumps all others.  And in Jesus, any familial spirit of curse can be broken off and cast out.

10)  We have not driven out a specific (bad) spirit

11)  We have not driven out an oppressive demon

12)  We have not driven out a possessive demon 

More future posts here.  I don't have that much experience with casting out demons, though I have been used by God for that a few times.  Keep in mind that spirits and demons are different, and oppression is not the same as possession.

13)  We are not coming to knowledge of the truth

14)  God wants to teach us something

Now, the above two reasons are less serious--so they will probably lead to less serious affliction.  I trust that God won't give me cancer just because He wants me to learn trust.  That's not the god I know, nor is it a biblical portrayal of God.  Nonetheless, Christians are still perishing for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6).

15)  God is forming a testimony for the future

16)  God has given us a thorn in the flesh

Like I said at the start of the post, it is God's will to heal us--eventually.  He may want us to develop a testimony first.  Remember that Paul said that he was in chains for the sake of the gospel. In the same way, God may wait to come in for our healing until just the right time.  Affliction + character development + healing = Glory to God.

I want to be careful with this last reason.  I never want to assume somebody has a physical thorn. Often Christians will refer to something as their thorn, when that is not at all the reason for their affliction.   This last reason is probably the most uncommon one.  Unfortunately, it's become a scapegoat for some different reason for sickness--like unrepentance, habitual sin, and so on.  I only list it because it's in the Word.  And more often than not, I think thorns are spiritual problems, not physical ones.

17)  The person being prayed for doesn't have faith

Now, a person does not need perfect faith in order to be healed.  Many people are very surprised after they realize they are healed--if they had perfect faith, that wouldn't be the case, as they would just be expecting it!  So faith is not always a limiter.  However, the less faith a person has, the harder it is to see them immediately healed.  There are exceptions to this, but I feel that it's a good general rule.   The faith of the person praying can overcome the unbelief of the person being prayed over.  This is especially true if the one praying has the gift of faith--in that case, it's most likely the openness of the one receiving prayer that counts.  

Come to God to Learn

We come to God for many reasons.  He is worthy of praise, He is worthy of worship; He is worthy of our time.   We also come to get filled up and recharged; we allow Him to revive us and restore our hope.  In the last week, the Lord began highlighting another reason we come to Him: we come to Him to learn.  

"As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants--from this time on and forever," says the LORD.

Isaiah 59:21

Here the Lord makes a covenant, with us!  I feel this covenant is for all who believe.  And He says that His Spirit will always be on us, and His words will always be on our lips.  He says that He will always teach us--us and our children forever!

So, we come to the the Lord and He imparts to us knowledge--He gives us the spirit of wisdom and revelation (Ephesians 1:17).  He teaches us about Himself and His character. And He also teaches us how to apply His thoughts to this current world.  He gives us divine inspiration.

Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.                                         Micah 4:2

Now, this is a future prophecy yet to be fulfilled, but we can attain to it symbolically even now.  We come to the Lord, and we ascend with Him.  Remember that Jesus ascended, and He was the firstborn of many brethren (Romans 8:29).  We, too, can go up to His mountain!  And that's where we learn.  He will teach us His ways so that we can walk in His paths!  Wow!  

This mountain top is also where we hear God most clearly.  The Law of Liberty dwells here, and so does an atmosphere of clarity.  There's an atmosphere of clarity and praise.  This is where the word of God, the hearing and knowing of His mind, comes in.  God speaks a word so that He can dwell among us (John 1:14).  He teaches us and speaks to us so,  and then we can come down from that high place and encourage other believers to go up for themselves.  

This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: People from nations and cities around the world will travel to Jerusalem. The people of one city will say to the people of another, ‘Come with us to Jerusalem to ask the Lord to bless us. Let’s worship the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. I’m determined to go.’ Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord of Heaven’s Armies and to ask for his blessing.

“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: In those days ten men from different nations and languages of the world will clutch at the sleeve of one Jew. And they will say, ‘Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”                  Zechariah 8:20-23

Here is another literal prophecy that is also yet to be fulfilled--yet we can take so much from it symbolically.  If we've been on the mountaintop, if we've been taught by God, if we've heard Him speak to us--then we will draw other people in!  Now, we won't draw everybody in...but those with softened hearts will be drawn in and captivated by what God's done.  People will know that God is with us.  And then they will be motivated to go up and learn from God for themselves!

This is testimony-based evangelism, and this is what God wants us to do.  He wants us to learn and grow based on what we've learned on His mountain!  He wants to tell us great and unsearchable things (Jeremiah 33:3) and provoke others to holy jealousy.  He wants us to gather around Him.

Snapshot: Having God's Heart

Last week the Lord showed me a softened heart and explained:

"I am taking your heart and making it Mine. You are Mine, so take heart in the truth.  Today, I am sending you to deliver truth"

Isn't that what it's about?  When we have acquired God's heart, then we can deliver His truth.  And we can also 'take heart'--get it?--in knowing that we have received from Him.  We have received from Him a truth that delivers and is delivered among the darkness of this world.  

"Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."           Hebrews 10:22

"Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart."        2 Cor. 4:1

"Guide me in your truth and teach me; for you are the God who delivers me....."             Psalm 25:5

All About Visions: Discerning the Meanings

So, say that the Lord gives a vision.  He may show you something internally--most likely when in prayer or when your eyes are closed--or give a more external, 'open' vision.  Either type is a blessing! Either type of vision is a way that the Lord conveys His word. (1 Samuel 3:1)

Now, this vision is a message from God.  It tells you something otherwise unknowable--it tells you whatever God wills to reveal.  It's knowledge may be meant to apply to yourself, or to your best friend.  Or maybe God wants you to share it with anyone who has ears to hear.  And receiving this vision is relatively easy--it's a free gift! (1 Corinthians 12:4) Interpreting the vision may be a little more difficult.  Our response to any God-given vision should be to seek Him for the fullness of the interpretation.  A picture is worth a thousand words, and any picture God gives is perfect.  In addition, a general rule is that God speaks with double entendres--double meanings.

"One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard..."          Psalm 62:11

So we need to discern the vision and understand that it probably (not always) has a primary and secondary meaning.  I've found that the two meanings contained in a vision probably relate to each other in one of three ways:

1)  The vision relates to the now and also to some time in the future or past.  It's prophetic in that it carries God's mind for this present moment and it's connection to another point on the timeline.  It's a predictive vision.

2)  The vision relates both literally and figuratively--symbolically--to a certain theme or situation.  It may describe both the physical and spiritual aspects of something. It's a parable vision.

3)  The vision relates to a smaller topic and a larger topic--it contains a theme within a theme. This kind of vision zooms in on an issue--it magnifies and "divides" the truth. (2 Timothy 2:15) It allows you to understand how the initial roots of something are manifested farther down the line. Therefore, this vision might reveal either the cause or effect of an event--or both!  It's an amplifying vision.

Now, these three categories are not the only three, nor are they always mutually exclusive.  There are many other potential interpretations found within the visions that God gives.  But I feel that they provide a general template.  Also keep in mind that a vision may not fit into just one of the categories.  It may be prophetic and also apply to smaller forces that cause larger issues.  Or it may be "parabled"--highly symbolic-- and also prophetically point to the future.  Just look at the books of Daniel and Revelation for examples of that!

With so many nuances, potential meanings, and combinations of meanings found within a vision, it's clear we need the help of God to discern.  And we will receive help, if we seek the Lord for it! Remember that Jesus spoke in parables, and His disciples didn't always understand...until they received the Holy Spirit.  And Jesus told His disciples in advance that the Spirit would be the One who would explain all things to them. (John 14:26)  In the same way, it is a yielding to the Holy Spirit that will lead to the full revelation on any vision God gives.  Let's seek Him as He reveals to us the scope and significance of His truth!

"But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him."              1 John 2:27

Word: The Severity of Mercy

A few days I was getting a headache and praying it away wasn't quite working like it usually does. So I asked the Lord about this, and He simply said,

"Not My goodness but My severity"

This took me by surprise a little.  And I felt like the Lord was telling me I was in the wrong somehow.  He highlighted to me that I was not at peace!   So I repented--turned--from this mistake as well as I could.  And the headaches gradually went away.  Thank you, Lord, for the comfort in your discipline. His rod is supposed to comfort us! (Psalms 23:4)  It may not be easy to undergo, but God always works our discipline for the good.

Just a few minutes after the Lord said this, and as my headache was going away, I saw a new book on the table, and flipped it face up to look at the title.  It was called "A Severe Mercy", by one of CS Lewis's friends.  Wow!  What a confirmation.  I did not know we had that book, nor had I ever heard of it. But I realize that God's mercy leads to discipline--that His mercy calls for severity.  It was the Lord who prompted me to flip over that book as a way to confirm His message!  God is so masterful in His workings.  He always confirms His word.

So if you're going through a trial of some sort, it may not be from the enemy!  It may be discipline from the Lord--an effort by Him to get you back into line.  Now, your trial might just be a spiritual attack.  But it could be disciplining from God!  And we need to inquire of God to see if we're in the wrong. We need to inquire of Him, to see if we opened up a door someplace or are walking without His light.  We shouldn't try to war against God's will only because we mistook His teaching for something else.

So let's war against the enemy, yes, with his condemnation and lying and problems.  But let's make sure that our trials are not actually God trying to get our attention.  He may be wanting us to repent. He may want us to be healed, delivered, brought out--He does--but only if we will first identify our problems.  So we need to diligently seek Him whenever we encounter a trial.  It could be that He just wants us to cast the enemy out.  But maybe He wants to tell us something first.

"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word."        Psalm 119:67

"It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes"         Psalm 119:71

 

Anticipating God's Spirit

The Lord began speaking to me about how to better anticipate Him--how to foresee His next move. And there can be several steps to this.  Now God can't just be formatted, but formats can help us understand how He works.


Step 1)  The first step in anticipating God's next move in your life is understanding hope.  We need to look forward to restored joy, restored love, restored peace...we need to look forward to restoration of fullness of life.  We need to know that He will uphold us and push us higher and higher.

"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit."
Psalm 51:11-12


Step 2)  Once we have hope, then we can call on Him in confidence. (1 John 5:14) Then we can be bold and know that He will reveal to us something according to His will.  We call on Him, and we have the awareness of our future 'saved'. (Romans 10:13)  Once we have hope for the future, we can attain to the promises found in Jeremiah 33:3.  And we can have boldness and confidence in this.

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."


Step 3)  So we call out to God, and God tells us something.  He tells us something about His future work that would otherwise be knowable.  He tells us something that testifies to Jesus, something that is in line with the spirit of prophecy (Revelations 19:10).  He gives us a word, or a vision, or a parable that points to and reveals His movement in the future.

For example, the Lord may reveal that tomorrow is going to be a day when a sibling of yours is really going to feel His love.  This kind of prophetic knowledge can also come as a warning to pray against---He may say that tomorrow is going to be a day where the enemy is going to try to attack you financially.  Whether God gives an encouraging word or a warning, the response needs to be in praying according to His will.    We can 'pray into' that coming sense of love and call it forth, or we can 'pray against' that financial warfare.  Remember that all God's promises are "yes" and "amen" in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20).


Step 4)  Step 3 is repeated as the Lord trains our ears to hear (Mark 4:9).  We become accustomed to His voice, and build trust in the revealing of His plans.  Once God has sanctified our ears, then He can sanctify our minds.  He can make us attuned to Him.  This is when He gives us the mind of Christ.

"But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ."                      1 Corinthians 2:15-16

If we have the mind of Christ, the Lord speaks to us in a way that transcends a word, a vision, or a parable.  The spirit of prophecy manifests in a new way that brings fullness and truth to our awareness of the future. And our own logical or mechanistic thinking on tomorrow, or the next day, or the next, is replaced by a knowing that comes from oneness with the Lord.

For example, I may be thinking about Vanessa's (previous) back problems, and in thinking with the Lord, I feel Him reassure me that everything is going to be alright.  And then the next day, Vanessa tells me that her back was healed by the Lord that morning.  Or, I'll be thinking of a certain Christian friend who we don't see often, and then go on to hear that they're coming to our house next month. God inspires our thoughts to the extent that they become prophetic.  And if our thoughts are prophetic, then we don't necessarily need a clear word.  We develop a type of godly premonition. What would Jesus think?  As it relates to us, we begin to think along with Him, too.


Step 5)  If we have the mind of Christ, praise God!  That's when we can act on it.  We can pray into it, act into it, and walk in it.  God's reality can continuously be coming into union with our own. We can do only what we see, or envision, the father doing. (John 5:19) This is where God wants to take us, if we ourselves will respond by wanting to get there.   If we are controlled by the spirit of prophecy to this extent, then we will be made into a testimony to Jesus.  And that's what it's all about!

Word: Being Drawn Near

A few days ago the Lord said,

"Dine with Me, commune with Me, feast with Me...I will then draw you near.  Then I will draw you in. Then I will magnify My Name in you."

And then He showed me a vision where I was walking along a pathway with Him.  We were communing with each other, and facing each other, yet this was actually the fastest way to progress along the path.  Don't look at the path ahead, look to Me--that's what He was saying.  That's how you can move forward.

What it means to commune with the Lord, the Lord of Glory, the Lord who loves us so much.  We draw near to Him, and then He draws others to us.  And then we point them to Him!  It's pretty simple.

Lord, draw us near today.  Lord, wrap us up in your love today.  Show us what it means to be clothed with the Lord Jesus!  Show us what it means to have your name magnified in our lives.  Show us how to be a living testimony to your love.  Give us a Spirit of longing for you, so that we can draw in others for your sake.  Amen!

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me."         Revelation 3:20

"But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds."             Psalm 73:28

Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; And let those who love Your salvation say continually, "Let God be magnified."                      Psalm 70:4

Snapshot: The Fear of the Lord

In a vision recently, I saw a tempest, dust clouds and thunderclouds.  And the Lord quickened to me what I was seeing.

"Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire."                        Isaiah 29:6

And with that sight came the fear of the Lord.  It was literally awesome.  I realized that the Lord was gracious to impart such a feeling to me--He was gracious to help me understand what it means to fear Him, what it means to stand in awe.

Now, there is no fear within God's perfect love (John 4:18), but we need to realize that this does not exclude a healthy kind of fear of the Lord.  If we fear God--if we come before Him in submission, reverence and awe--then we will not be fearful of anything else.  We can take from the below verse a strong exhortation and understand that a biblical fear of God will drown out anything else:

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."                             Matthew 10:28

That's a strong message, but we can look at the context and realize that it's truth is meant to make us share God more boldly among others.  It's meant to motivate us to shine from the hilltop (Matthew 5:16) and speak whatever the Holy Spirit prompts us to say.    Fear of the Lord is not meant to make us timid--it's meant to spur us on to boldness and power evangelism!  It's meant to make us know that we really only have to please just One.

"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling..."             Philippians 2:12

Here's another strong exhortation, and it's not meant to make us fearful.  Instead, we need to have reverence and respect towards the commands God has given us.  We need to work towards obedience so that the salvation of our daily life is attained to.  (Note that our souls have already been saved--but God wants to save our works also!)  We need to reach the fullness of salvation, and this verse says that we can do it by continuing in obedience.  Now, usually it is Christ's love that should compel us.  (2 Corinthians 5:14)  And usually, it does!  But sometimes, situations get harder--more intimidating-- and we need to be motivated out of reverence and fear of God.

I think that fear of the Lord is a concept lacking in the Church today!  It doesn't seem as fun as other topics.  But we need to understand that it's a command of God that He made for our own good.  We need to understand that God is good, His law is good, and His motives are good.  And He has laid down precepts--fearing Him is one of them--that are to be fully obeyed. (Psalms 119:4)

"My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws"        Psalms 119:120

Unstopping those Wells

Last week I was doing street ministry, and ran into some difficulties.  Nearly nobody wanted prayer, people seemed hardened or disinterested, and there were no healings.  Things just weren't 'flowing' like I wanted them to.  And because of all this I didn't feel rested in the Lord, and I found myself really struggling to do His work.  The situations I found myself in just seemed against me.

The next morning, the Lord gave me a vision during my quiet time.  There was a path I was on, a narrow, brilliant white path in front of me, and while walking along the path, I saw the Lord give tools that would unstop blockages--unstop spiritual 'wells' and allow a free flowing of the Holy Spirit and His healing power.  I realized that among the waters of the Spirit, things had become stopped up and the power of communing had been cut off.  I realized that God, in response and grace, was giving tools that would equip me to walk and operate unhindered in His will--walk in a state of rest where I could be attuned to Him.  And I saw that the Spirit was making a way.

"The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring."   Isaiah 58:11

The Lord's given me similar visions and similar messages before, So He spoke to me about this, and told me what to do.  He told me how to respond, how to answer Him with a "yes!"  He spoke to my heart and explained to me how to pray into His will.  He gave the vision, and then told me how to walk into it, how to work with Him to see it come to pass.

"Today is the day, now go and lay hold of it; pray for the harvest fields.

I have commissioned you to unstop the healing wells.

I will send My Word and heal them...so stretch out your hand and decree.  Stretch out your hand and minister My name.  I will be with you in power and love."  

So He showed me the process of equipping, and then told me how to carry it out.  We need to hear (see) His will, pray for it, and then decree and declare it.  And so that's what I did.  And the Lord was so encouraging.  I went out for ministry again, to the same place as the day before...but I was expectant. I felt God would back me.  I felt He would make a way for things to flow.  I felt that He would establish His will as I prayed and spoke it.  And I felt that the Lord would be with me in power and love, just like He had said.

So, I got to the store and saw a younger guy with a cast and crutches.  And I felt it wasn't quite time. After a little while, I caught him right as he was going out the door.  I asked if I could pray for him, and praise God, he said yes!  So I said a short prayer... I couldn't wait to see if he felt better!  After two prayers, he was healed.  This guy wasn't all that close to God, but his heart was softened.  I asked him if he had a bible and he said no.  And I was bummed that I didn't have one to give him.

I told him, "the best thing you can do is pray to Him.  God loves you, and that's why He's healed you".  And the guy was convicted--he said, "yeah....I will."  He was surprised and softened, and I trust that he did begin praying to the Lord at that point.  Praise God!

I did some more ministry after that...and things really flowed!  I met so many other Christians and softened people, unlike the day before.  It was awesome...the Lord gave rest, and allowed for so many divine alignments.  I even talked with a lady who I knew from our ~40 person Church!

From this whole experience, God taught me so much.  He showed me the importance of praying against spiritual hindrances, of praying into His will, by whatever the Spirit reveals.  He demonstrated to me such a model--discern, pray, decree.  He showed me how to be used in bringing down from Heaven His will.  

Confirmed:  A few days later, I saw a word on the Elijah list called,   "The Pressure is Building!    The Lord is Releasing Well Diggers".  Glory to God!  Below is an excerpt:

"There is a new breed of apostolic and prophetic leaders who have been raised up in this hour to tap into the wells and release the underground rivers. As I was processing this dream, I asked the Holy Spirit, "What do the underground rivers represent?" He quickly answered me and said, "These underground waters represent the deep works of the Spirit that have remained in the earth. No matter how far man's heart has drifted, the rivers are still in the earth waiting to be tapped and released."

I then saw regions of America that were once centers of the move of God but have grown so cold. Those regions have deep wells and underground waters that cannot be seen or sensed with the natural senses, yet they remain waiting to be tapped and released. The Father is bringing forth prophetic people in regions that can see beyond the natural to see the underground waters, the potential move of God. It is critical that the prophetic spirit is released within the Church to CALL FORTH this move!" 

Let's pray, see, and decree!  Let's pray for the harvest fields, let's see what He says, and then let's decree!  Let's do our part to usher in another move of God.

"Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest."

Matthew 9:38

Snapshot: A Dwelling on the Mountaintop

Recently, the Lord gave me a vision where I saw a house being built atop a mountain.

"Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in his holy place?
Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
    who do not worship idols
    and never tell lies.
They will receive the Lord’s blessing
    and have a right relationship with God their savior.
Such people may seek you
    and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob."

Psalm 24:4-6

We all need to get into this holy place, this mountaintop visitation with God.  We each need to be touched by Him, be transformed by Him, be changed by Him--and this happens on the mountaintop. We climb the mountain to meet the Lord--to get away from people and distractions, and to seek His face.  That's why we make the climb.  That why we put in our part and allow Him to uplift us.

Now, Peter and John wanted to build a house on the mountaintop--that's human--and they were told no. (Matthew 17:4) That's not what I'm talking about.  The Lord knows that trials will come, and we need to respond by knowing that He will still make all things work for the good. (Romans 8:28)  We need to come on down from that higher place and interact with others--we have work to do!

What the Lord was showing me was the possibility of really abiding.  He was relaying the importance of getting creativity, inspiration, and life from that mountaintop time.  And most importantly--He was showing me the importance of receiving from that place His Love.  We need to remain in this love--figuratively speaking, to remain on that mountaintop.  We need to remain in with Him, in Him, and for Him.

The only things worth building are those things that came from that mountaintop time.  We need to have an elevated foundation--Jesus--and only build on that.  We need our thoughts, actions, and efforts to flow from the secret place.  We need to be raised up by Him, and then stay there.  That's what really counts--entering into His bliss and applying it to our lives.

"He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, He who rejects unjust gain And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil; He will dwell on the heights, His refuge will be the impregnable rock; His bread will be given him, His water will be sure."

Isaiah 58:14

What It Means To Be Long-suffering

"He was despised, and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and as one from whom men hide their face he was despised; and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

Isaiah 53:3-5

Jesus was long-suffering.  He moved and lived and walked among the lost, and He felt their pain--He was acquainted with their pain!  He felt the Father's heart towards the lost--He understood their hopelessness as sheep without a shepherd.  (Matthew 9:36)  Jesus groaned under the intensity of His love for creation, His longing for all of them to see redemption.  In many way, it was a burden for Him.

"Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil;
rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth;
beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

We need to realize that there is a spiritual need to "suffereth long".  That's what Jesus does, and that's what love does.  We need to hurt for the hurting, die for the dying, and feel for the unfeeling.  We need to long for the salvation of others.  We need to bear their burdens--and be burdened by their problems.  This long-suffering is what fulfills the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).

"But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God."

So to continue on in this kind of love, we need to patiently endure.  Endure in what?  Endure in hope. Endure in Jesus, who is the hope of salvation, and the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)  We need to bear within us the only hope of the lost.  We need to carry within us the long--suffering of Christ for others.  We need to carry within us the unstifled passion of the Holy Spirit.  

Are we bearing all things?  Believing all things?  Hoping all things?  Enduring all things?  If the answer to such questions is 'yes', then we have entered into a godly idealism.  If yes, then we are fulfilling the law of Christ.  And it will be painful!  It can and will be painful to hope for others and believe for others what they cannot yet believe for themselves.

To see someone, and know they need Jesus, and to hope and pray and believe that they will find Him, that's long-suffering.  We continue groaning on their behalf--we patiently endure their pain.  We hope for their salvation; we hope for their redemption.  We long to see just one come to know Him, to see just one come to see Him for who He really is.  This is what ministry is all about--what life is all about!  This is what it means to be love.

"For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. 

But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 

And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 

We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)"
  
Romans 8:19-25

Song: Place of Worship

One of my favorite songs right now, maybe my top favorite, is "Place of Worship" by William McDowell.  It's so beautiful, so anointed, so passionate--it points to the savior.

I wanted to know what the Lord thought of this type of music, and so I asked Him.  And He led me to pause the song as the 7:03 mark.  I then entered that into the online lexicon.  Praise the Lord!

Hebrew #703:
A virtuous course of thought, feeling and action;
Any particular moral excellence, as modesty, purity

Praise Him for songs that convey His virtue, His excellence, and His purity.  That's exactly what these William McDowell songs do.  They do what praise music should! They magnify the Lord, and brings His likeness near.   Such music pleased Him--it's acceptable worship in His eyes.  I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do.  It really ushers you into the presence of the Lord.

"Worship the LORD with joy! Enter his presence with joyful singing!"                Psalm 100:2

Snapshot: Fire as Protection

Yesterday the Lord showed me a vision where my path was hemmed in.  Walls of fire surrounded me, leading me down my desired path.  This has been a recurring vision for me.  Sometimes I get it for others, sometimes I get it for myself.  Either way, it relates to the Lord's hedge of protection--the fiery seal of the Holy Spirit-- directed around the path of His children.  There's always a sense that He's just anointed it that way.  There's just a sense that it's predestined.  

This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls..."

Jeremiah 6:16

God has placed around each of us a hedge of protection.  He's placed on all of us His seal.  He's placed within all of us His Holy Spirit.  And He's placed a firewall around our path.  He's prepared for us all a perfect way, a place where blessings rest.  

If you are not walking in blessings, than you may not be on this path.  You may not be on the highway of holiness (Isaiah 35:8).  You may not be laying hold of all that the Lord has for you.  See, the enemy cannot touch you if you're surrounded by Holy Spirit fire.  He can't get to you if you're totally submitted, totally obedient, totally sacrificed--if God has totally hemmed you in.  When you're on God's path, only goodness can touch you.  And this path is where all of us need to be.  Pleasing and being pleased by the Father.  This is the path God wants us on--the path He's prepared for us since the beginning of time!

"Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God."                                      Deuteronomy 28:2-3

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."                                                  Ephesians 2:10