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