I’ve missed a couple of blogs this month (10/13 and 10/20). I have a lot to share, I just didn’t have time to sit down and write about it. Even this morning I feel pushed, but I still want to say a word or two about the things I feel are taking place in the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit has really been prompting me to pray in the Spirit more and more. When I go to the Prayer Tower to pray and begin to talk with the Lord, the Spirit says, “Okay, enough of that, get on your knees and pray in the Spirit.” It doesn’t offend me or make me feel God is unconcerned about my needs. It makes me feel there is a new urgency in the Spirit. It makes me feel that something is coming, and it is coming quickly. My constant prayer is, “O Lord, please, not another battle with an evil spirit.” He reassures me that it is not. We have been faithful to stay on course in spite of Leviathan and it has maintained our heart of victory in the midst of our constant trials and tests.
Yet, what the Holy Spirit is revealing to me is that something earthshaking is about to happen. Most of us would want it centered around our church, like a mighty revival or a powerful increase — that sort of thing, but God is saying it is on a larger scale. Possibly regional or even national.
As a result of this stirring in my spirit, I am in listening mode like never before. I have my ear to the ground. It’s like having your ear next to a railroad track and hearing and feeling the rumble of an approaching train. You know its coming because you can feel the vibration. With all that is within, you are trying to determine how big it is and how close it is. Also, you are trying to figure out how fast it is moving and when it will arrive. Then on top of all of that, you are trying to envision what the train is carrying in its box cars.
It is amazing to me to be able to sense things in the Spirit. Recently, we have been studying about the voice of the Holy Spirit on Wednesday nights. The Lord has even had me extend this study, because we need to learn more about how to hear his voice. It has helped me greatly. I have gained a greater confidence about the things God drops into my Spirit. I still need confirmation, and that’s not a bad thing, but the fleeces must end. I have been praying for a more discerning spirit and God is answering that prayer by allowing me to more clearly discern his voice from all the others around me and within me.
When I looked back over the past few years, I discovered with the four spirits which attacked our church (Jezebel, Absalom, Judas, and Leviathan) there was always a warning beforehand. There was a stirring in my spirit and I found myself even speaking about the upcoming attacks before they manifested themselves. With Judas I was directly spoken to by the Lord and it was confirmed by my prayer partners. Jesus said in John 13:19, “Now I tell you before it comes so when it is comes to pass, you may believe that I am he.” I have realized that God will always tell you before it happens. What we need to be sure of is that we are listening. I believe the heart of what I am saying in this blog is, it is time to listen like never before to what the Spirit is speaking. Something’s coming!
I believe the Holy Spirit is being emphatic about this because he wants us to be ready. In one sense it will be a battle, but not with the forces of darkness. It will be a stretching of our abilities, our resources, and our faith. It will shake us, but not in a bad way. It will cause us to grow and grow up, if you know what I mean.
I would use the word breakthrough, but we have already experienced a breakthrough. I want everyone to know, we have won the battles, we are victorious, and we have endured. What is coming now is something very different. We will not dread it — we will embrace it. It is something we have been praying for, longing for, and fighting for. If I could use one word to describe it that word would be expectancy. However, I really don’t know what to expect. I don’t know what it will look like.
One way to illustrate it would be like receiving a gift wrapped package. You are excited about it, not because you know what is in it, but because you know who it is from. For some time the devil has been sending his messengers to try and destroy what we have been trying to build. Now, however, this package is coming from God. Just like the post office, it will have a delivery confirmation with it. We will know who it is from, and who it is addressed to. Is it revival? Is it an outpouring? Is it abundant blessings? I don’t know, but the Spirit says we will love it. I know I will, because it comes from God. God loves us and he gives good gifts to his children.
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
Luke 11:13
The reason the Spirit is impressing this on my spirit is because he wants me to be able to receive it when it comes. Many times we miss the blessings of God because we don’t realize they are from him. To us his blessings might look difficult, they might look painful, or they might produce a struggle in us. However, if we trust that what God provides for us is good, then we will submit ourselves to it and receive a blessing from it.
To fully embrace the things God gives us we must rid our hearts and minds of selfish ambition and seek his purpose above all else. The things he gives us serve to accomplish what he desires to do though our lives. What is quickly coming our way is designed to do exactly that — accomplish what God has purposed for us and for our church. I know when I order something from the internet, I watch closely for a delivery truck. I try to imagine what the package will look like. I scan the porch of the parsonage and the church every time I pull up in the car, wondering if it has come yet. This is the feeling I have in my spirit right now. I’m listening, looking, watching, waiting, so I will be ready to receive it when it comes.
May all of us begin to seek God like never before. Like an expectant child questioning his father, let us begin to ask, “What is it? When will I get it? How big is it?” The next thing that is coming our way is from the Father. It will bring joy and gladness to our hearts. Let us be prepared to receive it. This is our answer to prayer. This is a longing fulfilled. This is something great, earthshaking, revealing, and powerful. We will fall on our faces and thank God for his wonderful plan revealed to us by his Spirit.
“He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Revelation 3:22