ENCOUNTER HIM
Get out your journal and encounter your Father. Ask Him what He wants you to ask Him.
ENCOUNTER HIM
ENCOUNTER HIM
- Encountering the Father, Hearing God's Voice
SPIRITUAL HEARING
There is no special spiritual gift of hearing God. It comes with the package of becoming a Son and Daughter. You may need to learn how to strengthen your spiritual muscle of hearing (like worship, reading the Word, and prayer), but your spiritual ears work just fine.
INVITATION TO PLAY
Imagine a child who watches every football game with their dad and longs to be just like them when they grow up. Their world revolves around their favorite sports hero. Picture that child playing catch only to realize he can’t hold the ball well. He walks away in utter defeat and concludes football is not for him. He spends a great deal of mental energy and time pushing away his deepest desire and longing to play. This is what so many adults do with playing in the Kingdom. They see others modeling things like healing the sick, prophesying, walking in their destiny, using their voice, and bearing fruit, and they eagerly try it on themselves, only to conclude that they don’t hear God speaking to them. They walk away in utter defeat and conclude they are disqualified from their greatest longing and dreams coming true. No child starts out scoring touchdowns. It takes practice and a determination anchored in faith to play well. If you desire to play in the Kingdom but are aware you lack hearing Him, that is not evidence of being disqualified; it is AN INVITATION to learn. Like any good coach will tell you, you start there and work on the foundational skills first.
One of my all-time favorite books is by Mark Virkler called 4 Keys to Hearing God – Teen Edition. I love this book because you can read it as a family. Each section is short, easy to read, and provides excellent activation activities to do as a family.
You aren’t disqualified; you are INVITED!
WHAT DOES JESUS SEE?
When I was in my early 20s, I was roommates with a gal who was younger than me but more mature in every way. I would describe her as having Jesus in one hand and my hand in the other, and she would constantly introduce us in new ways. I learned so much from her. One day I had an appointment to get my car worked on, and she agreed to pick me up. I got my car checked in and was waiting outside for her. She was late – like really late. I wandered the sidewalk for over 30 minutes, growing more and more agitated. When she finally appeared, she found me in my car, speeding off without having the work done. I was mad. VERY mad. I punished her with the silent treatment and refused to talk to her. Over the years, I felt bad for how I treated her and gained some maturity in realizing that it was pretty lame of me to be so upset when she was going out of her way to help me. The memory always told the story of my bad behavior and being so rude, but I heard God say, “Ask Me to show you what I saw,” and I saw this picture in my mind of a little girl shaking; she was so scared by being left alone at night outside. She was surrounded by fear and intimidation as she was utterly unprotected and vulnerable. I realized at that moment my reaction to her had little to do with a friend who was late to pick me up and more about it triggering my memory of being vulnerable, alone, and left behind. My strong reaction was not about being impatient but about trying to feel protected and safe again. Over the years, I have learned about these splinters in our hearts that cause big reactions when touched. God does not want us to manage them but be FREE from them.
How about you? Do you have a memory that pops up often in your mind that tells the story of how ‘bad’ or wrong you behaved? Ask Jesus to show you what He sees.
PROPHETIC PURITY
We were in the midst of our move when a leader asked for Hudson to come and be filmed receiving a prophetic word. That was great, but the leader insisted he show up in a tie. My son was less than amused, and I wasn’t able to do much about it as our boxes were already packed. He said he would figure out the clothes but just to get him there. Like most teen boys, Hudson was a bit miffed at having to wear someone else’s clothing but did it and honored their wishes. But then I got an email saying they had to redo the filming since the lighting wasn’t as good as with the others. Hudson said no, thank you. I got another email and another and another. I was trying to say goodbyes and pack the last of our items and yet felt obligated to honor their request. I finally told Hudson to reply, stating his reason for not coming back up.
Here is his email: “Dear _____, I do not mean to be disrespectful at all, but I do not feel you are using the prophetic in the way it was intended. Prophetic words come from God, through you, to me, and you have already given me that word. I do not see why I need to wear a tie to receive what God wants to say to me. If I come back in and get filmed with you giving me a word, it will be fake because I already received it and can’t act on camera like I did the first time. I am sorry, but I will not be coming back in. I hope you are able to use the first video.”
I grit my teeth a bit when he first read it to me as my ‘honor your leader’ bells were going off, but I heard the Lord say, “He is right,” and I let the chips fall wherever they needed to fall as the leader received his email.
LASTING FRUIT
We had ministry students who would come to our home once a week. Our sweet Laura walked in and told us about a friend of a friend who was staying at their house from London. She was telling them about school and that once a week they are with our family. He says, “OH, Lisa Max, doesn’t she have an Airbnb?” and grabs his Bible and pulls out a prophetic card from Ellie from years ago. Teaching and training our children to love those around us bears lasting fruit because it is GOD’S heart we are releasing over them.
LET’S ASK JESUS
Ask, “Jesus, if You could write a letter to my mom, what would it say?”
LOVE IS A VERB
I was teaching parents about identity and how to call it out in children. This is a testimony from a father in the class. Why not give it a try yourself and allow your children to be a source of rich encouragement to those around them?
“Today, I used these ideas to have my girls express love to their cousin by writing encouragement cards with statements or Scriptures and leaving them hidden in various parts of her room. I asked the girls to listen to hear from God what He wanted their cousin to know or be encouraged.”
MAY YOU BECOME MORE LIKE HIM
My goal is to take your hand and place it in Jesus’ hand so that you walk this together out with Him. He is the One who sees, knows, and holds the keys to your freedom. He is the One who purchased your forgiveness, healing, and wholeness. He is the One able to heal, redeem and restore. He is the One who loves you far beyond what your mind can grasp. He is the One who understands. Jesus is your friend, Holy Spirit is your guide, and Father God is your anchor.
Before you begin, start off by inviting Him. “Holy Spirit, I welcome You to come and reveal whatever it is You want to show me. I ask for an increase of Your peace and presence. Open my eyes to see what You see. Open my ears to hear what You have to say. Open my heart so that I can receive all that You have for me. In Jesus’ name.”
I have a few keys for you:
Journal – I encourage you to get a journal and be intentional about spending time writing and processing whatever He is revealing to you. Sometimes we can process things better on paper, and it serves as a great reflection to go back and see how the Lord is leading us step by step.
Worship – Increase your worship. I know you are all busy, but this is like charging your batteries, so you aren’t running on empty. Worship fills you with His presence and envelopes you in His love. Worship aligns, alters, and shifts things inside of us without our minds and bodies being aware. Worship puts the focus back on Him and increases our faith. You can have an intentional time of worship, play your favorite set while making dinner, find worship channels on YouTube, or listen while you are driving, taking a shower, or while the kids are playing. Listen to it while falling asleep or be intentional to take a five-minute break on the floor and saturate yourself in His presence. The goal is not to see how little you can do, but the truth is, a little bit of His presence changes everything.
Community – While your struggle might have a different name, the truth is we all have our areas of weakness, triggers, and make messes. Invite a friend to a park date and have the kids play while you talk about the posts and what God is revealing to you. Ask them over for coffee or plan an informal mom’s night out to bring it up in discussion. You will be surprised just how much others long to be seen in their parenting. Be the one who breaks the ice and creates space for them to be seen and grow.
2 Corinthians 3:16-18, (MSG) says, “Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.”
May He be revealed to you deeply, and may you become more like Him!
WHERE IS HE?
How many of you struggle to see, hear, or feel God in this hour? The enemy is shouting lies to you such as: “He doesn’t care,” “He doesn’t see you,” “He is too busy,” “He is overwhelmed by world affairs,” “He is mad at you,” “He is withholding from you,” “He isn’t very powerful,” “He doesn’t care,” “He isn’t worth it…” I have never felt a season before where hearing Him has been so challenging. My heart is to do whatever He says, but if I can’t hear Him, I don’t know what to do, and it has made me feel confused and lost at times. Isaiah 30:21.
I called a mentor friend, and we began to pray hard. The more she prayed, the more this picture in my mind became clearer and clearer. I saw smoke fill the air. It was a dark smoke like you would see from burning tires. It was toxic and heavy. But as she prayed, I saw a speck of light, and it got bigger and bigger. Soon I saw a man on a horse in a serious warrior position. As it approached me, I barely came to the horse’s hoof. It was MASSIVE! I suddenly felt so safe and covered. I kept asking, “What do you want me to do? Tell me whatever it is, and I will do it. I trust you. I will follow. What shall I do?” But the warrior just stood there guarding over me. I wanted him to look at me and talk to me. I wanted verbal reassurance and direction. This is the deafness I have felt in this hour. I know you are HERE, but I can’t hear you. Suddenly I heard, “It isn’t about me telling you what I want you to do, but you telling me what you want me to do.” We are to partner with heaven, and there are angels on assignment to defeat the works of the devil in our land. Angels have the POWER, but we have the AUTHORITY!
Psalms 103:20-21 says, “Praise the Lord, you angels, you mighty ones who carry out his plans, listening for each of his commands. Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels who serve him and do his will.” I began to decree and declare that no weapons formed against me, including my intimacy with the Lord, would prosper. I asked the warrior angel to remove the heavy smoke from around me so I could hear again, and instantly I saw him moving into action. The smoke dissipated, and I could see and hear in the spiritual realm again. The issue was never my spiritual ears – they work just fine. The issue was not God ignoring me – He is always talking. The issue was that I needed help from heaven to break the smoke between us in the atmosphere over the land.
HeartWork – If this is your experience, call a friend and pray together. Declare and decree no weapon formed against you will prosper. Invite the warrior angels of God to fight the battle. Watch and listen to whatever He wants to show you.
P.S. Your spiritual ears work just fine, and He still radically and passionately loves you!
LET’S ASK JESUS
Ask, “Jesus, if You could write a letter to my child, what would it say?”