Open the Ears to the Lord
A Power Filled Presentation of the Gospel and Clearing the Hearing
The Power Filled Presentation of the Gospel
I was at an event the other night where I heard the most beautiful presentation of the Gospel I’ve heard in my entire life. It was so powerful, anointed, well-spoken, clear, articulated, and full that it even brought me to tears. I was so thankful just to be there to see what God is beginning to do. I truly believe God is doing something amazing in the hearts of the people. Hearts are being revived and people are catching the Gospel like I never imagined. I’m truly honored to see the Lord work in such a way among the people.
What should I do?
While I was there I was listening, and I was getting words for the group. I started to ask the Lord if He wanted me to share in the group, but the Lord redirected me. He was telling me He wanted me to just pray and intercede from a distance. I’ve heard about people getting words for others when they were only supposed to pray over the people from a distance, but I think this is one of the first times it was clear for me to do it this way. So I began to pray and intercede on behalf of the people there.
It was fascinating, and I wish I could explain it well. As I prayed over each thing the Lord was giving me, it felt like things were changing. I felt anxiety and tension, and began to speak peace over the room. I sensed a shift in the room. Perhaps it was all in my imagination, but something different happened for me. I felt led to pray for other things and each time I felt a shift take place. It’s almost like I was feeling and sensing certain things. Then after I prayed for those things to go away for the room I could feel the difference.
Liturgy and the Bible
Many people who have begun to encounter the Holy Spirit understandably get a little freaked out. Depending on a person’s background, seeing people freely interact with the Spirit of God can be scary. It can even seem wrong. In some church groups, it is commonly believed that God doesn’t perform certain actions anymore. If such actions occur, they’re thought to happen only in undeveloped nations. Everything else probably isn’t from the Lord. So when people begin to encounter things that they have only heard about in the Bible, it can be really challenging.
I met a girl tonight while in one of the groups during the prayer time who was saying she was having a hard time with all of this. She wanted to be open to what God was doing, but it was difficult. We got to pray for her, and you could really see that the Lord was working in her.
There were a couple of things that I shared with her before we prayed and after we prayed, I’d like to share that with you here. I think it will be helpful.
I told her that I love her heart to want to follow the Lord and to do things in the right way. I reminded her about the scripture where Jesus talks about the scribes how they bring out from the old and the new. And I mentioned to her that she and a lot of us are very much like that. We came from backgrounds with very deep Bible study and training, which I believe really equipped us to have a firm foundation on the word. Our solid grounding in the Scripture enables us to draw upon it while being guided by the Holy Spirit. I wanted to encourage her that she knows the word and is able to go to the Lord to get wisdom on everything that’s happening.
I also shared three pieces of advice for her on this new journey.
- Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing. So be like Jesus. Ask the Lord what He is doing wherever you’re going and especially as you are embarking on this new journey with the Lord.
- Ask the Lord to reveal the Scriptures to you and to ask where the things are happening are in the Bible. I mentioned how the Lord has at times directed me to go look back at a Scripture so that He would correct me on my misunderstanding. That’s always been fascinating.
- Ask the Lord what’s on His heart.
Stuffed ears
When I was about to leave, I ran into one guy. We chatted for a moment about the beginning of the night where we were praying for the event. Suddenly my ears clogged up. It was like they became muffled. Could it be where I’m standing, or is there something I need to pray for him about?
I stepped out and asked him, “Sometimes I feel things and those things end up being an indicator I need to pray for someone. Are you having an issue with your ears or hearing the Lord?”
He takes a moment to reflect, and he tells me “My physical ears are fine, and the last few months of hearing the Lord have been awesome. However, the last couple of days have been hard to hear Him.”
So I asked to pray for him, and he let me.
As I’m writing this, I probably should have asked him to try to hear the Lord right then. I’ll have to remember that for next time something like this happens.
It’s really cool that the Lord will reveal things like this. Praise His name!
Where I Need To Level Up
Here’s where I’m feeling a need to level up though. I’ve gotten comfortable leaving things a bit open-ended. I should’ve prayed more to determine if it was a physical or spiritual ailment that the Lord wanted to cure. Instead, I asked it in an open-ended way, saying it could have been one way or the other. I think I need to press into the Lord more to be more clear. I think He’s been working on this one with me recently, and I’m just now recognizing it. So, when the next time this happens, I’ll have to press in more for clarity.
But What About You?
It really depends on where you are at on your journey. Have you been hearing the Lord for a long time? Perhaps it’s time to press into the next level of hearing the Lord by asking for more specifics? Maybe the Lord wants to increase your love for people? You might hear the Lord well, but you sound more like a car alarm going off on a quiet Saturday morning. Perhaps you’ve never attempted to listen to the Lord. Hearing the aforementioned story could inspire you to have the courage to start seeking the Lord’s voice for yourself. You can start by reading the Bible to see how God speaks to people. You can simultaneously start asking the Lord to speak to you. You can believe His written Word which says, “My sheep hear My voice,” and then begin to spend time listening to Him. I like to ask, “Father, what’s on Your heart?” Then I will wait and listen. I’ll let that be a starting place to engage in conversation with the Lord.
I hope you’re encouraged by this story. Jesus loves you. He wants a relationship with you. He wants to spend time with you.
