Thu | Mar 28, 2024

God, please talk to me – Part III

Published:Saturday | April 20, 2019 | 12:00 AM

The cry of many of our hearts is ‘God, please talk to mi’. One word from God can cause our faith to rise. Last week, we considered how important it is to receive a RHEMA word (personal communications from God), looked at its importance and how we can facilitate it happening using biblical meditation.

Remember, biblical meditation is focusing on the Word of God and asking the Spirit of God to give insight. This approach involves seven steps:

1. Ask the Lord to forgive us of any known sin.

2. Ask God for a teachable attitude.

3. Present ourselves to God.

4. Ask the Lord to enlighten our heart.

5. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to us in pictures and the still small voice.

6. Ask the Lord to show us the solution to the specific problem we are facing.

7. Thank the Lord for what He has shown us.

If we use these elements, we will hear from God. Hearing God’s voice is critical for the Christian because there is so much God wants to accomplish through our lives. To walk in the fullness of God, the eyes of our heart must be opened. Ephesians records that the Apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesians church that the eyes of their heart be enlightened so they may know God’s incomparable great power for those who believe. (Ephesians 1:18-19a NIV).

With our eyes we perceive (see) things that bring revelation to us from the heart of God. It is out of this revelation that our faith is formed, and we walk in power as a disciple of Jesus.

Dreams and visions are some of the major ways in which God communicates with His people. In Acts, Peter quoted the prophet Joel: “In the last days, God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit on all people ... your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.’” Acts 2:17 NIV.

Is it possible that God has been trying to speak to us through dreams or visions and we just ignore them because they seemed awkward, almost forced, and unnatural? A vision might be a spontaneous inner picture in the same fashion as we receive spontaneous rhema words. Or sometimes in prayer, a vision of the face of a friend or relative just appear, or pop into our minds. At other times, it is where a person actually sees something outside himself, with his spiritual eyes. For example, in 2 Kings 7 Elisha prayed and said, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see. Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all round Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:17 NIV.

Dreams and visions

Some people who were born with the natural tendency towards the analytical and cognitive and who have had these leanings reinforced by the rationalism of their culture have difficulties getting visions. Often, the intuitive and visionary functions have literally weakened or died through lack of use. So, for us to start getting visions, our weakened, dormant capacity for visualisation has to be exercised and strengthened before the Holy Spirit can fill it and call it into use. The first step is to believe that dreams and visions are a language of the heart that God uses to communicate. Then repent for scorning your visionary capacity. Then as we open ourselves to the divine flow of dreams and visions it becomes a natural posture that we do almost without conscious thought.

So here are some things that can assist this process:

- We can look for vision by exercising our faith and believe that God is going to show us a vision. When the Lord gives us a vision, let’s not fight it or try to change it ... instead:

- Watch the scene unfold until it stops. The temptation is to interfere with the vision, but we must allow it to unfold. Allow the vision to play out and then ... .

- Test, weigh and consider the vision. Go to God and ask Him to help us to understand what He is saying: “Lord, Is this for me? Is it for the persons seen in it? Is it literal? Should this be shared … When? What do the symbols mean?” etc.

So, in anticipation of God speaking to us let us pray:

Lord, I repent of having scorned my visionary capacity and ask You to forgive me for not using what You have created and given to me as a gift. I covenant to seek and honour Your ability to speak through vision and dreams. Breathe on my visionary capacity and restore it and teach me how to hear You. I pray for the healing of the eyes of my heart ... in Jesus’ name.