Category Archives: Educational
Visit Heaven Today 😊
One day a friend came to visit me. He was always really on fire for God. I enjoyed spending time with him because he always had new things to share with me that our heavenly Father had shown him.
We were sitting in the living room getting caught up, when he turned to me and said, “Did you know you can visit heaven before you die?” I looked at him quizzically. No one had ever said that to me before.
I was taught (and you probably were too) that we only see heaven after we die. In fact, that seems to be the emphasis of most preaching – accept Jesus so you can go to heaven when you die. So I always assumed that heaven was not for now.
Guess what? My friend was right!! He taught me what he learned about it. We visited a friend later that evening and told her too and all three of us visited heaven that night – together! It was a blast!
WHAT?! I can just hear some of you right now thinking, “Has this woman lost her mind? WHAT is she talking about?”
So let’s start with what the Scriptures say about it.
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:1-2
How do you “seek those things which are above, where Christ is”? What if this is not figurative, but something you can literally do?
Paul said we are already there! How can that be?
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-7
What does it mean to “sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”? Ponder that with the Lord.
John was invited to make this a reality – he saw a door open in heaven.
After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” Revelation 4:1
Yes, John was given a special revelation for the church. But why not ask Jesus, “Can I go too?” 😁
Lastly, think about what Jesus said. This is one of my favorite passages in the book of John. I thought it was for “some day”, but what if it’s for now?
In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:2-6
When did Jesus come to you and receive you to Himself? Well, for me it was when I opened my heart to Him and asked Him to guide me and be my Lord and Savior. He came to me and received me. So then He says why He went to prepare a place – that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Jesus Christ is the only way this visit to heaven can work – never forget that. He’s the one who invites us to sit with Him in heavenly places, that where He is, we can be also. Isn’t that cool? 🙂
I know it’s kind of a mind blowing idea, but stay with me.
Take a moment and say in your heart, “Lord, show me if this is true.” Then wait and see what He says.
The easiest way to do this is simply spend some time with Jesus. Ask Him to open the eyes of your heart. And while you are with Him, say, “Jesus, will you please take me to heaven?” Then see what happens.
The first time I went with my friends to heaven, we were talking to Jesus and we asked Him to take us. We were sitting in my friend’s living room when we said this. But suddenly we all had the experience of moving up and we all saw ourselves in a convertible car going up to heaven. It was so fun! I said to my friend, “Hey, did you bring the popcorn?” She laughed because we just had been talking about eating popcorn on road trips.
Then we were brought into a courthouse building. We were standing in the lobby outside a courtroom. We saw a bunch of children being escorted into the courtroom and we each immediately knew that justice was being given to these children that had experienced abuse. It was solemn but there was also a sense of joy that justice was being served for them. They were no longer victims without a voice.
After that I became aware that we were in the living room again. I slowly opened my eyes and looked at my friends. We smiled and tried to process what we had just experienced together. It was amazing!
I don’t think I left earth – my body was still here because I hadn’t died yet. But my spirit was definitely somewhere else – up in heaven. Just like John in the book of Revelation. He was in two places at once. Remember Revelation 10:4? Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.” So John was in heaven seeing and hearing all these things and he was also writing them down on earth. What he wrote down is what we call the book of Revelation in the Bible.
Other people have experienced this too – many of the prophets were shown things and they wrote them.
So why not us?
Many people see things when they pray for others – like a picture from the Holy Spirit showing them something about the person. I was taught to “pray into the picture” and more would be revealed. So as I concentrated on what Holy Spirit was showing me, in an attitude of prayer, He would expand what He was showing me in the picture. Often I received more revelation by getting more details about the picture. For instance, if I was praying for someone and I saw a picture of a man, I would look more closely and ask Holy Spirit for more information.
Holy Spirit might show me who the man was or why this man was significant to this person. It would go from a generic man to a more specific man – perhaps it was the person’s grandfather. Then I could continue to pray and perhaps the Holy Spirit would show me WHY I was seeing a picture of the grandfather.
Does that make sense?
So taking a trip to heaven is kind of similar. It’s a revelatory experience of the heavenly realm because Jesus wants to show you something.
You might visit a garden. Or ask Jesus to show you your mansion in heaven. You might visit a courtroom to get justice for your situation (see my post here).
So go ahead – ask Jesus to take you to heaven and see what He shows YOU!
Enjoy your trip! 🙂
Is God REALLY Your Provider?
Is God REALLY Your Provider? Or do you secretly rely on your job, a family member or the economy to keep your bills paid?
This is a question most people don’t wrestle with – they have a job = they pay their bills. They might pray for a job and feel that God has provided one. End of story.
But what if God asks you to walk away from a very good job and just trust Him to provide?
What if you get fired? Will God provide for you then?
Learning that God truly is your provider can be a very challenging experience, especially when you are used to being self-sufficient.
Self-sufficient … think about that. Self-reliant is a synonym of that. Notice the first part – SELF. Yeah, the one thing Jesus told us to deny. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Matt 16:24 and Luke 9:23
It’s not about you striving to provide.
Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. – Jesus, Matthew 6:25-26, 33-34
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to GIVE you the kingdom! – Jesus, Luke 12:32
This is what my heavenly Father has said to me:
“You’ll have all that you need when you need it.”
And when I’ve been thinking about things I wish I had, He has said:
“You don’t need it or else I’d be providing it.” (Ouch!)
This doesn’t just apply to money or paying bills. This applies to EVERY area of life – having discernment and wisdom to make good decisions, having certain people in your life, having opportunities you want to experience (i.e. travel, ministry, a specific career, etc.), what kind of place you live, what resources you have available, etc. The list could go on – basically whatever you “need” falls into this category.
Can you really trust God to be your provider? Because ultimately that’s what this is – it’s a TRUST thing.
Do you really believe that it is your Father’s good pleasure to GIVE you the kingdom? (No striving necessary.)
Do you really believe that if you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness that all the things you need will be provided? Is God that good?
I do. I’ve lived it. It’s real. He promised it and I found out He was true.
Many years ago He asked me to leave my very good corporate job and just trust Him to provide. So I did. And I can honestly say that I have never lacked for a thing. I have always had all that I needed WHEN I needed it. 🙂
Anyone else have a testimony they’d like to share about God being their provider? Please share in the comments. I’d love to read your story.
And if this is an area you are struggling with – be honest with Him. He really likes honesty. Find the root of the fear that you feel and ask Him to help you with it. Once the fear is gone, it’s much easier to trust Him. ❤ This post on Overcoming Fear might help. 🙂
Thanks for reading this post. I love to hear from readers – it really encourages me. 🙂
Walls of Fear and Lies Hurt You – They Block True Love 💗
A wall that protects you from getting hurt also prevents you from receiving the love you need to heal. Did you know that?
To you it feels safe – you don’t trust anyone so having a thick secure wall around your heart and emotions makes sense, right? You’ve been hurt before and you’re not going to let THAT happen again. I know – I’ve been there. That used to be me, but not anymore.
The internal walls we build are built by lies we believe and they are held together by the mortar of fear. We are afraid to let down our walls. We probably even paint over the wall with pride so that no one will know how afraid we are of being open and transparent with another person. So we look self-sufficient and “normal” on the outside as we hide from our internal pain and fear.
What’s the lie? It has to do with God’s love. Each person phrases it their own way but basically the message we believe is: “God is not good to me”. He cannot be trusted. His Love is not real. Or it’s not for me. Why did He let that terrible thing to happen to me? He’s not concerned with my pain. I can’t trust Him to heal my pain. I don’t trust God and other people to allow God to love me through them. He is not safe. I don’t really trust Him to do what’s best for me. God is not really for me. He just wants His way – He doesn’t care how it affects me. God’s not ________ (fill in the blank with whatever comes to mind for YOU).
To people on the outside, your wall feels like rejection. They try to reach out to you and you don’t even realize the ways you keep them out of your inner world. You don’t mention pertinent information about your life (that feels too vulnerable). You are very selective with what you share. You don’t want your words to be used against you. Unconsciously you miss the social cues for connection with others and you end up feeling more and more alone. But you are used to this – you’ve felt this way your entire life, not realizing love is within arm’s reach. It’s all around you but you are blinded to it in your fear of intimacy and being known.
It’s not easy to break out of that wall. I know – I’ve been there. I used to have those walls, ever since childhood. I had no idea they were preventing me from going deeper with God and with other people. They stood in the way of His purposes in my life so they had to come down. And I had to learn how to make Him my refuge instead of my cleverly devised walls. It’s a process, not an overnight thing. But it starts with a decision to let Him teach you another way to do life.
Are you willing? If so, tell Him right now.
“I am willing to let You in. I am willing to trust You. Please show me how. Please give me the grace to let go of the tight control I exert to keep people out, even people You sent me to love me. I am willing – help me cooperate and have courage. Thank you. Amen.”
Keep saying that prayer every day until you are able to live in His love without the wall. His love is the greatest protection you could ever ask for. I’m not kidding. At first, I was afraid to lower the wall because I was afraid of feeling like a turtle without it’s shell – vulnerable with no way to protect myself. But the more I learned how to let Him hold me in His love, the safer I began to feel. He is my strong tower. I can trust in Him. He’s got me – it’s so much better than my own self-made walls! SO MUCH BETTER THAN ANYTHING I COULD DO TO PROTECT MY OWN HEART. 💗💗💗
Walls are meant to be a temporary solution, until you learn who you are – a Much-Loved Child of your heavenly Father. Then you don’t need them anymore. 🙂
What do you think? Are you aware of any walls that are “protecting” you inside? Please comment below and share your experience – that’s how we learn from each other. You are welcome here – even if you don’t agree with me! 🙂
Courts of Heaven – Where Justice Prevails
Have you been to the courts of heaven yet?
Wait – what? There’s a courtroom in heaven? What does that mean?
Yes, there’s a courtroom in heaven. I’ve heard there are several. It’s a great way to make sure Justice prevails in your life and in the life of your family.
So how does it work?
We all know that God is the Judge of all the earth. The Bible says,
“For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king; he will save us.” Isaiah 33:22 ESV
“The LORD judges the peoples; judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me. God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.” Psalm 7:8, 11 ESV
“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” Genesis 18:25 ESV
So imagine a courtroom where God is sitting in the judge’s seat. We already know He is righteous and perfect – that means that justice is what He desires. He wants GOOD to triumph over evil.
Just like we are encouraged to come boldly before the throne of grace to find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16), we can also come boldly before the court of heaven to find justice to help in time of need.
It’s a very powerful thing to do – to go to the Court of Heaven, present your case and ask God to make a ruling in your favor – for your good and His glory. He loves to do this and He would love to hear your case!
You may have heard the illustration of going before God as the judge and the devil accuses you of sin (breaking the law of God). Then Jesus steps in to advocate for you. You confess your sins and ask the Lord to forgive you. God then makes a ruling in your case that you are “not guilty” because Jesus took your sin on the cross. This is a common sermon illustration I’ve heard many times, especially around Easter.
But what if you could go back to the Court of Heaven regarding specific issues in your life that are not working out in your favor? What would that look like?
There are many books written about the Courts of Heaven – Robert Henderson is a popular author on this topic. I try to keep it simple – the way the Lord taught me. In fact, many of us learned how to go to the court of heaven without having a clue about what we were doing. So you don’t have to know much for it to be effective in your life.
Here are the basic concepts – ask Holy Spirit to highlight to you what you need to know for your individual case.
- There is a court in heaven.
- You can get justice there.
- You can approach the Judge and ask for justice on your case. He already knows about your case, but it can help if you explain it to Him because it gets the issue clear in your own mind what you are asking for.
- You can’t use this for selfish reasons. It’s based on your integrity – the righteousness of your cause.
- It’s a matter of the heart. It’s your trust in God’s goodness and His ability to respond to your needs that enables this process to have effect in your life on earth.
So what does this look like? Obviously it will be different for each person based on their individual case. It’s very hard to generalize. Justice is very personal, isn’t it?
I’ll give you an example to get your imagination started.
Recently someone I know was being targeted by witchcraft. She received a death threat from a powerful person who knew how to travel in the spirit realm. It scared her when this person’s spirit (or soul) showed up in her house and said, “I’m going to kill you.” 😲
She had enough courage to reply, “No, you’re NOT!” and the other person left. But it was still very unnerving.
A short while later she had an accident that caused her a lot of pain. She felt that this accident was tied to that person’s threat. It didn’t kill her but it felt life threatening.
We decided to go to the Court of Heaven to get help. If you can get a restraining order in a natural, earthly court when someone threatens you, then why not ask for the same thing in a heavenly court? So we simply said, “Lord, we would like to go before you in court please.”
As we stood in the Court of Heaven, she could feel the oppression of this threat and felt that this person somehow had access to her. I reminded her that “the curse causeless cannot come” (Proverbs 26:2).
So we asked Holy Spirit, “Is there any legal right or open door that is allowing this?”
Immediately she sensed an agreement she had made with this person when they had worked together in the past. So she said out loud, “I break all agreements that I have made with this person – I no longer want them to have access to my life. I close the door.”
We also prayed some other things regarding the injury she had and she forgave the person who threatened her.
We both sensed a breakthrough and she told me, “Whew! I don’t feel that oppression anymore – it’s lifted! It’s gone! There’s no more access – I feel free!” 🙂
“Going to the court of heaven” is just a way of saying you are willing to deal with any legal ground the enemy has in your life. Someone broke God’s law of love and now you want to deal with it.
The primary issue is Justice. Whenever I see an injustice, it makes me think of the courts of heaven. So if there’s an issue of injustice in your life, please consider whether going there might help you. For instance, if you are working really hard at your job and you keep getting passed over for a promotion, I would ask Holy Spirit if there’s something that needs to be dealt with in the courts of heaven. Or if you have a legal case on earth that is not going well, you can take it there for God to be your judge. Perhaps someone has done you wrong on earth – stolen something from you or cheated you out of something. Go to the court of heaven and ask God what legal ground they have to do that to you. Then follow whatever He tells you – usually there’s something you need to repent of on behalf of yourself or your bloodline. You also generally have to release the other party from your judgement by forgiving them so that God can judge them directly. He honors your judgment and won’t interfere unless you ask Him to step in and take over (I Corinthians 6:2).
I have been to court many times to deal with generational curses. Often when an issue doesn’t go away even after you’ve prayed about it, repented of your part in it and asked God for help, it’s because there’s a deeper issue – someone in your generational bloodline opened a door or allowed something to have a legal right and now it’s been passed down to you. You can repent on behalf of yourself and your bloodline and ask God to break the curse passed down to you from your ancestors. He loves to do that!
Sometimes you really feel as though you are standing in a court room. I’ve had that experience many times. Sometimes you don’t feel or sense anything, but it is still true and the results become obvious in your life. It can help to imagine you are standing before the judge – it can make it feel more real in your heart and mind. Because in one sense you are literally standing before God as your Judge – whether you sense it or not.
Have you been to the courts of heaven yet? If so, what happened when you went? Please comment below – we learn from each other when we share our experiences with God. 🙂
DIY Deliverance & Healing – Sapphire Blessings App
A friend just reminded me of an awesome app for your phone/tablet that has a TON of really good, really deep content that can help you on your path to freedom and wholeness.
It’s called Sapphire Blessings and it’s available on both Apple and Android devices.
You pay a small monthly fee ($4) and you get access to the library of recorded teachings and blessings from Arthur Burk of Sapphire Leadership Group.
Arthur Burk is the first person who taught me the difference between my spirit and my soul. That single insight majorly helped me and set me free of so much stuff! Whenever I share it with someone, it helps them too – I’m amazed that this insight has not become more wide stream yet. You can read about it here.
He’s a little “out of the box” for most people. And to be honest, some of his stuff is too far out there for me. Ask Holy Spirit what you need to hear and follow that leading. 🙂
Arthur has discovered some really good insights and tools to help people, especially people who have not been able to be helped through the usual path of counseling or inner healing prayer. He’s especially good at providing helpful information to those who have severe dissociative identity disorder and those who have been through severe trauma.
He also has a lot of free stuff on his website and on his YouTube channel, if you want to check him out first before paying a monthly fee. You can also search for him by name on YouTube and find even more free content, posted by other people. His series, Blessing Your Spirit, is very powerful. I highly recommend it.
The app description says:
Arthur Burk is not afraid to go where others have not – he’s a true pioneer and forerunner, especially in the realm of inner healing, deliverance and “out of the box” insights.
If you feel drawn, I encourage you to go check him out!
Has an Arthur Burk teaching impacted your life? If so, which one? Please share below to inspire us and help us find the truth that will set us free! Thanks – I really appreciate personal comments from my readers. 😊💗
Break Through Fear! Have More Peace!
When I was first exploring my awareness of the unseen realm, I was really scared! I could sense things, but I couldn’t see them with my eyes. Many of the things I sensed made me very afraid.
I really wrestled with a fear of the unseen realm for many years growing up. I knew it was there and I knew I could sense beings, movement, messages, etc. but at the same time I was very hesitant to explore or learn more.
Have you ever felt that way?
Not only was I afraid of the unseen realm, I was also afraid to talk to anyone about it! I was also afraid of what other people thought of me – I didn’t want to be “weird” for seeing things that other people couldn’t see, right? The fears kind of multiply and build on each other, don’t they?
By the time I was a young adult, I had so many fears on top of fears that it was paralyzing.
Later in life, I finally found the key to break through my fears but boy was it hard work before I found this key! I remember one night I woke up and I could sense darkness in my house – a tangible “something” or someone unseen was there. I lived alone out in the country at the time. It was very dark outside and no one was around (or at least, no one should be around my house in the middle of the night!). I turned on all the lights in the house, but I could still sense this “evil energy”. I was afraid and I had no idea what to do!
I started yelling and praying! I commanded that dark thing to leave – I yelled at it like you might yell at a big dog that was coming to bite you. I got mad! I stamped my foot and stared at the corner where I felt it and then I yelled at it. Then I whirled around to the other side of the room where I felt other “somethings” and did the same thing. It was terrifying but I was so mad that it gave me the energy to fight. I felt like I was chasing out a bunch of cockroaches that had been hidden – so creepy! Like that old commercial from Raid Ant & Roach spray – remember that? LOL
Eventually, I felt peace return to my house. I left the lights on and went back to bed. For years I slept with a night light on, just in case. I hated that experience and I never wanted to encounter creepy invisible things at night ever again!
Years later the Lord taught me an important lesson on Fear that would have really helped me that night.
What I wanted to share today was the Key that helped me break through my fears. Because today I don’t fear the things that I can sense in the middle of the night. In fact, it’s been a long time since I’ve sensed anything creepy in my house because now I’m not afraid. Most of my fears have completely disappeared and I am so happy and at peace!
Recently the Holy Spirit led me to create a short online course to share how the Lord taught me to overcome fear and anxiety (that Key). Here’s the link to the course (or click on the course image below).
This course can really help you if you suffer from fear or anxiety. What I share in this course, I still use today! (because it REALLY works). You can preview the course by clicking the link above – to see if it’s something that you would be interested in.
This course is for:
- People who are tired of living with anxiety every day.
- People who are ready to make a change in order to have more Peace in their lives.
- People who are open to new ways of looking at the world and themselves.
- People who are spiritual and want a connection with something bigger than themselves.
The purpose of this course is to simply help you discover and eliminate the root source of the things that make you feel anxious or afraid. This course will teach you how to cultivate more peace in your daily life and how to more quickly recover from unexpected stressful situations.
- You’ll learn how to remove the source of your anxiety and make it disappear.
- You will be able to more quickly recover from sudden, unexpected stressful situations. What a relief!
- You will be able to cultivate more peace in your daily life, both mentally and emotionally.
- You will overcome specific fears, like the fear of snakes or public speaking, and help others do this too!
A lot of people have been feeling more fearful and anxious since the COVID Pandemic of 2020. It’s like the things we used to be able to depend on are not as dependable as we thought they were – this uncertainty is causing a lot of anxiety about many different areas of life.
It’s time to get FREE of anxiety and fear so we can enjoy the Goodness of God! 🙂
Related posts:
How to Remove Blocks to Hearing God
A lot of people ask me how they can see or hear from God more clearly. It’s a common desire among those who are earnestly seeking God. Many people find this blog by searching for “how to see in the spirit”. Seeing and hearing from God are closely related – so after the last post, “Why Can’t I See or Hear in the Spirit?“, I thought this might be helpful to explore.
Many of us believe things about God that are simply not true. We don’t even realize it! If we did, we would stop believing those things, right? We often believe things unconsciously that are deeply affecting our ability to hear from God and see in the Spirit.
So how do we find these things?
Several years ago the Lord gave me a little heart exercise called the Lie Detector. It really helps you work with Holy Spirit to uncover and remove anything you believe that’s not true (which we call lies).
Lie Detector: God Concept
Go to a place where you will not be interrupted. Turn off any devices that might distract you. Take a few deep breaths, letting them out slowly to help you relax and to quiet your mind.
Say these statements/questions out loud and then wait for an answer. An answer may come as a feeling, a thought, a picture in your mind, a word, a memory or just an inner knowing. You can do this alone or with a friend. If no answer comes to the first question – this may not be the right time for this process.
“Spirit of Truth, is there a lie I believe about God?” (pause and wait for an answer)
“I release myself from the lie that says _(the lie)_. I give it up and let it go.”
“Who taught me that lie?” (pause and wait for an answer)
“I forgive _(name)_ for teaching me that lie.”
“What truth do I need to hear?” (pause and wait for an answer)
“I receive the truth that _(the truth)_.
Note: For those who perceive God as a Trinity, it may be helpful to break down this step and ask, “Spirit of Truth, is there a lie I believe about the Father?”. Then after completing the step, ask the question again separately for Jesus and then for the Holy Spirit. People have reported some amazing experiences when they have tried this. 😍
As you do this exercise, you may discover that the answer to “Who taught me that lie?” is YOU! We often come to faulty conclusions about God from our life experiences. For instance, if someone close to you passed away when you were a child, a well meaning adult might have said, “God needed your grandma so He took her to heaven.” If you really miss your grandma, then you might get angry at God for “taking her” away from you. It makes God a bad guy in your little hurting heart. See how that works?
When bad things happen in nature (i.e. hurricanes, tsunamis, tornadoes, etc.), what do we call them? Acts of God. That’s another way we can get the idea that God is a bad guy – kind of big and scary, right?
So there are lots of ways we might have unconsciously decided that God is not good or trustworthy. Even if you had a religious upbringing, most people don’t have a solid, heart-felt knowledge of God’s goodness.
If you don’t really believe God is good and that He loves you unconditionally, then guess what? You don’t really WANT to hear from Him. You might feel kind of “cautious” because you’re not sure you are going to like what He says. Part of you might say, “Yes, I want to hear from God and see in the Spirit!” but another part, deep inside your heart might think, “But what if I don’t like it? Or I can’t handle it? What if God is kind of scary?”
This Lie Detector exercise can help get to the deeper part of our hearts. I’ve done this exercise over and over and it has helped me SO much! In fact, I encourage you to write down the answer you get to the last question, “What truth do I need to hear?” Put it on a post-it note where you can look at it each day. Meditate on it. Say it out loud to yourself. Really let it soak in – it might take awhile for it to become your new default way of perceiving God (especially if that lie was in there a long time). The more you embrace the truth, the easier it will be to see in the Spirit and hear God more clearly. I promise.
I hope this has been helpful to you today. Feel free to comment below what experience you have when you try this exercise. I’ve used this exercise with many people, even people who tell me, “I can’t hear from God.” and they always get an answer to the questions. It works!
Why Can’t I See or Hear in the Spirit?
A few years ago I was asked to intercede for a meeting at church while the speaker was presenting – the speaker was a friend of mine and she felt she needed “extra prayer” for this meeting, especially for people’s hearts to be open to receive God’s love for inner healing. As I prayed with another intercessor in a small side room away from the meeting, we saw “in the spirit” the room full of people listening and they all had helmets on their heads. I asked the Lord about the helmets because it was clear that these helmets were preventing them from seeing or hearing what was being said. They were solid black motorcycle helmets. What He showed me was that it was unbelief in His goodness – and we needed to pray for these helmets to be removed. We did pray for that and it was amazing how He showed up to heal people! Their hearts opened to Him and His love was tangibly felt by many – we were so happy! 😍
Later I asked for more insight about these helmets and how they affected our lives. Here is what I received.
The Helmet of Unbelief prevents you from perceiving truth, especially the truth of the unseen spiritual realm. It prevents you from experiencing Truth – Truth is a Person (Jesus). You cannot hear Him, see Him, feel His touch, smell Him or taste His goodness. You cannot know Him intimately. Your senses are clouded; you feel dull and foggy. It is like wearing a motorcycle helmet with a solid black face screen – you can’t see anything and you can’t hear clearly (aka Deaf & Dumb spirit). I’ve experienced this, have you?
You can see a little bit sometimes, but not clearly. Being able to see and hear a little bit makes you think you can see & hear clearly because you don’t know any better. You think it’s “normal” – the way you see and hear is all you know.
The Helmet of Unbelief is “orphan thinking” – it is the helmet of victimization. Stubbornness, Pride and Independence fueled by Fear and Self-Rejection keeps the Helmet of Unbelief on. We don’t want to walk by faith – we want to see FIRST and then choose to believe. It’s not until you choose to ACT to trust Him – then you can ask for grace to remove the Helmet of Unbelief. It’s an act of faith – you do it BEFORE you can see and you are rewarded with sight. 😃
Having an encounter with God gives you a glimpse of how good life can be WITHOUT the Helmet of Unbelief. You become dissatisfied – you don’t want to go back to your “normal” life. You don’t want to settle for less – now you want MORE.
Hearing someone’s testimony of God’s goodness in their life confronts the unbelief in us. If He did it for them – He could do it for me too! You may have experienced God’s goodness in a way that I have not yet experienced it. By sharing your story with me, it gives me faith.
What can we do? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal areas of unbelief in our hearts and how to remove them. Ask Holy Spirit to show you what it looks like in YOUR life.
You can CHOOSE what to think. That’s free will. That’s why “repent” means to change the way you think. We are not in control of many things, but we CAN choose what we think, what we believe. Which helmet are you wearing – the Helmet of Salvation or the Helmet of Unbelief? 😊 The choice is yours!
If you have any insight to add to this, please feel free to comment below. I share these things on this blog so we can have a conversation and each learn from each other. We all see in part so when we each bring our “part”, it makes a fuller picture (like a jigsaw puzzle). Do you have something you’d like to add? I’d love to hear it! 😃
Here are two more specific ways to help you remove the Helmet of Unbelief:
How to Remove Blocks to Hearing God
Saturated in God’s Love You Are💕
Last night I was asking Holy Spirit, “Why don’t people feel/experience the Love God has for them? Why is it only in their head (as a concept) and not felt with their hearts? What is the obstacle that prevents them from perceiving His Love and RECEIVING His Love?”
Holy Spirit showed me this:
The air is SATURATED with the Love of God! But we often cannot perceive it. One way to become more aware of it is to cultivate gratitude. Being grateful is a CHOICE. But we often focus on what’s wrong rather than what’s right. Gratitude draws MORE good things to you. It’s like a magnet of favor.
In Him we live and move and have our being. He IS Love! Yet many people do not perceive or feel God’s Love for them. They feel like an orphan, alone and not taken care of.
Start paying attention to all the GOOD in your life, the silent mercies you take for granted every day! Open your emotional heart and say to God, “Thank you. I know that is You.” It will transform the way you see the world around you! 😃 You will begin to feel God’s Love for you – it’s inescapable! You are living IN IT!
How do you know that someone loves you? By the way they treat you. God is being good to us every single day – we just don’t pay enough attention to it. Change your focus and you’ll see it!! 🙃😍💕
You are NOT alone! It’s impossible for you to be alone – you are IN Him!
Related posts on the Love of God
Spirit vs Soul, Surprising Power in Prayer
Did you know there’s a difference between praying from your spirit versus praying from your soul?
I’ve seen this time and time again – especially in prayer meetings where various people pray. I can immediately tell from the frequency in someone’s voice (their tone, passion, etc.) whether they are praying from their spirit or their soul.
So what’s the difference? And does it change the results?
When we pray from our souls, we tend to connect with our emotions. We focus on the problem and we pray the problem out loud. When someone prays from their soul they often focus on the pain of the problem and it can make them cry or speak very passionately. There’s nothing wrong with that. It is one way of praying. It may make us feel better or sometimes it makes us feel worse (more emotionally upset). Here’s an example,
“Lord, you know what is happening with our young people. They are doing drugs, they are not listening to their parents, they are going after the world. Oh, Lord, you know this breaks our hearts. It is not right. We need you to intervene and change their hearts. They are headed down a very dark path that leads to destruction. We don’t want that to happen. We don’t want them to die young from a drug overdose or from violence in the streets. Oh Lord, please help us! Please help our young people turn to you!”
When we pray from our spirits, we are listening to the Holy Spirit and waiting to hear from the Spirit what we should say. We are not focused on the problem, we are focused on what the Spirit is saying. I often hear spiritual authority in someone’s voice when they pray from their spirit instead of from their soul. When someone prays from their soul, they are using their emotional energy to convey the importance of their request – by getting more passionate about it, they feel they are connecting more with God. When someone prays from their spirit, they are using the energy of spiritual authority and that has a completely different effect. Here’s an example,
“Thank you, Lord, that you are taking care of our young people. We see that some are not honoring you, but we know that you are already working in their hearts to dismantle their love of the world. Thank you that you have dispatched angels tonight to fight on their behalf against the darkness. We specifically release an increased awareness of Your presence and Your goodness in the lives of Sammy, Tom, Junior and Olivia. We expect to see the outworking of Your grace in their choices soon. Thank you so much for your love and kindness that you care about them and their future. You are a good, good Father!”
Often a prayer from the Spirit becomes more and more specific. Instead of just praying for “young people” in general, the Spirit will bring specific young people to mind and how to pray for them personally. God is a personal God – He knows each of us by name and can give us very specific insight into how to pray for those we care about. Or He may reveal a specific strategy He is using to reach a large group of people. Either way, it becomes more and more specific the longer we listen and pray what He is saying.
When we pray from our spirits, we are not trying to move God by our tears or our passion. We are simply agreeing with what HE is already doing and we are partnering with His purposes on the earth. How do you know what He is already doing? By listening to the Holy Spirit as you pray – He will tell you what to say and how to say it. I’m not kidding – it really works that way! Then, guess what? Those prayers tend to get answered more quickly and effectively! Why? Because you were praying according to His will, not according to yours.
John said it like this, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” I John 5:14-15
I LOVE to be in a prayer meeting where each person is listening to the Holy Spirit and only praying what they hear the Lord saying. There’s such freedom and power! It is incredibly encouraging as the Lord reveals His plans for the problems we see. By the end of the prayer time, we are so filled with joy and anticipation of what God is going to do!!
I don’t enjoy as much the prayer meetings I have been in when people are praying from their souls. It can be moving to hear how much they care about an issue, but often it begins to feel almost like charismatic witchcraft – trying to get God to do what YOU want Him to do. It’s actually quite painful at times as you sense the lack of faith in God’s goodness – when you “pray the problem”, it tends to grow in your mind and weigh you down even more. Yuk!
If you need help learning how to listen to the Holy Spirit, I created a short course to help with that. It only takes a few minutes to go through the material and then practice – I recommend 15 minutes each week for 4 weeks. The more you practice, the easier it gets! The course is called Developing A Close Relationship with God: A Simple Method. You can click on the course icon below to find out more information. You will enjoy it! 🙂
So how about you? Do you know the difference between when you are praying in your soul versus when you are praying in your spirit? Can you shift between them when you want to? Do you know how to listen to the Holy Spirit when you are praying? Comment below! Share your experience – I shared mine. We learn from each other that way. ❤
Related post you might be interested in: Spirit vs Soul, a two part series discussing the difference between the two & what it means for your everyday life
Discernment of the Supernatural Realm 