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Attracting the Holy Spirit
Rating: Inspirational, pleasant
Humility attracts the Holy Spirit. – Mickey Robinson
God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. – Solomon, James & Peter (Prov 3:34, James 4:6, I Peter 5:5)
What is grace? One definition I like is “God’s enabling power”. So how does this power come to us? By the Holy Spirit. “…you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you …” (Acts 1:8)
Recognizing your dependence upon God and your need of Him makes you humble. That draws the Holy Spirit TO YOU.
When you feel confident you can “handle” life on your own, God will resist you. His Spirit won’t help you because you don’t seem to need Him.
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 19:14) Little children are humble and dependent. They know they need help – tying their shoes, getting a drink, feeding themselves, getting dressed, etc. So they ask, every time they need something. Admitting their weakness allows someone with strength to help them.
Most of us, as adults, want to show we are strong, that we can “handle” whatever life throws at us. But the opposite attitude is needed if we wish to receive God’s enabling power by His Holy Spirit. We must humble ourselves every day, saying, like Moses did, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” (Exodus 33:15)
Admitting that we don’t “have it all together” is a vulnerable place for us. We’ve been told to “grow up” and be responsible for our lives. Yet, it seems to me that the complexities of life are meant to drive us to this place of vulnerability and trust in His grace.
So, here’s some questions to ponder :
How much do you want to do on your own?
and
How desperate are you for His help?
The choice is yours.
I’d rather choose vulnerability, grace and humility daily. I don’t want to do this on my own. I want more of the Holy Spirit’s help and enabling power. The world is too big and scary – just look at the news each day. We need help. Our planet desperately needs His grace.
Make us humble, Lord, that we might receive Your enabling power by Your Spirit. Without it, we’re lost. ♥
Divine Communion
A. W. Tozer was a man who perceived God in the unseen realm. The words he used to express his relationship with God have often resonated with me. On some deep level, I “get” it. Here are some of my favorite lines from Tozer’s book, The Pursuit of God.
“To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love …”
“In God we shall find that for which we have all our lives been secretly longing.”
“God formed us for His pleasure, and so formed us that we, as well as He, can, in divine communion, enjoy the sweet and mysterious mingling of kindred personalities. He meant us to see Him and live with Him and draw our life from His smile.”
“A spiritual kingdom lies all about us, enclosing us, embracing us, altogether within reach of our inner selves, waiting for us to recognize it. God Himself is here waiting our response to His presence. This eternal world will come alive to us the moment we begin to reckon upon its reality.”
Doesn’t this resonate with you? Doesn’t something within tell you that there’s MORE than you are currently experiencing with your 5 senses? These words of Tozer have inspired me for years.
In the beginning of his book, it says this:
“Others before me have gone much farther into these holy mysteries than I have done, but if my fire is not large it is yet real, and there may be those who can light their candle at its flame.”
Thank you, A.W., for lighting my candle. I hope I can do the same for others. God is real – I love experiencing His presence and His nearness. Don’t you?
Angel experience? Fear, bright lights and ??
Rating: Strange, inspirational
This has got to be one of the strangest experiences I have had with the unseen realm. It happened in Garden Valley, Texas. When I was in college, my boyfriend attended a school that was held at Last Days Ministries, started by Keith and Melody Green. This experience happened about 1989.
I had driven over from Louisiana to Texas to visit my boyfriend. There were girls’ dorms and boys’ dorms. It was during Spring break so most people were gone. There were only a few girls left in the dorms. My boyfriend had one of the girls show me to an empty room where I could stay for the night. There were 4 bunk beds in the room and a few dressers. The room looked crowded with the four bunk beds – each one had 3 beds (vertically). It was quite a sight. I could not imagine what it must have been like for those girls to share a room with 12 women. I was thankful I would be the only one there that night.
I got ready for bed and turned out the light. Boy, was it dark! Even when my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I couldn’t see the room or the other beds around mine. I had elected to stay in the middle bunk of the 3 vertical beds. It was easier to get in and out of – the top one was too high and the bottom one was almost on the floor.
I fell asleep and suddenly woke up very afraid. I lay perfectly still, straining my ears and eyes to figure out what was making me so afraid. I didn’t hear anything and I couldn’t see anything in the darkened room. For some reason, I was terrified. I did not have a nightmare. I woke up to a presence in the room that made me very scared.
I desperately wanted to leave the bedroom, but it was so dark and I was so frightened that I was afraid to leave the bed. I didn’t know what to do. I closed my eyes and tried to block out the fear. I thought maybe if I just laid there quietly, I would fall asleep or the fear would go away. It didn’t work. I opened my eyes again. The fear was with me as palpable as if someone was in the room ready to kill me. My anxiety was mounting. I really wanted to leave the room now, but it was so dark I was petrified to do so. I could not see the door to the room and I felt disoriented – I remembered that there was a lot of furniture in the room, but I couldn’t make out where it was and I didn’t want to try and run across the room and fall on something.
I closed my eyes and prayed, “Jesus, please help me!” I opened my eyes again and suddenly the room was filled with light! I stared at the room, looking around quickly. Then it went dark again. Still feeling deeply afraid, I thought, “I’ve got to go NOW!” I jumped out of the bed and dashed to the door. Once I got out in the hallway, I saw light coming from under a door nearby. I pushed gently on the door and discovered it was a large bathroom with several sinks and stalls. There was a woman there. She introduced herself as Ana. She took one look at me and asked if I was okay.
I told her I was afraid. That something made me uncomfortable in the room. She walked with me to the main gathering room where there were couches. We sat and talked. I told her what happened. I normally didn’t talk about these things back then because people didn’t understand when I did. But somehow I knew she would listen and not judge me or think I was crazy. When I asked what time it was, she said it was a little after midnight. So I’d only been asleep maybe an hour or so.
As we sat there talking, another woman came in the front door. She spoke to us briefly and then went to her room. I asked Ana if there was a reason my room was suddenly filled with light. When I saw the girl come in, I thought to myself, “Oh, maybe a car pulled up and dropped her off. That would explain the bright lights shining in my room.” Ana walked with me back to the room. I pointed out which way I had been laying in the bed and where the light was coming from. There was a window on that wall. I started to assume the natural explanation to my weird experience and said so to Ana.
She shook her head and said, “Come here.” She opened the blinds and had me look out the window. She said, “Look, your room is on the back of this building. The parking lot is in the front. No cars drive back here. Look for yourself.” I stepped closer to the window and looked around. Sure enough, there was a large empty field back there. No street lights, no place for a car to drive, nothing. It was like undeveloped land – just open empty space. There wasn’t even a dirt path for walking. [The next day I went outside during the daytime and confirmed this.]
I walked away and shook my head. Both Ana and I puzzled about it and could not come up with any natural way that bright lights could have shone into my room. The only explanation I have come up with is that when I asked Jesus for help, He sent a couple of angels to bring light to my darkness so I could escape my fear.
She and I prayed together. I went back to bed and slept until morning with no other weird experiences.
So, was it angels? I have always thought so. Part of what convinced me was the timing. Total blackness and fear in the room. I asked Jesus for help, opened my eyes and the room was filled with light. Then after I got a chance to look around and get my bearings, it went dark again. Completely dark. What are the odds of it happening that way by chance?
Many people experience light in the presence of angels. Usually a comforting light. Even the show, Touched by an Angel, used a light halo to cause angel Monica to glow whenever she revealed her true identity.
Have you ever experienced supernatural light when you really needed it? Feel free to share below! Tell me I’m not alone please. 🙂
Following Your Intuition – Or Not!
I rely on my intuition – it has helped me a lot in the past. I get a “feeling” about someone or something and it turns out to be true. Sometimes it is negative like “don’t trust that person”. Other times, it is positive like “she is gentle and kind”.
I often use my intuition when making plans. All my friends know this about me. When a friend calls and asks, “Hey, wanna have lunch on Wednesday?” I stop and check my intuition. Some people call this a “gut feeling”. Science has even confirmed this – they call it the enteric brain, located somewhere near your stomach. (I’m not kidding – go ahead, Google “enteric brain” and you’ll see what I mean.)
Anyway, in my “gut” I reach out and “look” at the calendar for Wednesday. I see whether it “feels” like a good decision to meet on this day. (I also check my calendar to see if I am free.) Sometimes, the way is clear – I know I can make plans on Wednesday so I confirm with my friend. Other times, I have a feeling that it just won’t work out. So I’ll tell the person, “Yes, I’d love to have lunch with you on Wednesday. Let’s plan on it and then see what happens. Let’s reconfirm Wednesday morning, ok?”
Often when I have that feeling that it won’t work, they will call me the night before and tell me they can’t meet. Something has “suddenly” come up – a child sick, being called into work unexpectedly, etc. Sometimes it will be something on my end as well. It has happened so many times that I’ve learned to rely on this “knowing” when I make plans with someone.
What I don’t understand is the “gray” area. For instance, last week a friend and I wanted to get together. I had just been thinking of her and she texted me that she wanted to meet. “Synchronicity”, right? So we made plans – I didn’t sense anything blocking our meeting. Then she called me a few hours before we were scheduled to meet and I could hardly hear her on the phone – she had lost her voice. She went to the doctor and he confirmed she was fighting an infection.
Finally, after bed rest and medicine, she felt better so we rescheduled. When we rescheduled, I had that feeling that it might not happen. It was not a strong feeling – more of a “gray” feeling. It didn’t seem “right” but it didn’t seem “blocked” either. Often in those scenarios, I’m not sure whether to make plans with a friend or not. But since we had already missed our first meeting, I figured, “Why not? Just go for it.” However, in the back of my mind, I kept expecting something would happen to cancel our meeting. I didn’t even put it on my calendar because my expectation was so strong.
Anyway, we DID end up meeting. We had a great time. It was wonderful to catch up with each other. Nothing happened to derail our meeting.
Odd, isn’t it?
So, what do you do when your intuition is right 89% of the time, but ever so often it fails you? It makes me nervous. Does that mean I should not rely on it when making plans? Is it too faulty? There have been times when someone calls me to schedule a meeting and I direct them to a specific day or time because of my intuition. Usually when I do this, things work out. But is this a false system of planning? Is it all just “in my head”?
A picture just came to me – a scene from the Adjustment Bureau. The movie explored the idea of whether Fate controlled our choices or not. The picture that came to me was the book that the Bureau members had that showed how each choice intersected with choices from other people – some were “meant” to happen, some were random and others were meant to be “blocked” by the Bureau members. Hmmm. Maybe that has something to do with my experience. The ones that seem “gray” to me are random – they could happen or they might not. Maybe it means they are not particularly significant. They don’t carry the weight of something that is “meant” to happen. Deep questions, huh?
Feel free to give me some feedback on this issue. You can comment below. What do YOU think?
Awaking to the Presence of God
When I woke up this morning, I felt the presence of God in my room. It was a soft feeling – like a warm cloud of love and attention. I was alone in the room. I became aware of it even before I opened my eyes. It was almost as if it was this presence that awakened me. Like God wanted me to wake up so I could enjoy His presence and spend some time with Him.
How cool is that?! 🙂
Have you ever experienced that presence? Some people say they have experienced the “awe” of God when looking at the majesty of the mountains. Some have told me they feel the “peace” of God when walking deep in the forest with no other human beings nearby.
For some reason, it is easier to experience the presence of God when you are alone, I think. For me, I become more aware of it when I’m alone. If my husband had been in the room this morning, my attention might have been on him when I awakened. But since I was alone, the only thing I was aware of was this cloud of Love. It was sooo cool.
There was a time in my life when I really, really wanted to experience the presence of God. It seemed like such a struggle to tune everything else out and just feel His nearness. But then something changed in me a few years ago and now I feel His presence almost every day. It’s absolutely wonderful.
I remember one time I visited a very large historic church in Europe. The stillness inside this huge monument had a feeling to it – I’m not sure how to describe it. Kind of like a deep peacefulness. I sat down and soaked up this feeling for a few minutes. But that feeling does not compare with the close, personal feeling of God’s presence that I had when I woke up this morning.
I thought of this scripture verse, “When I awake, I am still with You.” Psalm 139:18
It is the culmination of a meditation about God’s Presence that starts with these words:
“Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.” (139:7-8)
So, if God’s Spirit is everywhere, then why do I notice it more at some times than at other times?
I think because He wants me to know He is there. And maybe first thing in the morning there is nothing competing for my attention – so it’s easier for me to notice His presence. At other times, I might feel it but in the busyness of life, I don’t always take the time to pay attention, slow down and acknowledge Him. I’d like to pay attention more because His presence is really wonderful, you know? 🙂
What do you think? When do YOU notice the presence of God?
Looking for more? This article appears in a free ebook called Intimate Relationship with God – you can download it here. 🙂
Book Review: The Veil by Blake Healy – A Look Behind the Scenes of the Unseen Realm
Amazon link
I recently finished reading The Veil by Blake K Healy. Blake is a good guy. He teaches at the Bethel Atlanta School of Supernatural Ministry. I’ve seen a lot of flaky stuff on the subject of the unseen realm – his book is not like that at all. It’s very real, very believable and very down to earth. I enjoyed reading it. He says he has been able to see clearly the unseen realm since he was a child. He never thought he was different – he thought everyone could see what he saw. Until he reached a certain age where it became obvious to him that he was “different”. I liked his book because he didn’t make me feel excluded because I don’t “see” like he sees. Many people who have special giftings tend to give you that impression. He didn’t put himself on a pedestal at all. In fact, instead he tries to make “seeing” or “perceiving” the unseen realm something anyone can do. He even includes “exercises” in the back of the book to help you get started. Very cool! 🙂
I used the exercise with a friend this weekend and lo and behold, she saw an angel! In my living room, no less. That was cool. But more on that later ….
Here’s some highlights from his book:
Demons have no authority over you unless you give it to them. A demonic entity has no right to act in your life without expressed agreement from you. (p. 37) Lies are the only power that demons have, and lies are only powerful if you believe them. … there is freedom in revealing deception to be deception. (p. 41) … the interesting thing about demonic influence [is] it feels so real when you’re in the middle of it, but the moment you see it clearly it’s no more threatening than a paper-mache bunny. (p.48)
I really like that – Lies are only powerful if you believe them. Wow – so if the only power that demons have is the power we give them by believing their lies, then it should be fairly simple to keep them from influencing us, right? In my life, I have found it very hard to discern the lies I believe – ’cause they don’t LOOK like lies. If I believe them, then I believe they are true, right? If I KNEW it was a lie, then I wouldn’t believe it. It’s kinda complicated, isn’t it?
I’m very glad I discovered this little heart “exercise” called the Lie Detector. That’s in a book called Freedom through Forgiveness by Sandy Walker. It’s on the Resources tab above. I’ll post about that book at another time. Anyway, that little exercise has been majorly helping me find the lies I believe and uprooting them. And as a result, I feel a LOT freer. I had no idea I believed so many lies!
Back to Blake’s book – he says he’s never met anyone who didn’t have a personal angel. That’s kind of cool, isn’t it? 🙂 He says about 30% of the personal angels look like the person they are with. Kind of explains why people told Rhoda it was “Peter’s angel” at the door when Peter was supernaturally released from prison by an angel (Acts 12) – maybe they had seen these look-alike angels before.
I like Blake’s stories – he very simply describes what he sees: in a coffeeshop, in a church service, at a party. It’s very cool. I also really appreciate that he emphasizes that “it’s not about the gift”. It’s about asking the Holy Spirit to teach you and show you what is all around you. Reading his stories gave me a little nudge to start paying attention more. His descriptions stretched my imagination. For instance, here’s one I thought was cool:
Sometimes people would come with cuts and bruises on their faces [in the unseen realm]. As each word was prophesied over them [in prayer ministry], liquid light would form in the air, repairing the cuts and clearing the bruises. (p. 66) [brackets added for clarity]
So, back to my friend seeing the angel in my living room. Blake says that if you want to become more aware of the unseen realm, then pay more attention to it. I knew my friend wanted to become more aware of this realm. We were sitting in my living room with some friends. I told her, “Close your eyes, ask the Holy Spirit where to look. Then open your eyes and ask Him to show you something.” (this is a very brief summary of Blake’s exercise). She did. She opened her eyes and pointed to an area near my bookshelves. She said, “There’s an angel there.” We both smiled.
Then I focused on the area and “saw” a rather large figure. Taller than the people who were there. Then I remembered the last part of Blake’s instruction – ask the Holy Spirit to explain to you what you are seeing. So I did. I got the impression that the angel was there for protection. He was certainly BIG enough. 🙂
Blake says there’s an impartation on his book – in other words, it stirs up your faith to open your heart and believe that you too can see/perceive the unseen realm. I think he’s right. It certainly stirred me up. So if this is an area you’d like to grow in, give his book a look.
Here’s the link to Amazon – you can preview some of the chapters before purchasing it.
Let me know if you decide to read it and what you thought. Or if you have another cool book you’d like to recommend, please let me know in the comments below. Thanks! 🙂
Update May 2024: Blake has a Patreon account where you can sign up for Live Discussions, Questions and Answers with Blake and Training Classes on Seeing in the Spirit. He also offers Activation Sessions and even some one-on-one coaching. Here’s the info: How to See – Training and Live Discussions
Video: Experiences of the Unseen Realm
Rating: Educational
I found this episode of “It’s Supernatural” by Sid Roth where he interviews Jonathan Welton about his experiences of seeing the unseen realm. What’s cool is that they illustrate what he describes with actors playing out each scene. That really helps me to understand what Jonathan says he can see.
It’s a nice episode. I think you’ll enjoy it. Be prepared – it’s kinda “out there”.
Jonathan Welton: Seeing in the Spirit
Here’s the original link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6je44kzcCgc
If you go to YouTube and watch the link, I’m sure you’ll find all kinds of other “related videos” too. 🙂
Spiritual Cleansing: Taking a Spiritual Shower Each Day
Rating: Educational
Spiritual cleansing is very important. Occasionally, I see a book that references house cleansing, but rarely do I see any instruction on a personal level. Let me share what I mean. I’ll start with examples of house cleansing and then conclude with personal cleansing.
I had a friend call me when he moved into a new place. He was renting a room from a Christian couple and he wanted to have the house “cleansed”. I don’t recall the details, but I believe the couple had been experiencing some unusual disturbances in the place. When they mentioned this to him, he asked me to come over and help them pray. He knew I was very sensitive to the unseen realm and that perhaps I could assist them.
We prayed prayers of cleansing all over the house. We played worship music while we did this. We put oil on our hands and anointed each window and door. We commanded that anything evil that was there would leave. After this process, both my friend and the couple that were living there said they felt more peace in their house.
I had another friend call and ask for a similar “house cleansing”. She had lived in this particular apartment for some time, but had recently had some bad experiences upstairs in her bedroom. She felt an oppressive darkness and felt something was there, but couldn’t see anything. She asked my brother and I to come and help her pray. We did many of the same things – anointed the doors and windows with oil, played some worship music while we prayed over the house. We even brought worship banners and waved them in different places of the house to remove any “spiritual dust”. Honestly, I don’t know exactly what this does, but it does seem to shift the atmosphere in the house.
Finally, we went up to her room. My brother and I immediately sensed a specific place of evil energy in her room. We went to it. She was amazed because she had not mentioned where it was in the room. My brother sensed there was an open door or portal above the foot of her bed. The Holy Spirit gave him some other insight into why it was there. She prayed some specific things in reference to this and then “closed” that door. We checked on her a week or so later and she said nothing else had happened since we prayed. She was at peace.
My husband and I often pray a general prayer of cleansing over our house before we go to sleep at night. “Lord, would you please remove anything from our house that doesn’t belong here.”
We also pray for personal cleansing, “Lord, please wash us off from anything we might have picked up today.” Believe it or not, most times I actually feel different after this simple prayer. I’ve also made it habit of praying this whenever I suddenly feel weird – irritable for no reason, heaviness without a cause, etc. In fact, we have become so accustomed to the feeling of peace in our home that if either of us gets a little cranky, we pray this for each other. It seems to “clear the air” and keeps us from being influenced by the enemy’s contaminants.
People who have never done this often ask me all kinds of questions about it. I tell them I just do it intuitively – whatever “feels” right as I listen to the Holy Spirit and pray. Because I am so sensitive, I know whether a prayer is effective or not. One minute I feel the tension in the air and then after we pray, it is gone. I don’t know exactly how it works. I just do it, like a little child.
On a humorous note, one night when my husband was very sleepy, he was praying and he said this: “Lord, please wash us off and wash off the house. Wash the cars, the yard and the dog.” I burst out laughing. I said, “Did you just tell the Lord to wash the dog?” I couldn’t believe it. I guess it makes sense – he was trying to cover all the bases. It just sounded very funny to me to ask God to wash our dog. 🙂 However, I remembered that there was a time when Jesus sent a bunch of demons into a herd of pigs so I guess that means you can have a dog that needs to be washed from any evil contaminant.
Do you have any specific ways you like to “wash” in the spirit? Feel free to share your thoughts below.
Spiritual Protection from Dark Forces & Evil Spirits
Rating: Educational
When I was new to the idea of confronting spiritual darkness, I met a couple who seemed to have a little more experience in this area. The wife could discern whether an object had a curse on it by holding it in her hand. The husband could discern spiritual activity (angels & demons) – he said he saw them like comic book characters.
When I met them (nearly 20 years ago), they reported having some experience in helping people get free of oppression from dark forces. I had very little experience so I listened to what they had to say. They seemed balanced – not flaky like other Christians I had known. They taught me some things that I still use to this day.
One of the principles they learned (from experience) was spiritual protection. They reported having really bad experiences of “backlash” after a ministry appointment unless they specifically prayed for spiritual protection. I have incorporated the prayer they taught me with other prayers the Holy Spirit has impressed on me from time to time.
Whenever you directly confront darkness or dark forces through prayer, intercession or in a ministry setting (i.e. praying for someone who is oppressed by evil), afterwards it is a good idea to pray something like this:
“I bind all Retaliation, Revenge, Retribution and Jealousy from off of me and everything associated with me. I cancel all witchcraft and any soulish prayers prayed concerning me or my family. I close every open door to the enemy’s realm and I seal them with the blood of Jesus. Thank you, Lord, for your protection. In Jesus name, Amen.”
Obviously, there is no set formula – you can adapt or revise this prayer to suit your own needs. I have added some parts to it over the years based on my own experience. My friends used to call this “binding the three Rs”. Later they learned that they should add Jealousy. The 3 Rs is still a shortened way to refer to this. My husband and I have also found it helpful to pray this on a regular basis, regardless of what kind of ministry we have been doing lately.
Sometimes when we leave a specific location and are on the way home, I will feel impressed to “cancel any trailing or lingering spirits”. Sometimes I will get a specific impression to “cut off all communication devices of the enemy” and I may also cancel “any watchers or listeners”. A friend of mine has seen watchers and listeners – they are creepy. Just like in a real war in the natural, you might have these elements, right? So it makes sense to me that you might need to pray specifically against these in the spiritual war we are in.
Another couple I know have a habit of praying a “golden dome of protection”. This is particularly helpful if you are in a setting where you feel uncomfortable in your spirit, but you do not want to leave. I have prayed this at a restaurant, for instance. I ask God to fill this dome with His presence around our table and remove anything that does not come from Him. Immediately I feel at peace and I feel comfortable staying at the restaurant. It feels like a personal “force field”. I have found this very helpful and have used it when needed.
How about you? Have you found any specific prayers of protection that have been helpful? If so, please comment below. It is good for us to learn from each other – we all get stronger that way.
Many people are not aware of the importance of spiritual protection against “backlash” and they suffer from lack of knowledge – would you please share this post in your favorite social media as a way to bring awareness to this issue? Thank you! 🙂
Discernment of the Supernatural Realm 