Tag Archive for: prayers

4 Keys to Hearing God’s Voice

By Mark and Patti Virkler

Christianity is unique among religions, for it alone offers a personal relationship with the Creator beginning here and now, and lasting throughout eternity. Jesus declared, “This is eternal life – that they may know God” (Jn. 17:2). Unfortunately, many in the Church miss the great blessing of fellowship with our Lord because we have lost the ability to recognize His voice within us. Though we have the promise that “My sheep hear my voice,” too many believers are starved for that intimate relationship that alone can satisfy the desire of their hearts. I was one of those sheep who was deaf to his Shepherd until the Lord revealed four very simple keys (found in Habakkuk 2:1, 2) that unlocked the treasure of His voice.

Key #1 – God’s voice in your heart often sounds like a flow of spontaneous thoughts.

Habakkuk knew the sound of God speaking to him (Hab. 2:2). Elijah described it as a still, small voice (I Kings 19:12). I had always listened for an inner audible voice, and God does speak that way at times. However, I have found that usually, God's voice comes as spontaneous thoughts, visions, feelings, or impressions.

For example, haven't you been driving down the road and had a thought come to you to pray for a certain person? Didn’t you believe it was God telling you to pray? What did God's voice sound like? Was it an audible voice, or was it a spontaneous thought that lit upon your mind?

Experience indicates that we perceive spirit-level communication as spontaneous thoughts, impressions and visions, and Scripture confirms this in many ways. For example, one definition of paga, a Hebrew word for intercession, is “a chance encounter or an accidental intersecting.” When God lays people on our hearts, He does it through paga, a chance-encounter thought “accidentally” intersecting our minds. Therefore, when you want to hear from God, tune to chance-encounter or spontaneous thoughts.

Key #2 – Become still so you can sense God’s flow of thoughts and emotions within.

Habakkuk said, “I will stand on my guard post…” (Hab. 2:1). Habakkuk knew that to hear God's quiet, inner, spontaneous thoughts, he had to first go to a quiet place and still his own thoughts and emotions. Psalm 46:10 encourages us to be still, and know that He is God. There is a deep inner knowing (spontaneous flow) in our spirits that each of us can experience when we quiet our flesh and our minds. If we are not still, we will sense only our own thoughts.

Loving God through a quiet worship song is one very effective way to become still. (Note II Kings 3:15.) After I worship and become silent within, I open myself for that spontaneous flow. If thoughts come of things I have forgotten to do, I write them down and dismiss them. If thoughts of guilt or unworthiness come, I repent thoroughly, receive the washing of the blood of the Lamb, putting on His robe of righteousness, seeing myself spotless before God (Is. 61:10; Col. 1:22).

To receive the pure word of God, it is very important that my heart be properly focused as I become still because my focus is the source of the intuitive flow. If I fix my eyes upon Jesus, the intuitive flow comes from Jesus. But if I fix my gaze upon some desire of my heart, the intuitive flow comes out of that desire. To have a pure flow I must become still and carefully fix my eyes upon Jesus. Again, quietly worshiping the King, and receiving out of the stillness that follows quite easily accomplishes this. 

Fix your gaze upon Jesus (Heb. 12:2), becoming quiet in His presence and sharing with Him what is on your heart. Spontaneous thoughts will begin to flow from the throne of God to you, and you will actually be conversing with the King of Kings!

Key #3 – As you pray, fix the eyes of your heart upon Jesus, seeing in the Spirit the dreams and visions of Almighty God.

Habakkuk said, “I will keep watch to see,” and God said, “Record the vision” (Hab. 2:1,2). Habakkuk was actually looking for vision as he prayed. He opened the eyes of his heart, and looked into the spirit world to see what God wanted to show him. This is an intriguing idea.

God has always spoken through dreams and visions, and He specifically said that they would come to those upon whom the Holy Spirit is poured out (Acts 2:1-4, 17).

I had never thought of opening the eyes of my heart and looking for vision. However, I have come to believe that this is exactly what God wants me to do. He gave me eyes in my heart to see in the spirit the vision and movement of Almighty God. There is an active spirit world all around us, full of angels, demons, the Holy Spirit, the omnipresent Father, and His omnipresent Son, Jesus. The only reasons for me not to see this reality are unbelief or lack of knowledge.

In order to see, we must look. Daniel saw a vision in his mind and said, “I was looking…I kept looking…I kept looking” (Dan. 7:2,9,13). As I pray, I look for Jesus, and I watch as He speaks to me, doing and saying the things that are on His heart. Many Christians will find that if they will only look, they will see, in the same way they receive spontaneous thoughts. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us (Matt. 1:23). It is as simple as that. You can see Christ present with you because Christ is present with you. In fact, the vision may come so easily that you will be tempted to reject it, thinking that it is just you. But if you persist in recording these visions, your doubt will soon be overcome by faith as you recognize that the content of them could only be birthed in Almighty God.

Jesus demonstrated the ability of living out of constant contact with God, declaring that He did nothing on His own initiative, but only what He saw the Father doing, and heard the Father saying (Jn. 5:19,20,30). What an incredible way to live!

Is it possible for you to live out of divine initiative as Jesus did? Yes! Fix your eyes upon Jesus. The veil has been torn, giving access into the immediate presence of God, and He calls you to draw near (Luk. 23:45; Heb. l0: 19-22). “I pray that the eyes of your heart will be enlightened….”

Key #4 – Journaling, the writing out of your prayers and God’s answers, brings great freedom in hearing God’s voice.

God told Habakkuk to record the vision (Hab. 2:2). This was not an isolated command. The Scriptures record many examples of individual’s prayers and God’s replies (e.g. the Psalms, many of the prophets, Revelation).

I call the process “two-way journaling,” and I have found it to be a fabulous catalyst for clearly discerning God's inner, spontaneous flow, because as I journal I am able to write in faith for long periods of time, simply believing it is God. I know that what I believe I have received from God must be tested. However, testing involves doubt and doubt blocks divine communication, so I do not want to test while I am trying to receive. With journaling, I can receive in faith, knowing that when the flow has ended I can test and examine it carefully, making sure that it lines up with Scripture.

You will be amazed when you journal. Doubt may hinder you at first, but throw it off, reminding yourself that it is a biblical concept, and that God is present, speaking to His children. Relax. When we cease our labors and enter His rest, God is free to flow (Heb. 4:10). Sit back comfortably, take out your pen and paper, smile, and turn your attention toward the Lord in praise and worship, seeking His face. After you write your question to Him, become still, fixing your gaze on Jesus. You will suddenly have a very good thought. Don't doubt it; simply write it down. Later, as you read your journaling, you, too, will be blessed to discover that you are indeed dialoguing with God.

Some final notes: Knowing God through the Bible is a vital foundation to hearing His voice in your heart, so you must have a solid commitment to knowing and obeying the Scriptures. It is also very important for your growth and safety that you be related to solid, spiritual counselors. All major directional moves that come through journaling should be confirmed by your counselors before you act upon them.

For a complete teaching on this topic, order the book 4 Keys to Hearing God’s Voice at www.CWGministries.org. Online catalog of 60 books by Mark & Patti Virkler as well as 100 college courses through external degree: www.cluonline.com

The Truth about Prayer

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. (Romans 8:26-27)

It’s my firm belief that having a strong and a powerful prayer life begins with the revelation that I don’t know how to pray. This is what we just read in Romans 8:26 “we do not know what we ought to pray for” and scriptures always tell us the truth about ourselves. Bottom line, you and I don’t know how to pray God’s will. Then why would God tells us to have a prayer life if we don’t know how to pray? How can we respond to his calling and be successful in our prayer life as his priests?

I need HELP! Exactly! When you say: God Help! You are actually calling upon the name of the Holy Spirit for he is the Helper; he is your helper in your prayer life. One day, the disciples of Jesus woke up spiritually to the fact that they don’t know how to pray, thus they came to him asking to be taught how to pray, they wanted a prayer life like Jesus. So Jesus taught them by the Holy Spirit to pray the Lord’s Prayer according to their need at that time. I am not saying you can’t pray it nowadays, it is a wonderful pattern of prayer and we can learn much from it, what I am saying is that if you approach the Lord today asking him how to pray, I assure you he has something new to teach you by the Holy Spirit to pray forth. It is wonderful to pray the biblical prayers, but I believe that prayer is the outcome of a personal relationship with the Master; it is a personal encounter with the Spirit of Prayer.  If we only have written prayers to pray, then we don’t need the Holy Spirit. I believe in both, the Spirit and the Truth lifestyle. The time changed, the need changed, the prayer changed but the Holy Spirit has not changed. He is always here to pray through you, to birth prayers in you that will release the will of the Father on earth as it is in heaven. Let your attitude always be “Lord, what’s on your heart to pray? “ Prayer was never intended and designed by the Father for us to be done on our own, from one side. Prayer is a partnership with the Holy Spirit, it is being in agreement with him, and it is being tuned to his desires and his will. We don’t pray our will; we pray his will to be done. How can we know his will? The Holy Spirit knows God’s will and he reveals it to you. Heaven is waiting on you to stop depending on your resources and start cooperating with the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is your prayer partner, you are not alone. Trust him to pray his perfect prayers through you.

Romans 8:27 “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit”, did you notice in this verse that God searches our hearts when we pray, not our souls or flesh? This tells us that our prayers must come from our hearts, our spirit man where Holy Spirit dwells. Didn’t Jesus tell us when we pray to go to our secret chamber and pray from there? Prayers that are cultivated in intimacy with the Holy Spirit in your inner man will be rewarded openly by the Father.

These 3 revelations will revolutionize your prayer life: First, know that you don’t know how to pray. Second, know that you need to partner with the Holy Spirit in prayer. Third, know that you need to pray by revelation, prayers inspired by the Holy Spirit. We read in Exodus how God commanded Moses to build the tabernacle according to the heavenly map he showed him. This tabernacle is full of symbolic elements. In the Holy, where the priests used to minister unto God, you see the candlestick, the table of showbread and the altar of incense. God commanded Moses that the oil of the anointing which represents the Holy Spirit must be made according to his formula not to men. So it is for the incense! Incense must be God-made not Man-made. Incense represents your prayers (psalms 141:2). Your prayers must be God-made when you minister unto him. You can’t fabricate your own incense; it is non-sense to God. When you pray, let the Holy Spirit download to you his own formula of incense. Exodus 30:7-8 “Every morning when Aaron maintains the lamps, he must burn fragrant incense on the altar. And each evening when he lights the lamps, he must again burn incense in the LORD's presence.” Aaron couldn’t burn the incense to the Lord before he lights the lamps first. It is a must to pray by revelation, by illumination, this is not only for the prophetic people in the church, this is the ministry of the priests to all and in Christ you are one! The Holy Spirit will reveal to you what to pray but you do the burning by releasing it in faith “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16)

Glory to God
Tony Francis