Communion with the Holy Spirit.

This blog entry is about a teaching that is changing my life. It is about hearing the voice of the Lord speaking to me personally, and on a consistent basis. Now I'm aware that some of you don't even believe that this is possible. Bear with me, and ask the Lord to show you the truth. He will, if you sincerely seek Him.

The teaching I'm referring to is about communion with the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 13:14). I heard it first from Mike Bickle, though others talk about it as well. It is really simple. God the Holy Spirit dwells inside you; learn to talk to Him on a regular basis, and He will start talking back to you. That's when the excitement starts - God Himself talking to you by His Holy Spirit.

Mike suggested taking time in prayer

1. Thanking the Holy Spirit, telling Him (with pauses, slowly) that you love Him. Or talk to Jesus that way - you don't have to sort out which part of the trinity you're addressing.
2. Revelation - "show me more".
3. Use me - "here I am"
4. Strengthen me - in my speech, my inner man, self-discipline, my relationships, etc.
5. Teach me. This is my personal favorite. He is my Teacher in everything on how to manage money, to help in working, etc.

These can be remembered under the acronym T-R-U-S-T. (For Mike's complete teaching notes, go to IHOP under Free Resources and find the teaching with that acronym in the title. You can also buy the audio - it's well worth it!)

So I've been starting to implement this. It probably helps that I'm listening to the webstream of the IHOP awakening every chance I get, but I've become so sensitive to the presence of the Holy Spirit in me that it is becoming normal for me to turn to Him many times daily to see what He's saying (because He's reminding me, and I asked Him to). I'm beginning to see that this is what Christian life is supposed to be like - a life lived in the power and initiative of the Holy Spirit. So much of my previous life has been dead religious works because I, and not the Lord, have initated them, and at the Judgment Seat they will burn up like so much wood, hay, and stubble. I want to live the rest of my days here on earth in the power and in dependence on the Holy Spirit.

Walking in the Spirit is only possible if we talk to Him - yet like so many Christians I never talked to Him. Indeed, I had believed the lie that I wasn't supposed to talk to Him because He's somehow this shadowy, self-effacing servant who doesn't speak up. Nothing could be further from the truth. He is God, the glorious third Person of the Trinity, in no way inferior to the Father or the Son. And He lives right inside the born-again believer, as close as our heart beat.

But, being the gentleman He is, He waits for us to initiate a friendship, and that's why most of us miss it. When you start talking to Him, He'll start talking back to you. He is eager to talk to you; He has so many things to say! So why don't you start right now and ask for His help in putting this teaching into practice?

Awakening at IHOP - Testimony Part 1

The past three weeks or so I've been tuning into the awakening webstream at ihop.org almost daily. It's been a life-changing experience, to say the least.
If there is one movement that I consider solidly based on the Word of God (while giving the Holy Spirit full freedom to move), it's the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. I've been sitting under their teaching for years, and have even translated some texts of theirs into German.
How can I summarize all the Lord has been doing? People have been healed, delivered, set free from all sorts of addictions, saved, etc. There are many testimonies, and prayers for specific things the Lord wants to do. To date more than 120 people have been water-baptized, some of them spontaneously. Through the webstream you can tune in live, or else go to the archives, which are equally powerful. It seems that each day the anointing gets a little bit stronger.

Perhaps you, like me, don't experience much at first. Don't give up, press in. Strike the ground not just once or twice, but again and again, until you receive. Talk to the Lord about your frustrations if you have trouble receiving. He will show you what's been holding up the blessing and give you your heart's desire.

For years and years I longed to feel the love of God in my heart, but I had come to believe the lies of the enemy that this was not to be for me. It finally dawned on me that God never is satisfied with head knowledge (of His love or anything else) but wants us to experience Him in our hearts. Therefore the problem was one of my not being able to receive. I had put up barriers out of self-protection against hurt that I was trapped in; I had shut myself into a prison from which I couldn't escape. But Jesus could, and did, set me free when I repented and asked Him to set me free. Then, during a time of Holy Spirit ministry, I felt the love of God burning in my heart, and I heard Him say that He is pleased with me - something I never heard from my earthly father.

Even now, 36 hours later, I continue to feel His love on and in my heart. There are other things that I believe Him to do; this breakthrough was just the beginning. I will continue to contend for more and more and more and more ...

All Glory be to God and to the Lamb that was slain!