Listening to the Holy Spirit

 

Have you ever thought of a friend that you haven’t thought of in awhile? Maybe someone pops into your mind out of nowhere. What about a gut instinct on something? Or thinking too much on whether something is the right choice? Perhaps, the Holy Spirit is speaking to you.

When I ramp up on my prayers and bible reading, my connection to Christ and the Holy spirit intensifies. I seemed to be intuned.

When I depend and trust on Christ for everything, my relationship deepens bringing a powerful closeness where I hear, feel and see God working in my life. Often times, the Holy Spirit speaks to my heart to pray for others. Sometimes I have powerful dreams. The bible speaks of both being ways that God can reach us.

Here are a few instances when the Holy Spirit called on me to pray for friends.

 

Last Spring, I was driving down the road and praying out-loud for a list of people.  My prayer was loudly interrupted with a strong thought of a certain friend’s name.

I mean it was as if someone screamed her name to me. I literally thought, ” Wow, I was just in the middle of praying and you yell out her name.”  the thought was so strong, it felt similar to when my kids interrupt me in mid- sentence. I completely lost my train of thought. 

I had not talked with this friend in a long time.  I felt as if I was been urged to pray for her. The words poured out of me for her asking the Lord to help her with a battle, a spiritual battle, seeking a prayer for protection. When this happened again  on another day of prayer, I was like what’s going on? So I decided to call her and see what was up. When she called me back, I told her what had happened. She knows me so she was not freaked out by me saying this. She said, “We have always seemed to have that connection, huh?”  She went onto say that the situation at home had got very dark with drinking and a destructive relationship. She was being influenced negatively and started living a life of bad habits. She had to get out, needed to escape to a cleaner life.  Since that time, she broke up with her boyfriend and moved out of the house.  All this chaos happened around the time her name was called out to me.

Recently, my friend has undergone chemotherapy and radiation. The chemotherapy was not too bad on him. The last update I had that he was only sick a few days a month, things were okay.  So with that said, my prayers weren’t as intense for him. In fact, things were going so good, he was off my mental list of prayers, that check list in my mind.  Then out of nowhere, I was in the kitchen getting a drink of water, and it was like someone walked in the room and said pray for ______ now! Right now! I thought that is weird, I hadn’t thought of him in awhile. So I stopped getting a drink and immediately said a prayer for him outloud. In a few days, I found out that he had got a terrible infection on the day of my prayer with a temperature of 104. He was hospitalized. I had no idea when I prayed that he was so sick, that he needed me to lift him up with prayers.  But the HOLY spirit knew he needed prayers…and spoke to my spirit.

It hasn’t been long ago, that I was taking a shower. I don’t pray in the shower or think much at all in there–just get in/get out. Drive time is my time of deep prayer.  I’m usually the last one to take a shower at the house.  Mom’s are usually the last one to get to do anything for themselves; it’s the nature of the job.

One evening, I was taking a shower, and I didn’t just get a whisper of a thought I got a DEMAND to pray for my son’s friend’s mom. The thought said, ” Pray for her now.  In my thoughts over and over and over again…I heard , ” Save her. Save her. Save her.” This was a haunting urging. Now, keep in mind when I tell you this. I am not hearing voices. This is a strong impression, a thought that you can’t avoid or get rid of…they come through extremely strong.

Not only did I get a sense that she needed help fighting a spiritual battle, but I kept feeling that she needed to be saved from something, someone or herself.  After the shower message,  I started praying for her everyday, she never left my mind or list.

A month later, I saw her at school, I had a terrible vision of a claw on her shoulder. I went out to my car in the school parking lot and prayed a strong prayer of protection. I asked God to help her fight the unseen enemy. I got the overwhelming sensation that perhaps warrioring angels are needed to fight something bigger than her.  I ramped up my prayers, feeling that she needed the continuous and repetitive prayers on a daily basis. For over a month, I prayed and prayed and prayed for her. This is not someone I know well , but I do know some of her history and story.  A month or so later,  I  spoke with her and told her what had happened to me in the shower.   She  said over summer it got real, bad but it’s better now. In the past, she had a boyfriend that lived a life of drugs, bad friends and a very dark life. She believes and so does her family that something  latched onto her when she ran with this guy. I asked her to  not only routinely pray for herself but to also include this old boyfriend in her prayers. To pray that a strong Christian be sent to pull him into the light, pray that he too would be transformed through knowing Christ. Praying for someone we are scared of or fear or dislike, is very hard but the bible teaches us that this is exactly what we should do.

When I pray to feel God, to have a better relationship with God, it’s as if I’m clearly connected. The Holy Spirit starts to speak to me. God works in my life not only for my own needs but for the needs of HIS other children. It’s so cool and I have to tell you I get teary eyed thinking about how this works…God uses all of us for HIS work. In fact, if you’ve been down a rough road, struggled in life or had a lot of mistakes, he will probably use you even more…it’s the imperfection where we learn, grow and experience and through that we can help others through their rough patches…God has a way of making all the bad something beautiful.

He’s so close to us all the time, waiting for us to drawl near to Him.  When we build on that relationship through prayer, study and acting out faith by loving and caring for others, we can actually feel Him, Hear him…and see HIM…There are signs everywhere.

Do you want a better relationship with Jesus? Not religion which is full of rules made by men…but a relationship….then pray for God to give you that relationship you want, need and desire….then seek the truth through the word—let the Holy Spirit speak to your heart as you read. Don’t get discouraged, take it one page at a time. You can even start with bible on CD. I have a great theatrical one with Hollywood actors..love it. But be prepared, HE may begin to use you to serve others and spread the news that there is always HOPE in and eternal savation through Christ Jesus.

Thoughts for the Day:

1. Are you praying enough? ( Start praying in the car outloud from point a to point b—don’t text or talk—PRAY)

2. How often do you read the word? Why or Why not?

3. Has God been speaking to your heart about someone? If so, have you prayed? Have you called them?Went by?

4. Is an addiction, attitude or occult activity keeping you from Christ? If so analyze- pray- seek help!

Scriptures:

“He who is of God hears God’s words;” (John 8:47)

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me”(John 10:14 NIV)

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (John 15:7-8 NKJV).