C-07

Waiting on God
Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day (Psalm 25:5).
Waiting on God is the exercising of your spirit to be aware of the presence of the Lord and to get accustomed to His voice. It is also the consciences subjection of your spirit, mind, emotions and will to the will of God that your whole being be exercised to flow with the Holy Spirit. Unless you die to your own soul life you cannot dwell in the presence of almighty God and experience the richness of His kingdom. As long as born-again Christians are living according to the dictates of their flesh they will experience God and His kingdom on a very shallow level though they may think otherwise. God created man with a spirit, a soul and a body. When man sinned he died to God in his spirit, soul and body and as a result he could not experience His presence and life anymore. Previously he could observe and experience God in his spirit, soul and body as he was alive to God in all areas of his being. God is Spirit and He lives in heaven, which is in the realm of His Spirit while unredeemed man is from the earth and is experiencing only the earthly realm, which is the material and psychic realms. That which is from heaven is Spirit and that which is from the earth is earthy. If you are not in Christ you are dead to God in your entire being (spirit, soul and body) and the dead has no excess to the realm of God where the life of His word is; His living essence that upholds all things. It means those that are dead to God cannot observe Him or His kingdom that is in heaven. The unredeemed human spirit is a wandering spirit and cannot observe God. The Hebrew word tawaw means, to wander, to stagger like a drunken man, to go astray or to be deceived, to err, wanders from the path of

life to the ways of sin and death, to wander from the precepts of God and to perish. If unredeemed man will never be reconciled to God in Jesus Christ his wandering will lead him to hell. The unredeemed human spirit is that part in you that is constantly aware of the deep emptiness, restlessness and discontentedness in you. As long as you are dead to God in your spirit you are blind and cannot observe the kingdom of God. You need to be born from above to understand the things of the Spirit and observe God who lives in heaven. Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). And also: Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:5-6, emphasis added). When you meet Christ the empty and lonely sensation in your spirit disappears because He is the only One that quickens your spirit to God by filling the void in your spirit with Himself. The wall of separation and the veil of your blindness can only be removed in Christ. When you are alive to God in your spirit you can see and the Holy Spirit will lead you into all Truth, which is Christ. When you turn to Christ, God places you in the body of His Son and you are in Christ and thus your spirit is quickened to God. Christ become one spirit with your spirit (Christ in you the hope of glory) joined as in marriage. For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth (Isaiah 54:5). Henceforth, you can observe the kingdom of God with your spirit because in Christ your spirit is made alive to God. Your spirit can now observe God and His kingdom because your living spirit resides with God in the realm of His Spirit. If you are not a Christian or not sure if you belong to Christ but believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for your sins and

God raised Him from the dead that you may have eternal life in Him, pray this prayer out loud with me, meaning every word that you are going to say. Dear Lord Jesus, I am a sinner and therefore in myself have no access to God. I confess you as my only way to God. Please come into my heart and make your home in me. I believe with all my heart that you died for my sins and that God, Your Father, raised You from the dead that I may have eternal life in You. I accept you both as my Savior and Lord meaning that through the measure of faith You have given me I will follow You wherever you may lead; now and forever, so help me God. I confess that I choose life above death. Please record my name in Your Book of Life that I may live and not perish. I confess that I can do nothing of myself so grant me grace to always please You. I believe that based on the faith in my heart and my verbal confession that now I am born into the family of God. From now on I will know you as my Lord and Savior and God as my Father. From this moment on I am part of the family of God and my interests and loyalties are forever with You. Amen. Though the redeemed human spirit is alive to God and lives in the realm of Spirit where God and His angels dwell, your body is still dead to God and your soul who lives in your blood is enmity against God. These cannot observe God and His kingdom because it is still dead to Him. Because you cannot feel God with your hands, or smell Him with your nose, or hear Him with your physical ears, or see Him with your eyes of flesh, or taste Him with your tongue does not mean He is not there. It only means that the senses of your body of death have not excess to the realm of Spirit. The body and soul with its natural senses observes earthly things (mineral, plant and animal kingdoms and the soul has a limited ability to observe phenomena in the psychic world) because it exists and lives in the natural realm, which is the sphere of death. So you can see that your flesh (soul and body) dwells on earth and your spirit in heaven; two different worlds.

The good news is that at the last trumpet you will be made alive to God in your body as the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead will quicken your mortal body and your body will be clothed with immortality and incorruption. Your soul will be clothed with perfection as the fullness of Gods light will displace all darkness in you. Then you will relate to God as a perfect man through perfect love as it was in the beginning. Then you will be able to see God also with your soul and body because heaven and earth will become one when the New Jerusalem will come down to earth. Waiting on God is not a religious quick fix to solve a poor relationship with God but to practice your spirit to live in heaven while being bodily on earth that you may become more at home in heaven than on earth. Knowing the voice of the Lord is as solid or as weak as your dedication to wait on God. Seeking the voice of the Lord takes patience and perseverance. Nothing comes by itself but only through faith, substance is created. The dedication of your faith to wait on Him is as vast or as little as your hunger for Him. Besides the Scriptures there are some basic ways in which God is revealing His will to man. The object of revelation is to see Christ that we may conform to His image. Impressions is a very basic way in which the Lord speaks to us. It may seem to some as a low level to receive revelation. However, to know the voice of the Lord on this level, with a high level of integrity, is an indication of a mature relationship with Him. The word of wisdom and knowledge is often received on this level. Prophetic gifts must not be confused with the office of a prophet, who has a specific commission and mandate from the Lord and gets specific messages. Impressions is often the way in which the Lord is speaking while waiting on Him. Occasionally I hear His voice as clear as when you hear a voice in a dream or a vision. It does not mean it is more spiritual, it only means God spoke to me in

that way. Visions also occur sometimes when I am waiting on the Lord. Not all visions are very clear, some of them are very soft almost like an impression but yet it is a vision and sometimes you wonder if it is real or your imagination. Overtime and with practice you will know. In the beginning when impressions come to you, you will make many mistakes. Even at times when you get a strong impression it may turn out to be wrong. Do not be discouraged by that because it is part of the learning process. If you are faithful in training your spiritual senses in waiting on the Lord and ministering in love to others you will eventually develop a high level of revelatory integrity which is critical for the prophetic because you are working with the lives of people. In your learning phase you should minister under the care of someone with a proven record of prophetic integrity. In these last days knowing the voice of the Lord will become increasingly important as our choices may amplify outcomes. Our choices on global, national and individual levels will have magnified consequences. It is like a ship that is about to enter into a harbor. When a ship is far from its destination small navigation errors can be tolerated because it can easily be rectified. When a ship is entering the harbor navigation errors can cause devastating accidents because of a lack of space and time to maneuver away from disaster areas. You should wait on the Lord to learn His voice. His sheep knows His voice. How do you practice waiting on the Lord or also known the prayer of silence? Firstly, you need to be physically comfortable. Choose a time when you are physically rested and mentally and spiritually the most alert. Some prefer the early morning hours to wait on the Lord and others in the evening. Do not wait on the Lord just after a big meal because it makes you heavy and lethargic. Do not choose a place where you can fall asleep or be distracted. It should be a place like a study. Your clothing should be comfortable. Take a shower

beforehand if necessary and go to the toilet. Switch off your cell phone. Secondly, you need to get spiritually comfortable. Your spirit need to be open to God. You need to be focused on the Lord, get silent in your spirit and at rest in God. Be silent and know that He is God. When I remember You [focus on Christ] on my bed [place of rest], I meditate on You in the night watches [time of silence] (Psalm 63:6). It is not always possible just to start relaxing your heart and to focus on the Lord. After waking up from sleep or coming back from work you cannot just cold start your human makeup to focus on God unless you know how to practice His presence while busy with other activities. Initially you will need to enter the presence of the Lord by doing some faith exercises. Normally, I start to pray for about 15 minutes both with my understanding and also in the Spirit. After praying I will read a few verses of Scripture, just enough to meditate on it for about 5 to 10 minutes. To make everything count I will choose a passage in line with what the Lord is speaking to me. We must ponder those things where the present emphasis of the Holy Spirit is. I do these exercises to line myself up with the Holy Spirit. Sometimes I am just pondering those things that concern or excite me, as long as I believe that it is the present emphasis of the Holy Spirit. I do this normally when I am looking for an answer from God. Waiting on the Lord is the Lords expectation and His deliberate waiting for your fellowship and worship. Worship is not always singing and praise but it is always an attitude of your heart where you say, He is God let me worship Him. Many years ago I dreamed that I thought to myself, He is God let me worship Him. The next moment I smelled the incense of that attitude that went up before God. It was a very pleasant aroma which I could still smell 30 minutes after I woke up. The moral of the story is that worship is more than just singing and praise. Worship is an attitude of heart where you

acknowledge God as supreme in all areas of your life. Worship is an attitude of love and adoration toward God and one need not always to express it audibly. It is also the subjection of your spirit, mind, emotions and will to the will of God that your whole heart and mind flow with the Holy Spirit. Often when I wait on the Lord I just open my heart to God and love Him for who He is, and not for what He can do or give to me. Let me illustrates it through a very short story. There was a very rich young man that loved a certain lady very dearly. He would normally buy her expensive presents. He was a lover of flowers, especially daisies and this lady was aware of it. One day he found a very peculiar daisy in his garden. He was so excited that he cut this flower and presented it to his lady friend so that she could share in the joy of his excitement. She was so upset because it was not an expensive present that she destroyed this beautiful flower in the palm of her hand as well as the excitement in the heart of this young man. I approached the Lord in the beginning with the same rotten attitude as this woman toward this rich young man. As long as I could receive blessings and revelation from the Lord I did not care to wait on Him. I had to learn what true love is that I could share little excitements with God. I had a long road to travel to discover unselfish love thanks to my wife who has discerned this lack in my heart. Thirdly, I need to empty or clear my mind of all previous knowledge in my search for the Truth, which is Christ. It is not a blanking out of the mind. Do not attempt doing this because it is dangerous. It is waiting for the Lord to surprise you. You must always maintain your focus on the Lord. Use your imagination but without words, like a television that is on mute mode. It is difficult to control my thoughts. I have endeavored not to develop a struggle within me. Initially my thoughts love to run off just like my dog investigating every tree and bush when we go for a walk. So I trick my mind by imagining the Lord and me going for a walk. Sometimes we walk in

forests, then on the beach, then in the mountains and then down a river. I will remain silent and just watch him silently. Use whatever works for you. It is not about feelings but faith. It is Christ who lives in you and all of His faith and hope and love flows through you. Sometimes God will bless you with feelings but mostly not. Feelings are deceptive. The heart of man is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked [Hebrew: incurable]; who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9) Eventually you will develop a sense of Christ in your spirit but it is rather a deep-rooted awareness and knowledge of Him and not so much feelings. You must remember your spirit dwells in the realm of spirit but feelings belong to the realm of soul. As the spirit and soul belongs to two different worlds, so does faith and feelings. Fourthly, when you are looking for an answer from God you need to focus both on the Lord and the object of meditation simultaneously. Meditate on your question and ask the Lord for the answer. It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter (Proverbs 25:2). You need to keep your focus as long as possible, in a relaxed manner, on the Lord. To be single-minded is to be mentally honest. It is a sincerity of mind toward Christ, free from pretense. Manifesting undivided faith toward Christ is pleasing to God. Waiting on God with expectation can be likened to my dog sitting patiently next to me awaiting my attention or command. The difference between my dog and you is that he can observe me with his physical eyes while you can only observe the Lord and His ways with the eyes of your heart. Your motivation should not be to seek a fresh revelation but to seek a revelation of the Lord. True revelation emphasizes the glory (character and power) of God. Waiting on the Lord is directing your attention to God with a deliberate expectation to meet and hear Him, like expecting a valuable item in the

post. It is also seeking or attentively watching the ways of the Lord. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel (Psalm 103:7, emphasis added). It is wise to know Gods ways. The wisdom and knowledge of the Lord change hearts. The kingdom of God does not come with observation but it comes within you. Waiting on the Lord is filled with hope and faith. You express faith and unbelief all the time in your thoughts, attitudes, words, works, habits and your general walk before God and man. Your hope is to experience Christ, regardless how He wishes to reveal Himself. You may meditate on Scripture, word from God, problem, invention or project. We need to know the Lord in all our ways and not to lean on our own understanding. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy meditate on these things (Philippians 4:8). To illustrate: The keys of my house were gone. I asked God where they were. I focused both on the Lord and the keys simultaneously. I saw in a vision where they were. Sometimes He will, but seldom, answers you immediately as it was in this case. Normally it takes time to find the answer. You need to persevere and practice patience for some time (hours, days, weeks, months and sometimes years). It is the Lords way of drawing you into a relationship with Him, to teach you to trust Him and to love Him regardless of delays. God is always on time; it is man that must learn endurance and patience. You will not receive fresh revelation every day. The Lord will give you revelation and then illuminate and break it open day by day as long as you seek the Lord. The Lord will give you new revelation if you are faithful with what He has already given you. Fifthly, record your impressions. Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it (Habakkuk 2:2). The

impressions that you have recorded should agree with the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit and the Word is one and shall never disagree. Sometimes you receive a witness from the Holy Spirit concerning personal matters, which cannot be verified in Scripture. Time alone can prove if it was a word from God or not. Sometimes you receive conformation of a word from God, but it does not always happen. The Holy Spirit normally gives you an unfolding revelation of the will of God in bits and pieces. So in recording your revelation you can discover after a short time what the Lords will is for your life or what He is working out in your life. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little (Isaiah 28:10). When you start writing pages then know you have an overactive mind. The Lord normally speaks short and to the point. He normally meets you in silence but not always. An example of my Devotional Journal is as follows: April, 18, 2010: 1) Place your eye on me. 2) Avoid conflicts inside of you. 3) If you become nothing in your own eyes, I will be so exalted in your sight, to the degree, where I will fill your whole vision. He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30). I believe I have received these words from God, not only as personal instructions but also as a result of rewriting this article. Everything the Holy Spirit speaks has purpose. I am normally changing or rewriting my articles as a result of new revelation and growth (my practical faith) in my relationship with the Lord. Stagnancy is death; it becomes mechanics without His presence. If I see visions while waiting on the Lord I will record them immediately in my Dream and Vision journal. The longer I delay the more detail I forget. Record all details such as colors, numbers, direction of objects, field of vision and your frame of mind, if it was a positive or negative experience. Do not add (never assume) or take away from the vision, as it will influence the interpretation. Have a pen and paper on you while waiting on the Lord. Sometimes you will see visions and sometimes not.

Sixthly, sift, sort and evaluate impressions after recording them to discern between carnal input and what was from the Holy Spirit. I normally go through this exercise over and over. I am recording impressions which I believe I have received from the Holy Spirit on a word processing program. It leaves me with the opportunity to come back to it and to change it as often as I wish. Seventhly, meditate on your impressions and interpretations of your visions. Let us consider the impressions, which I believe I have received from the Holy Spirit on April, 18, 2010. It mainly refers to a focus on the Lord. The more you focus on the Lord the less inner conflict you will experience and the more He will be exalted in your heart. The first two impressions I heard were as clear as a voice in a dream. The last one was a deep inner knowledge, yet I heard His voice; a word of wisdom. Now you can continue meditating on these important words from the Holy Spirit. To focus on the Lord is the heart of waiting on God. Lastly, take responsibility for what the Holy Spirit has revealed to you by praying it through until its fulfillment. As long as you cry out for wisdom and understanding to do His will, He will let you prosper in all areas of your life. And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper (2 Chronicles 26:5). For what period of time must you wait on the Lord? It can be anything between 20 minutes and two hours or longer. It depends on your hunger for the Lord. Why do I say 20 minutes? While I was doing athletics I believed that training for less then 20 minutes did not yield any physically benefits. It may be a wrong assumption as far as waiting on the Lord is concerned. When you start out waiting on God it will be beneficial if you wait on the Lord for short periods (5 to 10 minutes), a few times a day. This is to condition your system for this new experience. The secret is enjoyment

otherwise you will grow weary of it and quit this way of coming to know the Lord. Be flexible. If one way is not working for you, experiment with some other way until you find what is working for you. When your spirit is trained in this manner you will unconsciously starting to wait on the Lord while being busy with other things. This does not happen overnight. Training your spirit takes perseverance and patience. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. No matter what, do not quit! You will never regret it!