He Speaks When We Are at Rest
[Text Version]
HE SPEAKS WHEN WE ARE AT REST
Psalms 63:6 When I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the night watches.
Psalms 77:6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with my own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.
Scripture is full of communing with God while we are in bed, or in a resting position. Stillness is important when first learning to hear the Lord and becoming sensitive to hear Him when He speaks.
More often than not, our heart needs to be very quiet when we are receiving something from the Lord. Our struggles with emotion, mind and body need to be put to naught while His Presence melts the cares of this world. The paces and forces of today’s world can rob one from being in that place of reception. Fear, anxiety, pain, tiredness, worry, tension, distractions, etc. are all enemies of that quiet and peaceful place.
Noise and stillness dwell within the heart. They are the places within us that determine our level of distraction or our level of quietness. Most can identify thought distractions by closing their eyes and thinking about the Lord. They soon discover their thoughts have wandered far away. The content of those thoughts is the “noise” in our life. Stillness is a place of complete rest in Him, garrisoned by His peace. There are no conflicts or struggles in being still before Him.
LAYING DOWN TO HEAR THE LORD
Notice in the following scripture, Samuel was lying down to sleep, but he wasn’t asleep yet.
1 Samuel 3:3 And before the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was lying down to sleep;
There is a place in the spirit realm which is just after waking or just before sleeping that we are most able to hear. This is when the voices of the world and our soul ties to the cares of life are forgotten and dont have a grip on u. As one gets acclimatized to that place, they can enter there anytime even when sitting in a chair wide awake, but this is an established discipline where one learns how to be still before the Lord and go into a deep rest.
Being in bed and resting before Him is a scriptural way to find communion with Him. Often I will retire during the day just to quiet myself to listen. The rest I enter into, is like preparing to take a nap… letting go and shutting down the cares of the day and entering into Jesus’ world. I may only lay down for 10 – 30 minutes, maybe 1+ hour during the day. It all depends upon my level of need for Him, level of distraction and ability to let go of the world. (cares of life)
“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10 KJ)
Hebrews 4:9-12 There remains therefore a rest to the people of God. 10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also has ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11 Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 12 For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Psalms 4:4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
Psalms 42:8 Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.
Psalms 119:147-148 I rose before the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in your word. 148 My eyes awake before the night watches, that I might meditate in your word.
Job 4:12-13 Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a whisper of it. 13 In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
Job 33:14-16 For God speaks once, yea twice, yet man perceives it not. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; 16 Then he opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction.
WASHING: MY PROCESS OF HEARING
In the OT the priests washed in preparation to enter into the Holy Place. When I lay down to hear the Lord I do certain things to be washed and ready to listen.
1) CONFESSION OF SINS
I confess my sins of that day that did not line up with His Word and choose to repent. (change) These sins are mouth, thoughts, motives. I have learned to keep a very short list if I want to walk in intimacy with the Lord. The Holy Spirit is very easily grieved and quenched.
I was listening to Joyce Meyers and she showed people how she took communion. She actually did her real communion before everyone, not just a drama or talking about it. It was like ALL the veils fell from her voice, face, heart as she partook, that it was a very intimate time and I felt a holy hush. Then at one sentence, there was a divine pause in her voice, and I began to gently cry as I was so grateful for the Lord forgiving my sins! The grateful tears was a break though moment for me that I did not know I needed. I felt SO clean afterwards, kind of like my gentle tears were a spring rain that washes the dust off the earth and everything smells so good and fresh after that.
This melted the weight off my soul and brought me to the Lord!
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
2 Corinthians 3:15-17 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their hearts. 16 Nevertheless when one shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. 17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
The above verse is important to me, because sin is a veil and I don’t want veils between me and Him. The other might I lost my peace and didn’t sleep because I suddenly felt a separation from Him and I began repenting of everything I could think of! The Holy Spirit is very sensitive and is like a dove. He only roosts where there is peace and rest – He will depart if we have grieved Him. Sometimes we put Him in such a small place that we quench Him with our mouths, thoughts, choices.
We are warned in scripture about the following:
· Do not speak evil of the Holy Spirit
· Do not resist the Holy Spirit
· Do not grieve the Holy Spirit
· Do not quench the Holy Spirit
· Do not lie to the Holy Spirit
· Do not strive with the Holy Spirit
· Do not test the Holy Spirit
Matthew 12:31 Because of this I say to you, all sin and evil speaking shall be forgiven to men, but the evil speaking of the Spirit shall not be forgiven to men.
Acts 7:51 You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do you.
Ephesians 4:30-31 And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
1 Thessalonians 5:19-23 Quench not the Spirit. 20 Despise not prophesying. 21 Test all things; hold fast that which is good. 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. 23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.
Acts 5:9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that you have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them who have buried your husband are at the door, and shall carry you out.
2) CLEANSE THE PORTHOLES
Sometimes our eyes, ears and soul gets slimed just by living in a tainted, sin riddled world. What we see with our literal eyes and hear with our literal ears in the world needs to be washed off, so that it doesn’t imprint to our soul. I offer my eyes, ears and soul to be cleansed the Word of God and the blood of Jesus.
Science has studied our brains and how media use techniques through bombarding people’s eyes and ears in an attempt to “brain wash” them / indoctrinate them into another way of thinking. This is the demonic plot to conform us to the world.
Romans 12:1-2 I call upon you, therefore, brethren, through the compassions of God, to present your bodies a sacrifice–living, sanctified, acceptable to God–your intelligent service; 2 and be not conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, for your proving what [is] the will of God–the good, and acceptable, and perfect.
Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
The Word of God washes us. After having confessed our sins, we can make a simple decree that the God of peace is sanctifying us wholly. Or we can choose other scriptures to wash us.
Ephesians 5:26-27 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
3) CONSECRATE THE MIND, EYES AND EARS TO JESUS’ USE
When I consecrate my mind, I am giving my thoughts to Him and asking for the mind of Christ. I dedicate my eye gates and ear gates to Him to use and speak to me.
When we consecrate our mind, eyes and ears to Jesus, we are in a naked place, where we know He sees every bit of us without masks. He knows everything we have done to defile our minds, eyes and ears and we know He does. However when we look into the face of Jesus’ love for us, we are transformed, changed, fashioned into His image. We simply yield our minds (imaginations/ thoughts) eyes and ears to Him and give them to His ownership and use.
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 2:16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
4) BIND DEMONIC HINDRANCE
I bind and resist all demons from my porthole and loose warring angels to stand guard over me as I rest in the Lord. I used to spend a lot of time binding demons and rebuking what I was seeing and hearing and I discovered 2 very strong keys that paved my holy highway:
OBEDIENCE
Proverbs 16:7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
James 4:7-8 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
He opened my eyes to see that in James 4 it is written in chronological order. First we submit, and THEN we resist the devil. So in the above list, binding demons went from being #1 on the list down to #4. My intimacy with the Lord, the faith it took to abide there, and the ease to enter in RADICALLY changed when I learned the key of obedience, confession and making very strong efforts to change my mouth, thoughts and motives so they were lining up with scripture and His image.
5) WELCOME THE HOLY SPIRIT AND RELEASE BURDENS
It is impossible to hear the Lord without the Holy Spirit. If I were to choose only 2 things in the above list, I would choose confessing my sins / asking the Lord’s forgiveness and welcoming the Holy Spirit.
As I welcome the Holy Spirit, I am thankful for all the things He does for me and then I might pray over any burdens I forgot to release to His care that day. The point of entering into the rest of God is laying down the day’s burdens. If I am still carrying the weight of something that bothered me that day, then I need to unload it first before being still.
And then I am ready to hear from Him and I quiet myself.
RESTING IN HIS KABOD – THE WEIGHTY GLORY OF THE LORD
I have observed during church services where the worship starts out with bouncing music and people’s souls are activated and in tune to worship Him. Then I notice the songs become slower and more worshipful, and directed more TO Him instead of being about Him. People begin to slow down and get quieter. If the Spirit is there to hover, and if the musicians and leaders are in tune, they will have those divine pauses where they give the Spirit time to hover and people just soak in His Presence.
When the glory of the Lord descends as in the kabod, it is a very heavy, weighty feeling where the limbs of the body just want to lay down or sit down and settle deeply and go into deep REST. People have spent themselves to get to that place. And when the kabod is there, people can go into this realm of the spirit very easy, just like one does right before waking or right after sleeping.
2 Chronicles 7:2 And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory {3519} of the LORD had filled the LORD’S house.
Numbers 20:6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory {3519} of the LORD appeared unto them.
GLORY – WEIGHT
Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary
3519. כָּבוֹד kabowd
כָּבוֹד kabowd kaw-bode’
rarely kabod {kaw-bode’}; from 3513; properly, weight, but only figuratively in a good sense, splendor or copiousness:—glorious(-ly), glory, honour(-able).
See Hebrew 3513
FROM 3513
Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary
3513. כָּבַד kabad
כָּבַד kabad kaw-bad’
or kabed {kaw-bade’}; a primitive root; to be heavy, i.e. in a bad sense (burdensome, severe, dull) or in a good sense (numerous, rich, honorable; causatively, to make weighty (in the same two senses):—abounding with, more grievously afflict, boast, be chargeable, X be dim, glorify, be (make) glorious (things), glory, (very) great, be grievous, harden, be (make) heavy, be heavier, lay heavily, (bring to, come to, do, get, be had in) honour (self), (be) honourable (man), lade, X more be laid, make self many, nobles, prevail, promote (to honour), be rich, be (go) sore, stop.
The realm of hearing in the spirit is a special part of our brains that are activated. Science has actually studied this part of the brain, and it is mostly inactive and latent except the last part of a night’s sleep, which is REM. (Rapid eye movement) They have done many studies on this and it is a part of the brain that comes alive when during REM. People who take drugs activate this part, which is why they have terrible hallucinations, as they have opened the demonic portholes to see and hear.
