This week's activation will have tremendous potential to enrich our devotional life as much as any in this course since we will have the opportunity to practice listening to the Lord as He speaks to each of us individually and then write these "thoughts from the Lord" down on paper. If we develop this practice in our quiet times with the Lord, we can develop a diary that could be properly called "Thoughts From The Bridegroom" since the Lord will speak intimately to each of us about many things. His words indeed bring edification, exhortation and comfort as He leads us into the inner court of intimacy with Him.
(Many of the words from the Lord will become an inspiration and encouragement as the days go by and, with consistency and application over time, this exercise will help you write your "Book of Remembrances" recounting those things the Lord has done as you grow in Him.)
People often say, "it is easier for me to hear and then speak a word for others than it is for me to hear clearly and with confidence for myself". It is true that we sometimes know so much in the natural about ourselves that we may not feel inclined to have immediate confidence in all we hear. Normal caution and wisdom in judging any word we receive is good. Scripture tells us to test our prophetic words and make sure they are always in agreement with the Word. But we also need to know and have the confidence that we have been made to hear the voice of the Chief Shepherd.
Become convinced that you can hear His voice. Consider the following scriptures: John 10:27 (NIV): "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me", John 14:26 (NIV): "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you", John 16:13 (NIV): "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come".
Are you His sheep? Since you are, if you are not listening to the thoughts of the Master (or have no confidence in your hearing His voice), it is like going to a fine restaurant and looking over all the selections on the menu and then not ordering anything. If we remain in this state we will sit in the midst of the best food there is but not receive any nourishment or strength from it. Some of us are literally starving spiritually from this condition and this need not be.
Just imagine the Lord sitting in heaven and thinking of you all the time. Did you know He really does this? Scripture is full of the Lord telling us that He is thinking of us all the time. Look at Psalms 139:17 (NIV) which says, "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!" Also consider Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) which says, "For I know the plans ("thoughts" in the KJV) I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".
If we know the Lord has a gourmet "meal" for us, why would we want to miss it? We don't have to, so let us become familiar with how to listen and recognize His voice.
The purpose of this exercise is to clearly demonstrate that we can hear and know the voice of the Lord with confidence and to have the opportunity to experience this for ourselves.
First, take out your pen and paper and get in a comfortable position to RELAX. We are going to do an exercise that is simply to listen and then write what you hear. Since the scripture tells us to "ask and receive" (Matthew 7:7), we are going to pray and ask the Lord to speak to us. Then, we will "prime the pump" by writing a beginning phrase like, "Lord, I believe you are saying to me......".
When we begin like this and listen, paying attention to whatever comes to our spirits, the words will generally begin to come to mind. Don't try to scrutinize the words during the time of listening, just write what comes to your spirit and then judge the content later, after the Lord has finished speaking. Give Him your full attention and ignore the distractions that may be around you.
Don't be concerned if there are short pauses where not much seems to come... just write what comes to mind and wait for more. If there is a long pause, then you can silently ask the Lord if He has anything else He wants to stay to you at this time. If so, just continue to wait and write down whatever comes to you.
This will give an opportunity to see how the Lord speaks so clearly and intimately to His sheep. You may have received a word so intimate that you prefer not to share it and that is perfectly OK. Feel no need to have to do so but, for those who feel OK about doing so, it will be a faith builder to the rest of the group.
Repeat this process again if time permits and encouragement is breaking out in the group. It probably will.