Preparing for a Move of God
Many years ago I was in a church in Germany. Me and one of my best friends, Nathan, were visiting a friend in that city, and he took us to his church. It was a very lively charismatic church. It was fun, the singing was loud and enthusiastic. During the end of the worship time the pastor's wife invited people who "wanted a touch from God" forward for prayer, and this included "a healing touch". Nathan was sick with a cold, so he went forward for prayer. About ten to fifteen people were stood in line, and I watched as the pastor's wife began to pray for the people. The music was pumping, and every person hit the floor like a sack of kartoffeln (potatoes in German).
As the people fell, it felt like the music got louder, the congregation were clapping, and there was excitement in the air. My initial thought was, "Oh man, Nathan's going to get smashed!". He was next in line, and when she laid her hands on him nothing happened. I laughed to myself. But then the room went quiet, and the music stopped. It felt like an eternity went by. It was like one of those Cowboy movie scenes where the tumbleweed rolls across the road to the sound of a slight wind. Time stood still. Nathan never fell on the floor, but he did get healed. We still laugh about that day. It was bizzare. It highlighted the culture, and expectancy, of that great church - when the pastor's wife prays for you, you hit the deck! It's been over twenty years since that experience and I still ponder our "learned behaviours" when it comes to moves of the Spirit. Kind of a Pneumatological Pavlov's Dogs - Conditioned Stimuli = Conditioned Response. More on that in a mo...
I have been spending a lot of time in prayer, searching Scripture, and reading books. I am feeling like a preparation is happening in the church in Wales, because something is coming. What I am wrestling with in my own heart is not to expect the same, but to pursue the "new" of what God wills to do in Wales. I mentioned this in my last Blog, about how do we imagine the "new", when we do not know what the "new" is, and my conclusion was - just let God do it His way, even if we don't understand it.
My feeling is that a season is coming to Wales whereby God will move in such a way that leaves us watching in awe, rather than participating. I believe this to be of the Spirit, or at least it is my prayer for Wales to see God move in ways that cannot be explained. How do we prepare our hearts for that kind of a move?
When I was eighteen, I was in London at a conference. Rodney Howard Browne used to pray for everyone in his meetings, and there were about 3,000 people in that meeting. Most of the people seemed to be touched powerfully, but nothing happened to me at that time. I was gutted. Then about six to nine months later, at a meeting in Cardiff, Browne called me out of my seat for prayer, and it was the most powerful experience that I have ever had. I was more confused than informed by that encounter. The biggest thing that I learned was that there is more of God, than we have seen. It felt like every experience of His presence had been a four out of ten, but that one night was a seven to eight, and it changed my life. Realistically, it was probably more like me moving from dipping my toe in an ocean to covering my feet in the ocean. I have never since, in thirty years, experienced that level, and intensity, of the power of God. But I know it is there.
This is what I feel is stirring, that God will show us His glory, so that we see Him a little bit more as He is, and not as we've created Him to be in our minds from our experiences.
Back to the church in Germany. I was not, or am I, mocking what I saw there, even though it was funny. I get it. When the Spirit moves, it is natural for us to want Him to move again, especially if it's a move that brings salvation, healing, blessing etc. The "stimuli" can, if not addressed, develop a "conditioned response" i.e. - someone lays hands on you, and you fall down! I've seen it many times, and I have at times given in to some enthusiatic minister "pushing" me over. I do not feel, in a broader sense, that there is anything wrong in this. However, there are those who take it too far, and this is where the damage occurs, but that's another post for another time.
I was in Colorado, during my truck driving training. My trainer was at the wheel as I sat in the passenger seat. I was looking out of the window, enjoying the mountains, when I saw a Beaver dam that had blocked up a creek. The water behind the dam was stagnant and cloudy. Seeing this caused me to remember a different word God spoke to me, but then I was interrupted by the voice of an angel. He said to me,
"Prejudice blocks the flow"
This brought my mind back to the encounter recorded in my book. I didn't know if this was the same angel, as I had never heard his voice before. Eitherway, this piece of advice was clear,
"Prejudice blocks the flow"
When we operate in prejudice, which is a preconceived opinion not based on facts or experience, then we can block the flow of what God wills to do in and through our lives. In this context, it is our prejudice towards other ministers, churches, or anything that we dismiss without consideration. Let me explain it with an example that I recently heard from somone who made this suggesstion to a friend,
"For the next seven days treat everyone like they're Jesus in disguise"
I began to contemplate this. I'm on the internet a lot, and many preachers and ministers come across my path that are not my "cup-o-tea". Even though they are on a screen, what happens if they were here in person, and they were "Jesus in disguise"? Wow! That's challenging. I'll be honest, I have not taken the plunge to try for seven days to treat everyone in this way, but I do acknowledge that my "issues" with these different ministers can create a hard-heart in me to potentially new experiences.
Therefore, the biggest way that we can prepare our hearts for a move of God is to rout prejudical behaviors from our hearts. One way these attitudes manifest is through comments like, "God would not move that way". How would you know? One preacher said it like this,
"A hard-heart is a heart that is not open to new information"
I would add, and "not open to new experiences". We must be open for God to move in ways that may not be comfortable to us. On His terms. His way!
More Lord!!
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