This inspiring piece was sent to us by Christine Casten, the Director of Intercession for The Warrior Class. For more information on the Warrior Class, please check out their site here.
A friend of mine was trying to hear from the Lord. She tried hard. She kept pressing in and pressing in. She did this for hours. By the time she contacted me she was in tears. “I just can’t hear ANYthing and I’ve been trying so hard!”
This was not the time to remind her that God might be speaking in a different way than she was expecting or to lecture her on how God is consistent in how He pours out His heart. He is always speaking. She knows all that. And most of the time, she has learned how to discern His voice from the noise of the world. But, my friend had made a very common mistake.The mistake was in allowing frustration to drive her into striving and performance.
She does hear from the Lord. He directs her path, just as He directs each of us. But sometimes we step into a place of thinking, “If I do this or say this, then God will…”. Unfortunately, this is a subtle form of manipulation. And God is not ticking off the boxes of performance so that we can finally “get” or “achieve” His blessing. In fact, He already desires to pour out His abundance on us. It is freely offered and given.
In our goal-oriented mindsets, we often forget His promises are “yes and amen.” But, still we try. We bang up against that wall. Our crazy thinking says, “if I continue to bang my head against that wall, it will finally come down.” But by the end of the day, banging our head against the wall just gives us a bunch of bruises on our spiritual forehead.
Just like Elijah showed us, God’s voice is not in the storm, but in stillness. Psalm 46:10a says, “Be still and know that I am God.” This is about finding that place where our hearts and spirits are aligned and attuned to Him. It is the place where our eyes are so focused on His majesty and glory all else fades away. All that is left in that moment is the interaction between the Creator and His Beloved.
This is the place of rest that I've discovered through Graham's teaching. Rest is a weapon. When we are in rest, we are open. The striving is gone. The pressure is off. The walls created through striving and pressure are removed and we hear His voice, if not initially, then always eventually.
In talking with my friend, she had tried worship, prayer and reading her Bible and none of them were working. She had stepped into a cycle of frustration that escalated into a barrier. The pressure she put on herself created too much noise to hear His voice.
What was my advice? She had permission to rest; to take a break. Go about her day, get the tasks done that she put aside for this time. Enjoy her family. The next day I got a note from her that she was back to herself and she was hearing the Lord’s direction clearly.
One of our delights in The Warrior Class is actively taking the opportunities to hear what God is saying. We listen as part of our training, personal growth, prophetic "intel" (intercession) assignments, and in our daily lives. But on those days when spiritual writers block is in play, it is ok to remember our permissions. We have permission to step back, refresh and take a breath. Stepping back into stillness, into our secret place for a few hours or even a few days will allow us to realign and hear His voice.
Christine Casten
Christine is the Director of Intercession for The Warrior Class and a speaker, trainer and writer. She lives with her husband and two children in Texas.
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