Listening Prayer
Have you ever heard the audible voice of God?
Have you ever received visions from the Lord?
Would you walk boldly in your faith and openly pray in public for someone?
For those of you who are unfamiliar with listening prayer, it is when you take time to sit with the Lord and ask Him for what He wants you to give you. Here are some guidelines to help you along the way.
Find a quiet place to connect with the Lord
Open with prayer and ask the Lord to speak to you directly
Slow your thoughts and focus on the Lord
Be open to receiving images, sounds, smells, and feelings
TRUST WHAT YOU IS GIVEN!
Ask the Lord if this message is rooted in truth
Close in prayer and gratitude
Walk boldly in your faith
I have seen some pretty radical things in my years, but nothing comes close to my teams encounter with a man named Manuel.
This is our story.
It was our second week in the Dominican Republic, and many of us were wanting to go into the community and connect with the locals. Instead of just going into the village and praying for people, we sat on the front porch and asked the Lord on who He wanted up to pray for. It was time to try listening prayer. For some people of my team listening prayer does not come easy.
“Finally,” I thought, something that I’m good at. I have always been able to receive images from the Lord and then have a sense of knowing of what the He wanted me to do.
“Okay everyone close your eyes.” With my eyes closed and my heart set on Christ, I silenced my thoughts and prayed.
“Lord, show me what you want me to see. Show me who needs to know you. Show me who you want to heal.”
After my prayer to the Lord, the visions started to fill my mind. First, I saw the number 4, 11, and 7. Next, I saw hands circling together and then a car wheel. Lastly, I saw an image of an abnormal spine. One of my teammates received the images of a blue ball cap and blue jacket. Now, to the outside world this may seem super crazy and ridiculous, but to me, this is entirely normal.
“What does this all mean?” one of my teammates asked.
“We shall find out!” I declared.
After consulting with the Lord in prayer, we set out into the village to see what these clues meant. We wondered the streets for an hour or so, then I stopped and felt compelled to talk to this man who we had passed earlier. It was if someone was physically pushing me to go over and talk with him. I quickly left my team and headed across the street.
His name was Manuel.
I didn’t know what to say at first, and it was hard to understand each other, but we both knew that Christ was there with us. My teammate JJ was able to translate some things for me. He was using a cane to walk around, and look to have a hunched back. We asked if we could pray for him. Now even though we didn’t see miraculous healing take place, we knew we did what the Lord asked us to do. We listened to the Lord and walked in obedience. Maybe Manuel just needed to know that he is seen. Perhaps he just needed prayer. That in itself is a miracle.
After we finished praying over Manuel, my team who had been watching from across the street, said: “Chan, look!” There hanging from a tree was a car wheel with a plant growing from it (picture below), and a clock with the time of 4:17 pm.
IS GOD NOT SO GOOD!
You see, during Jesus’ walk on this earth, the performance of healing and wellness remained fundamental. Jesus restores bodies in eleven episodes in the Gospel of Matthew: 8:1-4, 8:5-13, 8:14-15, 8:28-34, 9:18-19, 9:20-22, 9:27-31, 9:32-34, 12:22-24, 17:14-21, 20:29-34. On performing such act, he commands healing for those who were sick, and the people proclaimed Jesus, a “healer.” Furthermore, the healing is actualizations of the expected realm of God, in that where there will be no illness (Rev. 21:4). Jesus not only commands humanity to serve for other’s fairs, but he also enables people to do so. God’s strengths are not limited to Jesus himself, for in couple readings Jesus commissions his disciples to heal people. All the healing depends on God’s sovereignty. All four gospel accounts record the Jesus performed many healings during His ministry. Some of the most dramatic were healings. He made the lame walk—gave sight to the blind—healed lepers—and other with the palsy—and “he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.” (Matthew 8:16). Not only did Jesus cure a lot of people, but he also commissioned his disciples to do the same.
Now, who will you heal? Will you listen to prayer and walk openly in your faith? I challenge everyone you to sincerely pray for someone else.
We can heal this world!
