I Prayed have prayed
Lord, help us get rid of old mindsets so we can recognize where Your Spirit is moving today.
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The person of the Holy Spirit in our lives is not just for the sake of empowering our personal walk with the Lord or demonstrating God’s love and power to the lost. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives should cause us to be acutely aware of His activity on a daily basis, pointing us to where God is working and moving so we can partner with Him in prayer and action. If we don’t recognize what the Spirit is doing in the current season and adjust our mindset and prayers accordingly, we may end up getting stuck in a past revelation and totally miss what He is doing now.

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. (John 6:63)

A personal example of this recently came to my attention. I have taught for many years on the power of prophetic worship and have trained worship teams in how to flow in a spirit of excellence and sensitivity to the moods of the Spirit. It was always for the purpose of creating an atmosphere where the Lord’s presence could flow freely and powerfully. This principle on the call of minstrels and worship leaders not only deepened corporate worship but brought much fruit through the years.

However, as good as the teaching was, the Lord showed me in a dream that I had gotten stuck on that revelation and had now made it into an idol. I had, unknowingly, become rigid in my understanding of how the Holy Spirit wanted to move in corporate worship and had become blind to His current activity apart from those leading on the stage. In the dream, it was what was happening in the congregation that drew heaven’s attention, not what was on the platform. Because I was stuck on a past truth, I hadn’t seen or recognized the fresh manifestation of His presence. The revelation I had held onto had turned into a religious rule that blinded me to His current working. Once I repented of my self-righteous attitude, I was able to embrace and celebrate His current activity.

I believe this reality is happening to many others in the body of Christ who have been clinging to past revelations and missing out on the Spirit’s current activity. Lessons and truths from our past can be important foundation stones, but can eventually become stumbling blocks if we don’t stay updated with God. Though scriptural principles are core to our journey, we must also walk in daily surrender to the Spirit of God and allow Him to update our application of those same truths to a new generation. He desires to enlarge our understanding of His purpose and His character and we must walk in both the Word AND the Spirit if we are to keep ourselves free from any restrictive religious mindset.

Most recently, the Church has been tested on this in our corporate response to President Trump. For some believers, past-held convictions and beliefs concerning personal conduct and morality have prevented them from seeing how God might possibly use this unconventional leader. For others, they have recognized a spiritual empowerment upon this unlikely man that is bearing much fruit for the Kingdom. Instead of focusing on character issues, there is the growing realization of the Spirit’s movement and blessing upon this president’s agenda and accomplishments. God is, indeed, revealing Himself as one who is not limited because of human weakness or held back because of personal failure. As true as the call is for righteous living, so is the message of God’s redeeming power for any and all who call on His name.

Even as we celebrate our victories and revelations of the past, let’s not miss how God’s Spirit is working today that may seem out of the box. He always builds on the past and seeks to enlarge our ability to see Him and know Him, sometimes offending the flesh in the process. Let’s pray that believers can rightly discern the activities of Holy Spirit and join in so our prayers will be effective, our responses be appropriate, and our unity be strengthened.

How do you personally see God moving today that is different than the past? Have you had to adjust any of your mindsets to stay updated with God? Leave your comments below.

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Brother Mark
December 14, 2022

This is a dream the Lord gave in 2016 regarding Donald Trump ….
http://buildinghishouse.org/prophecy/trump.shtml

WELTMER HOPSON
December 16, 2020

If you can not walk in the Love of God we are
Nothing.
The fruit of the Spirit
Is the very foundation
Of the body of Christ.
We are known by the
fruit we bear.
Mark.4:20
Romans.5:20
We all must walk in the
Love of God including
President Trump.
The end time revival is
earmark by THE LOVE OF GOD.
God

LFR
July 11, 2019

O my Jesus, forgive our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, and lead all souls to Heaven for we are in most need of Your Mercy!

John Curry
July 8, 2019

Thank you, Wanda, for sharing your Holy Spirit-inspired insights. We all need to be reminded that the God Who will one day say “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5) does actually give us NEW blessings every morning (Lamentations 3:23). We can always depend upon Him, but we cannot count on Him to do the same old thing.
The other important truth is that for us who are redeemed but still in this world, REPENTANCE is always appropriate. In Job’s day there was not on earth a more righteous man, a position he stoutly defended as the mark of his character and the strength of his faith. But after a brief encounter with the Most High Himself, face-to-face, Job cried out, “But now I have seen you with mine own eye, and I abhor myself, and I repent in dust and ashes !” (Job 42:5-6) THAT was the turning point of Job’s tribulation. We all long for the outpouring of the Spirit that will bring the great Revival of the Church, and we search II Chronicles 7:14 yet again, asking “What is it we are not obeying, Lord?” Now, by the grace of the Holy Spirit given us by Jesus (John 20:22) we can understand that elusive command, “seek my face”, and by the promise of Jesus (“Seek and you shall find”) we can come boldly into the presence of Him “from whose face heaven and earth fled away” (Rev 20:11). And as we, perhaps for the first time, experience what it means to be ‘God-fearing’ and glimpse the terrible Judgment coming upon this land for its “wicked ways”, perhaps we will join Job in REPENTANCE for who and what we are. That alone will release the Holy Spirit of God to HEAL OUR LAND.

    Wanda Alger
    July 9, 2019

    Amen, John! I totally agree. It is the humble and submissive heart that is most receptive to the activities of the Spirit of God. May we all stay in that place.

Lisa
July 8, 2019

Wanda, I appreciate your question: Where do we see the Holy Spirit working in a different way than He did in the past? How have I had to change my mindset to stay updated with God?

I would say in regards to how I view or anticipate revival and how prayer prepares the way for God’s Spirit moving. In my childhood “revival” meant a series of planned worship services with a special preacher coming in for those specific days. It was not spontaneous, but I did experience the Spirit changing my heart even in some of those planned services. And still today there are a lot of planned meetings, and God does signs and wonders in some of those, but I don’t encounter the Holy Spirit just because I’m attending a special service or listening to a particular speaker. I notice that these days the Holy Spirit speaks in quiet places and in times of prayer when my heart is simply open to whatever He might say or want to do. I’m not afraid of spontaneity, and I don’t need to only attend a large gathering to meet with God. I am noticing God’s Spirit moves anywhere those who are present and those who are “leading” are submitted to His heart and His purposes.

Even in prayers for healing, I’m noticing that God’s Spirit likes to be the One to choose how and when. In the past there was a lot of teaching and condemnation spoken even from pulpits that if a person was not healed immediately they don’t have enough faith. But I’m seeing God working creative miracles that don’t necessarily show up with healing in the way we at first expected. But God is glorified and the person or many people are drawn closer to Him during the journey or experience.

Prayer meetings—a change from praying our own list of requests to more focus on praying God’s Word and listening to the Spirit for direction in how and what to pray for. Again this is more evident in gatherings (large or small) where the person “leading” is submitted to getting out of the way and letting God’s Spirit direct. Yet it’s not disorderly either. I believe God is teaching His people to pray His heart as we pray His Word together.

    Wanda Alger
    July 9, 2019

    Thank you for your thoughtful response, Lisa! God is always drawing us closer and taking us higher which requires us to stay updated on a daily basis and open to how He might move “this” time. Love it!

      Toni H
      July 15, 2019

      Thank you for sharing bc this too remind me if the days in ministry revival was the same way… Thanks for the awareness of what you received…where I may have been thinking that I was being led wrong and was not hearing the Spirit of God speaking…

rashacharnel
July 7, 2019

I was in the presence of unbelievers,, where my sons had cancer 21 surgeries and 40 blood trans fusions ,,, they made fun of the god the living god that we serve ,, I kept believing with all my heart and until god heal my kids of cancer and kidney failure, we must pray for the country and for those who believe,,,, help us holy spirit help those in holyspirit, IN this country save us from devil anger and murder of gun violence of police and gangs and terrorist thats running rampage ,,,, please god change the mind of those who seek murder for their evil anger and wrath on Innocent blood ,,, help us holyspirit,,, father god lord jesus and cover me with your blood… and save those who pray and their children fun any type of gun violence lord jesus,,,,in jesus name

Ken Budz
July 7, 2019

Dear Lord God Almighty thank You for everything. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit. Heavenly Father we need Your Spirit to move strongly through the hearts and minds of believers so they can know and do Your will. Spirit of God fall afresh on all of us who call the Lord our God. I pray this in the powerful name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Dorothy Ter Horst
July 6, 2019

Oh Lord, teach us how to pray for our pastors, leaders and congregation. Holy Spirit, lead us where you want us to go. Renew our minds by changing the way we think. Give us the mind of Christ and show us where you are working and help us to join you there. Clip our chains off so we can move freely with the Holy Spirit’s leading. Tell us your plans and your will for America. Move your intercessors into position to stand firm against the enemy by the power of the blood of Jesus. Unite your people, Lord. Train us red rover style to stick together by your power.
In Jesus name. Amen.

Pastor Terry Quenna Gamble
July 6, 2019

I believe and know that He him the Holy Spirit of Truth is calling for all Christians to being fully centered to soaking in the Presence of God where He is governing our hearts to be in closeness to the heart of the Almighty Creator for us as the Body of Christ , we are to be walking in demonstration of signs and Wonders following us as born again believers . No matter what the enemy tries to put in our pathway we must stand and having done all to STAND as true believers in CHRIST JESUS !

    Lori forHim
    July 6, 2019

    I am wrestling with the issue of the bride being holy just as our Father in heaven is holy. There is absolutely no question that we each in our individual lives are called to be holy and without sin.
    However, without question, we have been called to seek and save that which is lost, go and preach the Good News, we have been instructed to be all things to all people that we might thereby save some. In light of this, we must, as the bride of Christ, know for certain that we have been called to the lost, without question. Our King Jesus has made it very clear that we are to eat with the sinners, love the sinners, share the truth that sets the captives free, because, if we don’t, who will? How will they hear unless someone tells them? Acts 8:31 and Romans 10, how beautiful are the feet of those bringing good news. So, my conclusion to the wrestling match, is we keep ourselves holy, while going into the swamp with the lost. The more ones we introduce to the King that loves, the more we rob the enemy of its schemes. Glory to our King Jesus!

    Wanda Alger
    July 9, 2019

    Amen, Pastor! Thank you for demonstrating the kind of heart that welcomes and embraces the presence of the LIVING Word. Blessings!

Nathan Bickerstaff
July 6, 2019

Yes too many preachers and ministers want to talk about the past. They do not want to move forward as the holy spirit is leading today they want to put labels on it when the spirit moves. A lot of churches have quenched the spirit of God. So young people and some older people are searching for the fire. And the fires breaking out in different locations around the world. Lot of small groups are igniting in the spirit of God is going to blow up out of a small place. If the big churches don’t start allowing the spirit of God to move in their mist. They want to quench the Spirit by having an order of service. Or this is the always how we did it. Or hand out bulletins like we’re at a funeral. And put this is the sequence of services that we will be doing today. If the Holy Spirit was to break out most of them look like including the preachers as if their eyes caught in the Headlights. Wide-eyed not knowing what to do or what to say. Just say well brother that’s nice. But we don’t do thant here. The Killing their congregation. Because there are a remanent out there that are looking for the fire.

    Wanda Alger
    July 9, 2019

    Nathan – I agree that we need a fresh zeal and courage of the Lord to obey quickly and embrace what the Spirit of God is doing – even when it’s different. Thank you for sharing!

Carolyn Levin
July 6, 2019

Thank you for this word. I believe that we should take ourselves out of our boxes to do what God has called us to do. God wants us to move with the “cloud” so He can manifest His power and love.

Betsy
July 6, 2019

Thank you, Wanda, for sharing what I believe to be soul-searching truth regarding your walk with Jesus, something I believe all Christians need to do. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to guide us in His will and in worship and to generally help us individually as well as corporately. I believe His Church needs a Holy Spirit revival across this land for America to survive in tact on her God given constitution. I pray for one that is church denominations wide that does not fizzle out but just grows stronger until Jesus returns! I pray for many others to pray the same. 2Chron. 7:14

Ginger
July 6, 2019

What an excellent point for us personally and also for the church. Getting stuck on one truth can block us both from seeing other truths in the Scriptures as well as seeing further/new ways in which the Spirit would have us approach different areas in our individual lives…a very germane thought to bring Life into our lives!

Febe
July 6, 2019

Thank you Lord Jesus for the (BLOOD) your blood shed on cross. …Beautiful, Lovingly , obediently ,overflowing, deliverance of a spirit filled message ✝️🔥🙏

Nancy Sullivan
July 5, 2019

Excellent! 🎯🔥

Nancy C. Sweitzer
July 5, 2019

I see the Holy Spirit tugging on my heart at home and at Church to dance like Miriam Danced ReJoicing and blessing with her words. Also Dancing in the spirit while singing in the spirit interceding for our nation and others even my church body.

    Nancy C.Sweitzer
    July 5, 2019

    I do not go to the front of my church and make a show Durning Worship I stay to the back of the church where I can be alone in the presence of the Lord. I attend a AOG church that understands the Holy Spirit.

      Suzanne
      July 6, 2019

      The Holy Spirit works in many ways. My experience is similar to yours and my son feels led to go to the front of his church. I believe both are valid.

      Barbara S
      July 6, 2019

      The important thing is to let God be the judge of another person’s worship… He looks on the heart, whereas men (we) look on the outward appearance. When in doubt, assume the best.

      Wanda Alger
      July 9, 2019

      Nancy – I appreciate your heart and desire to minister before the Lord!

Alan K. Veasey
July 5, 2019

Praise the Lord God. Idolatry is a potential problem for all. The only answer is obedience! What an
excellent message.

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