Eyes to see
A picture is worth more than 1000 words! This is why God speaks to us through visions, so that He can communicate very deep revelations, emotions and imprint His thoughts on our hearts in a fraction of a second. I propose to discover how to receive visions from God, how to interpret them and the effect they can have on your life.
You have spiritual eyes
God is Spirit and He can communicate directly with us through our spirit. He can speak to us through thoughts with words, but also images, visions.
"God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth." (John 4:24)
The prophet Joel, taken up by the apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost, announced that in the last days, Christians would have visions. This is an experience that many biblical characters have had. It is now available for all those who have become the temple of the Holy Spirit at their new birth.
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people" (Ephesians 1:18)
The apostle Paul prays that the Ephesians open their spiritual eyes, which means that we have spiritual eyes and they can be closed or open.
This is also what Jesus shared when He said that those who have eyes see.
"For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear." (Matthew 13:15-16)
Our spiritual eyes allow us to perceive spiritual realities, what God is doing. They also allow us to see the images that God wants to transmit to us, they are called visions.
The first important thing about visions is to be attentive to what we can see in our mind.
"For God does speak—now one way, now another— though no one perceives it." (Job 33:14)
You may be wondering, "What's a vision? » Take a few moments to imagine a pink elephant. Do you have a mental picture of it? A vision is a mental image except that it is spontaneous, it is not a figment of your imagination, and that God is the source of it. There are other types of visions that I discuss in more detail in the book Listening to God (a practical guide to recognizing God's voice, especially through visions).
“‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams." (Acts 2:17)
It is through faith, knowing that it is a biblical promise, that you will be able to grasp God's visions so that you can receive the whole message. God's visions can be simple to understand. This is what Jacqueline, a reader of Listening to God, experienced.
"This morning I was reading your book Listening to God and decided to put it into practice. I asked God how he saw me. In quietly listening to him, I had a vision. I saw a little girl hiding and her father was looking for her. They were both playing hide-and-seek. The father found his daughter who threw herself into his arms as her father hugged her. He said, "I will never forsake or abandon you, I love you and you are my child, my beloved. " I felt many emotions and had tears in my eyes because the love that this father had for this child was so strong, so pure and so sincere! I still have tears in my eyes as I’m writing this to you. »
Do you understand the power of vision? Jacqueline received a powerful revelation of God's love for her through this simple vision.
Would you like God, speak to you through visions too? I invite you to pray with me.
Heavenly Father, thank you for saving me and for placing Your Spirit in me. I ask your forgiveness for all the times I neglected what you showed me. Open my spiritual eyes so that I can see what you want to show me. Holy Spirit, what do you want to show me now?
Take a few minutes to focus on Jesus in you and receive what He shows you.
How to know that it's not my imagination?
First of all, a vision of God is spontaneous, it is not the fruit of reasoning. Although it may be simple to understand, it also happens that God attracts our attention with a symbolic image whose meaning does not seem obvious at first glance. The goal is first of all to engage in conversation with us. Remember that God wants to develop his relationship with you first.
"I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it."" (Habakkuk 2:1-2)
Here's a simple but powerful tip: When you have a vision (either in prayer or spontaneously), write down the vision and focus on that image you saw in your mind. It is possible that this image may change as you focus on it. In fact, it is your faith that pleases God. Focusing on this image is a faith process: you dare to believe that it may be God who is calling you. Once the vision is complete, ask God questions about its meaning and/or do some research.
You may wonder why God loves treasure hunts!?
First of all, He is the one who chose this enigmatic form of communication (what is important in a treasure hunt is not the form of the first enigma but the treasure or the place that we will be discovered by following the clues!). Here is a testimony from Sophie that will illustrate the importance of following God's mysteries.
Sophie, from Switzerland, was writing to me about her situation:
"About 7 years ago, I knew I had fibroma. I regularly asked for prayer for the healing of this fibroma which has caused severe anemia and intestinal problems. The fibroid started to clear up a year ago, but it causes a lot of bleeding and complications. I am regularly in the hospital for expensive treatments for anemia. And the doctors are pressuring me to have surgery. At the moment, I can hardly sit down anymore and since it has been going on for months, I have pain and circulatory problems. I started to have allergic reactions to certain foods and medications (antihemorrhagic). My legs swell up, I can't bend them well. I know that healing does not depend on me and my abilities, otherwise who could be healed?! I am still learning about healing through the École de Ministère Surnaturel Francophone and your books and I am still listening to the Holy Spirit.»
Sophie rewrote me 6 months later:
"God intervened! He gave me a vision, that of a smartphone and a pineapple. I researched and found bromelain: pineapple stem powder. I took this natural treatment and the problems stopped. I am no longer anemic, the iron was able to be assimilated. The doctors who had been following me for months couldn't believe it !!!! God is the doctor of doctors. He is the one who can prescribe what others do not know! »
Are you beginning to understand that behind an enigmatic vision there may be a great blessing? If Jesus said that the kingdom of God is for those who are like children, it is because our faith must dare to follow God even when our intelligence would like to ignore His messages.
"Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”" (Matthew 19:14)
The Bible, a spiritual trampoline
When one wants to explore the life of the Spirit, one must be careful not to deviate from the Bible.
God has given us his Word as a guide. The Bible is THE Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit. You must rely on it to filter and inspire your spiritual experiences.
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16)
Filtering your spiritual experiences means that you must refuse to venture into spiritual experiences that would be contrary to the Bible. Many non-Christian people have spiritual experiences related to spiritualism, witchcraft, astral travel, etc.
What will protect you from coming into contact with demons, what will protect you from the enemy's wiles and deception, is to examine all spiritual experience in light of the Bible.
"But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!" (Galatians 1:8-9)
I like using the image of the trampoline. A trampoline allows you to jump high and do acrobatic tricks. The deeper you go into the trampoline, the higher you bounce. In the same way, the Bible inspires our spiritual experiences. The more we dive into the Word of God, the more we discover the mysteries of God, the more we experience with the Holy Spirit. These experiences may seem "acrobatic" to rational thinking, such as healing the sick, speaking in tongues, or receiving words of knowledge. But as long as you fall back on the trampoline (the Bible), you are safe. What is dangerous is to jump on a trampoline, do a back somersault and fall back on the ground next to the trampoline. Don't let the sensational aspect (feeling) prevent you from examining whether what you are experiencing is biblical or not.
"For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough." (2 Corinthians 11:4)
The Bible shows you how God speaks, how you should react and what you should not do. Indeed, we see in the lives of biblical characters their mistakes and steps of faith.
Would you like to pray with me?
Lord, I bring to you my fears and ignorance. I come to you as a child. In the same way that I can speak French, I believe that you are leading me to learn to speak the language of the Holy Spirit. I choose to not give up. Thank you because you are with me and even though I make mistakes, your Spirit and your Word are there to guide me. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
This reading plan is an excerpt from the book Listening to God. You can read the first three chapters here
David Théry
Practical teachings to experience God