She would often say in her meetings, “Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit! Don’t you know He’s all I got?”
This probably seemed very strange to many of her onlookers, but I am sure there was no denying her love for the Holy Spirit. I am very adamant about the Word of God, as you have probably realized by now, but I recognize that there is a great need in the body of Christ for a revelation of the Holy Spirit once again.
Everything about being a prophetic intercessor hinges on intimacy with the Holy Spirit. In my book, Kingdom Authority, I deal with something called the Orphan Spirit. The orphan spirit is the spirit of fear and insecurity that comes from not knowing our identity in Christ. I have found that almost every form of bondage in a believer’s life is connected in some way to the orphan spirit.
Before we can embrace prayer and reap its benefits, we must first learn who we are in Christ. The only way to know who we are in Christ is to develop an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit. In fact, intimacy with the Holy Spirit is the key to living a supernatural life. Jesus told us, “But when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own authority. But He will speak whatever He hears, and He will tell you things that are to come” (John 16:13) The Holy Spirit reveals the truth of who we are in Christ. This truth causes us to have confidence in our relationship with God.
Heavenly Wisdom and Revelation
More than ever before, the body of Christ needs supernatural wisdom to navigate through the perilous times in which we live. Paul prayed in the book of Ephesians “so that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance among the saints” (Eph. 1:17-18).
God wants to give you and me access to heavenly wisdom. What is wisdom? The wisdom referenced here is full or complete wisdom; it is divine wisdom. By heavenly wisdom, we are referring to the application of divine knowledge to matters in the Earth. We need wisdom to relate to our spouses, to raise our children and to operate in the marketplace. This wisdom is available to us; we simply need to activate it by faith.
Every time we approach the throne of grace (in prayer) we are accessing the wisdom of God. Along with wisdom, we also need revelation. What is revelation? The word revelation comes from the Greek word apokalypsis, which means: to lay bare, make naked or disclose truth. Simply put, revelation is the unveiling of something that was previously unknown.
God wants to reveal things to His children that will benefit us in both the natural and the spiritual realm. I will never forget the first time; God gave me a revelation on something in the Word of God. This revelation came in prayer. It was literally as if God pulled back the curtains of my mind and allowed me to see clearly. Once you receive revelation, you can never go on the same way you did before the truth was revealed.
The Revealer of Secrets
The aforementioned is one of my favorite prayers in the Bible, and I believe it is God’s earnest desire that you and I receive the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Simply put, He wants to be known by you! Knowing God is in fact eternal life.
The truth is that God is omnipotent and omniscient, and the only way we can know Him is by revelation. I believe that there are things that He wants to divulge to us on a regular basis. This is why prayer is such an important part of our daily lives. Imagine going to take an open book test in school, and all the answers are written in your book in alphabetical order.
Would you fail the test? The only way to fail that kind of test is not to open your book. Many believers are failing the tests of life because they refuse to spend time in the Word of God and prayer. Growing up, I remember one particular friend who literally knew everything about everyone. If you wanted to know the latest information, all you had to do was give this person a call. Well, God is the only person who knows everything. He literally created the universe!
If you want to know something, simply ask Him. The Bible says, “The counsel of the Lord is with those who fear him, and He will make His covenant known to them” (Ps. 25:14). God wants to reveal to you and me the secrets of His heart. The word “secret” comes from the Hebrew word cowd, which means: secret counsel. He wants to show us things about Himself that we have yet to discover. He also wants to expose the plans of the enemy in your life so that you will walk in constant victory.
Prayer is more than a one-way conversation; it is a divine consultation whereby God divulges supernatural information to the believer.
Once we receive wisdom and revelation from God, the second part of Paul’s prayer in the book of Ephesians will be realized: “that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance among the saints” (Eph. 1:18).
The word “enlightened” here is a very powerful word. It comes from the Greek word phōtizō, which means: to give light, clarity and illumination. It is where we get the English word “photo.” A photo is a picture made using a camera, in which an image is focused onto film or other light-sensitive material and then made visible and permanent by chemical treatment, or stored digitally.
Every time we pray earnestly with the intent to receive revelation from God, a picture is burned on our hearts, which we cannot forget or deny. Even when circumstances come to contradict what we heard from God in prayer, the picture is still there, resonating in our hearts. God wants to bring illumination to every area of darkness, fear and discouragement in your life. Illumination produces hope, because once we have a picture of God’s plan for our lives we become hopeful of the future.
You can say that illumination produces expectation, and expectation is the breeding ground for manifestation. Prayerful people are always in a constant state of expectancy because they are anticipating miracles happening in their lives. There are riches and treasures within us that God wants to reveal. All it takes is one encounter with God to radically transform you life! {eoa}
Kynan Bridges is the senior pastor of Grace & Peace Global Fellowship in Tampa, Florida, where he lives with his wife, Gloria, and their three children. He is the best-selling author of Possessing Your Healing and the The Power of Prophetic Prayer.