Training Your Heart to See

1. Introduction

• Acts 2:4 “They spoke with other tongues as the Spirit gave them the utterance”
• Praying in Tongues
• Your spirit is praying                                     (1 Cor.14:14)
• The language is given by the Holy Spirit  (Acts 2:4)
• You open a direct line of communication with the Holy Spirit
• You begin to build and develop your spirit        (1 Cor. 14:4)
• An overflow of this activity of the Holy Spirit is that you receive revelation from the Holy Spirit.
• Acts 2:17-18 Prophecy – visions – dreams = language of the Holy Spirit.

2. The Holy Spirit wants to speak to You

• 1 Cor.2:9-12 “…that we might know the things that are freely given to us by God”.
• Holy Spirit reveals to us what God wants to give us.
• Jn.16:13 He will guide you into all truth – He will tell you things to come.
• The Holy Spirit wants to speak to us continually.
• Language of the Spirit – not reasoning or logic – flows, spontaneous,

- enters heart as pictures, words, thoughts, impressions

• Must train our spiritual senses to receive the pictures, impressions of the Holy Spirit.

3. Harnessing Your Imagination

• Eph.1:18 “…that the eyes of your understanding (heart) might be opened”
• ‘Eyes of your heart” is your imagination.
• Your imagination is a faculty of your spirit –

Is like a TV screen – neither good nor bad

Is a sense you have been given for a purpose

Enables you to create images, pictures within your mind

(a) Things of the past – both good and bad

(b) Things of the present – current situations, struggles challenges

(c) Things of the future – projects, goals, fears

• Everything that exists started in someone’s imagination – they “saw it”.

e.g.     Creation – started in God’s imagination first.

            Building – started in someone’s imagination.

Sin – starts in someone’s imagination then when they step back into the physical world they bring the stain with them. Mt.5:27-28.

• God uses our imagination to give birth to His plans for us. E.g. Gen = Abraham – look at the stars, at sand,- dream!
• Children have strong imagination often very sensitive to the spirit presence.
• Your imagination can give birth to good or to evil.

4. How to Train Your Imagination to ‘see’

• 2 Cor.4:18
• “looked at” =4648= to take aim, look around like a sentry, for attention upon
• Temporal =4340= endure only for a season
• Eternal =166= without beginning, or end, never cease
• One key way of focussing attention and training your imagination is meditation.
• Josh.1:8 Note the progression = meditate – speak – do.

Meditate =1897=      to imagine – to repeat over and over same picture

                                    To ponder, dwell on continually

                                    =6743= to advance, succeed, push forward

Practical Keys

(i)         Fasting – fast off images that dull senses.

(ii)        Cleansing – present mind and imagination to the Holy Spirit for cleansing

            - break attachment to negative thoughts

            - speak to old thoughts in mind – curse them

(iii)       Focus attention

(a) as praying in tongues picture who and what your are praying for

and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal something about that situation.

Look for spontaneous images/pictures.

(b) as go to sleep – focus on the Word or person of Jesus and ask the

Holy Spirit to reveal something during the night in a dream.

(iv)       Meditate – practice meditation

            (a) Word of God                  (b) The Lord Himself – Ps.63:6

                  2 Tim. 3:16-18                         (His names) – Ps 23

            (c) Works of God                 (c) Prophetic Words            1 Tim.4:14

                  Ps.77:10-12                                                           1 Tim 1:18

                  Heb.13:8                          

(e) Things that are good Phil 4:8

5. How to See into the Word of God

• Heb.4:12 The Word of God is alive – living, not dead – speaking
• Take a story in the Bible e.g. Luke 7:11-15

o Read it over and over until familiar

o Pray quietly in tongues – Ask the Lord to speak to you

o Picture the story in imagination – enter the story

o Look around - what see?

                              - What feel?

                              - What happening?

· Expect to experience Jesus in the story!