Caught Up in Heavenly Encounters

Hungering for encounter is the way to enter encounter.  I remember when I came back to Jesus 20 years ago, I went through a season of seeking the Lord in a new way.  Each day it was me and Jesus.  I didn’t know exactly what I was seeking but I knew I wanted to experience the presence of God and I wanted more intimacy with the Father.  I wanted to recognize His voice.

I had been an Atheist/Agnostic for a long time and didn’t really seek to hear God in those days.  There were times that I had supernatural experiences, but I didn’t interpret them through the lens of scripture. 

There was one week that I will not soon forget.  I have written about this many times, but I feel to write again.  I had been seeking the Lord through fasting and prayer.  Each day I would get up and worship the Lord for the first three or four hours of the day and then I would do a two-to-three-hour prayer walk.  During that time, I started to feel the Presence of God in a new way. 

It is hard to put into words but let me describe three things that began to happen that week.  The first thing I remember is lying down in the presence and feeling waves of the spirit like sound waves rushing over my body.  I remember feeling these waves enter the room and they would go through the center of my person.  With each wave came supernatural visions and thoughts.

I began to see my future and how my ministry would develop.  I just came back to the Lord so I didn’t have a ministry, but I saw how I would have impact throughout America and then to the nations.  I saw a mighty army of warriors rising to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We were all on horseback taking ground for Jesus.

This vision gave me a heart for missions.  I pretty much started preaching the gospel as soon as I got saved with many signs and wonders following.  I couldn’t help but tell people about the things I was experiencing.  As I gave testimony, I saw even more miracles.

During that week I also saw the Holy Spirit move powerfully in a young man’s life.  I had two young daughters and their friends for dinner one night.  During our time together there was a lot of talk about Jesus.  They kept asking me questions and I kept telling them about the Lord.  One of the girls’ friends was David.  He was 12 years old.  He stayed with me for most of the evening and I kept mentoring him about the Lord.  At one point the Holy Spirit moved in a most incredible way.  I felt something leap from me and enter David.  He immediately began to cry out and started prophesying very loudly.  He was so touched by God that everyone who met him over the next 24 hours commented to me about what had happened to Him.  Spiritual encounter is real, and God is still on the move today.

The third thing that started happening that week was my eyes were opened to see the great cloud of witnesses.  In fact, I could see heaven manifesting on earth.  I remember seeing angels and people come out of the cloud.  They looked like blue lights.  They had form but the form was all in light.  I saw apostles and angels.  I felt their company all around me.  I knew I was not alone.  This was literally like a light that came out of the sky and rested on the earth.  It overlapped everything that I saw.  It was like my eyes were open to see beyond the veil and heaven was closer than I ever imagined.

Those kinds of encounters continue to this day.  God is always with me now.  It started then but there are times that I still see the way I saw way back then.  No matter how long I live I will never tire of these experiences.  They strengthen me time and time again.

In those early days my meditation was often on Psalm 84:5-7 which I look at as the pilgrimage Psalm.  In says, “Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring; The rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion.”

The heart of the pilgrim seeks the Lord with their entire being.  There is no bending to outside influences.  There is nothing that can interrupt a wild seeker for long.  The person who continues steadfast in the glory goes from strength to strength becoming stronger because the encounters they are having with God are life changing and unforgettable.

I pray for you today and ask the Lord to help you to experience His glory.  I know that many struggle with encounter.  Many don’t believe that God will meet them.  Many have had encounters and don’t even realise it.  I pray that you will become more aware of God than ever.  I pray for your eyes to be opened and your ears to hear what the spirit is saying.