The Key to Hearing is Intimacy

In every major revival, and for every notable Christian, there is a common denominator: intimacy with the Presence of God. Those who have seen an increase in the supernatural power of God are the ones who have allowed for a corresponding decrease in their own personal ambitions. Humility precedes honor. 

In fact, to put it in more scientific terms, there is an inverse relationship between our movement and God’s movement. We deliberately resolve to surrender our personal drive and intentions, choosing instead to come to the restful place of prayer and adoration of God. It seems largely counterintuitive and unproductive to us at first. But amazingly, He transforms our stillness into a harvest of abundant fruitfulness.

Why? Because He is seeking intimacy with His creation. A quick look at nature reveals that intimacy is impossible without time spent together. Love is indeed a choice, and a good relationship is one in which both parties have chosen to invest in each other. Two cannot walk together unless they are agreed. Yet if two agree to walk together, there is an unlimited potential to what they might accomplish: “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 18:19, NASB).

Our Maximum = His Minimum!

As we invest in the quantity of time spent in prayer, we will see a yield in the quality of our fruitfulness for the Kingdom of God. Setting ourselves in agreement with the Lord of all creation opens up possibilities that otherwise would not exist for mankind. By ourselves, we have limited energies, educations, and abilities. With God, the maximum limit of our potential becomes the minimum for what He can do with us! Cancer cannot be cured by man, but healing is possible with God. Human argument alone cannot convince someone of the need for salvation, but the conviction of the Holy Spirit can.

I believe that we as a church have settled for far too little. I am not alone; there is a company – an army – of others who have seen this as well. They have understood that the severity of our times requires massive, large-scale revival, and are willing to pay the price to bring the manifest Presence of God to the earth. What is that price? It is the willingness to lay down personal desires in order to meet with God in prayer. 

Who is Responsible for Revival? 

The burden for revival has for too long been relegated to those who call themselves intercessors, worshippers, or prophets. Our particular gifting within the Body of Christ neither includes nor excludes us from the responsibility for revival, either personal or corporate. It may be that the intercessors hear the Lord’s directions first because they are setting aside time to hear, but all of us are called to take some course of action based on the type of commission we receive.

In fact, I have heard the Lord say that He desires for each of us to find our “specialty” within this end-time army. Knowing what our specific callings and talents are will help us to both find our place and work with others in revival. As we get to know our Commander-in-Chief, He gives us greater understanding of the unique roles He wants us to fulfill. He also shows us what not to do in order to complete our commission.

Promotion comes from submission. Intimacy is the key to hearing. If we are not hearing God, it is only because we are choosing not to. Any leader worth his salt in the Kingdom of God (pun intended!)  has learned to spend time with the General, receiving the strategies for his life. 

Psalm 19 says that there is no place on this earth where God’s voice cannot be heard! John 10 reveals that there is no sheep in His fold who cannot hear His call. But God has made it so that enlistment in His army is volitional. I like the way Pastor Brian Simmons put it recently: “If revival depends on you, how close are we?” 

We all need to hear our marching orders. We are all given, at salvation, a key that opens the door to the war-room of God. We may find that this door is located in an inconvenient place, hidden far below the common-rooms of Christianity. But it is here that strategies are birthed and generals are made. Those who emerge from this place are anointed with the power and authority of the Lord of Hosts to accomplish His will on the earth. My prayer is that in the coming days, many more will hear the call to enter in to this place of divine intimacy, emerging with the radiance of those who have been with Him (Psalm 34:5) .

c. Deborah Perkins, 2014. 

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