The Nighttime Mysteries of God
God Wants Your Heart, Not Religiosity
When I was a young believer, I used to think I always had to get on my knees to pray. At times while I was lying in my bed, I would be inspired by the Holy Spirit with what I call awakenings. These were like sudden impulses of light, and whenever one would hit me, I would feel the need to get out of bed and kneel at the foot of my bed to pray for whatever it was that struck me. I did this hundreds of times for years, and that was fine. It was part of my journey and process of growth. But eventually the Holy Spirit began to show me I didn’t have to get out of bed and get on my knees to pray every time He spoke to me. I sensed Him telling me I was already kneeling before Him in my heart.
God wants us to know that we don’t have to do something on the outside in the physical world to get Him to hear us. When our hearts are in fellowship with Him, that is enough. This is important for us to understand. It’s important that we become so centered in the Holy Spirit that we know God isn’t necessarily requiring us to do something on the outside to connect with Him. The communion is already happening within, and we just need to trust Him that whatever we’re desiring from Him is already done.
Yeshua said, “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.”
In Ephesians 3, Paul prayed “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”
God wants us to know that He hears the slightest whisper, the slightest inclination of our hearts because He’s connected to our inner man. This is why you don’t have to get out of bed and kneel in order for God to hear or answer your prayer. What God desires is for you to simply believe that He heard you and that He will answer.
God's Spirit is Gentle in Your Growing Season
Eventually, the Lord showed me something during that time when I felt like I always had to do something for Him to hear me, when I’d have the inspiration inside to pray about something and I’d think, “Oh, I have to get on my knees and pray.” I started noticing that as soon as I got to the foot of my bed to get on my knees, I no longer sensed the connection.
I sensed the connection and felt inspired when I first experienced the inclination to connect with God, but when I did something outside of myself—got out of bed to get on my knees—the connection was lost. I was trying to receive more by getting out of my bed, thinking God would answer me if I did that. But when I reached the foot of my bed and got on my knees, I didn’t feel that same connection anymore. Why? Because I went from trying to connect with God from my inside to doing something on the outside, and I lost the connection as a result.
In his prayer in Ephesians 3, Paul is saying, “I’m asking the Lord to strengthen you by His power, so you will know that He dwells inside you, and by coming in to that revelation, you’ll enter into deep communion with Him.” Let me say it again: You don’t have to reach outside yourself to connect with God. The Holy Spirit is in you now. Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is not here or there “for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. ”This is the mystery of the gospel. This is the mystery of having fellowship with God.