Lately, the Lord has been re-revealing things to me. Scriptures I thought I knew, all of a sudden take on a depth of meaning I had never seen before. Things I knew about are getting expanded and are being driven from my head into my heart. Once they are there, they seem to move from “something I believe”, to “something I know.”

While I was walking the dog and hanging out with the Lord (dog walking is one of my favourite times to get into His presence), I said, “Lord, how is it when I ask for a word for someone, You always give a word of encouragement or a word intended to breathe life into them?” Immediately, the Lord said, ” That’s because I am showing you my heart for that person and the destiny that is on their life, no matter who they are or how they are living. The words I release give life, and can accomplish what seems to be impossible to you.”

I think I knew this already, but when the Lord spoke this to me, it was like an explosion of revelation going through me. All of a sudden, I understood it with a clarity I had not experienced before. The Lord told me that because I ask for a word to give to someone, He gives it … and it is always positive. His thoughts about each of us outnumber the grains of sand on the beach. There is a never ending depth of encouragement and love that He wants to pour out. When He knows our heart is to bless and build up, He delights in releasing His dreams for a person – words that call them into their destiny. These words are like snowballs. When they hit, they explode and can cause someone to move forward or change direction. Even if we don’t entirely know what we are doing, a word of encouragement will not cause harm.

He also showed me that at other times, I might be praying for someone (or not), and He drops into my spirit a picture or a word which reveals or unlocks something. This is an entirely different kind of a word, and we need to know how that word is to be used. These kind of words or pictures are like scalpels in the hands of a surgeon. They are sharp and can cut through all kinds of defences and blocks. These don’t work like the destiny words, but are more like releasing, healing or convicting words. It is essential to know how to use them, since without wisdom, they can do great damage. Fortunately, He loves to give us wisdom. When we ask, He will tell us.

The image that came to mind while I was pondering these things was that of the Lord unfolding a person’s life, like a large scroll or map. The person’s destiny was a large area of the map and it was from there that He takes the things He reveals to those who ask with the right heart. Other areas of the map contained experiences, hurts and judgements that had been made. From these areas He could see exactly what was required to release, unblock or heal. He delights to release these to those He has chosen to bring healing to the person. There were several other areas of the scroll that I couldn’t see.

The main things the Lord showed me from this vision:

• There is nothing to fear when we ask for a word from the Lord. He is always for us, never against us. This is also how we can recognize that a word is from the Lord. He always builds up, never tears down.
• The words He gives are 100% true and effective for the purpose He intends. He is solely responsible for the content.
• We can rest knowing that we only have to release what He tells us – nothing more, nothing less. We are only responsible for the delivery.

Robin