"He that has an ear to hear..."

I want to share a timeline of events with you from this past week. Follow me as I share... I'll start by saying that I have been more intentional about hearing what the Lord is speaking to me personally and to the church, especially in more recent seasons. Sometimes I'm more intentional than others. For the past week, I have been sensing a deep settling in my spirit. These unique times of deep settling are reoccurring in my spiritual life and are different from my normal times of settling. The best way to describe it is -- I get a stronger urge for quietness. I have no desire for praise and worship music to play. I don't want to hear a preached message from the phone or tv. I become very bothered by social media and get a strong urge to turn it aside. It's as if my spirit is positioning to hear. So, in quietness (my definition of quietness with 3 children at home, that is), I sit with my Bible and my journal, and I have soft dialogue with the Lord, and I listen. Last Friday was a teacher workday for my campus. Since the students were off, our campus administrators planned a full workday with teambuilder activities for the staff. One of the activities we completed can be likened to a 'quiet game.' In partners, we were required to sit knee to knee, make complete eye contact, and give no verbal response while our partner shared their heart for 60 seconds. Then, we switched roles. Many of us realized how difficult it was to just sit quietly and listen -- how difficult it was to hold back our thoughts or opinions during those 60 seconds. Two days later, this past Sunday, my Pastor shared, what I believe to be, a very prophetic message. He spoke on "Increasing in the Knowledge of God," but what really resonated with me was his reference to "study to be quiet," which we know to be well-known scripture. He, too, had us demonstrate sitting quietly but for 30 seconds with no words. It's no coincidence. (Side note: In Hebrew, there is no word for 'coincidence'. Circumstances aren't just by happenstance. They are sovereignly aligned.) Within these few days (Friday to Sunday), between work and church, the Lord was giving me a prophetic picture of what He is speaking right now. The Lord wants us to hear. Watch and pray! The enemy will do whatever he can to distract and disrupt your hearing; he wants you to miss it. However, God doesn't want you to miss one word. He has so much to say right now, but if we do not settle, get quiet, listen, and hear, we will miss it. When the Lord is getting our attention and awakening us to hear His voice, it is for good reason. I don't want to miss necessary instruction for the current or even for the next season. Holy Spirit, what are you saying? "He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches (Revelation 2:29)." Janice, Wife. Mother. Intercessor. Teacher.