So, what is going on in Lakeland, Florida? That is the question that so many are asking these days since word began to spread a number of weeks ago that the Holy Spirit is being poured out in significant measure. And, what's more, there has been tons of healing accompanying this outpouring. The man in the centre of this is Canadian-born Todd Bentley, an evangelist with years of experience in revival meetings and healing the sick. But, by his own admission, he has never seen anything like what is happening in Lakeland. Significant healings are occurring, evangelism is following and lives are being changed.

Since this outpouring began about 50 days ago, Todd and his team have held meetings every night. What began as a weekend conference for a few hundred has mushroomed into crowds of many thousands, long line-ups to get in and people flying in from all over the world to receive from God. Similar to the Toronto Blessing in 1994, this outpouring seems to be about two things: first, any person can be significantly touched and impacted by the Spirit of God if they go to the meeting and take a posture of receiving from God. And second, the person can also receive an impartation that they can take with them back their nation. Reports are coming in that healing and infilling are being experienced in all corners of the globe after someone spent time in Lakeland.


If you are like me and you long for the presence of the Lord to increase in our city, this sounds like good news. At Sanctuary House of Prayer, we spend many hours asking for God to come in power in our city and this seems like a possible answer to prayer. But there are a few things that need to be considered before we claim that "this is that" which we believe is coming.

First, it is very early to be making any significant conclusions. Thinking back to Toronto in '94, the wave was just beginning to grow at the 50-day mark and it was impossible for anyone to know for sure where it was going. All they knew was that it was God and it was extraordinary! To see Lakeland as more than this conclusively is a bit premature at this point. Having said that, we can learn from the Toronto experience. Waves like this tend to increase in size and force over time. If it is really transferable as the reports are suggesting, we have every reason to believe this will have a global impact within a year. It will impact every city on the earth that wants it and change the way things are done in the church world and beyond.

Second, waves like this are often the way God works. Therefore, we need to make mental adjustments to allow for God to work in this way and shed old ways of thinking if they prevent us from seeing (and hopefully participating) in what He is doing right now. Revivals often come just this way and we want to be open to the style being a bit different than we are used to if the fruit is good.

Third, we know that there will be more and more of these outpourings as we get closer to the Second Coming of Jesus. Anticipate Acts 2 becoming a full reality in your city as it is coming to all of us before this draws to a close. So, this outpouring may or may not be the "big one" that you have in your head. Embrace what God is doing, celebrate the activities of the Holy Spirit and join in with it by asking God to increase it in your area.

Fourth, there are always things in any outpouring that seem extreme (outlandish, even) and some of the behaviour exhibited by attendees (and even leaders) can cause us to be offended. This is important to know now because God is not wanting us to ignore sinful or abusive behaviour but rather to press through to find Him in the midst of broken humanity on display at points. It is far better in these situations to allow the style and culture that typically annoys or offends you to just flow. Suspend your judgments and press in to God. Remember, there are things about you and your ministry style that people don't like as well. Extend grace and keep your eyes heavenward.

And finally, we need to remember that Jesus usually responded to people who demonstrated hunger for what He had to offer and faith that they would receive if they pursued Him. The principle still applies today. As a friend of mine used to say to his unbelieving friends, "if there is something good out there, why not go and get it?" The posture to take with this outpouring needs to be one of hunger and faith. Determine that whatever God is doing right now is something you want in on and pursue it as "something good you want to go get". This doesn't mean changing your life calling, dropping what God has asked of you now or violating your own beliefs. God knows each of us so well. He will grant to us according to what is the best for us. So, throw yourself open to what He wants for you in this and ask Him for more.

Sanctuary is in an interesting place in this. We want to be touched and filled by God, receive whatever power is available for healing the sick (and get our people healed in the process) and see the lost come to Jesus through it all. But, we want our prayer meetings fired up and fueled by the presence of the Spirit and an increase in authority for what we contend for manifest in every meeting. And most of all, we want greater intimacy with Jesus, our eternal reward the lover of our very souls.

May God do all that He has planned. Holy Spirit, come!

Brian Creary
Ministry Director

And finally....Point #5

We have reached the end of this method with this final point, one that seems so obvious most people want to begin with it: pray the verses.

If you recall, we began by stating that scripture meditation was about more than learning the verses by heart or even learning the background and meaning of each verse. To meditate on the verse is to "prayerfully consider" what is contained there, to encounter God as you encounter His written word. We have learned the value in reading the passage, in writing it down, in saying it (especially out loud), in singing and allowing the melodies of your heart to join with what the Spirit is teaching us. And now we are able to take it all and turn it into prayer request before God.

There is some mystery to this final step, believe it or not, because it is very likely you are going to have an "a-ha" moment in there somewhere. All the way along you have been pressing to connect with God and what He wants to share with you concerning the passage in question. More than learning what your favourite commentator has to say on it, you are learning to approach God in the midst of worship to seek deeper truths. But now that you have received revelation from God on this, your final step in the process is to take what you have learned and say it back to God in prayer. The language that He gives you will become the very language you will use to pray it back to Him. And there is your "a-ha" moment: the prayer that is the most meaningful will be filled with language and ideas that came first from Him anyway.

Simply put, He longs to share His heart with us and to have us walk in step with what He is thinking, feeling and doing. We often forget this as we run ahead doing the works of the kingdom and accomplishing things for Him. And, all along He was after our hearts. We probably should have guessed as much considering that our future in eternity is with Him. Of course He wants people who voluntarily love Him!!

How do we pray the thoughts and ideas we have received? Try something like this....

-read, write, say and sing through Psalm 27:4 ("one thing I ask and seek that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to gaze up His beauty..."

-the thoughts and ideas will have come to you as statements of realization ("God, you must be more amazing than I realize to hold the attention of David for his whole life", "there is nothing more important than to be in relationship with you, God", "to gaze clearly upon who you are is the beginning of worship", "I am not doing this very well right now...forgive me in my neglect and distraction", etc)

-begin to pray these back to God as request ("God, I want to see more of you", "let me gaze on your beauty", "focus my eyes on you alone and let nothing else distract me from you", etc.)

-don't forget to weave in much expressions of love through singing...He loves that!


Like any method, it won't bring you to God in and of itself. But, take the time to learn and grow in it and your engaged heart will allow you to find more of God.

Be blessed in the journey!


Brian Creary
Ministry Director

Assuming you have been trying this approach to scripture meditation out for yourself, you have now reached the point where you are getting some revelation from God and things are beginning to flow for you. Your journal is filling up with amazing ideas and you feel like you are hearing God through His written word. Good for you!

Now, we are going to try something that can be both wonderfully fulfilling and intimidating all at once. Step 4 is to take the phrases you are jotting down in your journal, particularly the ones that have lots of "life" on them for you right now and begin to sing them out. Yes, I said sing them :) Let me suggest some reasons why and then a practical way or two that you can go about doing this.

Singing, whether it be the scriptures or any written phrase, will do something for you on the inside that no other mechanic will accomplish. We have all had the experience of getting a song stuck in our head, but rarely does the same happen with a spoken phrase. Music has a way of staying with us, of making the ideas more familiar and much more memorable. Music can touch our emotions quickly. It can cause us to feel the idea and well as understand the content. It can be used for evil and it can be used for good. Most of all, it can be a vehicle into greater understanding of God and His word.

Incidently, there is much singing going on in heaven. A complete reading of the book of Revelation will show that singing was happening as the events of the end-times were unfolding. It was happening as they gazed on God and who He was in His complexity. They declared in song the goodness of God and the brilliance of His leadership, even as judgements were being poured out on the earth and many people were dying. It is the future, frankly...those who can see Him and the wisdom of His leadership will sing as the day of His appearing draws closer. Clearly, God both enjoys and sanctions the use of singing in the activity of prayer and searching for understanding.

Even more powerful than hearing music, however, is the act of actually singing it out yourself. Somehow, this step, when done with an engaged heart in prayer (in its simplest form, this is talking to God), causes us to connect in a way that involves deeper parts of who we are. Our emotions are touched. Our rational thoughts connect with the feeling side of our soul. We hear ourselves singing truth, with the Spirit interacting with our efforts, and it takes us deeper into knowing God for ourselves.

Doing this, however, is often a challenge for a few reasons. Unless you have a house of prayer that engages in corporate worship for hours on end, you may have trouble engaging in this step in a "live music" setting. Most Sunday morning worship times are designed for you to actually sing what the leader is singing and not go off on your own themes. The folks sitting nearby will not appreciate your sung efforts at Psalm 27:4 or anything else if that is not what is happening in the room.

The next best thing to a live worship setting is a recording of your favourite worship music. I suggest something slower and more devotional in content to begin as you are going to feel you need space at first. This step will be difficult if the band is rocking and the theme is celebrative. Look for something that moves your heart when you listen to it or when you sing it in a church setting. Here is what it could look like:

-for a start, take your ipod or favourite worship cd in the car with you for a long drive

-pick your song and begin to sing along with it...this will get you used to hearing yourself sing out, usually one of the biggest obstacles for most people.

-assuming your are engaging your heart with God via the song, launch out with some spontaneous phrases of your own in the spaces or even over top of what is being sung. Again, a good choice of song will allow for more space and easier entry points here.

-Be real in this! It is too easy to fall into cliches and not really say what is in your heart. Anyone can sing "blessed be the name of the Lord" over and over, but if it is not real to you it is best to avoid it as the central theme of your singing.

-Now what about the written phrases in your journal, you say?? Now would be a bad time to get the journal out and search for a good phrase (you are driving, after all). Instead, be free and spontaneous this first time. It will cause you to see quickly that you will run out of language to express your heart. When you arrive home, take out the journal and begin to get some of your favourite phrases into your thinking. Prepare yourself for your next singing time.

-If you are alone in your home, you can join all of this together easily. With the music on and your heart engaged, you can go through steps 1-4 with a natural flow that will allow this to be an expression of love and not a structured mechanism that restricts your efforts.

It may sound awkward, but give it a try anyway. You will be surprised at how the truth of the word will stay with you and how much you will feel what moves you as you sing it out before the Lord.

One step to go....


Blessings,

Brian Creary
Ministry Director

So, now we are at third step in meditating on passages of scripture and things are about to get good. You have already spent time in reading the passage over a number of times, getting familiar with the content in question and allowing the Lord to begin to stir ideas inside of you. Then, you went the next step and wrote the passage out. Now it is time to say it out loud.

No kidding, there is something about speaking it out that takes the truth of it to a deeper level. You hear yourself say it and it produces faith in your own spirit. You understand it better. You feel the rhythm of it and God will often take you even deeper into the knowledge of what is contained in it.

But, it is at this step that we have to do something different. Now, it is critical to return back to the previous two steps and begin to use all three together. Now is the time to take what you are reading and thinking and turn it into writing. And then take what you are writing and turn it into speech. At this point, you want to go past the verse and into what God is speaking to you about it. From this place, it should be written down in prayerful journaling and then spoken out loud as it becomes alive to you.

Let's consider an example. Earlier we picked Psalm 27:4 ("one thing have I desired of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to gaze upon His beauty and seek Him in His temple"). Now, to meditate on it with what you have so far, it could look a lot like this:

-you read the verse a few times, putting emphasis on certain apsects of the verse in your reading and letting ideas come to you.
-next you write it down on paper or in a book, leaving room for more journaling to come.
-now you speak out the passage a few times, letting the power of the verse hang in the air so you can hear yourself say it. Faith will increase a little as you connect with it.
-next, return to the verse and prayerfully consider the first part..."God, how could David actually mean this is the one thing, the most important thing, he would ask for above all else?"...
-time to listen...God is talking
-write down your thoughts AND write down His thoughts.
-"I want to seek this out like David did, God...I want to see what he was seeing...I want to really know what you are like and find myself gazing at you in all that you"
-time to open your mouth and say out loud what you are feeling and discovering. "You are beautiful!...I want to know more...this is a worthy goal in my short time on the earth...I will gaze on you in eternity anyway...why not now??"


And, there you have it. You are meditating on scripture. God is talking through the verses and in addition to the verses. You are connecting to Him in the text and apart from the text. He is alive and is helping you see things about Himself and about your own heart and life. He is changing your way of thinking.

Next step...we go even deeper.


Blessings,

Brian Creary
Ministry Director