Preparing for the Greater Glory Part III

As I have shared previously, the Lord gave my husband a dream a few months ago about a greater anointing and presence of God/Revival that is coming that is greater than anything we have experienced before. I have heard the testimonies of others who have already started experiencing this move referred to as “The Greater Glory”.  I shared last time that we have been experiencing an increase in the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit in our local church and it is continuing to increase.

One of the things that happened, which I believe is partly responsible for this increase in the anointing, is that our intercessory prayer group, which normally meets on Sunday nights to pray for an hour or so made the commitment to start getting up a 6:00 a.m. to have a group prayer time every morning (except we missed last weekend) through group texting. This was not easy for me, since I am a night time person, not a morning person, but I am adjusting and the results are well worth it. All the great moves of God that I have read about or experienced over the years have been preceded by people who had a burden for and made a commitment to prayer; to seeking the face of God and interceding for their community.

Another concept that I have heard repeatedly about those who have experienced great moves of God is that people began to linger or “soak” in God’s presence. I think one of the problems in our modern time is everyone is so busy, we are constantly in a hurry to go do something else, but if we want to experience a greater move of God, we need to learn to wait on him.

Isaiah 40:31 says:  But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. (NKJ) The word translated “to wait” in this passage is “Qavah”; meaning to bind together (by twisting), to collect, to be joined, to meet; to expect, await, to look for patiently, etc. (The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible, Lexical Aids to the Old Testament, pg. 1633). So what I glean from this word study is that when we wait upon the Lord, we don’t just passively sit and wait for God (although we may need to wait on God for a time) to do something, but as we seek Him, enter into worship, etc., our spirit and soul (our mind, will and emotions) begin to get intertwined with God’s Spirit and there is an intimacy or oneness that results. We become more in tune with Him, begin to sense what He desires to speak to us about and how He wants us to pray or if He just wants us to soak in His presence, etc. Instead of just going down a list of what we want God to do, we begin to have the mind of the Holy Spirit and understand what’s on His heart and what His desires are. Prayer can go from being dead and dry or just “routine” to being something wonderful and powerful that we look forward to and treasure.

In Acts 1:4-5 just before ascending back to heaven, Jesus commanded his disciples “not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, which, He said you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (NKJ). Many of you probably know that they were waiting for 10 days before the Holy Spirit was poured out on them. (That’s commitment). Our modern society is into microwaving, while God is into marinating.

In Matthew 9:14-17, Jesus tells the disciples of John a parable in response to their questions about why they and the pharisees fasted often, but Jesus’ disciples did not fast. He said: 15 “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridgegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 “No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. 17 “Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. .But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” Old wineskins have become hard and brittle over time. They no longer have any flexibility and that is why Jesus said they would burst during the fermenting process, (when the wine expands) if the new wine was placed in them. When wineskins are new, they are flexible and will expand when the skin begins to stretch due to the expansion.  Jesus was explaining that the kingdom of God (the new wine or new move of God) cannot be approached in a legalistic manner. The pharisees and the disciples of John had a legalistic way of approaching fasting. Jesus was telling them they had to let go of their legalism and preconceived ideas and become flexible if they wanted to receive the “new wine” of the Holy Spirit. I read an article years ago about how to renew old wineskins. The article stated that the old wineskin should be soaked all day in water and then bathed in oil. Sounds like soaking in the word of God and the Holy Spirit to me.

Our Pastor used to say that often the greatest opponents of the current move of God are those who participated in the last move of God. Because people start to get legalistic and try to turn everything into a formula. God has new songs and new methods or ways of reaching every generation and He wants us to stay flexible and able to move with the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t want our prayer times to be dead and dry, He wants them to be Spirit-filled prayers that are inspired by Him, but don’t be discouraged if you’re not there yet, keep pressing in and seeking Him, it will change.

Ephesians 5:18 tells us not to be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but to be filled with the Spirit, (NKJ). In the original language it is “be being” filled with the Spirit. In other words, it is not meant to be just a one time experience, but a continual process of being filled with the Spirit. When we spend time in the word and in worship and prayer and allow the Holy Spirit to pray through us or flow through us, it is like getting your spiritual battery charged up again.

I have heard many prophetic words, as well as the dream my husband had that tells me that there is a greater move of God coming than we have ever experienced before. One great final out-pouring before Jesus comes back and there will be churches that will be like cities of refuge where God is pouring out His Spirit. I am praying and believing God that we will all be part of it. Those who hunger and thirst will be filled. (Matt. 5:6).  God bless you all. Kelly Rowe