Does God speak today? Does He really answer prayers? Does He still give visions and special words of prophecy? I believe He does! And I share my testimony here to be a witness to the power of God…
Many years ago, I attended a conference with over a thousand other people – all with a deep heart of worship for God and a desire to serve Him. Some served as pastors, some as musicians, some as lead worshipers, but all of us with a heart for worship. Each day we had multiple times to participate in musical worship together – and then something incredibly special happened. We experienced a musical worship time that was undoubtedly divine. God’s Spirit felt so present, so much so, that even the worship team that was leading was without words.
This particular night, we had enjoyed a number of worship songs together and in between these songs people would audibly sing their own prayers to God as if in one voice and yet each distinctly singing/praying the things that were on their own hearts. To someone not comfortable with this, it may have seemed very chaotic, yet it wasn’t. At one point the worship leader was incredibly discerning and recognized that these sung prayers were incredibly significant and powerful. He didn’t continue to sing into the microphone. Didn’t move us on to the next song. He just let us have the space to experience the moment together.
The band continued to play chords which seemed to provide a harmonic accompaniment to the prayers of the people. All were singing and praying their own prayers, yet the voices blended together sounding like a choir of angels. They would swell together as prayers of over a thousand people prayed out to God with their own heart cries.
The voices began to ebb and flow much like the waves of the sea coming on shore. As they washed in, the voices grew strong and hearty as they called out loud praises. They would then wash out in awe, reverence, and peaceful acknowledgement of the power of God’s presence.
Now I believe the heavenly realm is all around us, but that we are simply unable to see it because of the veil over our eyes, but I am not one who often sees visions. However, I was mesmerized by the whole thing and began to wonder how God must have seen all of this. With tears on my cheeks, the little girl within me with wide-eyed wonder prayed… “Lord, what does this look like in the heavenly realm? I want to see like Elisah’s servant when his eyes were opened to see the heavenly army fighting with them” (2 Kings 6:15).
At the moment I prayed this prayer, it was as if the roof was extended upward another thirty feet and from the extended ceiling on the other side of this ballroom, a giant lion came meandering in. As he entered, I noticed there was a royal crested cloth draped over his back, much like an unsecured saddle tossed on the back of a horse. The cloth was a mixture of blue, purple, and red with gold trim and a golden royal crest of some sort embroidered on the face of the cloth.
With all the majesty one might expect from this “King of the beasts,” he entered in, but then laid down and began to roll around on a beautiful field of glistening green grass. It was as if all of this was happening above the heads of the people in the ballroom – as if I was seeing a cross section of the event that was happening. The lion on the bed of green grass and the people under the grass. As I looked closer at those immediately around me, I could only see their silhouette (it was pretty dark in the room) and it was as if each of their raised hands of praise morphed into single blades of green grass that made up the patch of grass the lion was rolling around on. Each person waved their grassy arms to and fro as the voices continued to swell to a loud, enthusiastic, joyful song and back to peaceful, soothing sounds of praise.
That lion was the most content and happy lion I’ve ever seen! He rolled all over this patch of green grass delighting in the fragrance and beauty. Yet, he never crushed a single blade. It was much like a clown fish happily darting in and out of a sea anemone that reaches out to interact with the little clown fish. The people and their grassy arms reached out to be able to touch and bring delight to the lion as he rolled around.
As that lion frolicked, it appeared that he had a smile of delight radiating from his face. Happiness. Contentment. Joy. Peace. Love. Health. Wholeness. All radiating from this scene.
I believe with all my heart that as I prayed to God pondering what this time must have looked like in the heavenly realm, He showed me. That lion was THE Lion of Judah – God delighting in the praises of His people.