Recently, I ve had some moments where I see or hear something and I can immediately perceive that it is the result of the work of the Holy Spirit in a person. These occurrences, could be easily thought of as having no significance or no meaning at all. However, I have been able to perceive from the spirit, that they are the result of God’s work in progress.
Usually, when we pray for people, situations or things that we want to see come about in our lives, we are expectant to see that final, big and macro picture of it. But, for most situations, what we desire doesn’t come to a complete realization quickly or at once, but rather, God starts to progress in his work with time.
Think about it.
Couldn’t He create the world in 1 second?
Of course He could.
But for a reason that belongs to him alone, He chose to create it in 7 days.
Sometimes the reasons belong to Him alone and sometimes, they also have to do with us. What we need to know is that God’s work doesn’t necessarily come in an instant, but in a length of time where He is actively working toward the final outcome.
During the time in between from where God has started the work to its completion, we may be tempted to believe that God has gone idle for the moment and that He will do his work in his time or in another time. But, did he really took a break from his creation work? Is He the kind of God that would say: “Let me get to this on another time?”
That’s not what we see from Him in scripture. He doesn’t rest until the job is done; just how He did after what must have been 6 exhausting days of creating the whole world. What we learn about him in scripture is that the moment that we pray, He hears us. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them (Psalms 34:17). His eyes are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer (1 Peter 3:12). But it doesn’t stop there. The promise is not that He will only listen; Jesus promised that we will receive an answer to our prayer and our joy will be complete (John 16:24).
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5:14-15)
Waiting and praying becomes our task during that interval of time from when we first prayed to when we receive, but I am learning to do something different in that season—perceiving.
Perceiving is the ability to detect, sense or notice something that could be so subtle or easily missed. To be able to perceive, our senses need to be fully aware and receptive.
Friend, in the middle of your waiting, praying, expectation, trials and hard times, don’t lose your awareness and don’t lose your ability to perceive God’s active work even in the small unfinished work.
Our God spoke to Israel during a similar time, He said:
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (Is. 43:19)
You don’t have to miss the micro works of God during your time of waiting. If you miss them, you could get easily get discourage in the faith.
You can stay totally aware by maintaining your confidence that God is at work, even when you haven’t seen the final result. Can you perceive the way that He is already starting to make? Can you perceive the growth that already springs up?
This is how you can keep your ability to perceive:
- Pray that you can sense His work though the power of the Holy Spirit.
- Maintain the posture of spiritual confidence of 1 John 5:15 when asking according to his will (that you have what you asked of Him) by reading his word, praying daily and meditating on this promise.
- Trust that God is already at work; He is already working from the moment you started praying.
I have become so encouraged whenever I’ve had those moments of perceiving his micro works. it’s like a little chime goes on, indicating that this such occurrence happended because God is already at work. My joy becomes complete, just like He said, because I know the answer is already there.
So, I perceive. I Trust. And, I keep praying.
I will do that continually knowing that He is not idle or at rest. I may not be seeing the finished work yet, but his work has certainly already began.
