Christian Seer
Spiritual Christianity Teaching & Mentoring
The Counsel Of God
Spirit School
Several of the biblical heroes of faith spoke with God face to face, as if they were having a conversation with a friend, including but not limited to, Moses, Adam, Eve, Elijah, The Apostle John, The Apostle Paul among many others. Although I have listed some household names of the faith, speaking with God face to face is not something that was limited to the special few. Even Abel and Cain, who did not know the intimate perfection of dwelling in Eden, the garden of God, were able to converse with God.
There are various places in scriptures where we see people interacting with God directly: prophets of the Old Testament also heard the voice of God in different ways: a small still voice (1 Kings 19: 11 - 13), a roaring thunder (Job 37:1-2) or an audible voice (1 Samuel 3:8). The whole camp of Israel heard the voice of God in the desert (Deuteronomy 5:22). On the mount of transfiguration and during the baptism of Jesus, the audible voice of God spoke out (Matthew 17:5). When Jesus prayed to God, some heard a response as an audible voice from heaven while others said it sounded like thunder (John 12:29).
Throughout the scriptures, we can see how God keeps revealing himself. God really wants to engage with us through conversation and draw us into his presence. God longs for us to know what he is doing and also to find out how we may cooperate with him. Sometimes, God even wants us to come up with a strategy and then make suggestions on how to improve it, change it and make it work. God seems to enjoy helping us shape the future!
Personal testimony:
There was a time when I was praying in my bedroom and I felt the small still voice of the Holy Spirit in my heart. I believe the voice of God had given me instructions about what to do that morning in response to my prayers. Shortly after, someone came into my room and asked me who I was speaking with. The person looked around my room and were astonished that I was alone. The person said they recognised my voice, but they also heard someone responding to me with a voice so deep, they could hear it in the other room. It startled them so much, they had to come find out who I was speaking with.
The voice of God is a mystery, to one he makes his voice known as a whisper while to another he sounds like a roaring thunder. Natural phenomena are sometimes a response to God speaking as well (Psalm 98: 7-8).
Personal testimony
In 2003 I was on a cliff edge in the Andes during a mission trip, praying with a friend for healing and deliverance. After we finished our prayers, a strong wind blew through the valley, which was so strong we found it difficult to hear each other speak. The wind lasted for about 20 seconds before all became calm again and we looked at each other in recognition that something unusual had just happened, as if God was confirming that he had heard our prayers. This physical act of God gave me confidence to push through a difficult time that was to come as I pursued the prophecies given later that week, as response to our prayers, which became fulfilled just over 6 months later. A strong wind that comes from nowhere directly after prophetic prayer has happened several times in my life so far, in various different geographical locations. Other times, myself and others have witnessed bright flashes of light across the entire sky just as a prayer for deliverance was finished.
The voice of God is spirit and manifests through the physical realm in various ways.
Paul saw Jesus in a blinding vision on the road to Damascus along with a voice, while his counterparts heard the sound but did not see anything (Acts 9:3-4). Ananias saw a vision in which he had a conversation with Jesus (Acts 9:10-15). Peter heard an audible voice while in a trance (Acts 10:10-16).
Jesus wants to speak with us in ways that are unique to us.
Open Invitation
The original intent of our Father in heaven was to co-work with us, demonstrated and first implemented through Adam and Eve. He intended for us to take counsel with him, through conversation and discussion in spirit as we advance his kingdom reign (see the appendix on Original Design). Gods original intent on relationship with us culminated in the appearance of Jesus Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus stands at the door of our hearts, waiting to see if anyone will hear his voice and invite him in (Revelation 3:20). Notice that the invitation is for anyone who hears his voice. This is a call to all of his disciples, Jesus expects us to hear his voice!
In Revelation 3:21 Jesus reveals his desire for us to be with him, on his throne, that we may sit with him. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to overcome worries, concerns, temptations and persecutions of this world to sit on the throne of Jesus alongside him in spirit? Jesus wants to sit side by side, shoulder to shoulder, with us that we may confer concerning the Father’s will. We have an open invite into the deepest, holiest and highest place of all - the very throne of Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, to enter into dialogue with him.
Jesus even asked our Father in heaven that we would be with him where he is now (John 17:24). God is so passionate about having an intimate relationship with us, it’s no surprise he breaks into the physical realm with his voice and speaks in many forms to us.
The Divine Counsel
Throughout the bible we see stories of prophets speaking with angels of the Lord whom have come from the presence of God. In very few scriptures we are given a glance into the dynamics of conversation that the angels have with God in heaven, before they come to Earth.
In 1 Kings 22: 19 - 20 we see the entire company of heaven (also known as the divine counsel) gathered before the throne of God. God states what he wants to do and the company of heaven discuss ideas and strategies among them. They have various ideas of how to fulfill the Lord’s will before one comes before the Lord with an idea.
The Lord spoke and those in his hearing conferred among each other. As far as we can tell, none of their ideas came to fruition but only the idea of the spirit that came back to the Lord with its idea. The Lord then entered into dialog with that spirit and its plan was put into action with the backing of the Lord.
Some things on Earth that pertain to God’s order and Kingdom, are shadows of a heavenly reality (Hebrews 8:5). Even so the scene of spiritual beings gathered about his throne, hearing God’s voice, conferring with one another and then dialoguing with the Lord on a solution, is a pattern of how the counsel of God works for us. We hear the Holy Spirit, the voice of Jesus Christ, we respond and enter a dialogue with God. Through conferring with the Lord, we find a solution that is good to the Holy Spirit and us (Acts 15:28).
The spiritual beings were gathered before the throne of God but we have a higher position than the spiritual beings. We have been invited by Jesus into his throne to sit with him. We have an open invitation into a closer relationship with God than what the angelic beings have. We have been invited into the deep, secret parts of God that we may even understand and search out his mind by the Holy Spirit, and confer with him regarding his will (1 Corinthians 2:10, Ephesians 2:6).
The moment we were born from above, our spirits were elevated with Christ and seated in heavenly places. Our elevated heavenly reality allows us to gather before the throne of God along with the angelic host of heaven, and confer with God and his angelic host (Acts 27:23-24), through the Holy Spirit, to find solutions and gain courage so that we can fulfil the will of God.
The practices covered so far, will give you a foundation for engaging with God and entering his counsel. His counsel works in spirit and we can engage with him through spiritual means. The next part of these materials go deeper into how God’s counsel works, how to cooperate with his workers (angels and spirits) in the Kingdom and advance God’s kingdom through use of the gifts God has given us to see the spirit realm.