Author: Sandy Walker

Awaking to the Presence of God

/ Sandy Walker / 2 Comments

When I woke up the other day, I felt the presence of God in my room. It was a soft feeling – like a warm cloud of love and attention. I was alone in the room. I became aware of it even before I opened my eyes. It was almost as if it was this presence that awakened me. Like God wanted me to wake up so I could enjoy His presence and spend some time with Him.

How cool is that?!  😊

Have you ever experienced that presence? Some people say they have experienced the “awe” of God when looking at the majesty of the mountains. Some have told me they feel the “peace” of God when walking deep in the forest with no other human beings nearby.

For some reason, it is easier to experience the presence of God when you are alone, I think. For me, I become more aware of it when I’m alone. If my husband had been in the room this morning, my attention might have been on him when I awakened. But since I was alone, the only thing I was aware of was this cloud of Love. It was sooo cool.

There was a time in my life when I really, really wanted to experience the presence of God. It seemed like such a struggle to tune everything else out and just feel His nearness. But then something changed in me a few years ago and now I feel His presence almost every day. It’s absolutely wonderful.

I remember one time I visited a very large historic church in Europe. The stillness inside this huge monument had a feeling to it – I’m not sure how to describe it. Kind of like a deep peacefulness. I sat down and soaked up this feeling for a few minutes. But that feeling does not compare with the close, personal feeling of God’s presence that I had when I woke up this morning.

I thought of this scripture verse, “When I awake, I am still with You.” Psalm 139:18

It is the culmination of a meditation about God’s Presence that starts with these words:

“Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend into heaven, You are there;

If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.” (Psalm 139:7-8)

So, if God’s Spirit is everywhere, then why do I notice it more at some times than at other times?

I think because He wants me to know He is there. And maybe first thing in the morning there is nothing competing for my attention – so it’s easier for me to notice His presence. At other times, I might feel it but in the busyness of life, I don’t always take the time to pay attention, slow down and acknowledge Him. I’d like to pay attention more because His presence is really wonderful, you know?  😊

What do you think? When do YOU notice the presence of God?

Looking for more? This article appears in a free ebook called Intimate Relationship with God – you can download it here. 😊

Help Me, Holy Spirit!

/ Sandy Walker / 2 Comments

“Help Me, Holy Spirit!”

I have found this to be the BEST prayer for everyday life. The Holy Spirit is referred to as our Helper in John 14:26:

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. – Jesus Christ, The Bible

Oftentimes we don’t know what to pray. Life situations can overwhelm us. We can get so tired or so busy that it seems like an effort to connect with God.

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would be sent to us by the Father. The Spirit has many functions – one of which is to help us! Isn’t that cool?

I don’t know about you, but I need help every day.

When I’m trying to figure out what to cook for dinner and my mind is drawing a blank, I say, “Help me, Holy Spirit!”. Pretty soon a dinner menu drops into my mind with the ingredients I need (or already have on hand). I know what to make and I know how to make it. Instantly! Sometimes when my family asks, “What is this?” I tell them, “This is a new dish – never before seen on the earth! It’s a new creation. I hope you like it.” They dig in and usually love it! But don’t ask me to make it again because I won’t remember how I made it. It’s like art – you can’t mass produce it and make “prints” from it. 🙂

When I haven’t slept well and the day seems challenging with all that I need to accomplish, I have often found myself walking toward the store saying, “Help me, Holy Spirit.” I discover the energy I need to accomplish all that is on my list to do that day. When I fall into bed that night, I am often amazed at how much got done. I whisper, “Thank you, Holy Spirit, I know that was YOU.” The Spirit can quicken our mortal bodies to have the energy we need to finish our daily race (Romans 8:11).

When a friend calls with a serious relationship problem or a deep question about the meaning of life, I silently pray, “Help me, Holy Spirit!”, as I listen with my heart. Miraculously I open my mouth and say things that seem to help. Often times I’ve never even thought of the things I say – I learn even as I’m speaking! It’s really cool – instant download of new revelation from the Holy Spirit. I call that “hands-on training”. One minute I had no idea what to say and the next minute I sound like I have all this wisdom to help my friend. That’s the Holy Spirit!

Jesus said the Holy Spirit would help us by teaching us all things. He also said the Spirit would bring things to our remembrance. That is very comforting – especially as our minds age and we start forgetting things. Whenever my husband or I misplace something (i.e. keys, wallet or glasses), we cry out, “Help me, Holy Spirit!” and guess what? The missing item shows up. Every time.

I remind people who are in school that if they are struggling with a specific subject (i.e. Calculus, for instance) that they can pray, “Help me, Holy Spirit!”. They will receive supernatural “teaching” to help their mind comprehend what is necessary. And it can’t hurt to pray that same thing just before a test, asking the Spirit to bring to your remembrance the material that was studied. I often experienced supernatural memory recall when I was studying and taking tests for my Masters degree. It reduces your anxiety about big tests when you rely on the Holy Spirit to teach you and help you. 🙂

There are so many situations where this simple prayer can help

  • making decisions
  • parenting children
  • choosing a career
  • planning a vacation
  • making new friends
  • developing a business idea
  • making sales calls
  • writing a proposal
  • praying for someone

I encourage you to practice saying this prayer this week and then watch to see what happens. Please come back and tell me what you experienced!

I love this simple prayer! It cultivates in me an attitude of reliance on the Holy Spirit to lead me, guide me, teach me and help me. 🙂

Looking for more? This article appears in a free ebook called Intimate Relationship with God – you can download it here. 

I designed a coffee mug to help me remember to call on the Holy Spirit for help – want one? 🙂  Click here

Soaking in God’s Presence

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Lately it seems that the topic of Spiritual Soaking has been coming up a lot. Do you know what that is?

During the movement called the Toronto Blessing (back in the 1990’s), the Lord showed John and Carol Arnott that they needed to learn how to simple sit in God’s presence and “soak”. Imagine taking a warm bath – you fill the tub with warm water, add some essential oils or bubble bath to make it smell nice and then you slowly get in. You don’t jump in, immerse yourself in the water and then jump out. The point of taking a bath is to relax, soak in the warm water, let your muscles rest and your soul unwind. You breathe in the scent of the fragrant oils and just BE. There’s no rushing – the point is to soak until you feel relaxed and at peace.

warm bath

The Lord taught many people how to soak and it changed their lives. The movement started in Toronto and it spread around the world.

Here’s how I do it – I often do this alone, but I have also invited people over to my house for “soaking sessions”.

First I prepare the environment where I will be soaking. I pick a quiet room in the house. I remove all distractions (i.e. turn off cell phones, televisions, etc. and notify family that I don’t want to be disturbed for a while). I close the blinds or turn down the lights so that there are no bright lights in my eyes. I put on something comfortable – sweats and a t-shirt.

Next I choose some “soaking music”. There are many musicians that specialize in soaking music. Some of my favorite are

Julie True – Spirit to Spirit is my favorite right now

Alberto and Kimberly Rivera – they have many soaking albums, most are “live” albums

Laura Rhinehart – her music is “deep” water

Happy relaxed woman resting on a couch at home with arms in the head

Then I sit in a comfortable chair or lay down. I close my eyes and let myself relax. It usually takes a while to get my mind to settle down. I take several deep breaths slowly and try to quiet my thoughts. Then I just let myself BE. I just sit there. I don’t specifically pray or worship. I am just waiting in the presence of God – I open my heart to Him. Often I will begin to feel the presence of God around me. The soaking music is uniquely crafted to help you “tune in” to God. I focus on God’s Presence. Just like being with another person – I focus on HIM and not me. 🙂 I often ask Him to increase my awareness of His presence and He does.

It is very relaxing and it restores my soul when I soak. I highly recommend it. If you’ve never done it before, give it a try!

It’s okay if you fall asleep – it’s the intention that matters. 🙂

Looking for more? This article appears in a free ebook called Intimate Relationship with God – you can download it here. 

God’s Voice vs Other Voices: How Can You Tell the Difference?

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The other night a young lady called me. She’s in a very sticky situation.

She is currently separated from her husband. A young man from church started pursuing a relationship with her. She’s not interested in him romantically and has made that clear. But they are talking and becoming friends due to their common interest in the things of God.

She told me, “I’m trying to free myself from this guy. I just want to focus on my relationship with Jesus and healing my heart! But for some reason, I keep feeling like I’m forced to be his friend and maybe more some day. I’m praying and praying, but I can’t get any peace. What can I do?”

Whew! That’s tough. When you are praying and yet don’t see the results you had hoped for, what can you do?

We talked for some time. She’s been growing rapidly in hearing from God and learning His ways.

One thing she said that caught my attention – “feeling forced” to be his friend.

I asked her about it. She said she feels this pressure and she wonders if it’s God or not. She’s afraid to cut things off with him because she’s not sure if maybe God WANTS her to be friends with him.

I told her that there’s a big difference between following the leading of the Lord and the feeling of being forced or pushed.

I sent her this chart I made to help her discern when it’s God voice or some other voice.

gods voice vs other voices

She immediately replied:

“Wow, I havent realized how much of the other voices I’ve been listening to because I wasn’t sure whether they were from God or not. It’s so clear now.”

I know this chart has helped me – sometimes when we feel unclear about something and especially if our emotions are involved, this can help bring clarity about exactly whose voice we are following.

Some charts I’ve seen contrast God’s voice to Satan’s voice. I chose to contrast God’s voice to “other voices” because sometimes that voice is our own! We are sometimes our own worst enemy – we tell ourselves what we “should” be doing, using guilt and manipulation to get ourselves to do things. Sometimes that “other voice” is someone in our lives giving us advice or telling us what we should do. This chart can help us figure out whether what they are saying lines up with the Lord’s voice. And yes, sometimes that “other voice” is the enemy, Satan, whispering things into our minds (which sounds like our own thoughts).

I encouraged her to keep that chart somewhere she could refer to it frequently. You might want to do the same.

So how do you know when it’s God’s voice versus Other voices? Feel free to share your experience below.

Would you like to share this post on your favorite social media to help others discern who’s voice they are hearing? Thanks! 🙂

Breathing with God

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The other day I was describing to a friend the experience of the presence of God. It is hard to describe in words of the natural realm. “Many people want to experience God’s presence,” she said, “but they don’t know how. You should share this.”

As I pondered how to teach someone the very first step toward becoming aware of the presence of God, this exercise came to me. I hope it helps you take your first step toward a deeper relationship with God.

Breathing with God

Close your eyes and take a deep breath slowly. Imagine the Spirit of God filling you as you breathe in. Hold your breath and count to five mentally. Let the breath out as you say, “Thank you, Jesus.”

Set a timer on your cell phone for one minute. Do the breathing exercise. You can use different phrases like, “I love you, Jesus” or “You’re wonderful, Jesus” if you want to add variety.

Notice how you feel after doing this exercise. I feel relaxed, at peace and I have mental clarity.

Start by doing this exercise once a day.

Once it feels comfortable doing this for one minute every day, set the timer for three minutes.

You’ll notice an even greater peace and clarity of mind. You may begin to become aware of God’s presence.

Don’t start with three minutes if you have never done this before. Start with one minute. I know some of you want to skip ahead, but trust me on this. Take baby steps – this is a lifetime practice, not a quick fix. Taking it slowly now will payoff very well later. I promise!

Keep doing it every day. You can do this more than once a day, if you wish. It can be particularly helpful to do this while sitting in traffic, to reduce your stress (but keep your eyes open please).

After awhile you will look forward to your special time with God each day. That’s when you can stop using the timer. Spend as much time as you want. The more you do this, the more likely you will become aware of God’s presence.

Don’t give up. Let your desire for God draw you to this time. If you lack desire, then when you breathe out say, “Draw me, Lord.”

What is God’s presence like? Some people sense a presence (or energy) of love or of peace. Others sense companionship – like someone is there with them and they are no longer alone. You’ll know when it happens to you – it’s personal and unique. ♥

Once you become aware of God’s presence, you can do the breathing exercise longer, if you wish. It can help you stay focused on Him. You can share your thoughts and feelings with God. Or you may enjoy practicing Listening Prayer, another exercise to help you connect with God. [I’ll post a description on this blog later, but for now you can Google “Listening Prayer” if you want to learn more.]

Let me know what you experience when you try this exercise. It’s so simple, yet it has profound effects.

Looking for more? This article appears in a free ebook called Intimate Relationship with God – you can download it here. 😊

3 Ways to Set Healthy Boundaries in Relationships

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So many people contact me with their problems related to boundaries in relationships. No one teaches us how to have good boundaries and most of us did not see good examples from others while growing up. As a result, we have no idea how to set healthy boundaries in our relationships – and we suffer as a result.

I read an awesome book on Boundaries many years ago and it really opened my eyes. Let me share the basic concepts with you. If you will apply these to your life, you will be amazed how much less drama you will have to endure in your relationships and life!

A man and woman making a clear boundary with a wooden fence between them

Boundaries are like a property line – they are the invisible line that separates what is yours from what is your neighbor’s property. Many people put up a fence on their property line. This makes it very clear to everyone where the boundary is.

Boundaries help you to determine what is your responsibility and what is NOT your responsibility. Just like with a piece of property – you get to decide what happens inside your fence, but not what happens inside your neighbor’s fence. You can choose whether to plant flowers or let weeds grow, but you cannot control what your neighbor does with his yard. If his yard is a mess, it’s not your job to fix it – the fence reminds you of that. You are only responsible for keeping your own yard looking nice.

When it comes to relationships, boundaries are REALLY important. I’m amazed at how often people don’t have boundaries and don’t realize how much pain it is causing them. They think that setting a healthy boundary would be “mean” or “rude” – even when the other person is treating them badly!

It’s time to take back your power and set some healthy boundaries. You deserve to be treated with kindness and respect. If you believe that, then you will set healthy boundaries to maintain that environment in your relationships.

What does a boundary look like?

1. Words – Communicate clearly with others

My husband has been a great example to me of how to use words as boundaries. Whenever we are approached by a salesman, he simply says to them, “No, thank you.” and turns away. If they are persistent, he looks them straight in the eye and says a little more forcefully, “I said, NO, thank you!” He walks away. They get the message and give up. I never knew how to handle pushy salesmen in public – his example inspired me that I could be respectful and yet firm and get results!

2. Consequences – Taking action based on your freedom

This can be hard one to do, but it is very powerful. If you have used words in the past and the person ignores you or does not respond in a kind way, then take action. Actions speak much louder than words, especially if they are unexpected! For instance, if you have someone who calls you too many times a day and that interferes with your work or other responsibilities, then simply don’t answer the phone. Many people tell me they are afraid to do this – what if it is important? Then set some boundaries verbally ahead of time such as, “While I am at work, please only call if it’s urgent. If not, send a text and I’ll call you later.” When you stop answering the phone every time they call, they will learn that you mean what you say. You demonstrate respect by showing respect for yourself. This teaches people to treat you with respect.

3. Honesty – Being honest about what is happening within you

This is the most powerful boundary of all. Being truthful about how you feel and about how you experience the relationship is the foundation to a healthy connection. Not being honest lays a false foundation that leads to instability for both people. The more honest you can be in a relationship, the healthier it is. For instance, “Rachel, I’m afraid to make plans with you. The last four times we agreed to meet for coffee, you canceled on short notice. I’d really like to spend time with you, but I’m getting frustrated. What can we do about this?” Or another example might be, “Honey, I know we need to talk about our budget and that this is important to you. I just got home and I’m tired. Could we agree to talk about it on Sunday afternoon instead? I’d really appreciate a break tonight.” Both of these examples honors the other person, but is also honest in expressing how you feel.

The main point with Boundaries is that YOU MATTER. The other person is important, but you are also important. We often think that by always putting the other person first, we are showing love and respect to them. But it can easily become an unhealthy pattern when it is one sided – when do YOUR needs become important to them? Are they putting you first? Usually not. It’s often one-sided – we call that co-dependent. You’ve probably heard the saying, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” that means you’ve got to love yourself too.

If this article stirs your heart and you see your relationships affected by the lack of boundaries, then I encourage you to check out the Boundaries books by authors Henry Cloud & John Townsend. They have many of them – Boundaries, Boundaries in Marriage, Boundaries with Teens, Boundaries with Kids, etc. Here’s a link to the first one – Boundaries. 🙂

Things I Can Control versus Things I Can't Control

Unexpected KEY to Intimacy with God

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I’ve been seeking the Lord for over 35 years. I’ve been in thousands of church meetings and Bible studies – I can’t recall a single time this was ever mentioned as a key to being close to God.

I was amazed when I discovered it. I wish I’d known this sooner. I could have enjoyed the Lord’s love and presence so much more over the years.

It all started one day when the Holy Spirit whispered into my heart, “You can be as free as you want to be.” I was shocked. I had been carrying a lot of emotional baggage all my life – fear, insecurity, low self-esteem, etc. I’d tried all kinds of methods to get free, but it seemed like such a slow, hard process. I was so discouraged – then I heard His whisper.

It gave me such HOPE!

I desperately wanted to be at peace, to be confident and to be a woman of faith that trusted God. I did not want to be this insecure girl full of fear who was always wondering what was wrong with me. Can you relate? (Maybe a little?)

So I started pursuing emotional healing with all my heart AND I finally found a method that worked for me. I was amazed how fast I was getting free of lifelong fears and insecurities. It was like going through an extreme makeover emotionally. I could hardly believe how much I was changing into the woman I wanted to be.

The key was: The more healed I was inside, the more open and trusting I was able to be with God.

As I was healed from emotional pain from my past, it opened me up to trust God deeply in ways I had struggled to trust Him before. I discovered so many lies I believed subconsciously about myself, about God and about how life works. As the lies came to light, one by one, I was able to let them go and receive the truth.

It was so incredibly liberating – I had no idea what a shift it would make in my perspective. I got healed of things I didn’t even know were broken! Words feel so inadequate in trying to explain to you how BIG this was – emotional healing not only set ME free, it opened up a whole new WORLD in my relationship with God!!

Would you like to know what method worked for me? I tried so many different things, but very few seemed to have lasting effects. I finally found a very simple method and wrote it down. When I shared it with friends, they also had big breakthroughs in their own healing. I started carrying around photocopies of my notes because every time someone was helped, they asked for a copy so they could share it with someone else.

I finally put them in a little book. It’s not very long – the main point is to DO the method, not just read about it. I purposely made it short so people could just jump right in and start getting healed.

Thanks for listening to my story. I have so much peace now. I feel utterly secure – confident in who God made me to be. I wish I had words to describe how much better my life is now – it’s blessing upon blessing with no fear of the future. Yes, I still have a rough day once in awhile, but NOTHING compared to what it was like before.

If you are interested in the book, here’s the link.

Can you relate to my story at all? If so, I’d love to hear from you.

P.S. I’d love to support you in your journey to a more intimate relationship with God. I offer books, an online course and one-on-one mentoring. Let me know how I can help you today 💕

Deep Healing So You Can Rest

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Many times we experience spiritual attacks because of wounds we have inside (emotional or spiritual). We are often unconscious that we have these wounds. We tend to move on with life without dealing with them, usually because we simply don’t know how. These wounds often allow “open doors” to the realm of darkness.

A friend sent me this wonderful video that helps to deal with those hidden wounds. Jim Banks talks for a few minutes and then he does a “prayer process”, as he calls it. He covers several things in his prayer and you will be surprised by how many seem to impact you directly. Many people say listening to this helped them sleep better than they have in years!

He also does some specific things during this prayer that can help with spiritual attacks – he breaks curses and disconnects you from things that may be harassing or influencing you. He helps your body release anxiety and stress that you may not know you are carrying.

I recommend listening to it at a time that you can pay attention without distraction, just before bedtime. The video is a just under an hour. Listening to the prayer makes you very relaxed and sleepy (hence the suggestion to listen before bed).

Once you’ve listened to the whole thing, you can go back the next day and listen to just the prayer process. I’ve listened to it several times and I always get something new. He says on his blog that some people make it part of their “getting ready for bed” ritual, to help them relax and sleep peacefully. 🙂

The video is on YouTube – it’s called Effective Trauma Release — [deeper healing in the spirit]. Here it is:

There’s a copy of this “prayer process” in his book, The Effects of Trauma and How to Deal with It.

If you want more in-depth help, Jim and his wife offer individual prayer counseling sessions by phone, skype or Facebook messenger video call. They also offer 1-3 days intensives if you want to meet with them in person. They are currently located near Nashville, Tennessee. Here’s the details of how to make an appointment: https://jimandpatbanks.com/personal-ministry/

After you listen to the video, please come back to this blog and let me know how it helped you. Your testimony may encourage someone else!

Do You Make Time to Play?

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DO YOU MAKE TIME TO PLAY?

I have been getting a pull in my heart/mind/spirit to DO less and BE more. That’s sounds like a contradiction, right? We are supposed to be doing MORE, not less! At least that’s what my “To-Do” list tells me every weekend. We keep putting things off, adding them to our mental to-do list and eventually it becomes a pressing issue that we need to DO the items on the list. I know this is a common struggle for most of us. Can you relate?

But this pull says to me, “Wait. When was the last time you just did something for fun? With no agenda, no to-do list, just enjoying the moment.”

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

As kids we have lots of “downtime” and very little on our to-do list. Especially in the summer when school is out, we envy children who have time to just watch the clouds go by, looking for funny faces and animals. We’re too busy to even notice the clouds on our commute.

RESEARCH SHOWS THAT ADULTS THAT TAKE TIME TO “PLAY” EXPERIENCE MORE ENERGY, MORE CREATIVITY AND A BETTER MOOD OVERALL. IT ALSO CONTRIBUTES TO BETTER HEALTH AND A SENSE OF WELL BEING.

HOW DO YOU FIND TIME TO PLAY?

Block out a 4 hour period during one of your day’s off. Don’t schedule anything. Turn off your phone, computer, tablet, television and any other media device. Do nothing. Let yourself get bored and then see what ideas come to you naturally. Boredom is a GREAT foundation for creative play. Then just follow your heart – whatever comes to you, DO IT!

This downtime will really recharge your soul. Some people enjoy it so much that they make it a regular habit. In the past when I had a really stressful job, I would block out my entire Saturday. I did not make any commitments to anyone – it was MY time. If I wanted to sleep late, I would. If I wanted to get up early and take a walk, I would. I could go to the park or the movies impulsively – just on a whim. [Yes, if you have kids you can still do this. Kids LOVE unstructured play. In fact, they’ll teach you how – follow their lead.]

The idea is that you need UNSTRUCTURED time to find yourself again. To find your strength and creativity – to let your soul out so it can stretch and climb and soar.

I challenge you to try this. Try it every weekend in July and see how much you enjoy the benefits. You might even be willing to sacrifice “normal” scheduled activities for this. You might be willing to get off the treadmill of doing MORE and instead enjoy the benefits of just BEING. [DO less, BE more.]

Let me know how it goes – I’d like to hear what you tried and how it worked for you. Everybody’s different – find your own rhythm. You owe it to yourself and those you love.

YOU’LL BE A HAPPIER PERSON IF YOU’LL TAKE TIME TO PLAY ON A REGULAR BASIS. 🙂

Fear is afraid of you – did you know that?

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Several years ago while on vacation, the Lord taught me some things about Fear. It was late at night and God’s presence filled the room suddenly. I pulled out my notebook because I sensed the Lord was going to teach me something. I write down what He says because if I don’t, I can’t remember it clearly the next day – then I can’t share it with anyone.

I was pondering the power that Fear has over people, myself included. It seems to influence our daily lives. Not only do we have the emotion of fear internally, we also have the Spirit of Fear externally making things worse. The emotion of fear might hold you back from taking action, but when the Spirit of Fear adds his influence to it, you can be suddenly paralyzed with Fear. It’s awful!!

I was asking the Lord about this when His presence intensified – a sudden clarity of awareness came and my mind opened to revelation from Him. He showed me the Spirit of Fear – it looked kind of like a large mosquito with flimsy wings and long, dark grey spindly arms and legs. It was about the size of a goose.

Large Gray mosquito

As I considered that we have authority over Fear, I suddenly felt its fear. The Spirit of Fear is AFRAID of us!! I started laughing at the irony. I asked the Lord why it was afraid and He showed me that Fear is all it has. That’s why it’s called the Spirit of Fear. It doesn’t have power or great intelligence or even craftiness – it’s just pure fear. And it is afraid of being controlled by us – our authority can take control of it’s freedom by binding it and telling it to leave. That’s what it fears – not being able to do what it has been assigned to do. So whenever it sees you (or me), it throws itself on you and wraps you in a smothering hug with those long arms and legs. Suddenly, you feel paralyzed by Fear. But you’re not – it’s just an illusion!

This revelation gave me SO MUCH courage! Any time I feel fear, I laugh – imagining this creature that is afraid of me. Before it can take over my sense of reality with it’s smothering hug, I bind it and command it to leave immediately! And it works – every single time!

I live in an area where mosquitoes are very common – they are very fragile and easy to kill. They are annoying, but they are not dangerous or scary. So thinking of the Spirit of Fear as just a big mosquito really makes sense to me – it completely disarms its power in my mind. I can slap away a mosquito and crush it easily – Fear no longer intimidates me.

Scared mosquito

I thought this would encourage you today – Fear is actually afraid of you! Isn’t that cool? 🙂

P.S. If fear or anxiety is something you struggle with, you may appreciate this article on Overcoming Fear and Anxiety. In it I share how I learned to overcome many of my own fears with a little “heart exercise” the Lord gave me.