Hi all,
I shared my July 2 visitation with the Lord in August’s online newsletter last year. One of the things He mentioned then was AI becoming a major force. He said private companies and the government will work together, as the companies have data the government needs, but the government can use that to regulate AI, among other things.
January 23 from Forbes.com:
“President Donald Trump wasted little time in announcing the Stargate Initiative, a $500 billion private sector deal to expand U.S. artificial intelligence infrastructure. Spearheaded by tech giants OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle, Stargate represents the largest AI infrastructure project in history.
As AI models scale up, their energy consumption surges, raising concerns about sustainability and the readiness of surrounding infrastructure. Meanwhile, governments and regulatory bodies are introducing new rules to address ethical, security, and privacy risks associated with AI.”
Of all the things the Lord could have told me about the future, why was talking about AI and its impact on this nation the thing He wanted to share? Jesus builds line upon line, here a little and there a little. So I go back to what the Father said to me in the fall of 2001 after the Patriot Act was signed, which freed government agencies to spy on suspected terrorists within the nation: “Laws that were designed to protect my people will one day be used against them.” I can’t help feeling the AI push into our lives, though benevolent now, will one day be used against us. So we watch, pray, and are alert to the times and seasons. We are not afraid, but we watch.
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How to become more sensitive in your spirit, to the Holy Spirit
When I first wake up I start praying in the spirit quietly, under my breath, as I turn my thoughts to the Father. Usually my first thoughts to Him are: Thank you Father for your graciousness to me and my family, or words of thanks in other areas.
Picture it this way: In The Revelation 22:1 there is a river that flows from the throne, and Jesus said in John 7:37 that those who believe on Him will have rivers of living waters flowing out of their innermost being (John confirms He was talking about tongues in v38) – so the flow is from the Father’s throne by His Spirit, into my spirit, then as I pray in tongues that ‘water’ flows to nourish and give life to various areas of life (as seen in rivers, not river). I live to be in that flow from the throne, and that is done by the following passages.
The first is I Corinthians 14: 14-15:
“For if I pray in an unlearned language (tongues), my spirit prays but my mind is unproductive. What to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also. I will sing with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.”
I pray in tongues off and on throughout my day. If I turn on my worship playlist, I sing in tongues along with the song, directing my worship to the Father. I rarely actually sing the song in my native English. It’s almost always in tongues. Even in a house church when a song is playing, I usually choose to sing it in quietly in tongues. Rarely will I listen to anything on Christian radio as a song that is vertical to the Father is rare on those stations. Usually I listen to one of my worship playlists, or my instrumental worship playlist, and sing along or speak along, in tongues.
Being in the Spirit – side element
Related to this is the practice of finding my quiet time at home, and praying in the spirit while also praying with my mind, as Paul writes. What I mean by this is that as I pray in tongues, I discipline my mind to listen to the prayer language I am praying, focusing on what my spirit is praying. In this way I pray with my mind as I pray with my spirit.
When I first started doing this my mind would wander. I kept track of the time so I could better discipline myself and measure my progress. At first, it took 50 minutes before my mind had emptied itself of ‘did I put the wet clothes in the dryer?’ and ‘did Barb pack the boys’ lunch for tomorrow’ and ‘is that the toilet making that noise’ and intrusive thoughts like that.
I very soon got my mind to rid itself of these things within 10 minutes. Now, I can instantly, or within a minute or two, shift my attention to listening to and focusing on what is coming out of my spirit. When your soul (mind) is focused on your spirit, then the physical world fades away. You aren’t aware of time, of things around you, of your posture, whether you are sitting down or lying on the floor. You are ‘in the Spirit’ as John mentions in The Revelation 1:10 and 4:2. THAT is when you receive words from the Father, or your eyes are opened to His realm.
Learn to find a place where you are alone, comfortable, and with no distractions, and start worshipping the Father in tongues—and then discipline your mind to listen to what you are praying. In your mind, pray in the same language you hear yourself praying, sing in the same language your spirit is singing, and time will disappear.
But most of the time when I am praying in my spirit, my mind is thinking on other things.
What I just taught is great when I’m alone in the early morning or late at night. But praying and singing in tongues during the day doesn’t allow that.
I have learned to pray in tongues, often under my breath, whatever I’m doing. Even while writing this I am praying in tongues under my breath. At a store? Praying. Listening to the TV? Praying. Listening to someone at one of our house churches? Often praying under my breath. Depending on what I’m doing, the day could be filled with activities that demand my full attention, and I may go hours without praying in tongues. But when I can, I start again.
Discipline yourself to pray in tongues at every opportunity, under your breath most often, but I call it ‘keeping the motor running’. Like when a car just sits and idles. Unseen, unheard by others, I pray in tongues.
The second passage is related to this; Ephesians 5: 18-20
Paul uses a play on words: “And don’t be drunk (filled) with wine, which is against life, but be saturated with the (Holy) Spirit by speaking to yourselves in Psalms (music accompanied by stringed instruments), hymns (in the day, songs without accompaniment), and spiritual songs (singing in tongues), making melody in your heart to the Lord as you give all thanks to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Many are familiar with the Greek word ‘sozo’, which is translated ‘eternal life’. The root ‘asozo’ is the word Paul uses to say getting drunk is ‘against life’. The ‘a’ means ‘against’ or contrary to (life). It was used in the first century for someone living in excess without regard to society’s norms or personal responsibility.
When Paul sets drunkenness against its opposite of ‘being saturated with the (Holy) Spirit, we get a vivid picture of how a Spirit-filled life can be. As part of that, he tells us to sing songs of thankfulness to the Father – songs out of your spirit, songs with instrumental accompaniment, and songs without accompaniment.
It is out of your spirit that your prayer language will flow – this is how to be saturated by the Spirit. Isn’t that something we all want?
The third passage is Jude, v20-21
“But you beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith by praying in the Spirit (tongues), keeping yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”
Again, tongues is key to our sensitivity to the Spirit, Jude sharing how praying in tongues helps keep us in the love of God. Having trouble with your love walk? Pray in tongues. Sing in tongues.
Put all three of these passages together, and you have a picture of a person walking in love, full of thankfulness and a song in their heart, sensitive to the things of the Father and our Lord Jesus. If you want to become more sensitive to the impressions and other non-verbal leadings the Father communicates to us in our spirit, follow the above.
Prayer request: Brian is having surgery to fuse 2 vertebrae on March 5, and will be out of the office for about 3 weeks. Thanks for your patience and prayers as he recovers. We did not plan any Zoom meetings anticipating the surgery. We won’t have any until he is fully recovered. Perhaps late April.
Barb and I appreciate your prayers. Caring for a handicapped son is one of those silent burdens no one sees. Many of you can relate to the care you have shown your spouse, parent, or other relative in full-time home care or overseeing their care in a facility. You know what I’m talking about. With Chris, there are the 2-3 times a week questions, updates on some incident that happened at the group home, appointments to arrange, or a form to sign.
Chris is a delight though, and we both enjoy his Friday-Saturday home time. I recently took him to a big RV, Boat, and Outdoor event in Tulsa, and he loved rolling around in his chair and seeing it all and talking to people. He was particularly thrilled with a helicopter company. They had somehow rolled a helicopter into the facility and let Chris open the doors, and the owner even turned on the lights so he could see the instrument panel light up – it was a thrilling day for Chris. Exhausting for me. 2 days following, Chris had something happen at the day program at the group home and sustained a cut on his face. It’s always up and down, always something…thank you for your prayers.
We VERY MUCH appreciate you! Thank you for your prayers and financial support.
Blessings!
John & Barb, Brian & Amy.
