Revelation, Wisdom, and Listening in Regional Intercession: Wisdom and Hearing from God (Part 2)

 Kota Kinabalu Training – Session 1 (Part 2):

 

Revelation, Wisdom, and Listening in Regional Intercession:

Wisdom and Hearing from God (Part 2)

 

Job 28 says: Treasure is hidden, and so is wisdom—it is a hidden treasure. The creatures that walk above it are completely unaware of it, and so is man—he does not know where wisdom is hidden.
Both wisdom and treasure share the same characteristic: they are hidden and must be dug out in order to be discovered. However, wisdom is far more valuable than treasure.

Job 28:12 “But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
Job 28:13 Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living.
Job 28:14 The deep says, ‘It is not in me’; And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
Job 28:15 It cannot be purchased for gold, Nor can silver be weighed for its price.

The book of Job says that wisdom is better than human knowledge and arrangement.

Job 28: 20 “From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?
Job 28:21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living, And concealed from the birds of the air.
Job 28:22 Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’

2. God’s Wisdom: How Can It Be Unearthed? Wisdom is hidden in God. To find wisdom, you must find its source—God, the next step, man encounters God.

When a Person Encounters God: God reshapes their view of identity. God alters the trajectory of their lives.

Example: God called a humble man named Abram, bringing him out from an obscure town. The first thing God did when He called him was change his name—from Abram to Abraham. A person's name represents their identity. Only the one who gives life has the authority to define identity, which is why parents name their children. This is what happens when the Heavenly Father changes your name — He changes your direction, and He also changes your final destination.

When a person encounters God, He draws them in, and they begin to possess spiritual wisdom beyond their natural years. You will find yourself drawn to spiritual matters, while others may be chasing material success. At your age, you will exhibit unusual insight, unique ideas, and rare gifts—traits that may become evident even from a young age. This is what we refer to as spiritual wisdom beyond one’s age.

For example, Solomon was given wisdom beyond his years because his heart was aligned with God's will. Or take David—he displayed courage far beyond what people expected of him. While others saw him as just a shepherd boy, in the eyes of the Heavenly Father, he was a future king.

David didn’t wait until he became king to display his gifts—in fact, he already possessed unusual insight, ideas, and talents well beyond his natural age. After David killed Goliath, people began to discover that he could play the harp—but not only that, he could make harps, and beyond that, he invented musical instruments that had never existed before. He was truly an exceptionally gifted young man.

One of the most iconic moments in David’s life was when he killed Goliath with five stones. But in reality, this skill and courage had already been developed during his childhood, when, as a shepherd, he had killed lions and bears with his bare hands. This gifting—or training—started from an early age.

When a person encounters God, the next step is to fear the Lord—and that is wisdom.

Job 28: 23 God understands its way,And He knows its place.
Job 28: 24  For He looks to the ends of the earth,And sees under the whole heavens,
Job 28: 25  To establish a weight for the wind,And apportion the waters by measure.
Job 28: 26 When He made a law for the rain,And a path for the thunderbolt,
Job 28: 27 Then He saw wisdom and declared it;He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.
Job 28: 28 And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ” 

Balaam serves as a biblical example. If we were to judge a prophet solely by the accuracy of their prophetic words, then Balaam’s prophecies were accurate and flawless. Undoubtedly, we would conclude that Balaam was a true prophet. In fact, among his peers recorded in the book of Numbers, Balaam was the only one who gave a Messianic prophecy. Among his companions, Balaam was undoubtedly the most outstanding prophet. However, Yahweh looks at the heart. He examines a person’s thoughts, intentions, and motives. (See 1 Samuel 16:7 and Proverbs 16:2.) 

In the New Testament, Jesus, Peter, and Jude all revealed that Balaam was, in fact, a false prophet.
So if our brothers and sisters notice certain individuals enjoying being provocative, or harbouring impure motives, we must understand that in prophetic and apostolic communities, the line between true and false prophets can be razor-thin. False prophets often stem from confusion and corrupt motives. 

A person may prophesy accurately, possess clear knowledge of truth, and yet, because of impure thoughts or motives, still walk in falsehood.

Proverbs 16:2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the spirits.

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

Therefore, we must guard against self-deception, self-righteousness, and improper motives.

So, let us not offer unauthorized fire before the Lord (Leviticus 10:1). If we fear God, we will not stop serving Him. If we fear God, we will not cause division in ministry or in the church. We will not be filled with complaints. If you fear God, you will take responsibility for your disciples. You will not distort the truth, you won’t stop gathering together, you won’t stop praying, and so on. God is to be feared in the assembly of the saints and held in reverence by all those around Him.

Psalm 89:7  God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, And to be held in reverence by all those around Him. 

Because God will never manifest Himself in a place where He is not given the highest honour.
If the president of your country were to step onto the stage tonight, he would likely receive ten times the honour from us that we give the Holy Spirit.

To fear God, you will love righteousness and hate evil.

Hebrews 1:9 – You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”

Here the Bible clearly says that one must love righteousness and hate evil, then God will anoint you.
And even your God will anoint you more than your companions. So according to this verse, in other words: Fearing God will attract the presence of the Creator, to protect and watch over you; and having an attitude of "holy reverence, loving righteousness, and hating evil" in obeying God's word will make our relationship with God even more intimate, from a master-servant relationship, to a deep fellowship of sharing secrets as friends, to the intimacy of the Lamb and His bride, and ultimately into oneness with God. Relationship brings forth life, glory, and eternity.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” — Proverbs 1:7
To fear the Heavenly Father God can consume all destructive fears; it is the end of fear. To fear the Heavenly Father God is the beginning of all goodness. God created this world, and all knowledge and all mysteries are with Him. They are hidden in God, including physical laws and spiritual laws. 

What our scientific community discovers is only what already exists in God's kingdom and with God; it is not actual invention or creation. Physicists and chemists only discover laws that already belong to God's kingdom; and theologians only discover the spiritual laws. The book of Job describes the mysteries of God's creation. We cannot fully know the works of God; with Him are hidden mysteries.
God's creation is the possession of all knowledge and wisdom.

Job 36:22 – “God is exalted in His power. Who is a teacher like Him?”

Job 36:26 – “How great is God—beyond our understanding! The number of His years is past finding out.”

Example: An architect competition for the capital city project in Tahiti. While swimming, he downloaded a picture from God’s heart—of course, he won the project.
Example 2: The argument between two brothers. The testimony for supernaturally buying a land in Canada, Sister Hong’s house: could only receive a loan of 280,000; Story of the Dead Sea. 

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, when encountering all those plants and animals, God downloaded to them all the knowledge they needed. God’s guidance was upon Adam, so that he could manage with the wisdom God gave. This is the true source of work. In reality, we are currently limited by the knowledge, systems, or even theology we’ve learned, and we neglect the source of wisdom, spiritual revelation, and the use of imagination. It is the spiritual realm that determines the physical realm.
We are to live such that our flesh should submit to our soul and the world should submit to the spiritual realm; on the contrary, our souls should not serve our flesh and the world. The reversal of priority causes us to be limited by the visible world. 

Before long, we will reach a time when our creativity is exhausted. If artificial intelligence (AI) develops rapidly, it will replace many areas currently occupied by humans. Jobs involving repetitive tasks and simple calculations will disappear, such as lawyers, doctors, transport workers, drivers, teachers, programmers, clerks, and construction workers. Only jobs that involve creativity will remain, as AI cannot replace them. This creative ability is an essential part of our spiritual development, and it all comes from God.

God has opinions and thoughts about the created things of the world. Conversely, it means that God delights in participating in the world of His creation. He is pleased when you invite Him into every aspect of your life. How to gain victory in the spiritual realm and apply it in the material realm.

Example: Receiving the anointing of wealth from the spiritual realm, USD 50,000 within one week. RMB 1.5 million within one month, to purchase a ministry property. Received within one week.
Solving hidden schemes in business will be revealed or exposed by God, truly experiencing that God's Spirit is within us. Example: In my business— selfish desire conceived gives birth to sin.

1.      How do we seek God's guidance and help in difficult situations? How do we look up to God?

2.      How do we hold on to God's promises and truly experience victory?

 

Third: To enter into the regional intercession and receive revelation and wisdom, listening prayer is a necessary discipline. 

Listening prayer itself is a vast topic. We will talk about the motivation for listening, discerning God’s will in listening prayer, the hindrances encountered in the listening process, the lifestyle of listening, the ways God speaks, and how to discern, etc. 

We often want instant results, wishing that after today’s class, we could immediately possess Elisha’s anointing, so that we could solve all problems. Yet we overlook that spiritual growth requires brokenness, rebuilding, and walking with God. Good things require refinement—a slow process with fine craftsmanship.

I want to encourage everyone: in this field, it is actually very simple. The listening prayer is neither mysterious nor complicated. To say that listening and communion are complicated is nonsense. We must be like children and enjoy it. We need to become simple, and then we will be able to listen.

First, we need to remove the wrong belief systems and perceptions, including all kinds of lies regarding the area of listening prayer.

“I can’t hear God’s voice,” or “God only speaks when He wants to,” or “God doesn’t speak to everyone,” and so on. These kinds of sayings have long been circulated among the members of the church.
But you know, these are lies. Because Scripture clearly tells us that God speaks, He wants to speak, and He has personality—of course, He wants to speak. He desires to converse with everyone. We know these facts, yet many people do not have this experience. 

Example: Elly said: “I didn’t hear anything, no visions.” Because of wrong teachings in the church—hindering listening, I asked her, “In your former church, did the pulpit teaching always tell you that you couldn’t hear God’s voice?” She said, “I think maybe, yes.” I said, “Did you ever oppose that teaching?”
We know: if there’s no opposition, that’s default agreement—consent. This agreement becomes a contract in the spiritual realm. Once the contract is formed, it sends a signal to the spiritual realm:
“I cannot hear God’s voice.” When the enemy gets hold of this agreement, we truly will not be able to hear. This is false teaching—sometimes it may come from certain denominational teachings, or from certain books. These will block listening. When you agree with those teachings, in fact, you’re sending a signal to the spiritual realm: “I cannot hear.” 

Our feelings and experiences are: Somehow, we feel disqualified or unworthy. “I’m not spiritual enough,” “I’m not special enough,” “I don’t pray enough,” ; “I don’t have enough gifts for God to speak to me.” All of these are ridiculous thoughts. We try so hard just to get God to speak to us. The truth is:
God is constantly speaking to us. The problem lies with the receiver—us, lies in our MINDSETS—they block the voice from coming in. 

Because our entire belief system and cognitive system block the voice of God from coming in.
(Job 33:14-16) “For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction.”

Meaning: God speaks once, even twice, but man does not listen. So God has to open their ears through dreams and visions at night. Then we understand: Sometimes God speaks and even sends forth a voice, and we can establish a relationship with Him; Sometimes He speaks without sending forth a voice;

Sometimes when God speaks, it may not seem spiritual to us. Even if what is spoken doesn’t sound spiritual to us, it is still He who is speaking. As long as He speaks, it carries power—that’s what we call Rhema—a word with living power, great power!

We need to understand that God not only speaks, but He speaks with a voice, and we can establish a relationship with Him. 

Example: I was in the kitchen and the living room, in the middle of a meeting. Suddenly, He spoke. Once, on my way to a gathering, while I was in the car with my eyes closed, I saw a skull, and then a strong man with tattoos passed through a glass door, followed closely by two witches. Immediately, I knew that this gathering had been invaded and disturbed by the enemy. So I first put on my spiritual armor, informed the co-workers, and upon arrival, searched for the curses and charms left behind by the witches at the gathering site and broke them. In the kitchen, He chats with me about the current state of the world and other things. 

Sometimes when He speaks with you, it's casual conversation, even seemingly non-spiritual. Yet it is still Him speaking, and it still carries power. God's words are still living. He doesn’t always have to come to us in majesty, nor does He come as the way according to our imagination. What we need to do is to develop and cultivate a culture that appreciates God’s speaking or His voice—not just saying we’ve done it, but truly living it out.

Sometimes, it’s not necessarily during prayer that He speaks to you. Sometimes it might be while you’re cooking in the kitchen, in the living room, even when you’re showering, or in the middle of a business meeting—He just suddenly speaks. It’s simply that He speaks to each person in different ways and at different times. When you’re doing the work of ministry, it works the same way—you listen to His voice. He always starts training you in the area you are most familiar with. As you know, every day in daily life is actually about listening to God’s voice. But there is one thing we need to do, which is to find the way God first began to speak to us. Just like an infant converses with their parents, the infant uses sounds like “ba-ba” or “yi yi ya ya” to communicate with their parents. They don’t understand each other, yet in the spiritual realm, they somehow do. So, the infant must learn from the parents how to articulate words, and the parents must do their best to understand the meaning behind those “yi yi ya ya ” sounds. It’s the same principle.

Listening is not a gift (GIFT), much less an anointing. 

Listening is not a gift (spiritual gift), and it is not an anointing either. Hearing God's voice does not come as a gift or a special ability, because no one can truly claim they are “gifted” to hear God's voice, or that they have a certain anointing or power to hear His voice—that statement is incorrect. Why is it incorrect?

Because in Joel 2:28-29, it says: “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

He is talking about one thing: As long as you are of flesh, God’s Spirit will be poured out upon you—you are able to hear His voice. 

Hearing God’s voice is natural. All of us should be able to hear it naturally; we are already inwardly equipped with this ability. Even unbelievers and people of other religions (for example: Catholics, non-Christians) have this ability—the only difference is the clarity with which we hear. How often does God speak to us? Come on, He speaks to you all day long. It depends on how much time you're willing to spend talking to Him each day, and the relationship you have with Him. Just like a ten-year friendship versus a one-year friendship—your familiarity with that friend, and with their voice, is very different. 

This kind of relationship determines how well you know God’s voice. Example: A ten-year friend vs. a two-year friend—when they call you, if you’ve spent more time chatting with one of them, their voice becomes very clear to you. God also knows the way you’re familiar with being spoken to, and He will try to reach out and talk with you. If you are someone who receives visions, He will try to give you visions, so you may know it’s Him. You might ask: Could a false angel of light mimic God? Yes, it’s possible. However, God has character, nature, and personality—these qualities can be discerned and verified through the Bible.

So, God knows exactly how He wants to communicate with you, and He longs to speak with you 24 hours a day. He doesn’t care about the location—sometimes when you're in the garden, He might chat with you about the current situation or world affairs. 

Likewise, when we prophesy, He also speaks to us through prophecy. So it's not about whether your kitchen is more anointed, or whether the gathering place is more anointed…Does that mean God speaks differently in the kitchen versus in a church meeting? Of course not! God always trains us, starting with the areas we are most familiar with. Therefore, we hope that our family of believers will live out a daily lifestyle of listening to God and fellowshipping with Him.

Ways of Communicating with God: A Personal and Unique Approach

We often try to create a set method or fixed formula for everything; however, formulas don’t work because God does not have a formula. God is not confined to any kind of box, so we must break free from these setups. This is not God's way—God has a personality, and in relationships, He is unique. Every one of us is also unique, different, and if you expect God to build a relationship or connection with you according to your own way, then you’re really being unrealistic.

Building a relationship with someone is a very personal process, just like our various ways of communication today—some people like to chat over the phone, some prefer to use text messages, others use certain social media platforms: QQ, Wechat, WhatsApp, or Facebook. So, is there a problem with people choosing different communication methods? For instance, I just don’t like Facebook—people can hardly see me interact on it anymore, and now I don’t really use Wechat either. It’s just that I no longer want to interact there, and so some might say, “You don’t talk to us anymore.” “I can’t hear your voice anymore.” This helps you understand who I am and how I communicate. 

In this world, there are still people who prefer to communicate by writing letters, some even still use fax machines. If someone doesn’t like answering the phone, you’ll find that when it rings, they never pick it up—but they’re right next to the phone, typing messages to someone through social media.
Example: A mother and her children are eating together, sitting right across from each other, yet they never speak—they just type on their phones, because the children don’t want to talk. They communicate by typing.

No one is better than anyone else—we are all unique, one of a kind. Some people like face-to-face communication, but others don’t; and although not everyone will like the same method, it shows the diversity of our personalities. We look for ways to connect and understand one another, and as long as there’s a willingness to communicate, a way can be found. It’s the same when we listen to God’s voice—people hear Him in different ways, and we need to find the way that best suits us to communicate with Him. We will feel excited and amazed by that way, because God delights in using the very way He originally created us to personally speak with each one of us. 

The truth is, there are many ways to hear God's voice. God is willing to reveal who He is to us, and there are so many ways through which we can hear His voice—most of them do not involve audible sound. In other words, hearing God's voice is very common; it happens every day. However, to hear God's verbal or spoken conversational voice—the kind of voice like the one I’m speaking to you with right now—is not common. There are many ways to hear God’s voice:

Use your spiritual ears to listen—you can hear; this is not the operation of your soul, but of your spirit. (To listen from the heart is the operation of the spiritual ears; to listen from the mind—is that the operation of the soul or the spirit?)
Example: Sometimes you are in the middle of thinking about something, but suddenly your thoughts are interrupted by a different idea—this could be a voice from God, not your own thoughts? 

Many people receive prophetic dreams, and God also speaks to people through dreams. This is found in Job 33, where God opens a person's ears through dreams. This is another way of hearing God’s voice.

If you want to develop the way you communicate with God through dreams, then here are some details you need to pay attention to:

 

A. Prayer before sleep; God will communicate with you through dreams.

B. Be very careful about the information you are exposed to in daily life, as it can enter your subconscious. This includes things like negative or “garbage” content: the materials you see, the books you read, the news, television—all these can distort your dreams. Dreams need to be discerned. 

The key point is to maintain cleanliness or holiness if you want to receive from God through dreams. This is why it’s important to record your dreams, and why you need a mentor’s help to discern them together. 

The only issue in communicating with God is that we must be careful not to treat our personal journals as absolute words from the Lord, because many who keep journals are unable to distinguish whether what they wrote came from God or from their own soul.

We can hear God's voice through worship songs: There are already many ways that teach us how to listen to God's voice.

 

Of course, the use of Scripture will be discussed here as well—understanding and knowing the Word is very important. God often speaks to His children through Scripture. At such times, a verse may surface in your mind or heart.

 

 

Using spiritual eyes to enter the supernatural realm happens daily. When you open spiritual channels, you build a connection with God. He communicates with us through visions—these include open visions and closed visions. There are many kinds of visions, but they are essentially the result of overlapping dimensions. An open vision is one of the types—it appears right before your eyes, happening in the same physical space. The room may seem to disappear, and yet you can see spiritual things with your physical eyes. A closed vision, on the other hand, is not seen with your physical eyes, but mostly appears in your mind or is presented in your heart.

  

Of course, this is not the same as imagination. Imagination can certainly be sanctified and used by God. But we do not confuse imagination with God's voice—these are two very different things. God does not turn imagination into His word. However, He has given us the eyes of our spirit (spiritual eyes), while our imagination is the eyes of our mind—and we also have spiritual eyes. Spiritual eyes allow us to see things that are normally invisible, things that belong to the spiritual realm. The Imagination constructs images, but seeing with spiritual eyes is not the same thing. However, sanctified imagination can build a bridge into the spiritual realm, allowing us to see spiritual realities. We will explore this area more deeply in the future.

What matters is that we learn to develop a lifestyle of communication with God, especially if we desire to become prophets.

We need to discover how God communicates with you, especially when He talks about matters concerning your finances and livelihood—even if you think He has only ever spoken to you once in your life. 

Do you know that He has spoken to you? We need to focus on how He communicates with us, so we can develop and practice that method more. It’s not just some random way of hearing—once the pipeline is opened, the tap flows continually. It means that once you can hear, you can always hear—if you are willing. You can hear God’s voice at any time—just open the channel using the same method. He will begin to expand the ways He communicates with you: starting with one, then developing into several different channels of communication. You will hear His voice and know His heart. There is one thing you must invest in, and that is building a relationship and trust with God. This takes time.

Our Relationship with God:

We have fellowship with Christ, and we have fellowship with the Holy Spirit—FELLOWSHIP. Fellowship with the Holy Spirit is something very personal and individualized. It means that fellowship involves social interaction, a visit—it is very personal. Fellowship and communion also mean: having coffee together, eating a meal together, having afternoon tea, and going shopping together. Just like when we come home from work every day, when our children come home, we want to connect with them. You’re not chatting because of a special agenda or arrangement. We can have fellowship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

God is willing to interact with us in this way. Hearing God's voice is about bringing us into an atmosphere of His presence, and so we sometimes create such an environment for God’s presence to come. This is the first threshold many people cross when entering into listening. It is in God's presence that we can hear His voice most clearly; creating an environment that welcomes His presence means you have stepped into the first threshold of listening. Therefore: some people use worship, some use prayer, some use Bible reading, some listen to sermons, and some simply meditate. There is no complete formula, method, or template—these do not work, and in fact, they are very ineffective. 

John 14:7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

John 14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 

John 14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  

Here, when we have fellowship with Jesus, we are also having fellowship with the Father. We need to learn this and practice and cultivate it in our daily lives. Because we have never really had this kind of lifestyle—we have only done it during times of prayer. But this is not merely something that happens when you feel spiritually inclined. It must become part of the daily routine and habit. 

Example: I remember I had some co-workers who, in the beginning, really wanted to learn the way I listen to God. As for my way of listening to God, I don’t need music, I don’t need sermons, I don’t need to read the Bible—none of these are necessary. I just need to sit there. I don’t even need silence; God’s voice will come, or there will be a conversation with Him.
One church family member said to me, “Teacher, I want to listen to God’s voice together with you.” So I asked her, “Then tell me, what do you want to learn?” She said, “I want to learn how you listen to God’s voice.” I said, “Alright, then let’s do it together.” Early in the morning, she came to my house, very early—5 a.m. I just sat there. She waited and waited and waited. After half an hour, she still hadn’t seen me turn on any music, or pray, or do anything at all. She was confused and asked me, “Teacher, aren’t we supposed to play music first, start with worship, then play the keyboard, then pray, and then wait on God?” I said, “You’ve already turned it into a formula.” 

Because God communicates with each person in a way unique to them, we need to discover the first way God chose to communicate with us. Every child has their own strengths and gifts, and parents, when raising children, first discover the child’s strengths. For example, if the child enjoys listening to music, the parent will play music for them. If the child shows interest in drawing, the parent will let them draw things or buy some art supplies. Every parent, seeing their child’s talents and abilities, will use different methods to guide them—even the way they teach the child to speak will differ. Today, everyone knows how to use a mobile phone to send messages or emails to people they know, and they get replies quickly. You can connect and communicate from anywhere through these methods. We can have that same kind of relationship with God, because He is always available—just like a friend, always ready and willing to have that back-and-forth communication with you. I encourage you to live your life this way moving forward. This is one way we come to know the voice of God—through back-and-forth interaction with Him.

I said to that sister, “You need to discover how God first spoke to you in your life.” She said, “When I play the keyboard, I feel especially moved.” I said, “Exactly. So you can’t learn my way—if you try to copy me, you won’t hear anything.” I said, “Your way is this: when you play the keyboard, the Spirit of God descends, and He begins to communicate with you. In that moment, there’s one thing you must do—write down the impression you receive.” Everyone is different. Once you find that initial way God started to communicate with you, you will then discover that God will begin to speak more and more through that method, and after that, He will gradually expand from that original way into other areas of hearing. 

The Bible clearly records eleven types of ways to communicate with God, but in my study of the Scriptures, I’ve found that there are actually more than twenty-five types. This can be taught as a series of topics or a series of courses, helping us to understand how God gradually expands communication from the first method. For some people, they begin with just a sense or an impression, then over time, God expands it to dreams, then to visions, and eventually to hearing God’s verbal voice—that is, an audible voice. Each person’s way is different. Finally, you will discover: God is pleased to train us in this area, and through this, during ministry and throughout life, He opens us up more and gives us wisdom in this field.

This area is extremely useful. Often, in moments of danger or crisis, it can save us—sometimes just through one word, or even a single voice. I remember one time when I was preparing to host a conference, but I didn’t know in advance that members of a Skull cult would come to disrupt the meeting. At that time, we were on the highway and almost at the venue, when suddenly I heard God speak. He said to me, “Don’t go into the venue yet. First, have your co-workers cleanse the area, because there is the enemy’s activity and disruption inside.” As it turned out, right at the venue entrance, I passed by a few people dressed in very strange clothing. On the highway, God had already shown me their faces, so the moment we brushed past each other at the entrance, I immediately recognized them. Then, we proceeded to remove the curses that had been left inside. Many such spiritual forces and moments can help us escape from danger.

Of course, in the realm of listening, we may receive some prophetic dreams or foreknowledge dreams. If we want to listen to God’s voice through dreams, or if God chooses to communicate with us through dreams, I would suggest this: Leaders, you can train yourselves to pray before sleep—pray about the things you wish to understand, and then go to sleep. In such cases, it allows God to communicate with us through dreams. 

This is mentioned in Job 33:15-16: “In a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls upon men, While slumbering on their beds, Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction.”

This is another method of hearing God's voice. However, it also means we must be very careful about the information we are exposed to during the day, because dreams emerge from a certain subconscious level of the soul. If we are regularly exposed to too much negative information, negative values, or negative content, it will distort our dreams. Therefore, for regional-level intercessors, discerning dreams is something we must always stay alert about. Though dreams are one of the least mixed areas, and not as dominated by the soul as visions sometimes are, distortions in dreams can still occur.

We even know that in a higher level of spiritual warfare, the enemy can infiltrate our dreams by using false prophetic dreams, even to distort and twist certain truths within them. When this happens, God raises up protection, and we can enter this realm through spiritual discernment to distinguish what’s truly from Him. The higher we go into the level of regional intercession, the more often we will encounter such situations, so dreams also need to be discerned.

This is why we say that when developing the ability to listen to God’s voice, you need to record your dreams, and you also need a mentor to help with discernment. And you must be careful not to treat your own journal entries or dreams as the absolute truth. This is something that happens often in prophetic intercessory teams— many members will say, “Look, this content in my notebook—I absolutely believe it came from God, because many things I wrote before have been confirmed.” But you must understand that when the enemy wants to disturb a team or interfere with certain matters, he can even use distorted dreams to disrupt us. 

Example: Example of a Distorted Dream
In this matter, it’s very difficult for us to argue or discern clearly. Why? Because in the eyes of unbelievers, this appears to be a kind of spiritual realm opening up to them. But for us who believe in God, we know that this is a way the enemy uses to attack and disturb—it’s clearly an attack and disturbance. However, it’s very difficult to explain this with words—you just can’t make it clear. Because people have fear towards the unknown, especially those who do not believe in God. This is just one example. 

Of course, we can also listen to God’s voice through other means: hearing His voice in worship, hearing His voice through Scripture, or even having our spiritual eyes opened to directly see into the supernatural realm. In regional-level intercession, especially in close-range spiritual warfare, many people worry, saying: “When I enter that realm, I’m anxious I won’t see visions, I’m afraid I won’t know how to fight back, I don’t know how my angels will strike the enemy.” Actually, there’s no need to worry. Why? Because God will work through the assignment He gave you on that battlefield, and according to that assignment, some will see, some will hear, and some will feel. He builds us up according to how we were created, and according to the role and position He has placed us in on that battlefield—He will strengthen and elevate us in that realm. So often in such a field, some people will suddenly have their spiritual eyes fully opened and see images from the spiritual world, even panoramic views. 

I myself have experienced many panoramic visions. What does that mean? It means the entire battlefield and outdoor environment are suddenly visible, including everything that’s happening. Let me give a small and rather interesting example. Once, in a certain city, we were sitting on a large bus. The bus had about forty-eight seats, and over twenty of our co-workers were on board. The bus was driving on the route of warfare, and when engaging in spiritual warfare, you must not sleep, because if you fall asleep, something can go wrong. So we warned everyone, but we also knew that some of our family members were very tired and exhausted. We reminded them not to sleep. 

I was sitting at the front, while many of the leaders were seated in the back. But something amazing happened that day—while I was sitting at the front, focused on intercession, suddenly God showed me a vision. What did I see? I saw many people on war horses, riding into battle. And then, one person stood out—she had a crown on her head, but shockingly, she had fallen asleep. Right there on the horse, in the middle of battle, she had actually fallen asleep. It was a very clear image. I looked carefully at her face—ah! I immediately knew who it was. So from the front of the bus, I called out, “So-and-so, please don’t fall asleep.” Everyone’s eyes immediately turned to her, and her face turned red on the spot. Later, she shared this as a testimony—at that moment, she had indeed fallen asleep. This is what it means to see. So sometimes, when doing warfare over a region, in order to deal with the urgent situation in that area, God will open up the full interface of spiritual warfare in that region. So in the field of regional-level intercession/spiritual warfare, do not worry and say, “What if I can’t see anything at that moment?” You don’t need to worry—He will open your spiritual eyes according to the needs of that moment in battle.

Once, when I was engaging in warfare on Vancouver Island, I clearly remember that battle in BC. Vancouver Island was under the power of witches; another force on the island was the power of the Eurasian demonic prince. In the middle area, there was yet another group of dark powers, and over by the mountains, there was another group of dark forces. At that time, when we entered the battlefield and arrived at Victoria Harbor, I was extremely anxious. Why was I anxious? Because I was concerned that the witches in Victoria would bring their forces to attack us. Meanwhile, from behind us, we were being pursued by the forces of the Eurasian demonic prince, and on the other side, near the mountains, the mountain forces were also attacking us. This meant that we were being surrounded from three sides, and it was possible that our entire team could be wiped out, completely annihilated right there at the harbor. That was the area I was most worried about. 

While doing the entire spiritual mapping, I had already seen this situation and had understood it. So when we reached the harbor, I was deeply concerned that this would happen. And right then, God immediately unveiled the entire spiritual warfare environment and the full picture of the battlefield. So that noon, when God suddenly opened up the interface of my spiritual eyes, I saw the Eurasian demonic army (the one chasing us) being intercepted by our supporting intercession forces, held back along a line where we were engaging them. As for the forces around the mountain range on the other side, another intercession team of ours was in fierce battle with them. 

What I was most worried about was the force of witches coming from the sea, but in the end, this force didn’t make any move at all. They were watching us. When my spiritual eyes were opened, I was shocked: they didn’t attack! I was thinking, according to normal strategy, this would have been the perfect time for them to cooperate with the other two forces and wipe us out right at the harbor—that would have been the best warfare tactic. However, at that moment, God let me see their movement. The entire force was standing in complete formation on the coast, but did not cross the shoreline—they simply didn’t come ashore. The moment they refused to come ashore, I immediately made another strategic adjustment. I quickly gave the command to our intercession teams, “Let’s adjust our strategy now. I’m pulling all battalions back and turning to attack the two forces behind us instead.”

We know we won this battle, and as for why the witches acted that way—that’s another story. But because of that, we turned the tide of the battle and won! This was a revelation that came when my spiritual eyes were opened, allowing me to see the entire spiritual confrontation. So, there’s no need to worry and say, “I haven’t seen many visions before—what will I do when it’s time for the high-level warfare?” No, that won’t be a problem. Thank God! Many intercessors among us have experienced this—at critical, urgent moments, at times of great need, this realm suddenly opens up. Because God is faithful, and He will help us.

I remember we once had a very rational-minded co-worker. For two years, every time she ate with us, she would get angry and say, “You all are always saying you saw some kind of vision, heard some kind of voice—but I never get anything.” She was always upset about it. But one time, at the U.S. border, she was sent to cleanse a major bridge. I told her, “You lead the team to handle that bridge.” She was stunned and said, “But I can’t see anything.” I said, “It’s okay if you can’t see—I believe God will work.”

As soon as she was assigned and set out, suddenly her spiritual eyes were completely opened. She said, “That day was absolutely amazing. I could see how the angels were going up and down, how they were coordinating with me in the battle; how they were identifying exactly which evil spirits were involved in that area; and which dark forces were behind it.” She saw everything clearly. From that point on, God opened her up in this realm. Of course, this is just one example. 

Another topic that can be expanded on is the difference between visions and imagination, and how imagination can be sanctified. (This lesson) helps us understand that we can develop and learn a lifestyle of communication with God—you can find out how God chooses to speak with you. Especially when God is training us in matters of our livelihood, in matters of survival—just think: if that moment comes, wouldn’t you take listening to God’s voice very seriously? Of course you would. 

Back then, one way God trained me to listen to His voice was by making me pay the price. I once read the story of Moses and said, “How did Moses know the tabernacle in such detail? The purple curtains, the exact measurements of the golden lampstand, all the materials and dimensions of the tabernacle, how many cubits—it was all so clear to him.” I really didn’t understand how that was possible. So that day, I brought this question before God and said, “Holy Spirit, can you tell me why Moses could see it all so clearly?” I asked, “Where did all that data come from?” The Holy Spirit answered me, “It came from God.” I said, “That can’t be. When we pray about something, so many people tell me it’s just a vague feeling, or that seeing something vaguely is already good enough.” He said, “No, no, that’s not it. He was able to receive data that precise.” 

That day, the Holy Spirit asked me something. He said, “Do you want it?” I said, “I want it.” He said, “If you want it, I can train you.” He said, “Are you willing to learn?” I said, “Yes, I’m very willing.” “Then if you’re willing to learn, you must be serious.” I said, “I’m very serious.” So, what did God use to start training me in this? It was through the real estate business. Doing real estate deals. Buying property is a matter of real money. Since houses aren’t cheap, every investment is very large, right? Then God started with things like contracts—how many times we would go back and forth in negotiations, the exact number of properties, precise down to two decimal places. 

Then, after negotiating the offers back and forth, and finally closing the deal, this kind of training was painful—very painful. For me, because it was all about money, and on the days when I didn’t hear clearly, my money just went down the drain. So when it comes to listening to God’s voice, especially when it’s about our wallet, about our livelihood, about our finances, you become very serious. And in the process, little by little, you begin to build a long-term relationship of trust with God. But this takes time. Alright, that’s today’s sharing.