Supernatural Transformation: Change Your Heart Into God’s Heart (7 page)

God Speaks to Our Heart

In a sense, God has two “thrones”: one in heaven and the other on earth. His earthly throne is found in the heart of every believer. Recall that Jesus said,
“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him”
(John 14:23). In the Old Testament, the presence of God rested above the ark of the covenant, which was located in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle or temple. Today,
we
are the temple of God as we carry His presence in our heart:
“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?…For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are”
(1 Corinthians 3:16–17).
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us”
(2 Corinthians 4:7).

God speaks to us in our heart; it is the way He guides and lights the way for us.
“The spirit of a man is the lamp of the L
ord
, searching all the inner depths of his heart”
(Proverbs 20:27). Our heart, or spirit, is like a “satellite receptor”—it is meant to continuously receive signals from heaven. The heart also transmits “status reports” from the deepest part of our inner being back to our Creator.

Only with the Heart Can We Truly Know God

The two-way communication described above is vital for genuine relationship with God because it is the only way we can truly know Him, and it allows us to share the depths of our hearts with Him. Jesus emphasized this truth by pointing out what happens when people fail to develop this type of relationship with Him:

Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” And then I will declare to them, “
I never knew you
; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”
(Matthew 7:21–23)

The Greek term translated
“knew”
in above passage can indicate “to come to know, recognize, perceive.” I believe the word refers to intimacy, which is built over time. If love doesn’t originate in the heart, it is not genuine. Likewise, the relationships in a person’s life that endure are those that not only begin in the heart but also continue to be based there.

Jesus was saying that many people who have focused only on the works they were doing for God will be rejected by Him because they never established a heart relationship with Him, and they were not obedient to the will of God. You may ask, “How, then, were they able to prophesy and do miracles in Jesus’ name?”

I have concluded that sometimes a person who lacks a genuine relationship with God will become associated with someone who does have such a relationship and who also carries an anointing to operate in the supernatural; because of his proximity to an anointed servant of God, the person can operate in miracles out of that atmosphere. This may explain the case of the people Jesus was referring to. Or, perhaps they actually exercised spiritual gifts of prophecy, healing, and miracles. Even though spiritual gifts come from God, they are not the basis of our standing and acceptance with Him. Works are never a substitute for relationship. Many people never experience the manifest presence of God in their lives because they lack intimacy with Him. If we don’t want to receive the above answer from Jesus, we must make sure that we have true and intimate communion with Him based on a heart relationship.

Anything that doesn’t originate in the heart is not genuine; therefore, it will not last.

We Worship from the Heart

As the facilitator of our intimate relationship with God, our heart is also the source of our worship of Him. Worship that doesn’t come from our inner being is tainted. For example, suppose you enter a time of worship at your church, but, instead of focusing on God, you are absorbed by your own thoughts, desires, and needs. Such “worship” as you are able to offer in this state comes only from your soul—your heart is absent. Consequently, you do not give God the honor and devotion He deserves, you aren’t able to enter into His presence, and you don’t experience the flow of His life in you or see His power and kingdom manifest in your circumstances.

If this is the way you regularly “worship,” then, while you might give financially to God, you should not expect to see a harvest. While you might pray to Him, you should not expect to be heard. While you might praise Him, you should not expect to feel His genuine presence. In effect, you will be wasting your time, because the life of God will not be present in your offerings, your prayers, or your praise. Accordingly, your life will not bear spiritual fruit.

What is the nature of your relationship with God? Do you know Him? Does He know you? God is ready to initiate or continue spiritual intimacy if you desire it with your whole being. Once you establish such a relationship in your heart, you will become a carrier of God’s presence and power, and you will also do miracles, signs, and wonders in His name—works that have His sanction and that reap an eternal harvest.

The heart of man is the place of rest, or the Holy of Holies,
of the presence of God on earth.

4. The Heart Generates Both Belief and Trust in God

The Scriptures say,
“Trust in the L
ord
with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding”
(Proverbs 3:5). Trust is another spiritual element that is birthed in the heart. We must realize that faith and trust are not the same. Trust represents our “walk” with God—the manner in which we love Him, obey Him, and live for Him. The presence of trust in our heart is an indicator that we have a true relationship with Him, that we really know Him and have come to totally depend on Him. When we trust God, we rest securely in His character, integrity, and faithfulness.

Any true relationship is based on trust. A relationship with God is established by trusting Him wholeheartedly.

On the other hand, faith involves a “zone” of time in which God is ready to act in the “now.” The “now” is His timing, the moment He chooses to act. Our part in faith is to receive what we “hear” in the Word of God, or directly from the Holy Spirit, and then operate according to it:
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”
(Romans 10:17). Many people are strong in faith but weak in trust. For example, they may
believe
that God will do a miracle, but if the miracle doesn’t manifest quickly, they tend to give up and thereby forfeit it. They lack the trust that would have enabled them to persevere to see it manifest. This deficit of trust undermines their relationship with their heavenly Father.

Trust Is Currency

If an individual is not prepared to inspire trust within a relationship, or to trust the other party, that relationship will suffer—and sometimes die. For example, a man may love his wife, but if he is unfaithful to her, he has betrayed her trust. He may not think his love for his wife has changed, but their relationship of mutual commitment has been broken. If his wife learns of his infidelity, she might continue to love him and may even forgive him. But the question is: Will she be able to trust him once more?

A heart that has been hurt by betrayal finds it very difficult to trust again. That heart may love the other person long-distance but still find it impossible to rebuild the relationship. Trust is “currency” between people. The only hope for a marriage relationship broken by adultery is for the offending spouse to win back trust through true repentance of heart and by faithfulness demonstrated over a long period of time.

Likewise, trust is an essential part of our relationship with God and is built over time. We can count on God to be totally trustworthy toward us. Let us show Him that we can be trusted to be faithful and devoted to Him.

You are personally rich if you can trust those with whom you are
in relationship and if they can trust you.

Trust Brings Perseverance

As indicated above, our trust in God not only establishes our relationship with Him but also maintains it over time. This is particularly true as we wait for the fulfillment of His promises. Consider the following questions: Is the foundation of your relationship with God one that will stay strong during the course of your life? Do you maintain your relationship with God on an everyday basis, whether you experience good times or trying ones? If you were to experience a distressing problem or enter into a difficult period that lasted a long time, would you continue to trust in Him, or would you turn to alternative sources for help? After all the ups and downs of life, will you be found still in relationship with God in the end?

Sometimes, receiving an answer to our prayers is not so much a matter of faith but rather of trusting God when the fulfillment of His promise seems to be delayed. We must realize that we won’t immediately receive everything we ask for. The Scriptures tell us,
“The testing of
[our]
faith produces patience
[
“perseverance”
niv]
”
(James 1:3). This statement indicates that while we are exercising our faith, a period of time may pass. That doesn’t mean that we are supposed to stay sick or defeated until Christ returns. Rather, it tells us that we must persevere in order to obtain our promises and miracles from God.

What should we do when the promise doesn’t manifest immediately? We should ask the Holy Spirit to give us discernment regarding which type of faith to exercise in a given situation and moment—either “now” faith that receives the manifestation immediately, or faith that perseveres until God is ready to release the miracle for us to receive. We should also wait faithfully and confidently for the manifestation of the promise. As the book of Isaiah says,
“
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15). The character of our heart is established by unwavering faith, not in the emotion of a moment. If our heart trusts in God, we will remain steadfast until the manifestation of that which our faith expects to receive—and has
already
received in the spiritual realm. (See Mark 11:24.)

We must understand that the fulfillment exists “now” in the supernatural sphere until its due time comes. We cannot question God as to why He has not yet answered, because then we would be casting aspersions on His character and integrity, and that would be an insult to the Almighty. At these times, we are to trust in who God is—His character—as well as in how much He values us and desires to give us His life.

How can a weak human being, created out of the dust of the earth, have this kind of trust? I have seen believers quickly start to seek alternative sources of help when the promise doesn’t arrive immediately. After giving a problem to God, they take it back and try to “fix” it through human means. Meanwhile, the answer could have been ready to manifest in their lives, but, sadly, they missed it by seeking natural solutions!

God wants us to learn to depend on Him. We don’t know what may be coming in our life, but we can trust in God wholeheartedly, because His purposes and ways are infinitely greater than our own knowledge and understanding.

For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
(Hebrews 6:10–12)

We enter into greater dimensions of faith through trust.

Trust Releases Faith

In a sense, the manifestation of what you have been waiting for—such as financial provision, marital restoration, healing, or deliverance—has always been with you, because faith
is
“now” in the eternal realm. However, as we have been discussing, sometimes the “now” has been waiting for you to trust in God. Anyone can believe in the “now” when he sees his answer manifested; but the test of trust is the condition of your heart as you wait for the fulfillment of the promise. Often, before we see the answer to a request, the enemy will try to convince us that it will never come. At those times, we must hold on to our faith and continue to believe in the Lord with all our heart, regardless of what our eyes see—or don’t yet see.

Are you beginning to understand how important the role of the heart is in the realm of the supernatural? The heart is crucial to seeing the hand of God move in your life—to seeing the fulfillment of His promises and the manifestation of His miracles.

The life of the patriarch Abraham, who was a giant of faith, is a strong example of trust and its results. Abraham had to wait almost twenty-five years before God’s promise of a son manifested in the “now.”
“And not being weak in faith,
[Abraham]
did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb”
(Romans 4:19). We could call Abraham not only the “father of faith” (see Romans 4:11–12, 16) but also the “father of trust,” because he had to wait with patience and confidence, resting in the knowledge that God’s promise would manifest one day. Trust allowed him to wait without losing heart—even though he sometimes had questions. (See, for example, Genesis 15:1–6.) Trust enabled him to persevere and to believe in God and His word
“against all hope”
(Romans 4:18 niv), regardless of his circumstances.