An Appointment With The King

Years ago, I began going to prayer meetings on Thursday nights every week. I would drive from Hattiesburg, Mississippi to Spanish Fort, Alabama, some two hours each way, to meet with a group of dedicated Intercessors to pray. There were some twenty-five of us in the beginning and the meetings were powerful. It was there that I began to learn the different ways that GOD was speaking to me.

As was the custom of the group, we would begin the meeting with melodious worship playing in the room and everyone would go to their favorite spots and sit quietly waiting to see what the LORD would speak to them that night. Some would have a pen and journal in hand, some would be reading through their Bibles, some would sit still with their eyes closed, some would be whispering prayers. After near an hour, everyone would gather together in a circle and begin sharing what they believed the LORD had shown them. Then, we would look for the common theme and pray for that. It was quite amazing to see how GOD communicated similar messages to each one of us that when brought to the table, formed what would become the prayer assignment for that night.

In the beginning, it was a little nerve wracking to be the first to speak because you didn’t always know if what you thought you “got” was truly from the LORD. But as the more seasoned ones in Intercessory prayer would lead out with, “As we were praying, I saw….” or “I heard the LORD say….” or “I was reading in my Bible and this verse really hit me…” it was easy to see, we had all been hearing, seeing or sensing things similarly.

One of the first times I think I really realized GOD was speaking to me was during some of the early meetings. I was sitting there worshipping quietly and searching the LORD’s heart, desperate to hear from Him that night. Suddenly, I had a moving picture flash before my mind for just a few seconds. I saw swimmers in a pool with caps on their heads, swimming in unison. Each stroke they took was the same as the person’s next to them. My first thought was, “Well that wasn’t the LORD.” I was used to having these flashes of short movie scenes playing out every so often but I did not know at the time that they were a type of visions. After I saw that short scene of the swimmers, a few minutes later we gathered round in the front and the first Intercessor to speak said something like, “I really felt impressed of the LORD that He is calling us to move as a team.” Then, another one said something like, “I saw an army standing in formation.” Then, another would speak… and another… and another. When we compared notes among the group, it was clear that the topic of Unity was on the LORD’s mind that night and thus, that was the direction that we prayed. I learned to hear His voice. I also learned much about Intercessory Prayer and how to discern the leading and moving of the Holy Spirit.

For five years, we made that four hour, round trip, Thursday journey and I grew in the LORD. One particular Thursday night, something happened and we were not able to make the trip to Alabama. I was devastated. I remember sitting in my room, gut wrenched, crying. All at once, it dawned on me, those Thursday night meetings we had been attending were not meetings with people, but they were an appointed meeting time with GOD. At that moment, everything changed for me. I thought, “I can’t go to Alabama tonight, but I still have an appointment with the LORD. It’s Thursday… and I can meet with Him here just as well as I can there.” I had just come across a new prophetic psalmist by the name of Julie True and downloaded one of her albums for my meeting time that night. I grabbed my Bible, my pen and my journal, turned on the music and began to pray. That night I really had just one question on my mind. It was during a time of a heavy trial in my life and I asked, “LORD, how do You feel about me?” IMMEDIATELY… I found myself standing in a garden of the lushest green grass, backdropped with trees and all along the ground where I was standing were brilliant red flowers. As I looked back in front of me, I saw the LORD. I saw His feet… I saw His hands… and then I saw His face. It was Jesus. There are no words to adequately describe the peace that I saw on His face. There was absolutely no worry, no stress, no anxiety, no fear. There was just compassion in His eyes and other worldly peace. At that moment, I watched as He reached down and picked one of the flowers that was on the ground nearby and He held it up in front of me and smiled. As I looked at the flower, I could see musical notes flowing from the top of it, upward, and I realized that the musical notes were moving with the melody that was playing back in my room at that exact moment. It was as though all of me was in this place with the LORD, but in my hearing, I could still hear the music in my room. It was and still is the most real encounter with the LORD I’ve ever had. As quickly as that vision came, it ended and I found myself back in my room, sitting in the middle of my bed, with tears streaming down my face. I prayed and asked the LORD, “Please don’t ever let me lose this moment.” I quickly grabbed the album and began playing back through song after song trying to find that one song that I heard during that encounter. When I came to it, I recognized it immediately. It was the only song on the entire album that did not have any lyrics. It was titled, “Be Still and Know.” That has now been near 10 years ago and it is still as real to me today as it was then. Anytime that I hear that song or I see the verse, “Be Still & Know”, it immediately takes me right back to that moment. As this generation says, “I get all the feels!”

I shared all that to say, we each have an appointment with the King. He is waiting for us to come to Him, to approach His throne, to seek His face. He longs for our passionate pursuit of Him and He rewards those that do. There may be some that have never been on that journey with Him. This is your time! Make a special time, set aside, to meet with Him. There may be some that were on that journey with Him but life threw too many distractions your way and you abandoned your meeting place. You still have an ordained appointment time with the King! Jump in! All you have to do is make up your mind to begin again. He’s there waiting.