Change is Growth

You may notice changes big and small—physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Welcome them as signs of growth.

Celebrating Change

• Reflect on how your thoughts or habits have shifted.

• Identify positive outcomes and celebrate progress.

Every change is a building block for a fresh start.

Captured Imagery

“When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36

Honor and glory to the King of Kings today. May I capture for a moment what the Lord did this evening as we gathered for prayer and worship of Jesus? May I take a moment to share the faithfulness of the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself in ways that always surprise? There is too much to capture in this letter, but I will capture that which the Lord is bringing to my mind. Thank you for speaking, Jesus!

Here are beautiful artistic depictions of Jesus moved with compassion for the harassed and helpless crowds, as in Matthew 9:36:

This evening a handful of believers met in an inviting couple’s new home. The couple started off by stating they bought this particular house for the purpose of using it to glorify the Lord. Well, this evening was a great start.

Here are warm, inviting scenes of small groups of believers gathered in homes for prayer and worship:

Our prayer tonight was a request to the Lord that He would speak and teach us to be able to hear the Holy Spirit. We started off with prayer and song. This rapidly shifted into more prayer and supplication for the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself to us. I purposely wanted the Spirit to speak to others rather than me sharing. My prayer was that others would hear from the Spirit and humbly share.

The question was posed: “What have you been reading in Scripture this week that the Lord has shown you in which you want the Lord to work in you?”

One man said he wanted to hear God speak to him through visions and dreams. Another woman stated that her workplace is very dark and asked the group of believers to ask Jesus for a word from the Lord about the issue. Immediately, one of the men in the room read a Scripture: “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out like a drink offering…” (2 Timothy 4:5–6).

This woman burst into tears as the Word was read. Then another spoke, they saw a light invading the darkness over her workplace.

Here are symbolic images of divine light breaking through and invading spiritual darkness:

We continued to pray as another woman began to pray for binding the strong man at their workplace, and another prayed for high places not of the Lord to be torn down. As this prayer was occurring, the woman felt as though she were being physically pressed down. So another man prayed and bound any spiritual darkness from over her, and freedom came upon the woman.

We then prayed for another man who wanted prayer for dreams and visions, and then listened to testimonies of pure freedom from distraction as God was restoring the hunger of her soul for time with Jesus again. As she was telling a story about the hunger for the Lord, a young girl about 10 years old sat down with fear in her eyes and said while we were praying, she saw a black tornado come at her, go inside her, and give her a present full of people that appeared to be scared.

We prayed for this young girl, and the Lord freed her as the tears of fear turned to tears of joy.

May I suggest to you that the Lord was speaking to His people tonight? Through prayer, may I even suggest that the Lord was giving that little girl a vision of Matthew 9:36? There is a wind of the Lord that is stirring up the harvest and bringing people who are scared and harassed.

The Lord is giving His people compassion and an infilling to be emboldened by the Spirit of God, to have power for witness, and to prophesy the great things of the Lord to a broken, scared, and harassed people.

Like scared, helpless people without a shepherd, God will bring them to those who will lead them to the Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ. What are you doing with the presents you are receiving from the Lord? We will have new presents in church today. What will we do with them?

Meditation Questions

1. Jesus, tell me what to do with the presents You are giving.

2. Teach me how to lead them to You!

Jesus, I declare this song to You as we captured this evening in notes to look back on in the future:

What a faithful, surprising evening with the Holy Spirit! May His wind continue to stir and bring in the harvest.