God is interested in your creative projects.
The Spirit makes all the difference between a blank sheet and a finished masterpiece. He was able to take the swirling darkness and transform it into the vast universe we now inhabit. He teased the gentle petal of the rose into existence and plowed the earth into mighty mountains, rolling hills, and swarming oceans.
And this same magnificent Creator lives inside you waiting to be called upon, and invited as partner in your creative projects.
Whatever you are up to in the world as a Christian, you need the Holy Ghost. Even Jesus made it clear that without the Spirit He was powerless to act.
All too often the Holy Spirit is denied or ignored in much that we do. Consigned to the religious activities that happen in a predetermined slot of time sometime on Sunday, He languishes in the heart of a believer waiting to be invited into their every day.
Remember this. God is not religious. He is not a Sunday Savior. He fills and inhabits eternity, and time is enveloped in His present and His presence. Every moment past, every second future, is all the same to Him. The way He described Himself is packed with this timeless revelation.
“What’s your name?” Moses asked.
“I AM”, God relied.
The writer of the Hebrews defines faith as living and active in those who believe “God IS” (Hebrews 11:6).
He has something to bring to the table in all of your creative projects, whatever they may be. The challenge is stopping long enough from our frantic activity long enough to hear Him.
Here are three ways in which I have intentionally brought the Holy Spirit into my own creative projects. Hopefully, they might inspire you to do the same.
1. Tapping the Flow
In the book of Proverbs 20 verse 5 states:
Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.
The word counsel there means “plan, advice or advise, counsel or purpose.”
For every project you are involved in there is a plan. The Holy Spirit wants to advise and direct you to success and fulfillment. Stopping to draw His counsel from the depths of the heart to the conscious mind is wisdom, and can save you years of heartache and discouragement.
You can of course just ask Him outright, “What do I do next?” I will speak about this simple transaction in the next point. Problem is, we sometimes have so many other things running around our brain, so many variables or unanswered questions, that we can not easily tune our ear to discern His direction amongst the noise.
That’s when drawing counsel becomes essential.
In these instances I lean on the gift of praying in tongues. Equally, you could use worship as a way to shift from the natural to the spiritual. The aim is to move from the limitations of our fleshly thinking and begin to grasp the mind of Christ.
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16
Set aside a minimum of 20 minutes and begin to pray in tongues or sing and worship the Lord. Before you do so, let the Holy Spirit know you are specifically seeking creative direction for the particular project you have in mind. This intentionality is important for yourself especially, so your mind does not jump around here, there, and everywhere. Letting your mind know you have a clear focus is like turning the tuner on the radio to the right station. Much of the difficulty people experience with a wandering mind or boredom in prayer comes down to this simple mistake – not letting your mind know what to look out for.
As you pray and worship focus your mind on receiving. Expect to hear or receive impressions from His indwelling. It could be a picture, word, or just a sense of what to do. Sometimes the impressions are subtle, but as you continually practice tapping the flow you will become increasingly sensitive to such things.
Like the flow of water from a pump, your decision to seek counsel and engage your spirit in the process, primes the pump and begins to draw water – thoughts, ideas, plans and purpose. It may take some effort and time, but keep driving the water from the depths until it spills into your consciousness.
Don’t stop too soon. Once the flow begins, even if just a trickle, stay focussed and pray in tongues or worship freely and spontaneously, making sure you record any communications you receive.
This works for any project you are involved in. Whether ministry, business, art, family – the Holy Spirit is right there with creative solutions.
2. Ask
It may seem obvious, but how often is prayer our final resignation rather than our first port of call? We create something or embark upon a project, and then when our masterpiece of human endeavour is complete we ask for Papa’s blessing on it.
How much better to bring Him in at the outset.
Jesus said clearly (several times in fact, just to make the point that we need to be reminded often!) we can simply come and ask the Father anything, and He will be waiting to release His power to aid us in our activities.
I won’t list the instances here, but to be sure, you cannot get more direct than this…
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Matthew 21:22
Ask Him.
I remember in my business, I wanted to hire a virtual assistant. It is something I had never done before and I was nervous about the whole idea. I had gone through the process of sourcing some potential candidates and was left with two. One actually looked perfect. The other I was not so sure about, but had a sense on the inside that I needed to hear Heaven’s thoughts before I made a decision.
I simply asked.
When I do this I tend to write the question down, then turn my ear to the Spirit and just write His answer. I don’t second guess or self edit what I hear. I just write from from my heart without judgment.
He spoke very clearly and told me about the second candidate. He explained that she would take some time to train but would remain faithful and be an asset to my business for years to come. He encouraged patience and left me with the promise of a thorough and diligent helper whom I could trust.
Needless to say, I hired within hours and have never regretted the decision. Because I heard His counsel on the subject it helped me know all was well, even if things were moving slower than expected.
You can also imagine my assistant’s surprise when one day I told her the story of how Papa had sung her praises, and encouraged me to hire her. It is certainly affirming to know that God is speaking to your boss before he even hires you!
I think she was encouraged.
3. Be Open To Spontaneity
God is speaking all the time, if only we tune in to hear Him. He speaks through the most unlikely channels. One of the most profound life messages He ever dropped in my spirit come whilst watching an absurd movie called, ‘Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure’, back in the day when Keanu Reeves was a geeky teen and not some cool Matrix dude. I won’t tell you what Daddy showed me. Watch the film, He may have a message hidden there for you too?
As you go about your daily business, have your eyes and ears open for ideas. Don’t limit the Holy Spirit to just your prayer times or church services. He is everywhere, all the time, and knows all things. Don’t you think He might have some gems to drop into your mind as you conduct your everyday? Of course, He does.
It is also important to understand that some requests (remember we sought counsel, and asked?) take time to cook in the oven before they are ready for consumption.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get your answers or direction straight away. The Holy Ghost may just need to work a few adjustments in your heart, perspective, and perceptions before you are ready to really hear what He has to say.
And then, almost out of the blue, the solution to the problem you have been seeking help for can just bubble up, seemingly out of nowhere.
Be ready to capture it when it does.
Even if your life is fast on the outside, have a corresponding slow lane on the inside where your ear is tuned and leaning in to hear 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
God will not be boxed. Be ready for Him to communicate whenever, wherever, and however He wants to.
Leave a comment below how you hear Him speak, or how He has influenced and spoken into your creativity. I for one would love to hear and learn from your experiences, and I am certain other readers would too…
You asked how God speaks to us. Where do I start, or how long do you have? I will give some of the ways He speaks to me. One way is for God to give me the answer horizontally to my prayers—my prayer is vertical and the answer slides in horizontally through the center of my prayer, somewhat like the ribbon of news running across the bottom of a TV screen except it is in the center. When I am told something in this way, I know to wait and watch for whatever I have been told. Sometimes an audible voice like someone standing near me will give a reply. The wording will always be in a way that I would not have said myself.
Sometimes God sends an angel—a REAL angel—with an answer. One instance happened many years ago when I was a professional musician and a university professor at the University of Montana in Missoula. I had been practicing my flute at home when I realized I needed something from my studio. I normally would have put my flute away but did not expect to be gone for more than 15-20 minutes. I asked God to place an angel on guard long enough for me to get what I needed. At the University, I ran into another professor who suggested we go somewhere for supper. So, I was gone a couple or more hours. When I got home, I went into the bedroom and checked on my flute. Everything was fine so I thanked the angel and turned toward the dresser. Have you ever been buzzed by an angel? The next thing I knew I heard VERY loud wings flying toward and over my head. I ducked fast! Then, in the mirror, I saw the big shadow of an angel on the opposite wall. Angel shadows I have seen are very distinctive: covered with pebbles in shades of sandy tan and light and medium grey. I can imagine the angel saying, “Watch this” and God and the angel enjoying a hearty laugh.
I have heard and seen other angels and shadows also. There have been times when I did not see them but I knew they were there. How? Something that should have happened did not. My car not sliding down a mountain side when it hit black ice—it did not even move out of the lane! A guy who intended to harm me being chased by an invisible dog. These are some of the answers I have received to prayers for protection. There are numerous answers every day of which we are not actually aware. God loves us. He protects His children in ways we cannot imagine.
God sometimes tells me to expect something special or extraordinary. In the fall of 2019 He told me that I would see things I could not have imagined (horizontal answer) and some months later COVID-19 appeared. There are things I am waiting and watching for now. I don’t know what I am to expect, having been given only a very broad direction. Once, in answer to a prayer that my special music at church the following Sunday would reveal Jesus to each one in the congregation in the way that He wanted them to see Him, I received something I could never have imagined The next thing I knew, someone was standing beside me. I could not see anyone but I knew there was no danger. Then I saw across the room, sort of like looking in a mirror, who it was. Jesus Himself stood there. His face was concealed in its brilliance and He is beautiful beyond description. I just stood there gazing in amazement. Never in my wildest imagination would I ever have expected Jesus Himself to come as my answer. I will always be in awe every time I think of it.
I receive answers from God in many ways. Sometimes I am given ideas or information or wording that I need. Sometimes I am given amazing realizations or revelations. Sometimes it is a knowing, an assurance, a quiet peace. God is not limited, and I believe He enjoys surprising us in the ways He answers. Once I was wondering what it would be like if a person could be exactly what God wanted them to be. I asked God about this. Suddenly I found myself enveloped in the most incredible blanket of pure love. It was safe and warm and indescribable. I did not want to leave. God truly IS love!
These are some of the ways God has answered me. Don’t try to predict how God will answer you. He delights in surprising us. Just ask, wait expectantly, and be open and ready to receive His answer in whatever way it comes. He has said that if we seek Him with all of our heart, we will find Him when we truly seek Him.
As you say, Mary, God speaks in a multitude of ways!
It is my hope that, by giving a variety of examples of some of the ways God has spoken and continues to speak to me, others will discover that God has also been speakng to them in ways they did not realize. As the lyrics of a hymn say, “This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears, all nature sings and around me rings, the music of the spheres.” I think that is the correct wording–I’m writing by memory. The most important thing to remember is that God loves His children more than we can imagine and longs to communicate with each of us. He tries to do this in many, many different ways and He is delighted when we hear Him. He, the most loving Father possible, loves to surprise us with wonderful gifts. All we have to do is to be attentive and simply and gratefully accept them.