The Discipline of Knowing The Lord

We can ask the Lord to wake us for a visit, if He chooses. Before going to bed, simply ask Him to visit you: “Lord, if You want to speak with me tonight, that would be alright with me.” Or, “Lord, don’t let me miss You if You want to come for a visit tonight.” So we’re not talking some specific language that will get Him to come to us, but rather an attitude toward acknowledging His value and being receptive to His visits. This takes discipline, though. You can’t stay up late into the night, then go to bed with all the cares and worries of the day swirling around in your mind, and then expect to be able to stay up with the Lord! Put Him first by dealing with those things that need to be dealt with in a timely manner during the day, so that when He comes for you, you will be attentive. (This is the secret of the illustration of Mary and Martha. Both women had their assigned household tasks, but while Martha was listening to Jesus speak in public, Mary was at home doing her work. Expecting Jesus in her home, she wanted to have her work out of the way so that she could give Him her undivided attention.)

Now don’t expect that just because you ask Jesus to visit you in the night that He will do so that very first night! It’s doubtful that He will! So then why do it? Because the next night you will do it again. Over many nights, days, weeks, months, your soulical senses are being tuned to be receptive to Him. Even the nights that you aren’t aware of His responding, know that He is taking note, and that these times are as valuable to Him as when He does reveal Himself openly, because you are living according to your identity as a spirit being, and making yourself available to Him to do His work. Your behavior is lining up to the truth of who you are in Christ—patient, confident, trusting, available. Eventually He will respond objectively, and it will be worth it.