PSALM 25:14: “The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.” NKJV

OBSERVATION: Have you ever hungered for a personal word from the Lord? Not just a general understanding of the Scriptures, but a personal revelation of truth that flows directly from the heart of God to your heart. Such is the promise of this verse!

I will never forget when I was introduced to the prophetic word. It seemed strange to me that the Lord would speak to me personally through His Holy Spirit. And, it seemed even stranger to me that He could use a complete stranger to speak into my life with a prophetic word. Yet, when I was baptized in the Holy Spirit I began to discover this new and exciting reality. God really did want to speak to me.

God desires to speak to each one of us. He speaks through the general revelation of His Word (the logos, written word). And, He speaks through the inward revelation of His Word through His Spirit (the rhema, breathed upon word). There is a distinct difference between the two. The first can be obtained through normal disciplines of study. The latter can only be obtained through a personal revelation by the Holy Spirit.

When I went to college there was a gifted minister who moved in the prophetic and specifically in the ministry of the word of knowledge. He would visit our campus often. As he ministered he would bring Scriptures that were given in a prophetic sense (a rhema word) for a personal individual. I always would pray that he would have one of these special words for me. I even followed him with a group of students as he went to his car, hoping that in the final minutes he would turn and have a word for me.

It never happened. I knew his ministry was valid, as it was confirmed by the testimony and lives of those present. However, I could not understand why the Lord was not speaking to me through him. Was there something wrong in my life? Did I lack the faith to receive? I earnestly began to seek the Lord about this.

I will never forget when I received His answer. It was a simple and clear whisper to my heart. “Why are you seeking someone else to speak to you for Me? Don’t you think that I can speak to you when I want to?” This was the first time that I had experienced this type of clear and unmistakable communication in my heart from the Lord. Previously I had sensed a leading, but not the distinct, “still small voice of the Spirit,” speaking directly to me. This changed my life.

I was humbled to think that the Creator of the Universe wanted to speak personally to me. I did not hear an audible voice, but I did not need to. The inward revelation was as clear and distinct as if someone was speaking directly to me.

Since that time I have tried to listen closely to His still small voice. Sometimes it comes as I am reading and meditating on Scripture. Sometimes it comes as I am in prayer or worship. Always it comes as I am fearing, revering, and directing my heart toward Him. I have found that the Lord delights in revealing the secrets of His covenant. A secret in the Bible is not something that cannot be known. It is something that is only able to be known through revelation – the unveiling of truth by the Holy Spirit.

This revelation never contradicts the written Word of God. It also never leads us away from a daily dependence upon the Word of God. In fact, when we fear the Lord, we are drawn deeper into His Word. We are not seeking Him to receive a word. We are seeking Him because we fear Him, love Him, and want to know Him in a deeper way. And, as we do, He delights in bringing His revelation into our hearts.

• “The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.”

There is also a warning I would give regarding the prophetic “rhema” word from the Lord. There is a renewed focus today of trusting in individuals, who claim to be prophets, in order to receive a word from the Lord. This is not to say that there are not prophets today, or that they cannot speak a prophetic (rhema) word from the Lord. However, we should never focus our attention on a person. We should focus our attention on The Person – our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit. And, it is the Holy Spirit who is the revealer of the secrets of God’s covenant!

• “The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.”

Lord, thank you for your desire and willingness to reveal Your heart, Your love, Your direction, and Your covenant to me. May I take the time each day to come to your written word, position my heart in reverence, and be prepared to hear the still small voice of Your Spirit in my life.

In Jesus Name!