by Del Hungerford
The term "seeing in the spirit" seems to be fairly new but in reality, it's all over the Bible. We've just never called it that until recently. Think of all the times people were taken to heaven and saw some pretty weird stuff. Somehow, we've believed it's no longer for us. Who told us that and why did we believe it? There are a myriad of other questions that we could ask as well. The knee jerk reaction to "seeing in the spirit" from some in the Christian community is to think it's something new age. Again, we go back to the Bible. The entire book of Revelation is about seeing in the spirit where God invited John to "come up here" in chapter 4 so He could show John "many things." Think about Ezekiel and the wheel or Jacob watching angels go up and down a ladder. These are only three of the many stories about seeing in the spirit. I ask this question... we were given an imagination so why do we not realize that we can use it for Godly purposes?
We are a three-part being - spirit, soul, and body. We were given an imagination to use it! However, some religions have taught that our imagination could get us into trouble. Well, if they're going to say that, then they might as well tell us to never pick up a knife because we could do something bad with it. Sorry, but my meat cuts much better with a knife than with a fork. We are given "tools of the spirit" to function in our spiritual capacity as Sons of God to do the work of the kingdom. It's just like eating food. Spoons, forks, and knives all have different purposes. ANY of them could be used with a wrong intention that could be harmful for someone. But, why focus on the negative? Any religion that gets you to focus more on the devil than on what God has for you is teaching you how to function from a position of fear. Quite literally, they "fear" you into behaving a certain way. This is how cults work and honestly, many religions today act like cults because they don't function in Perfect Love. But... that's for another blog post. Back to seeing in the spirit...
What does "seeing in the spirit" actually mean? The short definition is literaly what it says - you're seeing things with the eyes of your heart rather than your intellectual brain of knowledge. This involves the imagination. For those concerned, simply sanctify the imagination before beginning the process, inviting Jesus into your vision. When someone tells you a story, most of the time, you get a visual in your head of what is being described. In this case, you're seeing with the eyes of your brain. Seeing with the eyes of the spirit (in your heart) comes from within the spiritual portion of your being that's tied directly to the heart of God.
The question I always ask is... if Jesus did what he saw his Father do, shouldn’t we do the same? By learning HOW to see into the kingdom realms of God, we are able to develop relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It’s no different than spending time with a spouse or best friend. You learn about that person by spending time with them. God wants the same for us; to spend time with Him in His realm. He’s already here on earth so now, all we have to do is see what he does, learn about it, and then do what we’ve learned.
Many are walking on the face of the earth today who have learned to function out of heaven as a daily protocol. How do people do it? Instead of seeing things from an emotional perspective, we step into the eyes of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Visualize sitting "in Him" every day. The Bible says we're seated with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6) and it's FROM THAT PLACE where we do everything. After we get the thoughts of God on any subject, we then release the revelation of what we've seen from heaven into earth. In a sense, we bring that revelation back to our present moment and begin to funciton out of that.
We all know that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are as close as the air we breathe. However, why is it we think that everything has to happen here, on earth? In the book of Revelations, John was given the invitation to “come up here.” When he did, he got a lot more than he expected, I’m sure! It was from his heavenly position that he learned of the coming things that ended the age. Just to clarify, I believe (like many others do at this point) that the Lord was talking about the end of the Old Testament age as they entered the Church age, which began after Jesus ascended into heaven. We are now transitioning from the church age into what some call the "Age of God" or "Kingdom Age." But, that topic is for a future blog post. You'll see snippets of this topic throughout this entire website.
The whole point behind the pracitce of seeing in the spirit is to understand that our spiritual eyes are just as important as our physical eyes and that we need to learn to use both. This is different than prophecy or words of knowledge because you actually see stuff in the spirit and eventually have understanding of what it all means. Many times when people give prophetic words or words of knowledge, they don't have an understanding of what stuff means. With seeing in the spirit, we might not have the understanding right away but the more we practice this stuff, the better we "see" and then understand. People think prophecy, tongues, and other spiritual "gifts" are only given to some people. I believed that lie for quite some time until I began to practice seeing in the spirit.
Throughout this website, you'll hear us talk about visions and encounters with the Trinity. That may come in the form of dreams, visions, or general engagements with the godhead. I sit and often journal during this time, writing down what I see, hear, sense, and feel even if it doesn't make sense. I may be in my heart garden or some other places in the heavenlies while having a conversation with a member of the Trinity. As we converse, I write it all down.
You learn to peruse the lay of the land wherever you are and sometimes, it just doesn't make sense. We have to learn to get beyond ourselves and see a situation through God's eyes - not ours. The problem? We too often put expectations on what we're supposed to see, hear, sense, or feel. That's a vision killer for sure so... learn to let go of any preconceived ideas first.
How does one learn to see in the spirit? It takes practice, just like a musician has to practice scales over and over and over.... (you get the point) to understand that patterns found within music relate to all musical works. The more we practice something, the better we get at it. This is how I learned to see in the spirit.
- I started with purifying my imagination where I envisioned being with Jesus. This was a step of faith for me because I didn't see anything at first.
- A good starting point is to look around a room (your house, work, coffee shop, etc.). Then, close your eyes and picture in your mind where everything is located that you just looked at. Then, do the same thing with a specific object. Look it over, close your eyes, and see it in your imagination. Repeat this process several times because it's exercising your imagination.
- Next, I would go into my bedroom at night and turn all the lights off and stare up at the ceiling with it totally black in the room. Eventually I closed my eyes and continued practicing. Of course, I could see nothing with my natural eyes. I did this for at least half an hour. If I fell asleep, fine. Then, I activated my dreams.
- I focused on seeing with my spiritual eyes by turning inward to my heart. It took a couple weeks before I saw anything, which could be discouraging so... don't be discouraged if it seems to take you a long time.
- Eventually, I began to see flashes of light, stars, streaks, and other things. I'd then close my eyes and visualize a peaceful garden and see myself in that place. I'd look around and try to describe the flowers, the sky, and other things.
- If something didn't make sense or I saw something weird, I didn't judge it. I simply noted it.
- The key to this? Stay rooted in Love and gratitude. If love and gratitude are your focus, negative stuff (including the enemy himself) can't stand to be in that place so they have no power to do anything.
- I then began to journal what I sensed, saw, heard, and felt. I didn't judge anything but simply wrote stuff down. I believe journaling is a major key to this. Why? If you don't, you second guess yourself. Write now, judge later.
- Practice, practice, practice! If I didn't say practice, then practice some more!
Side note here... The enemy comes AS a roaring lion. He's only that IF you give him the power to do so. The enemy becomes what you make him. That's why it's important NOT to pay attention to him. Turn and look at God, wrap yourself in His Perfect Love, and go about your business. Escort fear out the door and stay cloaked in Perfect Love. What you put your attention toward, that's your focus. If you want to see in the spirit, put your eyes toward God, not the enemy.
I will conclude here that seeing in the spirit is just like anything else in life. If you don't put your attention to it, "it ain't gonna happen." How bad do you want something? How much do you want to move past blockages in your life? When you're ready, you'll let go of any fear wrapped around your thoughts. If you've been told that seeing in the spirit is new age, then there's a lot to unengage with. Some paradigm shifts are needed. Go and read Bible stories of people who saw things in the heavens. I then ask you, if they could do it, why can't you?
With that, if you'd like some resources, there are some items listed in the sources section below. Click on the title that will take you to a link for the appropriate book or class. All include information about seeing in the spirit and understanding how the spirit, soul, and body must work together as a 3-stranded cord that functions in complete harmony. This includes using your spiritual eyes and other senses (hear, smell, taste, touch).
Enjoy the journey!
Del
