I once had a prayer team visit my house to pray. While praying over my desk (where I studied the Word), an anointed woman of God saw a vision. She said, “I was praying over your room when I saw your Bible sitting open on your desk. So I started to anoint your desk and Bible. Then I saw the verses in the Bible begin to illuminate. In the spirit, I saw you studying.
And as you studied, the verses were being illuminated.”
What that woman saw in the spirit was the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit illuminates the Word, and that illumination is not just for me—it’s for you, dear reader.
Before I began to know the Holy Spirit as a friend, when I didn’t even truly consider Him as a Person, I struggled to understand the teachings of God’s Word. I was able to comprehend biblical doctrines, memorize Bible passages, and even appreciate the beauty of the Scriptures. Yet I lacked in how I received the revelation of God’s Word. There was no life to my devotion. Because my mind would so easily wander, I would read long portions of Scripture only to stop and have to start again. I would often forget the context, misunderstand the ideas, and struggle to find any application for the truth I received.
Even knowing the Word, my spiritual mood would often shift as I failed to grasp the nature of God. Reading the Word of God was more of a discipline than anything else. Though discipline in the Word is certainly needed, I didn’t want my devotion to the Word to be just a discipline. Sure, reading the Word benefited me. And yes, it helped me to grow. But some- thing wasn’t quite right. Something was missing, and I knew there had to be more.
One day, while reading the Word, I came across a portion of Scripture in the Book of James. I’ll never forget the moment I first read it. It was life altering. I read this verse:
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking (James 1:5).
Dear reader, I know that to most that verse may not appear all that thrilling, but when I read it, for me, that verse became alive! Something about it just pulled my soul. I felt God speaking to me.
Through that verse, the Lord was offering to me understanding of His precious Word. He was inviting me to ask for His wisdom. The very moment I read that passage, I stopped to pray. “Lord,” I spoke softly, “Your Word says that if I lack wisdom, I can ask You for it. So I’m asking You to give me wisdom. Help me to understand Your Word.” That was the day the Holy Spirit introduced me to Himself as the Teacher.
But when the Father sends the Advocate as My representative— that is, the Holy Spirit—He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you (John 14:26).
On that day, the Holy Spirit offered me His help in knowing the Word, and everything changed.
Ever since then, when I read the Word, I can sense the Holy Spirit standing alongside me, and I can hear Him teaching me. I’m telling you—only He can truly reveal His Word. The Holy Spirit has helped me move beyond comprehension and into revelation. Comprehension and revelation are very different. One is received in the natural mind, the other in the mind of the spirit. My personal time in the Word is no longer dry and tedious; it’s refreshing and exciting.
The Holy Spirit’s guidance in the Word has even changed my ministry. The teaching of the Word, aside from the miracles, is what drew the crowds to Jesus (see Luke 5:15). I model my ministry after His. So this ministry is built on God’s Word and the Spirit’s teaching. So much can be built on the foundation of solid teaching and revelation. With the Holy Spirit as your Teacher, you can become filled with the Word to where it begins to pour out of you, and that will attract people to your ministry. Why? Because people are so hungry to know the deeper things of God. They want substance, and substance is hard to find. True substance of the Word, true knowledge of the Bible, is a rare treasure. So few ever take the time to get into the Word.
The illumination of the Holy Spirit can become the magnet of your ministry. That is one of the reasons why it’s so important that we rely upon the Holy Spirit to teach us.
And that’s what I’ve learned to do—just yield to my Teacher. Since the moment I read that verse in James until now, the revelations haven’t ceased. The Holy Spirit is faithful to reveal His Word. It’s purely supernatural. The ability to know the truth is beyond human reasoning. We need the illumination of the Holy Spirit.
When I think of such illumination, I’m reminded of apostle John. What awe and wonderful terror must have filled the yielded being of John as he stood in the realm of the Spirit to witness the majestic sight of God’s throne room. Like the deep sea or the ever-expanding cosmos, the presence of the Lord can be so beautiful that it’s frightening.
Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carne- lian. And the glow of an emerald circled His throne like a rainbow. Twenty-four thrones surrounded Him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God (Revelation 4:1-5).
The Book of Revelation describes the sevenfold Spirit of God as “seven lamps of fire burning” (Rev. 4:5 KJV). The lamps themselves are said to be the seven-fold Spirit of God, not the fire. Lamps give light, guidance, and clarity. In the same way, the Holy Spirit brings about illumination in the life of the believer. The Holy Spirit gives illumination through:
Revelation of the Word of God (see John 14:26)
Revelation of the ways of God (see 1 Corinthians 2:10-12)
Revelation of the will of God (see Acts 16:6-7)
The Word of God contains the written foundational truths concerning God’s will (desires, plans) and God’s ways (nature, character). However, there are certain aspects of God’s will that only the Holy Spirit can reveal to you—especially when those aspects have to do with specific things in your life and ministry. The same goes for the ways of God. God’s ways—or
nature—can only be truly understood by the Holy Spirit.
The more that the Holy Spirit illuminates the Word of God, the more you can see the ways and will of God. The Holy Spirit illuminates your mind and your spirit. As a guiding lamp, the Holy Spirit enables you to see with your spiritual sight.
But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you His Spirit, and all of you know the truth (1 John 2:20).
The lamp speaks to the illuminating nature of the Holy Spirit. Lamps or light can be symbolic of the Holy Spirit.
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