Learning to Receive from the Lord

The Lord spoke to me about studying how to receive from him. I had this memory on my mind of a man that I know who had a very deep relationship with the Lord. At the time of this memory I was going to the same church as this man. The church had opened the altar area for people to come for prayer. This particular church did often pray for people, but you did not often see people receive miracles, healing, or people being slain in the Spirit. Even though I was very familiar with the idea of people being slain in the spirit, I was shocked to see this older man be slain in the spirit at this particular church. I had seen this man be slain in the spirit at other places just not there. I was more surprised it happened at this church.

I asked the Holy Spirit why did this not happen more often here? The pastors are praying, and believing. The answer I got was that this man is a mature Christian who knows how to receive from the Lord. This is where I began my study. Some of you may be asking, “What is this slain in the spirit thing?” Let me first explain this. I remember being slain in the spirit when I was a child, but as an adult, I was not following the Lord for quite a while. When I did begin to follow Him again, I went to conferences where people would get slain in the spirit all around me after getting prayer, and here I was left standing. That left me wondering, “What is this, and what is it about me?”

I have found that being slain in the spirit is a result of the power of the Holy Spirit being given the opportunity to do a work in you. It is the receiving of Him moving within you to do a supernatural surgery. It is a laying down, and submitting yourself in order for the Holy Spirit to take over, and do His work to heal parts of you that need healing. It can be physical healing, healing from trauma, or deliverance from open doors, and demonic roots.

Again, why not me for years? I felt I was open to that because I was hungry for the Lord. Usually when you are hungry for the Lord, you become willing to receive however He wants you to receive, without worrying about what other people may think. There it is. Even though I wanted to receive, I had a blockage. The blockage was people pleasing. What if I fell weird, or looked weird, etc. I did not know how to receive. The first time I was slain in the spirit was during a deliverance class at my current church, Legacy Revival Center. They helped me to get delivered from people pleasing, and I am able to receive the Holy Spirit now. I get slain in the spirit all the time, meaning the Lord has been allowed to work on things in me that I need help with, instead of me being in pride trying to handle it on my own, or being worried about how others may perceive me. 

A part of this is me simply having pride and myself not receiving, but the biggest thing is that the pride itself was a blockage of entry for the Holy Spirit. In Acts 8:14-24, the man named Simon attempted to pay the disciples to receive the Holy Spirit. They told him that he needed to repent for wickedness because he had bitterness, and was bound by iniquity. They said his heart was not right to receive God’s gift.

The word “iniquity” in Acts 8:23, when researched in the Strong’s Concordance, says that it means unrighteousness or wrongfulness of character, life, or act. When we are not receiving something that we desire whether it be something you’re praying for, or the receiving of the Holy Spirit, I believe it would be wise to investigate our own hearts first to see where we may need to repent. Just as Peter told the man named Simon who wanted to exchange money for the gift of the Holy Spirit verses digging up the junk in his heart, repenting for it, and preparing to receive Him with a clean heart.