I heard your heart – Once we learn to hear our own heart’s desires, we start a process of learning to distinguish between our hearts and our minds. When I say “heart,” I’m referring to a deeper level; “subconscious” or “spirit” may also be terms we could use to represent desires that are below the surface. The next thing that happens is that we start to hear the hearts of other people, instead of just their words.
Most of our communication is via words that express the thoughts of our minds. We’re used to it, and it often results in failure. The reason is that if my heart and mind are not aligned, my mind is saying one thing and my heart will say another. That’s why body language and other non-verbal cues are important; they represent our hearts in a way that words out of our minds do not. The key to good communication is hearing my own heart and being able to hear the hearts of other people. That’s why we don’t just listen to the “words.” Instead, we try to hear the heart.
People thermostats – Our hearts are like thermostats that lead us, and keep us, exactly in our current station of life. We may think we can change by changing our minds or attitudes, but 90% of what we do comes right out of our hearts, and is very resistant to change. We have all seen examples of people doing great things, whose minds and hearts seem aligned in a way that facilitates excellence with ease. Einstein, Edison, Michael Jordan, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett come to mind. Their lives seem to flow, while ours seem to struggle and require a lot of effort.
The reality is that all of us were created by God to achieve a remarkable measure of greatness in the area of our calling. Getting there (“I will make your name great” Gen 12:3) and enjoying the process (walking in the Spirit) is the challenge of getting our hearts and minds on the same page so that we don’t sabotage our own efforts by being double-minded and unstable (James 1:6-8). When we choose a direction with our minds, our hearts can be pulling in the opposite direction. Life starts to work when the intention of our minds, the direction of our hearts / subconscious, and the mind of God’s Spirit are all pointed in the same direction.
What’s the desire of your heart? – How do I understand the desire of another person’s heart? This is very deep! I just ask them. Many of us can’t answer that question because we have never tried to get in touch with our own heart. But, when the answers do start to come, it’s not too hard to hear the difference between the intellectual answer of the mind and the cry of the heart. You may have heard that ministry comes out of love. That’s true, but hear the same principle in slightly different words: “Our ministry to other people comes out of a connection with their hearts.” We experience God’s passion and power for the sake of other people.
As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out — the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Luke 7:12-13 NIV
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit… John 11:33 NIV
Most of my ministry to other people starts with that simple question, “What’s the desire of your heart?” I’m shopping for desires that overlap with God’s heart. So when their answer comes out my heart or spirit will leap when I hear a desire that is in harmony with God’s heart. I just bless that desire prophetically. FYI – prophecy is much more about revealing Jesus and the heart of the father than predicting the future. I never ask what they think God wants them to do. That’s just a religious question that generates a superficial answer out of their minds.
Hearts and prophetic – I don’t consider myself particularly prophetic, but I’ve noticed that once I start listening to another person’s heart, I often hear God’s heart for that person. It’s easy to tell the difference between a real heart connection with God and a mental theory. If I can help another person connect their own heart’s desires with God’s desire, their spirit will actually leap! Their dream will come alive and the life of God ignites in their heart. Their eyes get wide and they start to think I’m hugely prophetic. It really blesses people when they connect with the Father at a heart level. It’s healing, eye-opening, exciting, and it opens doors practically and in the spirit for them to move forward with their dream. They sense the Father’s blessing on their direction, and it makes a huge difference in confidence… and therefore, in their future.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:41-42 NIV
As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Luke 1:44 NIV
They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32 NIV
You can be prophetic too – I’m just asking people to articulate their own hearts’ desires. When they start to touch an area of overlap with God’s heart, I just help them see that. If they have trouble putting words to the music, I will offer suggestions out of my own heart to see if their “baby” leaps. Few people object to talking about their own hearts’ desires. After all, God wrote them in our hearts and wired us with the gifts and abilities to make them come true. We all naturally gravitate toward the desires of our own hearts and of God’s own heart… the same way water runs down hill. It’s that easy. We come prepackaged with all the motivation we need to fulfill our destiny in the Kingdom and the marketplace. It’s what makes life exciting.
