What we focus on, we see.

Conceptual image of a cat looking into the mirror and seeing a reflection of a large lion

I have recently had several conversations with folk who can see spiritual beings and obviously have a seer gifting. These folk were chatting with me about a concern that they all had as they kept seeing demons. They could easily ‘see’ where the demons were in the room. They had become quite scared. I gently challenged them with the words, “what we focus on, we see”. In other words, if we are looking for demons, we will see them. If we are looking for angels, we will see them. What we focus on, we will see. I challenged them when they were next in a place where it was evident there were a lot of demons, to ask God to highlight the angels in the place. To look for God amidst the yuck. To look for what God was doing there in that situation. One was in a nightclub, another in a seedy part of the town. When I next chatted with them, they all expressed amazement that it no longer scared them when they walked there as they could now see what God was doing there.

Over the years, I found a similar thing with one of my children. This child would occasionally wake up, seeing a demon in their bedroom. I knew never to dismiss it or pretend it wasn’t there. Instead, I would gently reassure them and ask Jesus to come and show them where He was in the room. Almost instantaneously, they would see Jesus right next to them in bed, and hear Him saying something reassuring to them. Within a few minutes, they would be fast asleep again. I never had to deal with the demon as my child had shifted their focus on to God.

It is similar to when people are wanting to lose weight – do you pin a photo of the ‘fat’ looking you or the ‘thin’ looking you on the fridge? Research shows that the ‘thin’ looking you goes up on the fridge as that is what you want to focus on.

It depends on your perspective and what you focus on. A little while ago, a friend shared with me an issue they were facing. They were in a horrific situation. I came away feeling absolutely no hope for that person. After praying about it for awhile, God showed me that He was far bigger than their problem. He then gave me a way forward for that person. It all depended on my perspective and what I was looking for. What I focused on, I saw.

Let me also say that this may appear very simplistic and I can assure you, it is. There are also times where you need to do deeper spiritual warfare and this doesn’t apply in its simplicity and I am not wanting to dismiss those times and circumstances. Instead, this is for general everyday use and as a reminder to look at what we are focusing on.

What are you focusing on and what are you seeing? What is God doing in that situation?

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

The purpose of these exercises is to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and recognise God’s voice and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy!

Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Give everyone a piece of paper and ask everyone to make an object or sculpture out of the paper to symbolise who God sees that they are in God’s Kingdom. Ask everyone to share what their sculpture means.

2. Group Activation: Get into small groups of 3-4 (not too many as the fewer people in your group, the more practice each person will get). Have a dice for each group. Take turns throwing the dice and answer the question depending on what number you throw. Each time choose which person in your group you give the prophetic word to. 1 = How God sees them dressed. 2 = What present God wants to give them. 3 = What sort of vehicle God sees them as. 4 = Something about their identity that God wants to show them / impress on them. 5 = If you were at a fun park, where would they be and why. 6 = What role they would have at the Olympics.

3. Beginner Activation: Ask God to highlight a child to you and His heart for them. Draw a picture to communicate God’s heart to them. Check that the picture is age appropriate and language appropriate for the child before giving it to them or pass it to their parent first.

4. Intermediate Activation: Open a newspaper and ask God to highlight a person’s name to you. Spend time with God asking Him to show you how He sees this person and their situation. Write this down. Ponder how you would deliver this to the person sharing God’s heart for them. Then read the article about this person and check the situation.

5. Advanced Activation: Ask God to highlight a business owner to you and ask God to show you His heart for them and their business. Ask God to show you how to deliver it to this person.