"A Love That Carried Me Away!"

                                           A Love That Carried Me Away

How many times have you heard the words, “Jesus loves you”?
Or read Scriptures that speak of His love for us, such as these:

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…

Ephesians 3:18
That you may be able to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Perhaps your response has been something like, “Okay, Jesus loves me—good to know.” And then you continue on with life, not really thinking much about it.

But then there comes a day—after seeking His heart for years, months, or even just days—when you find yourself in His presence, and suddenly He gives you a revelation. It may come through a vision, or through His Word, or by a gentle whisper to your heart. In that moment, you find yourself stepping back and exclaiming, “WOW! What was I thinking?”

This is my story—an awakening I received through a vision.

The Fragrance of Worship

I was attending a church service filled with people who were deeply hungry for God. We were worshiping together in unity no concern about what others might think if someone raised their hands.

It was a place of complete freedom—a place where hearts were focused solely on touching the heart of God.

As I worshiped, I prayed quietly, “Lord, help me to worship You in spirit and in truth.”
As I yielded my heart to Him, it wasn’t long before I heard Him speak:
“I want to show you something.”

My response was immediate: “Please show me.”
I knew that whatever He wanted me to see would be important.

Suddenly, I saw the worship of God’s people rising before Him like incense. It appeared as a soft, white smoke ascending into heaven. Then the Lord said to me, “What you see is the sweet fragrance of worship rising up to Me. This worship and prayer are what cause the heavens to open.”

He then showed me what an open heaven looked like over the service and said,
“Here is where you ask, and it will be given to you—if you believe.”

I stood in awe.

Giving Him My Heart

As my hands were raised, I felt the Lord take my hand. I sensed that He wanted to show me something more. I saw Jesus standing tall—like a towering building—with His arms crossed, as if declaring, “I AM A BIG GOD.” There He stood. Then I heard Him say,

“Remember when I asked you to give Me your heart?”

I replied, “Yes, I do.”

In that moment, I remembered two other times during my prayer life when He had asked me the same question. I realized that giving my heart to Him meant something much deeper than I had previously understood.

I wanted the Lord to have my heart completely—without hesitation. I desired to give it to Him freely. So I said,
“Show me how to give it to You the way You desire.”

I knew I could trust Him.

As He held my hand, I felt myself being lifted up. Suddenly, I was standing before Jesus. I watched as He received my heart with overwhelming joy.

A Love Beyond Words

The best way I can describe what I saw is this:

Imagine losing your child. After hours of desperately searching, your heart begins to fail as hope slowly fades. Then, just as you look one last time into the distance, you see your child standing there. You run to him, lift him into your arms, and hold him tightly, thinking, “I will never let you go.” Your heart is flooded with a love so deep and overwhelming that words could never fully express it.

That is what I felt coming from the Lord.

There He stood, holding my heart, hugging it, and kissing it with a joy and passion that was indescribable. Then He lifted my heart toward heaven so that His light could shine upon it.

I felt His desire to fill my heart with a revelation of His love.

I remember thinking, “You love me that much?”

Known by Name

Tears began to fall.
I knew I was completely undeserving of such love.

Then I heard Him whisper my name:
“Olga, I love you.”

I know this may sound simple, but my immediate thought was, “Lord… You know me by name?”
With such tenderness in His voice, He replied,
“Yes. I see you. You are not invisible to Me.”

I was overwhelmed. I began to weep like a child.
“I have let You down so many times,” I thought, “and yet You love me beyond my understanding.”

In that moment, Ephesians 3:18 came alive in my heart. I realized how foolish it had been to hesitate in giving Him my whole heart. I had tried to shield it, thinking I was fully trusting Him—when in truth, my heart could never be safer than in His hands.

A Moment That Changed Everything

That evening, my heavenly Father held my hand throughout the entire time of worship. I couldn’t even remember my earthly father holding my hand the way my heavenly Father did that night.

It was one of those moments I will never forget.

I was deeply honored to receive such a revelation.

By Olga Be-A-Voice

Am I Travailing? I Weep When I Pray!

Travailing Prayer: When the Spirit Intercedes

Intercession and Travailing Prayer

Have you ever found yourself weeping during prayer and not knowing why?
Maybe you’ve ended up curled into a ball, groaning. Or perhaps you’ve been in a church service and suddenly felt the urge to cry out, “Have mercy, Lord!” Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night with a vivid image of someone on your mind, causing you to travail in prayer?

If you’ve experienced any of these things, you may have also found yourself in a group setting surrounded by people who thought you needed a demon cast out—or who began praying prayers of comfort and healing over you, assuming you were depressed. That can leave you wondering, “God, what is going on? Is something wrong with me?”

Well, I can tell you this: there is nothing wrong with you. What is happening is actually a very good thing. It’s called intercession.

Romans 8:26
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

Wow—the Holy Spirit Himself connecting with our emotions, helping us pray prayers that are effective. That’s amazing! The Holy Spirit is a person, and He feels just as you and I do. If you have confessed the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, I have great news for you: Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to abide in you.

He is the Helper the Bible speaks about. He is the same Spirit who dwelled in Jesus and raised Him from the dead. What power—and that power lives in us! Just thinking about it gives me chills.

The Spirit helps us in our weaknesses—and that doesn’t apply only to prayer—but since we’re focusing on travailing prayer, let’s continue.

Romans 8:27
“Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

The Holy Spirit knows the will of God for us.
Let’s go to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus cried out, “Nevertheless, not My will, but Your will be done.”

As we read Matthew 26, we see that Jesus was interceding. He carried a burden so heavy that it caused Him to be exceedingly sorrowful and deeply distressed—even to the point of death. Luke 22:43–44 tells us He was in such agony, praying earnestly, that His sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground. The intercession was so overwhelming to His flesh that an angel had to come and strengthen Him.

Isaiah 53:4 tells us that He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. Isaiah 53:11 says He would see the travail of His soul and be satisfied. His soul travailed for us. He was carrying the sins of the world while the enemy was being unleashed (see Psalm 22). Jesus lived a purpose-driven life, and His goal was to bring us salvation.
Jesus’ life was an act of intercession.

His mission was to restore us to the Father. It wasn’t fear that overwhelmed Him in the Garden—it was travail like none other. Because He walked among us in the flesh, it affected Him physically. Those who have travailed can understand this.
I’ve noticed that travail often comes to those who passionately cry out to know the heart of God. So if you’ve been asking the Lord to reveal His heart to you, you may very well be experiencing intercession.

What Is Intercession?
Intercession is praying on behalf of another—entreating in favor of someone else. It is inspired and directed by the Holy Spirit, who manifests Himself through our emotions.

Intercession has often been misunderstood. Many churches are uncomfortable with emotion in prayer and struggle with travail and supplication. I remember being at a prayer meeting where I prayed for a woman. I felt the Lord’s heart for her and His desire to bring her victory. There was some emotion in my prayer, though not excessive. At the next meeting, only the leaders were allowed to pray.

Intercession Includes:

Travailing – To bear, be born, bring forth, or be delivered.

Galatians 4:19 shows that travail is given by God; it cannot be manufactured. It often involves deep groaning—sometimes audible, sometimes unutterable (Romans 8:26). Travail is the grief of God’s heart. It is vital to discern whether it is truly from God and not a counterfeit. Scripture tells us to test the spirits. Never force these manifestations; they occur as the Holy Spirit wills. Travail may be brief or prolonged and can involve birthing or spiritual warfare.

Weeping – This is fairly self-explanatory.

Laughing – Laughter in prayer can signify that God’s will has been accomplished, the answer is on the way, or the enemy’s plan has been thwarted (Psalm 2:4; Psalm 37:12–13). Can you say victory? I love this part!

Supplication – A humble, earnest prayer or entreaty.

Things to Learn:

1. When intercession comes, stay in communion with the Holy Spirit. You will know when He shifts gears. Ask Him what the burden is for—you’ll be able to hear Him clearly.

1. Guard against the enemy entering in during travail. When we engage the spiritual realm, we can be vulnerable to attack.

1. Do not let emotions run wild. Walk in the fruit of self-control. Never become so emotional that you cannot hear the leading of the Holy Spirit.

1. With this type of intercession, pray until the burden lifts. Do not abort what is on the heart of God.

1. It is possible for the same burden to return later. A lifted burden does not always mean it has been fully prayed through.

1. If you are warring in intercession, it may help to have someone praying with you—taking authority using the Word of God (Luke 10:19). This can help bring closure more quickly.

1. Remember that laughter during prayer signifies victory. Be sure to thank Him.

1. Travail takes place in the spiritual realm, not the physical. Do not assume natural birthing positions, and do not allow feelings of physical intimacy with Jesus. Doing so opens the door to deception. This is sometimes referred to as “flaky intercession.”

Have a Clean Heart
The purer our hearts, the more welcome the Holy Spirit feels—and the more He will share with us. A clean heart leads to more effective prayer.

Closing Thoughts

Isaiah 59:16
“He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him.”

It is an honor to partner with the Holy Spirit in prayer. This kind of prayer ushers in revival—first in our hearts, then in our nation. More believers will experience travail. The Lord has a Bride preparing herself and souls that need to know Jesus. He is looking for vessels willing to pray His will.

Rest assured, the enemy has faithful worshipers praying his will as well. We need more intercession led by the Holy Spirit.

"Have We Been Robbed?"

An Awakening: A Journey Toward Healing and Identity

By Olga (Be_A_Voice)

I used a lot of tissues learning this lesson. It was truly an awakening.

We are all born into this world with our first cry—innocent, pure, and completely dependent on someone to love us, care for us, protect us, and teach us how to live. From the very beginning, we are created with a deep need for trust and love.

This was the wonderful plan and design of God.

As Psalm 139:13–16 tells us:

“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.”

How precious are the Lord’s thoughts toward us. His love for us surpasses even the greatest love a father or mother could give. We were wonderfully made—yet most of us grow up completely unaware of this truth. How can we know unless someone tells us?

As we grow and mature, the Lord’s desire is for His love and purpose to be revealed to us as early as possible so that His plan for our lives can be fulfilled. Sadly, because of our sin nature, our free will, and generational brokenness, this rarely happens. Instead, many of us encounter painful experiences passed down from generation to generation—experiences that quietly shape the course of our lives.

I want to share a moment from my own life.

I was born into a family of seven—Dad, Mom, three sisters, and a younger brother. I do not know my parents’ full stories, but I do know they were not good ones. I cannot remember a time when I was held and told, “I love you,” even though I believe they did love me. Positive words were foreign in my home. Instead, I heard words like stupid and dumb, along with constant yelling—enough to make your head spin.

One particular memory left a lasting mark on my heart.

It was report card day. My sisters and I were walking home from school, filled with fear. I remember looking at my report card and thinking, I should be okay—there are no F’s. (There were no A’s either.) When we walked through the door, we handed our report cards to our mother. As she looked them over, all hell broke loose.

She began yelling and searching for her metal cheese graters. When she found them, she made us kneel on them. There weren’t enough graters for all three of us, so she poured raw rice under my younger sister’s knees. As I knelt there in pain, I could hear her shouting, “F… F… F.” As a child, I didn’t understand how that F got there. I was completely confused.

But something deeper happened that day.

As I cried in pain, I began to believe I was a failure—and that nothing I did would ever change that. My home life altered the entire course of my future. I made decisions based on how I felt and what I constantly heard in my mind: You are a failure.

Because of that belief, I never had the courage to try things I desired—playing an instrument, learning new skills, archery, education—because I was terrified of failing.

In my early adulthood, I encountered the Lord and tried to accept that He saw me differently. But by then, I carried so much baggage. Healing became a process, and it was not easy. The scripture I lived by was:

“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”

I went to the Lord with my pain and I discovered just how deep my wounds were. I felt like crying out, “Get the ambulance—my wounds are deep! Why am I still alive?” And then I realized—the Holy Spirit must be driving, because He is the only one who can get me through this.

Thank God for His healing power.

Here’s the truth: I discovered that I had been robbed.

Robbed of knowing who I was created to be.
Robbed of my true identity.
Robbed of the life God intended for me.

I asked myself questions like: Who am I really? Who was I meant to be? What would my life have looked like if I had been loved and encouraged from the beginning?

For those wondering—Olga was in the Holy Spirit’s hospital, recovering. I am getting to know her, learning who she was created to be. With the Lord’s help, the old will die, and the new creation will rise and live.

The truth is, we have all been through things that changed the direction of our lives. Some of us have been abused, neglected, rejected, violated, or hurt beyond words. In response, many turned to things that only caused more damage. We developed characteristics we don’t like and lost sight of who we were meant to be.

We have been robbed of God’s original design for our lives.

We must understand this: we have a sin nature, free will, and an adversary—Satan—whose plan is destruction. His goal is to steal, kill, and destroy, and sadly, he has been effective.

But healing is available.

We must stop agreeing with the lies of the enemy. When he tells us who we are not, we must resist him with truth. I was never a failure. I was always created to be a child of God. Through Jesus Christ, I have been given the power to live fully here on earth. The same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead lives in me.

So to those who are hurting, I say this:
Pursue healing. Seek direction. Receive a revelation of God’s love for you.

You are not who your pain says you are.