By Prophet of Grace PAULYB

You can see the problem clearly. You know when it started. You know who is involved. You know how much it will cost if nothing changes.

But when somebody tells you to “see in the Spirit,” you think, I can barely see past what is happening in front of me. I want to show you something in 2 Kings 6 that can change how you pray. Elisha’s servant gets up in the morning, goes outside, and sees an army surrounding the city. Horses. Chariots. Soldiers. He runs to Elisha and asks, “What are we going to do?”

Elisha tells him that those with them are more than those against them. Then he prays, “Lord, open his eyes so that he may see.” God opens the servant’s eyes, and the mountain is full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha. Here is the part I do not want you to miss: Elisha never asked God to send the chariots. He asked God to open the servant’s eyes. The servant could see the enemy perfectly. He just could not see everything else.

Your problem may be real, but your view may be incomplete

I am not going to tell you that the army was imaginary. The soldiers were real. The servant had a reason to be afraid. Elisha did not correct him by saying, “There is no army.” He understood that the servant was seeing one part of the mountain.

That is where many of us live. We study the diagnosis, the debt, the conflict, or the thing happening in our home until we can describe it in great detail. Then we assume that because we can describe it, we know the whole story. The servant knew what was against him. Elisha knew there was more with him.

I believe the Holy Spirit is inviting us to ask a better question: “Father, what am I missing?” That question does not deny your circumstances. It makes room for God to reveal what your circumstances cannot tell you.

Yes, God can open your eyes to the spiritual realm

The servant saw horses and chariots of fire. This was a supernatural encounter. God can open your eyes to see angelic activity. He can give you a vision, a picture, or a word of knowledge. Scripture speaks of angels as ministering spirits, and in Acts 12 an angel comes to Peter while he is in prison.

I do not want to take the supernatural out of this story. The servant actually saw something he could not see before. But notice who opened his eyes. Elisha prayed, and the Lord opened them. The servant did not have to invent chariots, stare harder at the mountain, or prove that he was spiritual enough to see.

That is good news for someone who has been trying so hard to have a vision that prayer has become exhausting. Ask boldly. Become still. Pay attention to what comes. If you see an image inwardly, describe the image. If you see something with your eyes open, describe that.

If a Scripture or a word comes to mind, write it down. You can receive an impression with expectancy and still be honest about what you experienced. Then ask the Holy Spirit what it means. Seeing something and understanding it are two different things.

The deeper sight is knowing Jesus is with you

Paul prayed in Ephesians 1 that the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened. He wanted people to know their hope, their inheritance, and the power God worked when he raised Jesus from the dead. Paul was praying for revelation of what God had already done in Christ.

And remember the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus walked with them before they recognized him. When their eyes were opened, they recognized the Person who had been beside them. He did not arrive the moment they noticed him. Some of you are praying, “God, please come near.” What if the Spirit is opening your eyes to recognize Jesus with you right now?

That is why I never want to teach spiritual sight as a trick for seeing remarkable things. I want you to see the Father Jesus reveals. I want you to recognize what the Spirit is doing and respond to him. Sometimes that will include a vision. Sometimes it will be a word of knowledge for another person. Sometimes you will look at the same problem you saw yesterday, but you will no longer believe you are facing it alone.

What you see should change what you do

There is more to Elisha’s story. Later, the enemy soldiers are brought into the city, and Elisha prays for their eyes to be opened. The king of Israel wants to strike them down. Elisha tells him to feed them instead. They are given a meal and sent home.

Elisha could see the chariots of fire. He also knew what to do with the people standing in front of him. That is a word for us. If I receive a vision for somebody, the next question is, “How will this help me love and serve them?” A word of knowledge might lead me to pray for healing. A picture might help me speak courage into a person who has been afraid.

A revelation might show me that the person I was ready to fight needs mercy. Jesus said he did what he saw the Father doing. As we learn to see in the Spirit, we ask the Holy Spirit to show us the Father’s heart and the next step we can take with him.

Practice this today

Bring one situation before the Lord. You can close your eyes, or you can look at the problem right in front of you. Pray simply:

“Lord Jesus, thank you that you are here. Holy Spirit, open my eyes. Show me what you want me to see. If there is a picture, a word, a Scripture, or something happening in the spiritual realm that you want to reveal, I am listening.”

Be quiet for a minute. Write down what you noticed before you decide what it means. Then ask, “Jesus, what are you showing me about the Father? What do you want me to do?” If all you can see at first is the problem, write down three things:

1. What are the facts I can see?

2. What have I assumed those facts mean?

3. What does Jesus show me about the Father in this situation?

Maybe the fact is that you have a difficult conversation tomorrow. Maybe the assumption is that you will be alone and it will all fall apart. Bring that assumption to Jesus. Ask what he sees. Then take the next honest step with him.

Prepare what you need to say. Ask someone to pray with you. Get the help you need. The servant saw the army correctly. He just could not see the whole mountain.

I pray that the Lord opens your eyes. May you see what he wants to reveal, recognize Jesus with you, and know what to do with what you see.

If you want to grow in seeing in the Spirit, that is why I made SEEING IN THE SPIRIT for you. It is the audiobook, and it comes with a personal prophetic letter from me. It will train you to recognize what God is already showing you: Get SEEING IN THE SPIRIT (audiobook) here.

If you want to go deeper in this, come into the Inner Circle. It is where we practice hearing God and seeing in the Spirit together, week after week: Go deeper in the Inner Circle.