Posted by Spiritual encounters by believers are experiences in the spiritual realm. The Lord communicates to us through encounters as a way of giving revelation or issuing instructions. In as much as encounters are spiritual in nature, they can manifest physically too.
There are different types of encounters by believers. Common encounters are as follows:
- Dreams
- Visions
- Word of knowledge
- Hearing the voice of the Spirit
- Trances
- Angelic visitation in the physical
- Angelic vision in the realm of the Spirit
Dreams
The Lord uses dreams to communicate to believers as they sleep. A dream can carry a revelation or an instruction. Revelation can mean that one gets insight into a mystery or an issue. It can also be an insight into something that will happen in the future. On the other hand, an instruction means that the Lord is telling the believer to do something. In Genesis 37:5-9, Joseph dreamt that he was going to rule over his brothers, and be a great leader.
Visions
A vision is a very powerful type of encounter by believers. It happens when one is awake in prayer or meditating on the word. It happens like a flash of light, in an instance. In a vision, the Lord can give a revelation of a past, current or future event. In Daniel 7:1-28, Daniel had visions about four kingdoms that would rule the earth. These four kingdoms would later fall one after the other before the final and eternal reign of the church. He also saw visions of God, the throne, the courts of justice and the reign of Jesus Christ. A vision is a more reliable channel of revelation as compared to a dream. This is because a believer, who is not strongly founded and rooted, can get a dream from his own mind process. Likewise, one can also have a dream that is a deception by demonic spirits.
Word of knowledge
Word of knowledge is a divine revelation from the Holy Spirit that provides specific facts about a person, situation, or circumstance. This happens when one is conscious but in the Spirit. Word of knowledge as an encounter by believers is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. An example can be when you are about to pray for a barren woman, and the Spirit reveals that her womb is bound by a demon. This word of knowledge will then prompt the man of God to bind the demon first. In Acts 5:1-10, Apostle Peter had word of knowledge that Ananias and Sapphira had lied about the sale of their land.
Hearing the voice of the Spirit
The hearing of the voice of the spirit is another type of encounter by believers. This happens mostly when one is conscious. It can come through prayer or when ministering to believers. The Spirit can speak to the man of God about a situation of a person in the congregation. The voice can be about a past, current or future event. A person afflicted by cancer can be in a prayer meeting and the spirit will speak to the minister about it. Therefore the man of God will call out the man and pray over him.
Trances
Trances happen when the man of God is in deep prayer. Most of the times it happens when one is praying in tongues. With a trance, the man of God becomes physically unconscious but alive in the Spirit. With a trance, the man of God gets to see events and occurrences about past and current events. A certain Pastor’s family members were dying prematurely. Upon deep prayer in tongues, the Spirit through a trance showed him two principalities walking on their home compound. This made him know what to do in the prayer course. In the Bible, in Acts 10:10-20, Peter had a trance. In the trance, he saw Heaven opened and food from unclean animals prepared. The Holy Spirit revealed that he was going to preach to the gentiles.
Angelic visitation in the physical
This type of encounter by believers is very powerful. It happens when an angel physically appears to a believer. In Genesis 18:1-15, Abraham had a physical angelic visitation in an afternoon, just outside his tent. This encounter is confirmed to be physical because Sarah his wife heard Abraham speaking with the angels. She even prepared a meal for the angels as per the request of Abraham.
Angelic vision in the realm of the Spirit
Sometimes an angel can appear to a believer in the Spiritual realm. This can be while praying, ministering or when reading and meditating on the scriptures. A minister of the Lord can have angels in a prayer meeting. These angels are usually assigned to deliver those are bound and need deliverance from a variety of demonic yolks. In such an instance, it’s only the man of God who sees the angels. In 2nd Kings 6:11-17, Elisha saw horses and chariots of fire with angels. It follows that his servant was not able to see the angelic encounter in the physical. However, Elisha prayed and the Lord opened the young man’s eyes in the spirit and he saw them.
Encounters by believers are a sign and wonders that the Lord Jesus Christ mentioned. They are an indication that the servant of God is anointed. Encounters by believers also show that one is at a certain spiritual rank or stature. Some types of encounters are more powerful than others. As an example, visions are more powerful than dreams. Higher encounters are a sign that the servant of God is at a higher stature or rank.
May the Lord bless you.
Am so blessed by this article. God bless the man of God