Jennifer Eivaz:
Voices Everywhere
Linda walked into the prayer service for the first time. I've never met her before and observed her professional look and demeanor. My prayer teams are very sensitive and easily detected her issues. They kept control of the room's atmosphere despite what Linda brought in and continued on as she sat and observed. Linda would close her eyes at different times or drift into some Bible reading. Other times, she would look around the room as if confused. She was always swift to leave at the end.
As time went on, various persons tried to reach out to her. She would get angry just enough to shut you down or argue with you just enough to keep you at a distance. I was one of the few persons that could reach her. Linda finally confessed to the problem. She was "hearing voices". She wanted help, but didn't realize how much life would have to change in order to get a grip on that world.
I understood what Linda was experiencing. I've always heard voices even as a small child. I connected it to being in-tune with the spirit realm. I didn't become a Christian until I was a freshman in college, and a year later I was delivered from occult spirits.
I grew up as a Mormon and occasionally dabbled with spirits and other occult activities in ignorance. Even though I loved Jesus, my actions resulted in a very rough season of deliverance. I was truly set free and experienced real authority in Christ, only to be thrown into a very loud and intense world of... voices.
Now I was hearing voices in the air, voices in my mind, and voices of spirits. It was intense and things never did quiet down. At first, I wanted to be alone as much as possible; being in crowds was painful and I began to crave and treasure silence. When things didn't change, it left me with the typical questions, "Am I schizophrenic? Am I demon-possessed? Or, do I have a really weird gift from God?"(Photo via flickr)
"Get Out Of My Thoughts!"
The reason I thought I might have something from God is because I started to hear people's thoughts. Let me explain that. I know that husbands and wives often know each other's thoughts without thinking too much about it. It's a sign of intimacy between them. I also read in the Bible that Jesus would perceive people's thoughts and He would answer their thoughts appropriately. This gave Jesus an advantage in difficult crowds.
Since my experience was in the Bible, I felt better about it but not for reasons you might think. I didn't know everyone's waking thought nor did I want to. I would often hear or feel someone's strongest thought and would even attempt to speak into it when I felt God's permission. Now years later, this activity flows quite naturally with me, and I usually don't think about it before I've said something revealing to the person I'm with. This has earned me, however, the uncomfortable rebuke from some to, "Get out of my thoughts!"
It took me years to sort it out, but I had received the gift of "discerning of spirits" (see 1 Corinthians 12:10) that operated sympathetically. Because everything has a voice to it, through this gift, I was hearing or feeling the voice of pretty much everything until I learned how to manage it.
The Gift Of Discerning of Spirits
I'll try to describe how it works. God has created everything with His word and all creation is designed to praise Him. If the people of earth fail to praise God, the Bible says even the rocks will cry out (see Luke 19:40). It's fascinating that the voice of praise can be triggered within the rocks should human creation fail to do so. I'm bringing this out to demonstrate that everything has the capacity to "sound off" under certain conditions.
There is a voice (or "sound") on land, in the air, in people groups, in animals, in objects, and on and on. Often that sound becomes painful or aggravating to me when something has corrupted it. I'll hear or feel the voice of the problem in my mind, on my skin, in my emotions, just to name a few. If you are experiencing this and don't know what it is, you will definitely think you're crazy.
The gift of discerning of spirits is allowing you to hear creation "sound off." Your next task will be to intercede until creation praises and responds properly to God again. When it does, you'll be at peace.(Photo via wordpress)
In my world, this has resulted in much deliverance of land in my city. For example, the north area of our city began to "release a sound" several years ago. That area was barren and only dirt for miles. The voice sounding off the land put feelings of aggravation in me before turning to head-trips and night terrors. The Holy Spirit told me exactly what it was. There was an occultic spirit on the land. When that spirit was finally removed through intercession, the entire area went through radical transformation.
Mass construction came in within that year. Homes, schools, and shopping centers were built. We even bought a new home there! When land is delivered from a demonic stronghold, think of Daniel's "Prince of Persia" as another example of this; it will visibly come under the blessing of God. The land can now respond properly and there will be results you can point to. This land deliverance happened because I began to hear and feel the voice of the problem and it drove me into intercession just to get my peace back.
Is This a Gift From God Or a Mental Disorder?
We have a very sophisticated medical community in America. Without the medical community, a lot of us would be dead or very impaired. I completely honor our medical community and their successes. In the midst of this, there still isn't consistent consideration of the spiritual aspects of many diseases and disorders. This unfortunately leaves a whole group of people broken and mislabeled.
Consider the woman who was bent over for 18 years and then healed by Jesus of a spirit of infirmity (see Luke 13). In today's medicine, she would be labeled as crippled, or with MS, or perhaps scoliosis. She didn't have any of those diseases. The Bible says she had a spirit of infirmity. That's a demonic spirit and not a medical condition. When Jesus cast it out, she was made well.
The same goes for the young boy who was having mental fits and trying to kill himself (see Mark, chapter 9). Medically, he would have been labeled epileptic, schizophrenic, or psychotic and given medication in today's world. The true issue was spiritual. He was possessed by a deaf and dumb spirit.
There is a medical label for nearly everything and a medicinal approach to most of it. If it's a physical problem, then it should respond to most physical treatments. When it's a spiritual problem, it will not respond. When it's a spiritual problem, it won't respond to doctor's orders and the condition will even tend to get worse with medicine.
When people are hearing voices or experiencing extreme mood swings, we are quick to label these persons as schizophrenic or bipolar. I do think it's important to first rule out any physical causes. If diet, medication, reducing stress, and all such remedies fail, then it has to be rooted in something else. In these cases, I do believe it's a spiritual issue and if you can go there with me... it just might be God! I've walked this out thoroughly and have discovered it to be true in my life and many others.
A Gift You Learn to Walk Out
If that's you, will you consider that you are not crazy, but actually gifted? The gift of discerning of spirits can manifest as "hearing voices" and having "extreme mood swings". I've said many times that I can have a mood swing depending on what house I'm standing in front of.
This is a gift you learn to walk out. It requires a heavy diet of the Word, prayer, and self-discipline to keep corrupted atmospheres or voices and sounds from ruling you. The Word has to rule your feelings because you won't feel normal on most days. It's a muscle of faith that you develop over time. You will live a more sanctified life because of all this. (Photo via wikimedia)
Our church has many people who hear things much like I do. We've all thought we were crazy at one point, but now we've discovered the truth. We have a gift from God and it's an unusual life to live out. This gift is needed, it's spectacular at times, and you'll often know things before others do. Its function, however, will keep you very humble and close to God.
Jennifer Eivaz, Associate Minister
Harvest Christian Church
Jennifer Eivaz is a vibrant minister and international conference speaker who carries the wisdom and fire of the Holy Spirit. She presently serves as an associate minister with Harvest Christian Center in Turlock, CA and is focused on raising up a passionate and effective prayer community that is tempered with love and hears the voice of God accurately. Jennifer loves the Presence of God and is a prophetic voice to her church and to others. Her teaching style is authentic and aimed at the heart having been built on her personal testimony of God's incredible goodness and miraculous display in her life and in the life of her church. Jennifer is a graduate of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She is married to HCC's Senior Pastor Ron Eivaz, and they have two wonderful children. She has written a book calledThe Intercessors Handbook.
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