God is super interested in your creative projects.
The Spirit makes all the difference between a blank sheet and a finished masterpiece. He was able to take the swirling darkness and transform it into the vast universe we now inhabit. He teased the gentle petal of the rose into existence, and ploughed the earth into mighty mountains, rolling hills, and swarming oceans.
And He lives inside you waiting to be called upon.
Whatever you are up to in the world as a Christian you need the Holy Ghost. Even Jesus made it clear that without the Spirit He was powerless to act in His humanity.
All too often though the Holy Spirit is denied or ignored in much that we do. Consigned to the religious activities that happen in a predetermined slot of time sometime on Sunday, He languishes in the heart of a believer waiting to be invited into their every day.
God is not religious.
He has something to bring to the table in all of your creative projects, whatever they may be. The challenge is stopping long enough from our own activity and nervousness to actually hear Him.
Here are three ways in which I have intentionally brought the Holy Spirit into my own creative projects. Hopefully they might inspire you to do the same.
1. Tapping the Flow
In the book of Proverbs 20 verse 5 states:
Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.
The word counsel there means “plan, advice or advise, counsel or purpose”.
For every project you are involved in there is a plan. The Holy Spirit wants to advise and direct you to success and fulfilment. Stopping to draw His counsel from the depths of the heart to the conscious mind is wisdom, and can save you years of heartache and discouragement.
You can of course just ask Him outright, “What do I do next?” I will speak about this simple transaction in the next point. Problem is, we sometimes have so many other things running around our brain, so many variables or unanswered questions, that we can not easily tune our ear to discern His direction amongst the noise.
That’s when drawing counsel becomes essential.
In these instances I lean on the gift of praying in tongues. Equally you could use worship as a way to shift from the natural to the spiritual. The aim is to move from the limitations of our fleshly thinking, and begin to grasp the mind of Christ.
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16
Set aside a minimum of 20 minutes and begin to pray in tongues or sing and worship the Lord. Before you do so, let the Holy Spirit know that you are specifically seeking creative direction for the particular project you have in mind. This intentionality is important for yourself especially, so your mind does not jump around here, there and everywhere. Letting your mind know you have a clear focus is like turning the tuner on the radio to the right station. Much of the difficulty people experience with a wandering mind or boredom in prayer comes down to this simple mistake – not letting you mind know what to look out for.
As you pray and worship focus your mind on receiving. Expect to hear or receive impressions from His indwelling. It could be a picture, word, or just a sense of what to do. Sometimes the impressions are subtle but as you continually practice tapping the flow you will become increasingly sensitive to such things.
Like the flow of water from a pump, your decision to seek counsel and engage your spirit in the process, primes the pump and begins to draw water – thoughts, ideas, plans and purpose. It may take some effort and time, but keep driving the water from the depths until it spills into your consciousness.
Don’t stop too soon. Once the flow begins, even if just a trickle, stay focussed and pray in tounges or worship freely and spontaneously, making sure you record any communications you receive.
This works for any project you are involved in. Whether ministry, business, art, family – the Holy Spirit is right there with creative solutions.
2. Ask
It may seem obvious, but how often is prayer our final resignation rather than our first port of call? We create something or embark upon a project, and then when our masterpiece of human endeavour is complete we ask for Papa’s blessing on it.
How much better to bring Him in at the outset.
Jesus said clearly (several times in fact, just to make the point that we need to be reminded often!) we can simply come and ask the Father anything, and He will be waiting to release His power to aid us in our activities.
I won’t list the instances here, but to be sure, you cannot get more direct than this…
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Matthew 21:22
Ask Him.
I remember in my business, I wanted to hire a virtual assistant. It is something I had never done before and I was nervous about the whole idea. I had gone through the process of sourcing some potential candidates and was left with two. One actually looked perfect. The other I was not so sure about, but had a sense on the inside that I needed to hear Heaven’s thoughts before I made a decision.
I simply asked.
When I do this I tend to write the question down, then turn my ear to the Spirit and just write His answer. I don’t second guess or self edit what I hear. I just write from from my heart without judgment.
He spoke very clearly and told me about the second candidate. He explained that she would take some time to train but would remain faithful and be an asset to my business for years to come. He encouraged patience and left me with the promise of a thorough and diligent helper whom I could trust.
Needless to say, I hired within hours and have never regretted the decision. Because I heard His counsel on the subject it helped me know all was well, even if things were moving slower than expected.
You can also imagine my assistants surprise when one day I told her the story of how Papa had sung her praises, and encouraged me to hire her. It is certainly affirming to know that God is speaking to your boss before he even hires you!
I think she was encouraged.
3. Be Open To Spontaneity
God is speaking all the time, if only we are tuned to hear Him. He speaks through the most unlikely channels at times. One of the most profound life messages He ever dropped in my spirit come whilst watching an absurd movie called, ‘Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure’, back in the day when Keanu Reeves was a geeky teen and not some cool Matrix dude. I won’t tell you what Daddy showed me. Watch the film, He may have a message hidden there for you too. ?
As you go about your daily business have your eyes and ears open for ideas. Don’t limit the Holy Spirt to just your prayer times or church services. He is everywhere, all the time, and knows all things. Don’t you think He might have some gems to drop into your mind as you conduct your everyday? Of course He does.
It is also important to understand that some requests (remember we sought counsel, and asked?) take time to cook in the oven before they are ready for consumption.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get your answers or direction straight away. The Holy Ghost may just need to work a few adjustments in your heart, perspective and perceptions before you are ready to really hear what He has to say.
And then, almost out of the blue, the solution to the problem you have been seeking help for can just bubble up, seemingly out of nowhere.
Be ready to capture it when it does.
Even if your life is fast on the outside, have a corresponding slow lane on the inside where your ear is tuned and leaning in to hear 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
God will not be boxed. Be ready for Him to communicate whenever, wherever and however He wants to.
Leave a comment below how you hear Him speak, or how He has influenced and spoken into your creativity. I for one would love to hear and learn from your experiences, and I am certain other readers would too…
