My adventures with Holy Spirit in different market place settings began back in 2008. Since that time, I have lost count of the number of encounters where I have seen peoples’ lives interrupted by Heaven in the best possible way! This blog sets out to chronicle just some of these encounters over the most recent few years.
Though not every interaction is recorded in this blog, I do believe that the impact of each and every encounter with the Lion King Jesus, no matter how small, whether remembered or forgotten, ripples on into eternity. Each person encountered so unspeakably precious to Him.
I firstly want to say that I was not born a naturally bold person. I was extremely shy as a child and still now I could hardly be called an extravert! But I have found that something extraordinary happens when the King of Love captures your heart with His relentless love for those who don’t yet know Him. I honestly surprise myself at some of the situations I find myself in! This kind of stuff is crazy!! But boldness comes by “bolding it”, I have discovered. You don’t have it until you step into it without knowing it is there!! Sometimes you feel it, sometimes you don’t. I hope you’ll see in the posts that I certainly don’t go around feeling “strong and courageous” all the time!! My lame feelings don’t seem to stop Him encountering others through me, though – and aren’t I glad of that?!
When I first started market place adventures, they were mostly prophetic in nature. I have always loved hearing Father God’s voice and it still thrills me today when I sense He has shared something to encourage another person. It is so moving when someone realises through a message given by a total stranger, that God is real, that He knows them intimately and cares for them deeply. I will never tire of seeing the power of the prophetic word bring people to tears, amazement, thoughtful silence!. Do all the words I share hit the mark? No!! There are times when I “miss” either partly or completely! I am ever learning and aiming for greater and greater accuracy. Which means taking more risk and being open to more mistakes!! Above all, I ask the Father to help me walk in His compassion and love for individuals, just as Jesus did, whether the prayer or word I give people “lands” or not.
The first ever person I encountered was a dear lady cleaning a stair well in a town shopping centre. Her name was Vanessa. I remember passing her on my way in to the shops and just knowing that Father had something He wanted to share with her. I fought it for as long as I could! I hid in a shop for a good while trying to look at items absentmindedly but was so sure that I needed to go and find this lady and talk with her. I made a deal with God! If the lady was still there when I went back and if He gave me something very clearly to say to her - then I would go and say it !
As I set off for the stair well, trembling with nerves and pumped with adrenaline, I felt like Holy Spirit gave me an insight into this lady’s life. It was about her never having known the love of an earthly father (risky!)……And – yes you have guessed it! – she was still there on the stairs! As I shared the “download”, Vanessa started crying and I was able to speak the love of the Heavenly Father over her life and pray for her, even as shoppers passed us on the stairs. It was so precious. Electric. Humbling. I was divinely hooked – and I still am.
I am constantly learning on the job. The last four years or so I have seen a real increase in physical healings. I have pursued this intentionally and I am still very much on this journey. I have seen some amazing healings but I long to see much more. Sickness and pain are an injustice – Jesus suffered and died to release us from them - and I want to partner with Him to see many more people healed and set free. The first healing I remember was with a lovely young lady called Lori. She had chronic pain in her hip from a car accident two years before. I was more astonished than she was when the pain left her body after a couple of times of praying! She had felt deep cold in the area as I prayed – like a divine ice pack! It was so cool in every sense of the word! You don’t have to have hands burning with” healing fire” as you pray for people, or for them to experience heat - or any sensation - for healing to happen.
More recently I have tried to record short interviews with those who have experienced healing after I pray. Some of these clips are included in the blog posts. You can often hear the background sounds of the high street or shopping centre in these clips. These are real places with all kinds of stuff happening around you. Including security guards and police patrolling the area! I have seen Holy Spirit keep shops empty or keep security away at just the right moments though. Not that I have anything to hide!! But many of these towns and cities are multicultural places with sensitive community issues, so I try to be discreetly bold!.
As you read accounts of encounters I have had with those in my places of influence, I pray that you will become excited about encounters that are waiting for you to step into in yours!! I am an ordinary person. What I have seen, you can see – and far more! The risks in “having a go” are so worth it. The things that hold me back from trying are usually pathetic ! Staying in our “comfort zone” is grossly overrated. I don’t beat myself up, though, if I chicken out occasionally. I go back to the Father and ask Him what was really behind my wimping out. Every day calls for fresh courage! And every day holds the possibility of beautiful encounters between Heaven and earth. What a privilege to be a part of it all.
Here’s to the ‘have-a-go’ bold who step out of the boat one cold, wet toe at a time! We’ll see Jesus lead us out into exciting new waters - and end up dancing on the waves one day!!
Peace and Joy in our Laughing Lion.
Gilly
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Alternatively, email me at Gillyroyal555@gmail.com.