God is calling all those whose spirits have been in hibernation – or have not yet been awakened – to awake from their slumber. And He is going to use those who love Him and worship Him in spirit and in truth to do it.

As I sat alone in the sanctuary at my church last night, I soaked in the silence and in the sense of the Lord’s Presence and His Peace like a sponge. And then I began to worship Him in tongues. (If you’ve never done this, I exhort you to give it a try. If you surrender your voice to Him, the Holy Spirit will give you songs to sing that even have melodies and verses and choruses.) I sang one song for ten or fifteen minutes and then sat in silence again for a few minutes before another song began to pour out of my spirit. As I began to sing the second song in the spirit, I saw the image of a big brown bear standing upright at the front of the sanctuary. It was batting its paws and moving its head around as though it was being attacked by a swarm of bees.

This morning I asked the Lord what it meant and heard:

Daughter, your beautiful singing, your worship, was assaulting the ears of the bear. It could not stand listening to your praises, and was fighting the awakening that your voice and your passionate love for God was calling it to. The bear has been in hibernation for a long time, and just like you can be grouchy when you first wake up, it was unable to tolerate the sound of your singing, or the joy that you were radiating.

There are people in your midst whose spirits have been in hibernation for many years. Some have fallen asleep because of hope deferred. They have abandoned their first love, and their faith has waned. There are others whose spirits have never been awakened, who are not yet born again. They too are unable to tolerate – or understand – your love, your joy and the passion of your worship.

I asked the Lord why He was showing this to me and what we are to do about it, and heard:

Do not stop, Daughter! Let your praises ring out. Continue to worship and adore the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life – no matter how much the bear protests or how viciously he acts towards you. He cannot harm you and neither will they.

The following verse of scripture came to mind:

“Awake, o sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine upon you.” Ephesians 5:14

Keep worshipping and honouring Me. Make worship (which is more than just singing songs) and praise your first priority. Keep singing, Daughter – and giving praise to God for the things He has done – in the congregation.