I learned a lot during training camp but, one of the most impactful was really understanding God sounded like. Hearing his voice is something I have heard before but, it hasn’t always been easy. Hearing the Lord’s voice is so important especially when you’re experiencing a level of spiritual warfare. Knowing what he sounds like helps you determine if what you’re hearing is truly the Lord or someone else trying to convince you that they are the Lord.

During one of our sessions Beka Hardy, the program executive, talked about listening prayer. She explained the importance of hearing his voice and knowing what he sounds like. Then, she walked us through an exercise for 5 minutes. She had us close our eyes and imagine ourselves anywhere with the Lord. She had us search our hearts and minds for questions to ask him but, more importantly, she gave us time to listen to what he had to say to us.

For me, I imagined myself on a beach, laying in the sun as it sets over the ocean with a small bonfire at my feet while the flames flickered against the ocean breeze. Jesus was sitting right next to me. One thing I should preface this story with is, I was feeling a tremendous amount of fear over the past few days. Over the past few months I felt nothing but excitement over this trip and training camp specifically but, the second my foot stepped onto that campus I was very fearful over what was to come. So, being in this calm and tranquil place with the Lord was a welcomed break. I asked a few things but, one of them was why I was so fearful over something I was previously so excited about. He stood up and asked me to follow him, so I did. He led me to a small sailboat, and as someone who gets seasick, I was reluctant to get on a boat. He simply told me to trust him, and I followed him onto the boat. The waves were not large but, they were choppy, and I was waiting for sickness to rise in my throat but, instead I looked at him and knew it would never come.

That was where the exercise ended. I opened my eyes and was instantly relieved of all of my fears. I wasn’t sure if it was spiritual warfare or my own insecurities and anxieties manifesting themselves into overwhelming fear but, what I do know is that all of it had disappeared when I stepped foot on that boat. This was the Lord telling me to trust him and to follow him no matter what the world or my own self-doubt is telling me. One of the things the enemy is best at is whispering lies in our ears and convincing us that they are truth. Through this form of prayer, the Lord tore down those lies that I thought were the truth and replaced it will actual truth.

While the Lord did not answer all of my questions, he showed me what I needed. He knew what I needed and while he could have answered my other questions those were not what was important in that moment. Those questions may never be answered, or they may be answered later either way, those questions ceased to matter when I stepped onto that boat. For me, this was one of the most impactful things I learned over the course of the week. I knew that there was going to be a lot to learn over the week but, this has stayed with me more than others. I know that I will continue to visit that beach no matter what is going on around me.