Ways God Speaks 8

Let’s continue our study on the ways God speaks or communicates with us by learning about mental visions or pictures, or what I sometimes call mini visions.

Most people think in pictures. If someone says, “I just bought a red bicycle, motorcycle, or automobile, you will probably see that object in your mind’s eye.

We are made in the image of God, and just as He saw everything prior to speaking it into creation, so too, we have the ability to see spiritually and mentally. Because we think in pictures, the Father often relates to us in a pictographic manner.

Jesus used parables. When you read the parable of the Sower you can immediately imagine a farmer broadcasting his seed over the ground, and the productiveness of each soil, depending upon its condition and level of care.

Or when you read the story of the prodigal son, you can mentally see him taking off from home to spend his inheritance on lavish living and waste. Then, after depleting his entire inheritance, having to feed swine in a foreign land to scarcely survive. You can also picture the father running out to meet him when he approached home to ask for his father’s forgiveness and a job as a servant, but instead receiving a royal welcome and celebration for his safe return home.

Often when someone explains or breaks down a difficult subject to a friend, that person may say, “Okay. Now I see.” They heard the person speak, but said, “Now I see.” They were able to track what that person was saying in some type of mental picture that made everything understandable to them.

Ask someone in your home to describe something to you and see if you do not follow them with some type of mental picture. For example, if they said, “I swam across the English Channel last year. The water was very cold, and I was constantly concerned about sharks because of recent reports of individuals spotting swarms of them in the same location.”

It would be difficult to not think of your friend or family member jumping into the English Channel and swimming in shark infested waters.

The Father made us to relate to mental images and pictures. That is how we remember how to drive home, find our favorite restaurant or store. We memorize the route, and can easily go there in our mind because we can visualize it. This happens so naturally, we do not give it much thought, but it is one of the main ways we comprehend.

After the Lord called the prophet Jeremiah, He began to teach him how to discern what He was communicating to his understanding.

11) Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Jeremiah, what do you see?" And I said, "I see a branch of an almond tree." 12) Then the LORD said to me, "You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word." 

13) And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, "What do you see?" And I said, "I see a boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north." 14) Then the LORD said to me: "Out of the north calamity shall break forth on all the inhabitants of the land.  Jeremiah 1:11-14

There are many examples of visions being the source of revelation for several individuals in the Bible. That was the means God spoke to them to make known His purpose, plan, and power.

14) For God may speak in one way, or in another, Yet man does not perceive it.  15)  In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while slumbering on their beds, 16) Then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction. 17) In order to turn man from his deed, and conceal pride from man, Job 33:14-17

Here in Job we see this element of God communicating with man through visions and dreams. Although this is slightly different than the mental pictures we see every day, it can still be grouped with the pictures in our mind where we gain understanding.

The Father will often use this method of communication to warn us, or give us a burden of prayer for someone in need. This is especially helpful for those who pray in the Spirit in other tongues.

A well-known Bible teacher shared a story that illustrates this point. He said one day, he began to think about his old Sunday School teacher, who he had not thought of or seen for several years. This continued for several days and then lifted.

Sometime later, he learned this dear friend had died, and realized the Father had given him a mental picture of this man as someone in need of intercessory prayer, but he (according to him) was too dull to grasp it at the time.

The Bible teacher later learned the man had been bitten by some type of insect, and experienced a fatal reaction and never recovered. He suddenly understood why he repeatedly saw his old Sunday School teacher in his mind for several days prior to this horrific incident.

The Father works through us as we yield to Him. He does not force His will on anyone. He gives us the privilege of choosing Him and His will.

Let us pray to become more sensitive to the Father's still small voice, His gentle witness in our spirit, and the mental visions He plants in our spirit and mind. It could be lifesaving.

We will continue to look at the ways God speaks in our next post. Until then, may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ richly bless and keep you!

James Brown CST

07/15/2025