Priscilla Shirer teaches at the 2018 She Rises Conference. Listen as she teaches that YOU can have an encounter with God if you will first learn to open your eyes to all of His blessings.

and I want somebody to know this today

that sometimes sometimes your

difficulties are less about the Enemy

being against you and more about God

wanting you to show wanting to show you

what it looks like when he is for you

sometimes it’s about him finally wanting

his daughter’s eyes to be open so that

when he shows up they’re sensitive

enough to see him

years and years ago man my babies were

little I remember this because I

traveled to Memphis on one particular

occasion and I remember this because I

was exhausted I was so tired

um you know my kids were small at the

time and I happened to take this

particular trip uh by myself and I

traveled to Memphis and I remember being

so excited when the lady picked me up

from the airport that was a part of the

church that I was going to be

ministering at she took me to from the

airport to the hotel it was an early

evening I was so glad anybody ever been

glad to just go to bed at 8 pm

I could not wait I laid down on the bed

ready to get a good night of sleep and I

was jolted awake about two o’clock three

o’clock in the morning because there was

a train that went by right outside the

window of our hotel

the conductor of the train was sitting

on the horn as the long train blazed

right outside of the hotel where I was

sleeping I sat straight up in bed sort

of alarmed by the noise went and looked

out of the window and realized that

literally the train tracks were right

there and it was one of those very long

trains with a lot of cars that went

whisking by it took a while for the

train to finally pass by and settled I

tried to go uh back to sleep as best I

could

lady came back to pick me up that

particular morning because the

conference started I had to be there

very early in the morning so it was

about 6 30 or so anyway that I was going

to have to get up and get dressed and

get ready for a 7 15 or 7 30 pickup and

so I got in the car and I didn’t really

really say anything no big deal we had a

great day at the conference I went back

to sleep that night thinking of course

that the night before had been a fluke

and that that train wasn’t coming by

again went to sleep about 8 30 9 p.m so

glad to get a good full night of sleep

but 3 A.M you guessed it that train went

roaring by right outside the window I

sat straight up in bed not believing

that this was happening again and I

couldn’t even get back to sleep that

night I couldn’t wait for that sweet

lady to come pick me up the next morning

I sat down in the car and I said so hey

did you know that there is a train

that goes by about three o’clock in the

morning at least the last two mornings

that that I’ve been here that train has

gone by in the middle of the night woken

me straight up out of my sleep and she

had this look of complete horror and

regret written all over her face she

said I am so sorry I didn’t even think

about the fact that that train goes by

because those of us who live in this

community have grown so used to the

sound of the train that it doesn’t even

occur to us when it’s passing through

anymore

it occurs to me that those of us who

live particularly in this western part

of the world where the presence of God

has been so lavishly given to us where

on every street corner we see another

church with a pastor that preaches the

good news of Jesus Christ where we can

turn on Christian radio stations or go

across town to the Christian bookstore

where we live as women in a day and age

and generation where there have never

been ever in history so many bible study

resources by women for women what could

it be that we’ve grown so used to the

blessing of the presence of God that

when the train of God’s glory Falls when

God’s presence comes and marks and and

and permeates our presence that we don’t

even recognize it anymore

that God has so blessed us that we’re

too blessed for our own good

that we don’t see the Fingerprints of

God in our lives that when there’s even

just a hint of disappointment or

discouragement or frustration or

irritation in our life that we are

blinded to the fact that even when

things are dark the light of God’s

presence can still be found if we’ll

just open up our eyes

may we never be desensitized to the

presence of God

and if you have your Bibles and you want

to look with me at a passage of

scripture I’ll just read it to you that

I want to point out today if you still

you know actually use the Bible with

paper Pages like I do

or your iPhone your iPad any manner of

Inez is fine in Luke Chapter 2 there are

a group of people who are about to be in

the presence of God and they’re not even

going to recognize it

I will tell you as you turn to Luke

Chapter 2 that the author Luke wrote

this gospel and recorded these stories

really to show us how to have an

encounter with Jesus to not miss him

when his presence is near and by the way

this is our goal as Believers this is

the reason why he died on the cross of

Calvary so that we could not just know

about him but so that we can encounter

him we’re not just supposed to read in

the Old Testament about how he divided

the Red Sea or caused the walls of

Jericho to come tumbling down or met

with a man named Moses in the form of a

burning bush or showed up as the angel

of the Lord in a wine press while a

fearful timid Gideon was beating out

wine uh threshing wheat rather in that

wine press we’re not just supposed to

read about others that had an encounter

with Jesus we’re not just supposed to

see and applaud and experience the

testimonies of other people they’re

supposed to encourage us to realize that

if regular folks like that can encounter

honor him so can we

and Luke comes along and he writes story

after Story in his gospel to show us

that we can have an encounter with Jesus

these people that he is writing to and

that he’s writing about we’re in a time

of national Decay there is chaos

happening and swirling around them

morally and socially and you and I can

relate to that because they were not

just in a time of national Decay so are

we

our country is in a state of more social

Decay and decline than we’ve ever seen

before and the more God is marginalized

and segmented to the periphery of

society the worse things are going to

get the more he is completely ignored

and disregarded the more we’re going to

see the influx of chaos and destruction

but today I don’t want y’all to worry

about the White House I want to get to

your house

I want to talk about the destruction and

the Decay happening maybe underneath the

roof of your own home Luke is writing

not just then but now to people who need

a savior

folks who are waiting on a hero to show

up and rescue them

from the plight of their own

circumstances Luke was writing to them

but by the Holy Spirit he is writing to

us today for any of you who are in a

state of decline in some area of your

life where we’re seeing against the

backdrop of Darkness this need we have

for the Savior to manifest himself for

us to not just know about him from afar

applauding him and the testimonies of

other people but if anybody wants to

experience him themselves then Luke is

writing to you and I want somebody to

know this today that sometimes sometimes

your difficulties are less about the

Enemy being against you

and more about God wanting you to show

wanting to show you what it looks like

when he is for you

sometimes it’s about him finally wanting

his daughter’s eyes to be open so that

when he shows up they’re sensitive

enough to see him