Experiencing God’s presence through authentic communion with Him and one another
A Defining Moment:
“Don’t call me Lord anymore unless you are willing to live for Me.”
That was God’s response to me one day in 1981, when I fell to my knees and cried out, “Lord, I can’t take this anymore.” It wasn’t an audible voice, but His conviction pierced my heart.
At the time, I was living with a girl while professing to be a Christian, and one of my best friends had just been killed in a drug deal. The reality hit me: I could no longer serve both God and the devil. I wanted all the benefits of God’s blessings without surrendering to His Lordship. I was trying to drink from the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.
In that defining moment, I prayed:
“Lord, if You can do anything with someone like me—who has broken Your heart and brought shame to Your name—then I give You the right to do whatever You need to do to change my life. I want to be available to You, no matter the cost.”
He heard my prayer. And He took me at my word.
Over 40 years later, I have seen God’s miraculous power and revival all over the world. If He could change me, He can certainly do the same for you. Whatever road you’ve been on, God has prepared you for such a time as this. With Him, all things are possible.
The Five Sins of the Wilderness:
Years ago, while meeting with a group of former street kids, gang members, and addicts, I told them: “Let’s make a spiritual Brook of Kidron.”
In the Old Testament, Kidron was a place where idols were destroyed and impurities poured out before the Lord (2 Kings 23; 2 Chronicles 29:16; 30:14). Spiritually, I challenged them to surrender everything that captured their hearts more than Jesus.
Without me naming specifics, they began bringing items from their rooms and cars—symbols of their sins, lusts, and idols—throwing them in the middle of the room and destroying them. The presence of God fell, and revival broke out. The ripple effects continue even today.
The Israelites, however, refused to let go of their impurities, and it cost them dearly. Paul warned in 1 Corinthians 10 that five sins kept Israel wandering for 40 years:
Paul wrote:
“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.” (1 Corinthians 10:21)
The same is true today. We can attend church and profess Christ, but if our hearts remain divided, we cannot walk in the fullness of God’s prophetic destiny.
Renewed Expectations:
After the resurrection, two disciples encountered Jesus on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24). They had walked with Him for years, yet they didn’t recognize Him. They were talking about Him, reflecting on His ministry, but were blinded by disappointment. Much is revealed in their words:
“…we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.” (v. 21)
Like them, many today miss God’s presence because they hope in their own expectations instead of His. But when the disciples invited Him in—“Abide with us”—their eyes were opened as He broke bread. Their revelation of Jesus was renewed, and soon after, they worshiped with great expectation in the upper room until the outpouring of Pentecost.
I believe God is raising up a prophetic generation who will no longer live in disappointment, but with fresh vision and expectation. They will walk in a renewed revelation of Jesus and be empowered by the Holy Spirit to prepare the way for His return.
A Supernatural Outpouring:
True revival is more than a powerful service—it transforms individuals, communities, and even nations. I’ve seen it firsthand in places like Fiji, Uganda, Vietnam, Australia, and Colombia.
In Cali, Colombia, during the height of cartel violence, the Church united in prayer. They confessed, “We don’t have the capacity to change this, but we serve a supernatural God.” And God moved mightily. He still moves today.
But revival always begins with us. We cannot expect His holy presence while clinging to impurity.
The Holy Presence of God:
What God has done in the past is only a glimpse of what He longs to do in this generation. But it begins with honesty before Him.
Is there anything you need to throw into the Brook of Kidron—any impurity, idolatry, or hidden sin? These are the things that kept Israel from their promised land, and they will keep us from ours.
My prayer is for a supernatural outpouring of the Holy Spirit—bringing conviction, healing, and restoration. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. When we surrender fully, His Spirit works through us with power.
Discerning the Body:
Paul connected the five sins of the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10) with the way we approach the Lord’s Table in 1 Corinthians 11:
“But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” (vv. 28–29)
Authentic communion requires humility, unity, and purity. We cannot harbor bitterness, unforgiveness, or division and expect to experience His presence in fullness.
Isaiah cried, “Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips” when he encountered God’s holiness (Isaiah 6:5). The same happens when we truly discern the Lord’s body. His holiness humbles us, His grace cleanses us, and His Spirit unites us.
Our eyes, ears, and thoughts are gateways to our hearts. What we allow in shapes who we become:
“As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7)
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23 NIV)
Choose Your Table:
Jesus hears us when we invite His presence. He responds when we say, “Abide with us.”
But the choice is ours: will we sit at the Lord’s table in authentic communion, or continue partaking at the table of the world?
Today, God is calling a prophetic, multi-generational army to rise—set apart, consecrated, and filled with His Spirit. Let us give ourselves wholly to Him, discerning His body rightly, so we may walk together in His power and His purpose.
Whose table will you choose? By the Lord’s Grace may we all choose His table!
BY DOUG STRINGER
