From SILT to Living Water
“Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” JOHN 7:38 NLT
Water. From Genesis 1 through Revelation 22, water factors prominently in God’s plan of creation and redemption. As the Spirit of God hovered over the deep waters at Creation, He brought form to what was void by creating an expanse between the waters, calling it “sky,” after which He gathered the waters to one side, letting dry ground appear and calling it “land.” And it was good.
But with the fall of man through sin, God’s heart was grieved and He regretted even creating mankind. The same waters over which He hovered to bring forth all life would be used to destroy it—with the exception of the righteous man, Noah, and his family. Then God made an everlasting covenant in which the waters would never again become a flood to destroy all of life.
Yet the sinful nature of mankind did not perish in the Flood; it resurfaced as quickly as a beachball bobbing up in a swimming pool. Throughout the accounts of the patriarchs in Genesis leading to the eventual exodus from Egypt, sin abounds as God’s chosen people try to take matters into their own hands. Finally, the prophet Moses leads the Israelites out of the clutches of Pharaoh, only to be pursued by his army of horsemen and chariots.
With an impending ambush behind them and the Red Sea before them, the Israelites are drowning in their own fear before even setting foot in the water. But their emboldened leader says, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
But in his next breath, the Lord God says to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. But lift up your rod and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.”
Do we have a mixed message here? Moses commanded the people to stand still. Then God told Moses to tell them to go forward. While this seems contradictory, Moses was simply imparting faith to his people that God would act on their behalf. And God was stretching Moses as a leader to exercise his authority to act as His representative. Moses obeyed God’s instructions and the people followed.
The redemptive path God had chosen for them was already there, before they even reached the edge of the Red Sea. But it was not readily apparent because it was submerged, literally under water, obscured by their limited perspective. It took the faith and obedience of their leader to overcome the obstacle blocking their exodus and enable them to march through to victory.
How many times do we struggle to hear God’s voice clearly? Sometimes it seems as if our heads are under water, our ears pressed and plugged. Or maybe like Jonah, we feel like we’re sporting turbans of seaweed, held captive in the belly of a fish. We know scripturally that God is able to make our path straight, but we can’t seem to navigate our way through the murky depths.
This is when we ask the Holy Spirit to part the troubled waters of our lives—those dark places muddied by stress, fear, inadequacy, unresolved issues from the past, the lies of the Accuser—and reveal the path of truth that will lead to freedom. When Philippe and I teach about inner healing prayer, we sometimes use an acronym, SILT, to describe potential areas in our lives where Satan may have gained a point of entry, blocking the flow of living water through us.
Silt in the natural is a type of sediment composed primarily of granular broken quartz which can negatively impact human health, wetlands and coastlines, and fish migration. In our ministry, we use it as an acronym standing for Sin, Iniquity, Lies, and Trauma, all of which erode the pathways of life, creating obstacles in our ability to hear the voice of God. As we assess these areas in our own lives or in those to whom we are ministering, asking the Holy Spirit to help us identify places where the enemy has gained legal access to the realm of the soul, He works with us to part the waters, clear away the silt, and reveal the path to freedom through prayer.
The Ambassadorial Prayer Team (APT) is trained to come alongside pastors and leaders needing prayer for direction and clarity in their lives and ministries, helping to part the waters in order to reveal the Lord’s plan. We are available as individuals or couples to pray by email, phone, or WhatsApp for those within the MICN community who would like to receive prayer for any reason. We invite you to take a step towards greater freedom so rivers of living water will flow unobstructed through your life. Feel free to contact me by email, jan@micn.org, to arrange an appointment.
Jan de Chambrier
MICN Prayer Ambassador
