Spiritual Mountains

Have you ever experienced being in the presence of the Lord and not wanting to come down or from out of this special place where you ascend to while in worship and praise? I can’t really say that I understand with my soul what is going on at these times, but I can say that my spirit loves this secret place and the time I spend there. It is what I experience when singing and praying in my spiritual language my understanding doesn’t know what I am saying because in the spirit I am speaking exclusively to God.

The presence of the Holy Spirit is so powerful at these times that all I know is that I am free to pray, praise, worship and to love God with all of my heart. Nothing and no one can stand in my way, only my decision to hold back or draw back will hinder me. In this place breakthroughs take place in the spirit which haven’t even manifested yet, or they may manifest on the spot. Whatever the case may be, in the spirit realm there is so much activity. Healings take place (emotional, mental, spiritual and every other kind) they come into manifestation and fruition. Restoration, renewals, refreshing, purging, pruning, cleansing, and deliverances are wrought and revelations emerge and are made known.

We rise to diverse levels where we can receive what is most needful for our lives. All of this activity is going on while we worship and praise God out of a pure heart. I liken this time and activity to ascending up to or standing on a mountain, a place so high above what is normal consciousness, so I am comparing it to a mountain. It is an amazing awareness to savor this spiritual ascension. Think about it for a moment! We take off layers and layers of self and put on our garments of praise. God raises us up to stand on mountains. There are many mountains to rise to in His presence.

Just as Moses we should always remember to take off our shoes in this holy place that we are entering or standing because it is holy ground and we are in the presence of a Holy God. Shoes symbolizing all that covers our feet which has nothing to do with the holiness God is. We should not allow the cares of this life, any of our circumstances or situations, and none of our problems which can cover our feet to sway our paths in any other way but towards God.

Prior to prayer, worship and praise I like to take what I call a bath of repentance or a spiritual bath, so to speak. I examine myself so that I can be in right standing to proceed. The soap or cleansing agent is the blood of Jesus. I acknowledge that I will not be able to climb the mountain without the blood for the remission of every sin. After completion of this act of consecration then I am on my way to the throne of God. I am cognizant of my position, and what needs to happen to get me in His presence. Only sin can separate me from God, but because of Jesus, nothing can separate me, but me.

My attitude changes and so does my mind set. Am I in right standing to proceed? Have I cleared all the clutter in my way? It is imperative to me to do this spiritual cleansing prior to going into worship at home or church. Before arriving or stepping across the portal of the Church door that I have prayed prior to going into the worship and praise service. Then I can be arrayed by the Holy Spirit in my priestly garments which were purchased for me by the blood of Jesus Christ and proceed up the mountain of praise. He raises us up to stand upon mountains. I say mountains plural because it doesn’t seem every mountain is the same. The mountain of praise and worship is different than the mountain we go to pray. On the mountain of praise we do exactly that we worship God, we don’t ask Him for anything, we thank Him for everything.

The mountain of praise is where we go to give Him love, adoration; we exalt, magnify, and extol Him there. When we go to the mountain to pray, we usually have requests to make so we make petitions there. See the difference? I love to praise Him because He is worthy of all praise, honor and glory. While we are up on the mountain we are quenching our thirst with living waters, filling our spirits to running over. We satisfy hunger, feeding on His righteousness alone. Our faith is being made more unfeigned than when we came up. We descend with more faith to equip us for the journey, renewing it every time we venture upward. New anointing oil is released in and through us which refreshes us, this we need on a daily basis. I need my daily portion to face the day.

Experientially dwelling on the mountaintop is when you are standing above all valleys and low places because you have climbed to the high place called the mountain. The mountain I am referring to is a place of spirit or a spiritual mountain, so to speak. The mountain is a place where the spirit soars to. It is also known as the secret place, where you ascend to worship and praise God individually and meet up with other worshippers collectively, yes, they too are up on the mountain. We join in with the Holy Angels who never stop praising God, singing Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. They influence our praise and we join in to the ongoing worship service of heaven.

There is an innumerable host of worshippers. If you are a spectator you may be able to see them, but if you are a worshipper in the spirit you won’t, because you came to worship God and Him only, unless you are receiving some revelation He is sharing with your spirit. It is an elevation, highland, a peak experienced in a life of praise and worship. How do I reach the mountaintop? The path is the same for all of us, but how we reach it is a personal endeavor. Your experiences on the way to the mountain may differ from mine, just as your experience while on the mountain may differ. I think it would be safe to say that no experience is quite the same. There will be details in my journey which are different from yours. But the way to the mountain is the same; Jesus is the way to it, the truth you will find when you arrive and the life you will certainly attain.

Mountaintop experiences are so grandeur and magnificent in our lives. Just the thought of God is a mountaintop idea. The thought alone is enormous and helps the soul to navigate to greater thinking, and is the basis for all sound thought. Did you give God some thought today? Mountaintop idea! Prayer is a mountaintop endeavor. Unwind, take off the layers of self and cares. Put on your praying garb, you will need them to continue upward. Take repentance as your compass to clear the path, you wouldn’t want to forget where you are going, you are on your way to meet with God, up to the spiritual mountaintop.

Usually mountain climbers delight to take each step carefully to accomplish this lofty goal. I can only imagine that in the case of earthly mountain climbing they envision their destiny, reaching the mountaintop. What is so special up at the top that it is such a quest? For us God is that special at the top or above it all. Our focus is God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This standpoint is a greater view, everything below is in perspective, it is small in comparison to who made the mountain and is above it.

Our spirits know the way to this high place because it is seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus, which is far above every mountain, but for our position here on earth we will settle for our mountaintop experiences through prayer, praise and worship and all that it entails as we occupy until He comes again. I would think it is a place high above everything, it is a suspended or up in the air type of experience. To gaze downward the valley would be so distant and small you could barely know its landmark. What cares, see you forgot all about them. From such a height the valley would seem invisible. However, just to know that the valley does exist below reinforces reality. Think about the distance the valley is from the mountaintop. Wouldn’t it be great just to stay on the mountaintop forever? It is the awareness of this lofty pursuit that builds fortitude. The way is through our blessed Lord. Worship, praise, thanksgiving, prayer, and fasting, are exercises which all of the faith leaps we take land us, on the spiritual mountaintop every time.

Worshipping God in spirit, and in truth

(John 4:20-24) In this dialogue between Jesus and the woman at the well, the woman told Jesus that her forefathers worshipped in a mountain, but went on to say that it is said that the place men ought to worship is in Jerusalem. Jesus went on to tell her that a time is coming when worship that took place on the physical mountain or in Jerusalem wouldn’t be prevalent any longer. He went on to say that she worshipped but knew not what. This signifies or indicates that the focus and attitude for worship was not pivotal. God is not a what or a question, but a who which is an answer. He added, that they knew what worship was because salvation was of the Jews, and that the hour was coming, and now was that true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth because the Father seeks such to worship Him. It is not a physical mountain or place that should be the focal point, but rather your heart or spirit being risen with Christ in God and being in the right place, centered in the truth that God is. It is worship excellence.

In spirit, we magnify God over our situations and circumstances, we make Him bigger and greater than any problems, tests and trials we may be going through and when we exalt Him like we should, suddenly the problem just shrinks and shrinks and we find ourselves at the top of the mountain singing and worshipping God; in His presence surrounded by His glory, immersed in His love. Why because we magnify God. Think of a magnifying glass for a moment. I am sure you have gazed through one at some point in this life. What does the glass do? It enlarges, and zooms what you are focusing on. That is what we are doing when we praise God. We are seeing Him magnified over every aspect of life. The truth is that God is greater than any and everything we can possibly have to endure and with Him all things are possible.

It happens gradually, just like the ascent to the mountaintop. Every step we take in worship and praise takes us closer to the top. It is an exuberant place to be. Unlike the valley with its desolation and you never can tell what you will see in the valley. In the valley you may find sin, death, evil, dry bones, sorrow, pain, unrest, and all the other bitter chords that this low place reverberates. How do I escape going to the valley? Choosing who made both places is the escape from the valley. Some scenarios of this life play out in the emptiness of a wilderness and valley scene. Some of us know the ole valley song very well. Its music is somber and sad. If I had not gone through the valley though, I would not appreciate the mountain so much. Joy is always present on the mountain, you just flow and overflow in it.

The psalmist made a decision for himself, he said, (Psalm 34:1) I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. In Psalm 34:3 he invites us to join him, O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. Today the us or we means you and me. He was saying praise is what I do, come join me it is what you should be doing also. Let’s go up to the mountain so that we can be high enough and the way clear enough to praise our God, let’s soar! We receive while we are there, questions are answered, decisions can be made, we travel from faith to faith and glory to glory. The song of the mountain is Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! It is what all mountaintop dwellers sing. Hallelujah is the chorus to sing going through the valley too; it is the way out of the valley. SHOUT HALLELUJAH when you are going through the valley, it will place you above and not beneath and you will stand in the place ordained just for you. You were created to praise God. There is no speedy way out of the valley, sometimes you just have to press on through it. Follow the path called praise. Worship is a way of gladly reflecting back to God the radiance of His worth.

An earthly mountain

Earthly mountains are made up of earth and rock materials. The outermost layer of the Earth or the Earth's crust is composed of seven primary plates. When two plates move or collide with each other, vast land areas are uplifted, forming mountains. There are many different mountains and none are the same.

A spiritual mountain

Spiritual mountains are produced by all movement you make upward. These mountains are formed through praise and prayer. When prayer and praise are blended together they form an atmosphere in which our spirits are uplifted and land on spiritual mountains. Can you see the mountains? I pray you can with your spirit. These mountains can’t be seen with physical sight.

Look up and to the hills which comes your help and strength. The height you desire to go turns the valley into a remote place and the hills into mountains where the presence of God satisfies us completely. May God richly endow you with the Spirit of Praise