“I will rain down bread from Heaven” (Ex 16:4)
This week, I’ve been drawn to these words God spoke, as He introduced the provision of manna to Israel during the wilderness journey.
And I believe it contains a timely and anointed reminder for us all, concerning hearing God’s voice!
I hear the Lord saying,
“What I have for you is so abundant, it will be as a deluge from Heaven!”
5 Keys to Hearing God’s Voice ~ from the Manna Story
“I will rain down bread from Heaven”
God is visiting His people in wilderness places, dry areas, and places of test and trial.
He is breaking through failure!
He is bringing life into the barren places—and providing sustenance for every need.
The story of how God provided daily bread to His people in the wilderness has many lessons to encourage us.
And as I reflect upon this in the context of hearing God’s voice, these insights, in particular, stand out:
1. Expect to Receive an Abundance
Hear the heart of the Father in these words from Isaiah:
“…Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.” Isaiah 55:2b NKJV
See with the eye of faith, an abundance of loving thoughts, flowing from God towards you.
This is what the psalmist says,
“How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.”
Psalms 139:17-18 NKJV
An orphan mindset is one of scarcity.
The enemy wants us to believe we have a shortfall of words from our Heavenly Father.
But God is speaking to you continuously, in one way or another.
You will never be short of the empowerment or direction you need.
You can know He is guiding you continually (Is 58:11).
2. Keep a Record of What God Says
“So they gathered it [the manna] every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted.” (Ex 16:21 NKJV)
God gave the bread, but the people still had to gather the bread, because uncollected manna would melt away.
This is the life of relationship and partnership. Our Father gives, we gather!
In the Bible, God has spread a table, laden and rich with a plentiful and continuous food supply.
And the food you gather from His Word today can become His message through you tomorrow!
The same applies to prophetic revelation.
Dreams are a great example of this—if we don’t lay hold of them, they evaporate.
What we neglect, we will forget!
When we value what God is saying to us personally, we will take note of it.
And it will be food to us, as the manna was—not only now, but on an ongoing basis.
“Then the LORD answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.” (Habakkuk 2:2 NKJV)
3. Be Conscious of God’s Affection Towards You!
When God “rained down bread from Heaven” in the form of manna, there was enough for everyone.
Those who could collect more did not receive more (Ex 16:18).
No one was preferred over another person.
What a wonderful picture of God’s favor and provision toward each of His children.
Towards you.
There are no little people in God’s Kingdom.
No one is left out or held back.
He has an abundance of revelation for you, for you are loved unconditionally by God!
Jesus spoke of the miracles He did this way:
“For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.” (John 5:21, NKJV)
The Father was not only sharing what was “necessary” for Jesus to get a job done!
- He was sharing out of love and affection for His Son.
And it is the same for each of us.
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27, NKJV)
4. Receive What Carries the Atmosphere of Heaven
When God said, “I will rain down bread from Heaven”, it set His power in motion to produce what He declared by His word (Gen 1:1-3).
Manna was a physical food, provided supernaturally by God. And it stopped after the Israelites reached the Promised Land (Josh 5:12).
Hear your Father say,
“There is no limit to the way I can supply. Even in the wilderness, when all around you seems barren, I have bread from Heaven for you.”
Being from Heaven, a word that is from God will carry the power of the Holy Spirit, and the atmosphere of Heaven.
It will produce the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23).
And it will bear the stamp of the Kingdom, “righteousness, peace and joy” (Rom 14:7).
Don’t settle for less!
- Turn your face towards that which carries the fragrance and flavor of His Presence
- Words have reproductive power, so lay hold of those words that will reproduce Heaven on earth
“I am raining down bread from Heaven”.
5. See Jesus as the Source of Your Open Heaven
In John 6, Jesus fed a vast crowd of people bread and fish, multiplying them through His hands.
Afterward, He directed the disciples to pick up the leftovers.
Perhaps, these had been left scattered across the ground.
As He contemplated what the Father was doing, was Jesus recalling another era, another supply of bread from heaven?
During the manna years, God supplied enough daily for each person’s needs: no more, and no less.
And yet in this extraordinary act through Jesus’ hands, the Father supplied an overflow.
- Basketfuls of food were left over, plenty to feed the hungry another day.
Afterward, Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven…” (John 6:51a)
The bread was a sign of a Person!
Jesus is the living Bread who has come down from Heaven!
So, open up your heart to receive, your hands.
Your capacity to hear God‘s voice is not based on your merits. It is not accessed through a formula but by faith!
The open Heaven God has for you is through Christ alone!
Child of God, it is your Father’s joy to give, and yours to receive and gather.
He says, “I have fresh bread for you.
I am releasing a deluge of words that will sustain you!”
Related posts:
- 10 Ways You Can Hear God’s Voice
- Holy Spirit: How to Hear God’s Voice More
- Overcoming Barriers to hearing God’s voice.
- Abundance: How to Live an Abundant Life with God
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© 2020 Helen Calder, Enliven Blog
Enliven Ministries: Prophetic ministry for a revival generation
Helen Calder is a prophetic minister and writer, and founder of Enliven Ministries. Helen has a unique gift of equipping in prophetic ministry and prayer. She is known for Enliven Blog (est. 2009), an online resource that reaches thousands of people globally.
Dear Helen,
What a wonderful teaching. Nine years ago on September 9th at 3 am in the morning of our 48th Wedding Anniversary, I had an encounter with Jesus. My late husband and I had been praying fervently about the terrible situation in the world – wars, violence everywhere, corruption etc. “Lord what must we do? What are we doing that we shouldn’t be doing and what should we be doing that we are not doin?” was our prayer. On this night the Lord spoke to me and said “If you are really serious about being instrumental in bringing my Kingdom to come here on earth this is what you must do. You must join my Secret Army. This registered with me immediately as we had both been brought up in England during WW2 and knew how effective the resistance movements in Europe had been in defeating Nazism. You must recognize the existence of Satan but remember I have defeated him. Nevertheless each morning put on the Amour of God. Then use The Lord’s Prayer as ammunition. I didn’t give this prayer to be a nice one prayed in the middle of the church service. Study the words because they are powerful and effective. Thirdly use my Name Jesus as your weapon. It is the most powerful weapon in the world. I knew this was true because on two occasions I’ve been facing certain death and trying to think of a powerful prayer but didn’t get past the Name of Jesus and as you see I’m still here. So each day I speak his Name into the hearts and souls and minds of all I meat including ALL PERPETRATORS OF EVIL. The latter are rarely, if ever prayed for. Fourthly at the end of your prayer bind everyone together with my Love, the Love of Jesus. So I was so encouraged to hear you speak of the importance and power of prayer above everything else and also the emphasize you placed on the power of the Lords Prayer. Thank you Helen and God Bless you.
That is priceless, Gwyneth! Thank you for sharing that powerful truth
Hello Helen,
Thanks and God bless you for all the insights you share with me and all others.
I had this dream and would like to share with you for a deeper insight of it. Still waiting on God for the interpretation.
In a vision I saw a crystal clear tall glass filled with water and a salt container and the salt was being poured into the water. Not long after that while still praying, I saw the figures 705.
I dream that manna and hael was falling from heaven and i was eating the manna,it was yellow and creamy very rich and thick it was so nice i can still taste it in my mouth and i was eating and collecting hael (ice) in buckets.one lady was holding her head and said why did u pray everything u prayed fo happen and it start rain and the lady left.but this lady already pass away
This teaching is powerful and immediately after reading it, I felt like the pressure to work hard to deserve to hear the voice of God and to find the formula to hear Him left me.
Thank you for this teaching
Lesibana From, South Africa
I have been in a desperate struggle to listen to the HOLY SPIRIT. I have read blogs and books. I need prayer, I need help, guidance or whatever i can get to stand on this position.
Hi Bencarson, I can’t give personal counsel on this, but there’s some posts on the blog here that will be helpful
you could start with this one https://www.enlivenpublishing.com/2014/02/04/4-barriers-to-hearing-gods-voice/
Hi Hellen, thank you for your ministry. I received a prophetic word , I prayed and fasted and believed for it , it was about a job, but then I didn’t get it. I’m a young Christian so my faith is really being tested. Any advice on how I can move on from this as stay strong in the faith? I havs known God for a few months and the walk with him is one i don’t want to lose but I’m so discouraged.
Hi Piipa,
I’m praying for you right now! I wrote about this situation here and this may have a thought that helps!
https://www.enlivenpublishing.com/2011/08/23/dealing-with-prophetic-disappointment/