I. WHAT IS DIVINE VISITATION?
Divine visitation refers to when the heavens and the earth collaborates. The superior – the heavens decides to show mercy, and pay the created – the earth, a visit. Divine visitation can bring about reconstruction (Jeremiah 4:23-24), where a wilderness, barren land becomes a fruitful place.
In Luke 1, Zechariah said God brought light by allowing the ‘Dayspring from on high’ to visit the earth, bringing light into darkness, granting us a savior, so that we being delivered from the hands of our enemies, can serve God in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives.
When God visits; past promises and prophecies are turned into reality. Tangible results are seen. When God visited the earth, in Jesus, by his birth, prophecies given hundreds of years before were fulfilled.
Divine visitation is the answer to every form of frustration and stagnation in your life. Every divine visitation always culminates in supernatural manifestation. When God steps into any difficult situation in your life, His mighty acts, signs and wonders are inevitable.
II. THE RESULT OF DIVINE VISITATION
When the divinity decides to visits humanity, there are some evidences it produces. And these evidences are what we call the result. The results of Divine visitation include:
A. Supernatural Manifestation
Divine visitation, always bring supernatural manifestation. When God steps into any difficult situation which human beings thought are impossible miracles, signs and wonders follow. Gen 3:8, Isaiah 64:1.
B. Restoration (Jer. 27:22; 29:10);
C. Salvation (Luke 19:1 11, Psalm 106:4);
D. Fruitfulness (Gen 18:1-11, Gen 21:1, 1Sam 1:21);
E. Deliverance (Dan 3:14 25, Acts 12:1 11);
F. Healing (Matthew 8:14 -15, John 5:1-9);
G. Manifestation of the glory of God (Matthew 17:1-8);
H. Victory (2Chro 20:20-25);
I. Miracles (Luke 1:26-31)
J. Judgment on the Wicked - Divine visitation of God can also release judgment on the wicked as seen in the following situations: Korah, Dathan and Abiram, (Num. 16:27-30); Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18:20-21); Herod (Acts 12:21-23); Cain (Gen 4:9-16); Egyptians and Pharaoh (Exodus 14:23-31).
III. HOW TO PROVOKE DIVINE VISITATION
To provoke means: To incite into action; To arouse or activate into action; To annoy a person into taking action; To stimulate into action and to Activate.
There are many ways to provoke divine visitation but for the matter briefness and conciseness, we shall be looking at four of those ways by which we can provoke divine visitation and these include:
1. Praise - Acts 16:25 – 26
In Acts 16:25-26, the Bible recorded, “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed”.
Here we see how Paul and Silas organized a music concert which was attended not only by their fellow prisoners but also by the father, Son and the Holy Spirit. One of the things that provoke the hand of God for a speedy intervention is praise. Do you need a speedy intervention of the Almighty in your own matter today, then you have to learn to praise.
2. Prayer and Fasting - Dan 10:1 -12, Acts 2:1-4
Reading from the book of Dan 10:2-3, the bible recorded, In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
Reading through Verse 1-10, we’ll see how Daniel attracted an Angelic Visitation through prayer and fasting. God responds faster when we add fasting to our prayers. Fasting can be said to be a sacrifice that attracts God’s divine presence.
3. Walking in Holiness and Purity - Heb. 12:14, Matthew 5:8
The Book of Heb 12:14 says, Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: and Matt 5:8 added, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God”. God can only be seen when our hearts are pure and our hand clean (Ps 24: 3 – 4).
Holiness simply is to live Godly. - Being in right standing with God. Holiness is the attribute of God therefore to be Holy means to live Godly. For that reason, to provoke a divine visitation, we must live Holy.
4. Exercise Violent Faith - 1 King 18:41
The Bible recorded in 1 Kings 18:4: “And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain”.
One of the ways to provoke God for a speedy intervention is through faith. In scriptural passage above, Elijah exercised a violent kind of faith; he told Ahab that there is going to be rain in abundance when there was no sign of rainfall. A man of faith sees beyond the ordinary; he sees with the eye of the supernatural; he sees possibilities in the midst of impossibility.
Faith can be described as a belief in or confident attitude toward God, involving commitment to His will for one's life.
According to Heb. 11, faith was already present in the experience of many people in the Old Testament as a key element of their spiritual lives. In this chapter, the various heroes of the Old Testament (Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses) are described as living by faith. In addition, the Old Testament itself makes the same point. Abraham "believed in the Lord" (Gen 15:6); the Israelites "believed" (Ex 4:31; 14:31); and the prophet Habakkuk taught that "the just shall live by his faith" (Hab. 2:4).
Paul declared, "I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day" (2 Tim 1:12). Faith makes us to be confident that what God promises, He is able to fulfill and us makes to believe in the testimonies about God.
Finally, Faith is part of the Christian life from beginning to end. It is the instrument by which we receive divine visitation. Faith is one of the important keys to unlocking the supernatural realities. If we must access the supernatural realities, there must be an exercise of violent faith.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, as we mark our season of God’s divine visitation, it is a time for us to boldly declare the Lordship of Jesus, our King, Saviour and Lord. It’s a time to pray for God’s special visitation. It’s a time to live Holy and a time to exercise a violent kind of faith. If we do these, God himself shall visit the earth for our sake this season. Remember, Jesus is coming back again; remain ready and help others to be ready also.
