Light Shines in Darkness

2 Corinthians 4:6 “ For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” NASB

For God Who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts so as [to beam forth] the Light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God [as it is manifest in the Person and is revealed] in the face of Jesus Christ (the Messiah). Amplified

 It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.   Message

For God who said
“It all starts with what God says. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word. Genesis 1:3 “Then God said, “Let there be light and there was light.”” It is the same with us. Job 22:28 “You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you;
And light will shine on your ways.”

It all starts with what we say. Or does it? True we need to say what needs to be done first. Yet go back to Genesis. God spoke and light became. Yet before God spoke, in verse 2 the Spirit of the God was moving over the surface of the waters. We can't speak with authority unless we are moving with the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God moves then we move as He is moving. We speak as He wishes us to speak.

Jesus did not speak on His own initiative.
John 12:49 "For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.”

We speak as we are led by God. That is the same as praying in Jesus name. We can pray with authority and we can speak with authority. We can pray with confidence and we can speak with confidence. We can pray with power and we can speak with power. Just as Mark 11:23,24 teach. But just as in Mark 11:23,24 there is a prerequisite of faith before there can be power. We can also speak when we have faith first. And where does faith come from? It comes from hearing God's word with our spiritual ears. Revelation 2 & 3 says 7 times he who has ears to hear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Do we have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying? We can with the willingness of living for Christ and not for ourselves. The context of 2 Corinthians 4:6 is death to self. We don't live for ourselves, but we live for the purpose of God. John 6:38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

We can have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying when we have a desire to do the will of God.