The Secret Place, In Pursuit of His Presence (Behold the Bride Series)
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In this episode of Created in the Image of God on Radio Cape Pulpit 729 AM, host Sylvia Colville presents episode seventeen of the Behold the Bride series, focusing on "the secret place, in pursuit of His presence."
She begins by sharing a picture the Lord showed her during early morning prayer: the bride sitting at the feet of the Lord in His presence, basking in the light that comes from Him. She connects this to Mary of Bethany, who rushed to sit at Jesus' feet, captivated by the Lord — describing this as the posture of the church that seeks to be the bride of Christ: sitting at His feet to hear what He has to say.
She then discusses the heart of the bride: a longing for her bridegroom, the fire of first love burning within, setting her mind to complete the preparation required to be ready, not wanting to be caught unawares. She acknowledges that some listeners may not feel any of this, and reassures them there is nothing wrong with them — this teaching may be the open door, an invitation from the One who is love, calling them deeper.
Sylvia draws on A.W. Tozer's prayer from The Pursuit of God, where he prays: "O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more... I want to want Thee. I long to be filled with longing. I thirst to be made more thirsty still." She also quotes Dr. Moody Stewart: "Pray till you pray. Pray till you are conscious of being heard. Pray till you receive an answer." She emphasizes praying for a holy discontent, for living waters, and for more of God — not prayers for acceptance (since believers are already accepted in the Beloved, per Ephesians 1:4–6), but prayers for deeper intimacy.
She then explains the roles within the triune God: both the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are in heaven, while it is God the Holy Spirit who is on the earth right now — He is the presence of God on the earth, revealing all that the Father and the Son want us to know, and transforming us into the image of God. She walks through three steps:
We are accepted — accepted before the Father in Jesus Christ the Beloved; in Christ we were judged, died, justified, resurrected, received the gift of righteousness, and accepted back into the presence of God the Father.
We pray to the Father — Jesus says in John 16:23–24, 26–27 that we should ask the Father in His name; we don't need Jesus to pray to the Father for us because the Father Himself loves us. She references Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1:15–19 as an example.
The Holy Spirit answers — the Spirit of truth, the presence of God on the earth, is our teacher, guide, helper, comforter, and friend. Everything relating to Genesis 1:26 (creating a people in the image of God) is the prime ministry of the Holy Spirit. She cites John 16:13–15 and 1 Corinthians 2:9–12, showing that the Spirit searches the deep things of God and reveals to us what has been freely given by God.
She also discusses the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 2:4; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11) and expresses sorrow over the years she knew about the Holy Spirit being on the earth but never engaged with Him as she should have. She declares: "He is God, He is infinitely holy, infinitely wise, infinitely powerful... His prime ministry is to transform you and I into the image of God and to reveal the glory of God upon the earth through us." Everything Jesus did came about by the presence of the Holy Spirit upon His life, and everything we are created to do can only come about by the presence of the Holy Spirit on our lives. "Our God is extraordinary. We only need to be ordinary, surrendered and obedient, lovers of God, who are spirit filled, spirit led and spirit guided."
She closes by directing listeners to the Radio Cape Pulpit app (podcasts section, look for Created in His Image) to recap, and invites emails to info@radiopulpit.co.za for teaching notes or questions. Her book Behold the Bride is available at SylviaColville.com and on Amazon. She looks forward to next week'
She begins by sharing a picture the Lord showed her during early morning prayer: the bride sitting at the feet of the Lord in His presence, basking in the light that comes from Him. She connects this to Mary of Bethany, who rushed to sit at Jesus' feet, captivated by the Lord — describing this as the posture of the church that seeks to be the bride of Christ: sitting at His feet to hear what He has to say.
She then discusses the heart of the bride: a longing for her bridegroom, the fire of first love burning within, setting her mind to complete the preparation required to be ready, not wanting to be caught unawares. She acknowledges that some listeners may not feel any of this, and reassures them there is nothing wrong with them — this teaching may be the open door, an invitation from the One who is love, calling them deeper.
Sylvia draws on A.W. Tozer's prayer from The Pursuit of God, where he prays: "O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more... I want to want Thee. I long to be filled with longing. I thirst to be made more thirsty still." She also quotes Dr. Moody Stewart: "Pray till you pray. Pray till you are conscious of being heard. Pray till you receive an answer." She emphasizes praying for a holy discontent, for living waters, and for more of God — not prayers for acceptance (since believers are already accepted in the Beloved, per Ephesians 1:4–6), but prayers for deeper intimacy.
She then explains the roles within the triune God: both the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are in heaven, while it is God the Holy Spirit who is on the earth right now — He is the presence of God on the earth, revealing all that the Father and the Son want us to know, and transforming us into the image of God. She walks through three steps:
We are accepted — accepted before the Father in Jesus Christ the Beloved; in Christ we were judged, died, justified, resurrected, received the gift of righteousness, and accepted back into the presence of God the Father.
We pray to the Father — Jesus says in John 16:23–24, 26–27 that we should ask the Father in His name; we don't need Jesus to pray to the Father for us because the Father Himself loves us. She references Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1:15–19 as an example.
The Holy Spirit answers — the Spirit of truth, the presence of God on the earth, is our teacher, guide, helper, comforter, and friend. Everything relating to Genesis 1:26 (creating a people in the image of God) is the prime ministry of the Holy Spirit. She cites John 16:13–15 and 1 Corinthians 2:9–12, showing that the Spirit searches the deep things of God and reveals to us what has been freely given by God.
She also discusses the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 2:4; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11) and expresses sorrow over the years she knew about the Holy Spirit being on the earth but never engaged with Him as she should have. She declares: "He is God, He is infinitely holy, infinitely wise, infinitely powerful... His prime ministry is to transform you and I into the image of God and to reveal the glory of God upon the earth through us." Everything Jesus did came about by the presence of the Holy Spirit upon His life, and everything we are created to do can only come about by the presence of the Holy Spirit on our lives. "Our God is extraordinary. We only need to be ordinary, surrendered and obedient, lovers of God, who are spirit filled, spirit led and spirit guided."
She closes by directing listeners to the Radio Cape Pulpit app (podcasts section, look for Created in His Image) to recap, and invites emails to info@radiopulpit.co.za for teaching notes or questions. Her book Behold the Bride is available at SylviaColville.com and on Amazon. She looks forward to next week'
