C-07

Focusing on the Lord and

Anointed Visualization

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is

stayed on You, because he trusts in You (Isaiah
26:3).

Focusing on the Lord is a motivation of love that

direct your attention to the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ, to the exclusion of yourself and your
circumstances and every other thing that is not Him
or thought that is not His. It is when Jesus absorbs
all of your attention, resulting in all other things
conquered by the light of His character and power.
It is to see the invisible Lord with the eyes of your
heart as well as listening carefully to His voice,
when He is speaking, while being absentminded of
all other scenes and conversations.

Anointed visualization means to focus the attention

of your heart on the Lord while observing all things
through the senses of the Holy Spirit. The mind is
the central processing unit that produces mental
images of how life is perceived. For those who live
according to the flesh set their minds on the things
of the flesh, but those who live according to the
Spirit, the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5). To the
pure all things are pure but to the defiled and
unbelieving nothing is pure. Therefore, you surely
appreciate a mind that is subjected to the mind of
Christ.

Are your thoughts subjected to Christ? Is your mind

focused on the Lord and on the things of the Spirit
or are you subjected to your carnal mind which is
enmity against God, making decisions in isolation
from Him? Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God; for it is not subject to the law of God,
nor indeed can be (Romans 8:7).

When your heart is focused on the Lord, His light

fills the spirit of your mind that your thinking may
become clearer for in His light we see light. When
your mind is focused on the Lord it becomes more
quiet and more obedient, and you see and
understand everything better, faster and more
clearly because you start to experience the light of
His presence.

Can we focus so much on the Lord that all of the

Word of God, who is Jesus, can be manifested in
our flesh? Saint Patrick described his focus on the
Lord in a ballad, adapted by James Quinn:

Christ beside me, Christ before me,

Christ behind me, King of my heart;
Christ within me, Christ below me,
Christ above me never to part.

Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left

hand,
Christ around me shield in my strife;
Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting,
Christ in my rising, light of my life.

Christ be in all hearts thinking about me,

Christ be on all tongues telling of me.
Christ be the vision in eyes that see me,
In ears that hear me Christ ever be.

If you constantly focus your faith and love on the

Lord, everything else will become dim and
disappear into oblivion; and the devil cannot use
anything against you. There is no law against love.
Godliness is profitable for all things.
Focusing on the Lord is a virtue essential for prayer,
reading and meditation on the word of God, waiting
on the Lord, visualizing the will of God, practicing
the presence of God. Focusing on the Lord Jesus
Christ is also essential to walk with Him. Without
focusing on the Lord your faith is not in the Lord but
in yourself or something or someone else. Then, the
mind jumps from one thought to another because it
is overflowing with restlessness and conflict.

Anointed visualization means to focus

simultaneously on the Lord and to gaze at a single
chosen object or subject. To focus on two things at
once is known as split attention. Split attention is
highly ineffective. To focus on the Lord and the
object or subject under examination at the same
time is not split focus but a single focus in which
you share a single issue with the Lord.

When this virtue is developed, the mind casts down

arguments and every high thing that exalts itself
against the wisdom of God and brings into captivity
every thought to the obedience of Christ. The Lord
has not given us the spirit of fear but of power, and
of love, and of a sound mind.

To develop this virtue, you need to train and

exercise it. If you have excuses about not having
the time than forget about it. If you hunger after
God then with a little planning, desire and
motivation you will make time to exercise each
day, no matter how busy you are. To develop this
virtue you have to train the spirit of your mind.
Focusing your concentration on the Lord is not a
strenuous and tiring activity, that involves exertion
and tension, which are difficult and unpleasant as
many thinks.

This deception started at an early age. Parents and

teachers expect children to focus on their studies
and homework to get good grades. When they are
too often told that they are not concentrating
satisfactorily, they develop a loathing for
concentration and studying. This causes the
children to believe they are forced to do something
against their will, which is associated with
oppression and lack of freedom. Eventually they
grow up with unsatisfactory concentration levels as
they have no intention to discipline their minds.

Though most Christians acknowledge focusing on

the Lord and anointed visualization is powerful
skills, most of them do not practice it, as few know
how. Reading about the benefits why it should be
cultivated can help to change the attitude toward it
but the only thing to develop the skill is to practice
it.

Today’s stressful lifestyle demands that a restless

mind rules your life. An “out of focus” thought life
very often captivates your attention with
unprofitable matters, which waste your time and
energy. This enslaving lifestyle has become a
culture, and we have become unaware of this
unhealthy way of life, except on certain occasions.
You become conscious of the constant onslaught of
your thoughts, and of your inability to calm them
down, only when we need to focus, waiting on the
Lord or meditate on Scripture. We are also acutely
aware of our thoughts when we are distracted by
fleshly excitements or fears.

Consider the following familiar situation. You start

to read and meditate on a passage of Scripture.
You sit comfortably in your armchair with the Bible
in your hands and start reading. After a while you
feel hungry and go to the kitchen to eat something.
You return to read, and then you hear people
talking outside. You listen to them for several
moments and then bring your attention back to the
passage of Scripture. After a while you feel restless
and switch on the television to watch the news. You
continue to read for a little while, and then
remember something that happened yesterday,
and you start thinking about it. When you look at
your watch, you are amazed to find out that one
complete hour has passed and you have hardly
read anything. This is what happens when your
concentration is weak and your focus wanders from
Dan to Beersheba. Imagine what you could have
accomplished, if you could fix your attention on the
Lord and your focus on the word of God!

The mind does not like discipline and will resist

your efforts to discipline it. It loves lawlessness
above all things, and will try to resist your every
moment while subjecting it to the obedience of
Christ. Because the carnal mind is enmity against
God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor
indeed can be (Romans 8:7). It will let you forget to
pray, tempt you to postpone waiting on the Lord or
make you feel too lazy to meditate on the word of
God. It will find many tricks to stop and disturb you.
Maintaining your focus on the Lord is a powerful
skill for a victorious life in Christ.

Reading and studying how to focus on the Lord and

practice anointed visualization will develop no skill
but only increase theoretical knowledge. This skill is
practiced through training just like you will train
your body in a gym to show good muscular
definition.

Why should we teach our spirit to focus on the

Lord? When we focus on Christ, we relinquish our
life for His. This is an essential part of the basic
training that we need to conform into the definition
of Christ’s character and power. Without training
you cannot build definition. As it is in the
natural so it is in the spirit. The natural is the
shadow of the glory that is hidden in the spirit. The
natural is temporal but the spirit is eternal.

Focusing is the foundation of relating and

communicating. You mainly relate and
communicate with God, yourself and third parties.
It is wisdom to predominantly focus on the Lord.
Focusing on the Lord is the core of walking and
living in the spirit and is imperative for effective
prayer and intercession, reading and meditating on
the word, waiting on the Lord, visualizing and
meditating on the will of God and practicing the
presence of God. The reason to live in the realm of
spirit is to live and not die. It is the Lord’s will to live
with your spirit in heaven while being bodily on
earth. Enoch and Elijah did it and they did not see
death.

How do you focus on the Lord? You can develop it

by practicing and training, just like any other skill.
You can practice it at its simplest form, as a form of
meditation.

Firstly, you need to get physically comfortable.

Find a place where you can be alone and
undisturbed. You can sit in a chair in your study, or
any place without distractions. Sit with your spine
erect. Take a few calm deep breaths and then relax
your body. Direct the focus of your attention to
your body, and relax your muscles.

Secondly, you also need to get spiritually

comfortable. Your spirit need to be open to God. To
be focused on the Lord, you need to be silent in
your spirit and at rest inside of your innermost
being. When I remember You [focus on Christ] on
my bed [place of rest], I meditate on You in the
night watches [time of silence] (Psalm 63:6).

It is not difficult to start relaxing your heart and to

focus on the Lord. However, to keep your focus on
the Lord for a reasonable time, say, forty minutes
needs a lot of exercise. Forty minutes may sound
like a short period of time but I assure you unless
you are exercised in this skill it is a very, very long
time.

Thirdly, I have some daily exercises for you to

practice. You need to exercise it until you are able
to do it without any distractions or forgetfulness,
and without thinking about anything else, for at
least 3 minutes. Every time you get distracted,
start again, until the 3 or 5 minutes pass away. You
have to be honest with yourself, and proceed to the
next one, only after you are convinced that you
have practiced it correctly and with full
concentration. No timetable can be given, as this
may be frustrating. If for example, I tell you that a
certain exercise has to be completed in a week, two
things may happen. You may get disappointed, if
you cannot get the desired focus on the Lord within
a week, or you may move on without practicing the
exercise correctly. Getting skilled in these exercises
successfully might take days, weeks, months and
sometimes even more.

Put your whole attention into the exercises, and do

not think about anything else. Be careful not to fall
asleep, daydream or think about other matters. The
moment you find yourself thinking about something
else, stop the exercise and start again. After you
become proficient, lengthen the time, and if
possible, include another session in the afternoon
or evening. The more you do it the better you will
become until it becomes second nature to you.
However, you need to exercise much patience
and perseverance.

Do not attempt too much at the beginning, and do

not try to perform them all at once. Go slowly,
without overdoing them. If you find it too difficult,
or thoughts distract you and make you think about
other matters, do not despair. Everyone encounters
difficulties along the way. If you persevere and
never give up, in spite of difficulties and
disturbances, you will be victorious. Remember,
even those which by nature have a reasonable
focus on the Lord need to exercise their focus on
the Lord. As long as you are imperfect you need
practice.

It does not matter if your focus or concentration is

weak now, it can be developed and strengthened
like any other ability, by investing the necessary
time and effort in training. In time, you will find out
that you can focus on the Lord anytime, anywhere,
being involved in anything. You will be able to focus
on the Lord under the most trying circumstances,
while remaining calm, relaxed and with trusting
confidence in Him. The time has come where it is
no luxury, but essential, to know the voice of the
Lord in all your ways as your choices may amplify
outcomes. Our choices on global, national and
individual levels will have magnified consequences.
It is like a ship that is about to enter into a harbor.
When a ship is far from its destination small
navigation errors can be tolerated because it can
easily be rectified. When a ship is entering the
harbor navigation errors can cause devastating
accidents because of a lack of space and time to
maneuver away from disaster areas.

Some of the exercises are easy to perform while

others are more difficult. Some are really difficult
and need to be practiced like a muscle that is in
disuse. For full benefit, it is advisable that you
practice each exercise ad infinitum, after you are
convinced that you are practicing it correctly and
with full attention. Fallen man can never consider
himself perfect in anything.

Exercise 1

Close your eyes and focus your attention on Christ.

As we know Christ not after the flesh but after the
Spirit become aware of Him, similar to when you
are in somebody’s presence which you cannot see.

It is not always possible to relax your heart and

begin to focus on the Lord. Most people’s thoughts
love to run off just like my dog investigating every
tree and bush when we go for a walk. It is difficult
to control your thoughts. Endeavor not to develop a
struggle within you. So trick your mind by
imagining the Lord and you going for a walk. You
visualize walking with Him in forests or on the
beach or in the mountains or down a river. Use that
which works for you. While walking with Him remain
silent and only watch him silently. It is similar to my
dog sitting next to me, waiting on me for my
attention or command. Start out with short periods
of 3 minutes each. If you lose your focus on the
Lord, restart the process. As you succeed with this
focus exercise, increase the time gradually every
week until you can hold sharp focus on the Lord for
about 10 minutes or longer.

Do not to seek feelings but exercise faith. Become

aware of Christ who lives in you and sense His faith,
hope and love in you. Sometimes God will bless you
with feelings but mostly not. Feelings are
deceptive. The heart of man is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked [Hebrew:
incurable]; who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9).

Focusing on the Lord is the basis for developing

trust in the Lord. In time you will sense Christ in
your spirit but it is rather a deep-rooted awareness
and knowledge of His presence and not really
feelings. You must remember your redeemed spirit
dwells in the realm of God’s Spirit but feelings
belong to the realm of soul. As the spirit and soul
belongs to two different worlds, so does faith and
feelings.

This exercise is an introduction to discipline your

thought life. It is also an introduction to get you
away from feelings into exercising faith as you are
practicing to fix your attention on the Lord.

Exercise 2

Close your eyes and focus your attention on Christ

in you and become aware of Him. Never look for
the Lord outside of you because you are jointed to
Him, one Spirit with Him and you are in Him, in His
body. After holding your focus on Christ for more or
less three minutes voice a prayer short and to the
point without losing your focus on the Lord. Pray
according to the impressions that came to your
mind. It should only be a single issue. Otherwise
pray for one minute in the Spirit. Repeat this
exercise at least two times more.

This exercise is an introduction to pray according to

impressions from the Holy Spirit and not according
to the thoughts of your carnal mind.

Exercise 3

Close your eyes and focus your attention on the

Lord. Become aware of Christ in you. After holding
your focus on Him for more or less three minutes
voice a short prayer, asking the Lord for His wisdom
and understanding in Scripture.

After praying, choose a few verses of Scripture to

read. Do not read too big a passage, just enough to
meditate on for about 5 minutes. To make
everything counts choose a passage in line with
what the Lord is speaking to you. You must ponder
those things which the Holy Spirit presently
emphasizes. Gain background information by
reading the chapter once, which contain the chosen
verses of scripture. Then read the passage of
chosen scripture prayerfully and take time to
visualize all the objects and subjects contained in
the passage of Scripture closely. Keep your focus
on the Holy Spirit as you are sharing and submitting
your mental pictures to Him for His correction and
approval. If you get distracted in the least, restart
the process afresh.

Do it for a second time, seeing yourself as an

observer in the biblical account to identify closely
to the word. Maintain your focus on the Holy Spirit
and redo the exercise. Share all things always at all
times with the Holy Spirit as He is the One that
reveals the Word of God (Jesus) to you. If you get
distracted, restart the process over. Now you are
ready to meditate on the word, which is to produce
your mental movie of the biblical account. This
exercise is an introduction to meditate on the word
of God.

Exercise 4

Define any problem, for which you require an

answer. Voice a short prayer asking the Lord to
provide you with a solution. Close your eyes and
focus your attention on Christ in you. After holding
your focus on the Lord for more or less three
minutes and at the same time visualizing the
problem that needs an answer, record any
impression that came to mind.

While you are focusing on the Lord look at all the

objects and subjects contained in the impressions
closely. If you are getting distracted in the least,
restart the process from the beginning.

Maintain your focus on the Holy Spirit and redo the

exercise two more times. This exercise is an
introduction to wait on the Lord.

Exercise 5

Exercise 5 is the same as exercise 4, only that this

time you meditate on the objects and subjects of
your impressions instead of looking at it. Close your
eyes and inspect every object and subject of your
impressions carefully for about 2 minutes. While
keeping your focus on the Lord, try to see and hear
the objects and subjects in your imagination. Try to
observe clearly defined visual images and audible
words. Open your eyes and read the impressions
again for a short while, and then close your eyes
and redo the exercise without losing your focus on
the Lord. It might help if you see yourself as an
observer in the scene. Never separate yourself from
what the Lord is doing. This exercise is an
introduction to receive revelation from the Lord.

Exercise 6

Exercise 6 is the same as exercise 5, only that this

time you visualize your impressions without
thinking with words, just like a television on mute
mode. Close your eyes and while keeping your
focus on the Lord visualize your impressions for
about 2 minutes. Then take each object in the
scenery one by one and inspect them carefully.
Watch the object from all sides, thinking only in
images, with no words in your mind. Just observe
the object visually. Do not get distracted with these
objects and lose your focus on the Lord. If you do
lose your focus on the Lord start the process over.
Close your eyes and look at the individual objects
contained in your impressions again without losing
your focus on the Lord. It is not a split focus but a
conscience knowledge and awareness that the
Lord is with you and in you. Then look at the story
account of your impressions and include yourself as
an observer in the scenery. This exercise is an
introduction to interpret dreams, visions and
parables.

Exercise 7

After becoming proficient in the above exercises,

you redo them all but this time with your eyes
open. If you draw on the Lord continuously you
focus will not easily wonder. These open eye
exercises are an introduction to live constantly in
the realm of God’s Spirit.

You draw the anointing from the Lord through faith.

Imagine yourself breathing through the top of your
head, as though it contained the nostrils of your
spirit, and start inhaling the air of heaven. The top
of your head is the receiving area of your spirit that
is why the presbytery place hands on the top of
your head. Visualize the inhaling of heavens
atmosphere and see yourself in heaven. Whatever
you imagine, good or evil is reality in the books of
God. Example, if you hate somebody you have
killed him.

Exercise 8

Every activity can be turned into an exercise.

Everyday has many opportunities to strengthen
your ability to focus on the Lord. Hold your focus on
whatever you do, without losing your attention on
the Lord. Though formal exercises are necessary
you can speed up your skill to focus on the Lord by
turning the whole day into an enjoyable exercise.
Focus on whatever you do without losing attention
on the Lord, and in time your ability would increase.
In this way you will not only learn to focus on the
Lord, but everything you do will prosper because of
the anointing. In time, as your attention on the Lord
and your focus on your activities get stronger,
thoughts will lose their power to distract you, and
you will find that you can absorb yourself in the
Lord in whatever you do. This will cause you to live
with your spirit in heaven.

The secret of success is constant practice. The

more time you devote to these exercises the faster
your success arrives. Go on gradually; ten minutes
at the start and in time as you gain the ability to
concentrate, give it more time. When you see that
you are successful, you will begin to love the
exercises, and in time they will become a habit. You
will be able to concentrate your attention easily and
effortlessly upon the Lord in all that you do. You will
start living with your spirit in heaven while be
bodily on earth.