His Pen: From His Heart To Yours

(Special note to the reader: this one is a bit of a read. I tried to split it, but found that it wouldn’t do the entry justice if I did so. Take your time and enjoy the read!)

Construction and types of poems:

There are many different styles to which I will share some examples, but ultimately remember to be led by God! Generally, write the first thing that comes to you. You are only the conduit! When the Lord wants you to write, He will prompt you by giving you a couple of lines or an idea or even a thought that just won’t go away.

Ask the Lord what He wants to do. He will certainly show you- even if He wants it to rhyme or not. The repeating of words in a poem is a great indicator that God wants to highlight something. Just “go with the flow”.
You can do this too: you can write a poem to Him and not just with Him. Pour out whatever is on your heart to Him- and wait for His answer! Write it down as a poem. You will not be disappointed!

Never force the writing of a poem! If you cannot sense the Holy Spirit, the chances are good the words are not inspired by the Lord. I have often felt it a struggle to write when the Holy Spirit is not involved. Also, when writing, and the flow suddenly stops, take a moment to step back for a bit. Come back to it afresh the next day. It’s about God’s timing, not yours. Often when I write, it can take a couple of weeks to complete a poem. Not always though: some have taken just an hour, others have taken a month or two. One poem even took over a year.

Like any area in your walk with the Lord, I have found that prophetic poetry can be affected by the season that you are currently in. A “winter” season may produce fewer poems and a “summer” season will produce more. You may go through a “pruning” season, where God wants to rest your gift and not burn it out. He uses these times to remove the dead things, the things that are taking up too much energy so that your fruit will be bigger and stronger for the upcoming season- trust the process! It may be frustrating when you first go through this, but it is about quality and not quantity. Always be ready to write in and out of season.

Examples of poems:

I have included several examples to show you the possibilities. These are just a few types that I’ve had the honour of writing. There are many more that have not been written yet as I believe that each writer will operate differently in the Holy Spirit, hence, having their own style and unique connection with the Holy Spirit. All I can do is share what has been done with my style:

Edifying poems:
This is probably the most frequent type of poem that I’ve written. Since God wants to share His heart with you, would He not want to build you up and not break you down? All poems should carry some degree of edification, but most likely carried in a different shape or form. The following poem is a baseline edification poem:

Encourage

I am fire and I am light.
Nothing can consume Me,
Nothing you do will consume Me,
Nothing you go through will overcome Me.
My strength is upon you,
You are unshakeable
Because you are My child,
A child of My heart, My soul.

Am I not capable of meeting your needs?
Is it too great for Me to handle?
I am able to consume
The very ground beneath you.
Can I not consume your trials?
Your struggles?
Your sufferings?
Do not second-guess Me, My child!
I am much more than you think!
So much more!
Just hang onto Me
And simply trust Me.
You will be amazed at what you will witness.
Get ready for the ride of your life!

Richard Lionheart
Romans 11:36
(4 Sept ’18)

Revelation poems:
Sometimes the Lord shows me a revelation that just blows me away with how amazing it is that often it would be written on the spot and with no time to spare.
I was doing a study of David when I received this poem. There was such a heavy prompting and I couldn’t understand why- until the Lord showed me how relevant it was to the reader and the challenge that it bore.

Saul vs David

Two kings ruled in the land of Israel.
To the one; pride was his holy grail,
To the other- to do what was right,
And to pursue God’s heart was his delight.

What I tell you is very true;
The one called David, the other did pursue.
Saul was his name
And envy was his deadly game..

In David,
O precious beloved,
A love for God had dwelled;
With much suffering, O how it had swelled!
Now Saul was a man who knew no patience,
Many times did he deny his conscience!
When the giant arose…
Well, he just froze!
As for David, dear friend,
Against that same one- Israel he did defend.

If Israel was you and me;
With spiritual eyes, who else could it be?
If Saul was the flesh in all its prideful glory,
How can this possibly be a story?
David represents the Spirit-
For themselves, they sought no merit.

Like Saul and David, the flesh and Spirit contend;
The battle is genuine, it’s something you can’t pretend.
Each seeks your loyalty,
But the Spirit leads you to true royalty.

Beloved, does all this make you quite wary?
Then behold, this is my query:
Who is your king?
To whom does your heart sing?
You can only serve one,
Now in your life, whose will is going to be done?

Richard Lionheart
Romans 11:36
(7 Nov ’09)

Scourging poems:
These poems, thankfully, come few and far between. I have received just a couple of them in my years of writing. Please make sure that you are prompted by the Holy Spirit when writing something like this. I have found that, although the Lord may use the poem to bring discipline, it always will end off with encouragement. I find these difficult to write- and even more so when prompted to give them to someone. I don’t look for these. Still, write what the Lord gives you.
In the following poem, I had the yearning to ask the Lord what the cry of His heart was at that moment. He revealed this to me:

God’s Cry

Child of pride,
My heart is filled with pain,
Because of the grief that you have given me.
You cannot control your lying,
You even boast about it!
The times when you have stolen,
Whether great or small,
You thought that no one saw you,
But I did-
Even in your heart, I saw you!
When you receive your own medicine,
Why do you become so angry?
Oh, how true it is!
That you do to others,
As you have wanted them…
To do to you.
Your thoughts…
I am disgusted by them.

Little one…
How many times
Do I have to show you,
That I am God?
I know the number of hairs on your head,
And I have named the stars…
One by one.
I have weaved you
In your mother’s womb,
One strand at a time.
I have loved you
Every step of the way.
I love you so much…
That I sacrificed My own dear Son,
So that you may live,
That His blood may cleanse you.
He took the punishment of your sin…
Upon Himself!
Yet you have denied My love,
And even despised My name,
But I will still love you
Until your very last breath.
Know this,
What I am about to tell you…
That love stands as one,
But hatred stands alone.

Richard Lionheart
Romans 11:36
(15 Feb ’08)

Prophetic Vision Poems:
Quite often, the Lord would give me a vision to write down. Most of the time, He will give me the meaning of it. These come by either waiting on the Lord for something or something that is highlighted to me through scripture or whatever He shows me in my environment. The following poem was written when I was challenged to write a poem for my life group (home church). So I pursued the Lord about it and asked Him what He wanted to say, not just to ours, but to the other groups as well. This is what He shared with me. Notice the emphasis of the words in regarding to “sight”.

The Great Commission

My child,
Do you see what I see?
The farmer is sowing seeds again-
The laborers are being sent
Out into the fields.
The ground has been tilled and prepared-
Ready to receive new life.

Look carefully, my child…
The former and the latter rains are near.
Do you not see it?
Dark clouds are rolling in
And ominous rumbles
Make their presence known-
Then comes the pitter-patter of rainfall…
Anointing the earth
With the glory of heaven.

Beloved…
Look carefully.
You may not see anything
On the surface right now,
Don’t be discouraged.
Deep in the heart of the soil:
The seeds that were sown…
Have taken root.
Its foundations grow stronger every day.

When the time is right,
A precious moment occurs;
Delicate saplings break through –
Reaching out to the glorious sun!
Time is not long.
It is sooner than you think.
Soon the harvest will be ready to receive.

Excitement and anticipation increase
As the harvest becomes white
With readiness.
The farmer walks amongst the crop,
His heart close to bursting point!
He calls to his laborers to come quickly,
But so few have come-
Where are the rest?

Some were discouraged,
Others had lost all hope in the waiting-
They had lost their vision.
However,
Others had faith-
They believed in the farmer
And trusted him;
Keeping their eyes on him.
And so, the great yield of souls had begun,
And behold, what he saw was very good!

The Lord Jesus walks amongst the lost.
His Word is lovingly nurtured and prepared
Into the ground of their hearts.
When the time is right,
There will be a bountiful harvest.
The Lord is calling to His beloved,
But only a few will respond.
The harvest is ready right now…
But how will you respond, beloved?

Richard Lionheart
Romans 11:36
(16 Sept ’21)

Poems from the interpretation of tongues:
These poems can be quite powerful, and very intimate. They are prompted by the Holy Spirit, leading the writer to speak in tongues. This will follow with the interpretation of whatever was spoken.
I was waiting on the Lord for something in my quiet time. He gave me a vision of a church service. I had a strong urge to speak a word over the microphone. So I did. I gave a word of tongues, and as I spoke in the vision- I spoke physically as well. As I waited for someone in the vision to give an interpretation, but no one did. The Lord said that I have the interpretation and that I need to speak it. So I did, again I spoke it physically. There was such an anointing on the words, I quickly realized that they cannot be left unwritten. I struggled to write even two lines at a time since there was so much joy present I could not carry on. Every time I came back to it, the anointing came back just as strong.

Unchallenged Love

My child,
You are the joy of My heart.
I have loved you
Through the good times and the bad.
Nothing compares to that love
That I have for you!
It is beyond any human emotion,
Is there anything higher than this?
Do you know of anything or anyone
That loves you more?
Have they given up all that is dear to them-
Even their own flesh and blood?
Let them stand up and be accounted for!
Is there not even one?
I gave everything for you-
Even My own.

Listen, My child…
My heart sings for you.
Hear the words it gives to you.
Do you not hear it longing for you,
This heart of Mine?
Speak now, O heart!
Before the fire within grows too strong
And the words you struggle to find
Are lost within the unbridled passion
Toward My child.
No human tongue can understand these words,
I need to show you this love that I feel:
It spread from east to west
North to south.
It spans further
Than the dimensions of the universe…
From one loving scar to the next-
That once hung My beloved Son
On a cross.
For you.
For your sins.
The perfect act.

I gave everything for you,
My child…
Even My very own.
Are you not worthy
Of the love that I have for you?

Richard Lionheart
Romans 11:36
(26 May ’18)

Testimonies:

The following are some testimonies of how the Lord used poetry to encourage and lift others up, especially when they were seeking Him.

1.) On Valentine’s Day a few years ago, I felt led to share “Unchallenged Love” with a few people. An elderly lady responded. She asked me how I knew what she was asking the Lord. Obviously I could never have known that, but God answered her question with this poem. Her question? “What is Love?”

2.) I had written “The Great Commission”. What I’d like to do is share any new poem with a few mature believers just to make sure that I’ve heard correctly from the Lord. A lady, overjoyed in her message to me saying that she had asked the Lord literally 5 minutes before and He answered her with a couple of lines in this poem.

3.) Whenever I feel down, I tend to look through the archive of poems that I have written. For the most part, they would be a great encouragement to me and would lift my mood. In the very early stages of my cancer journey (a story for another time), I would get these bouts of tearful sadness. Although the Lord had already strengthened me tremendously with scripture, the sadness persisted. As I was looking through the poems, I came across one that I had written just two months prior. It spoke so powerfully into my situation. It was meant for such a moment for that specific time. Needless to say, it encouraged me so much. With all the doubt removed, the sadness never came back. I had an indescribable joy in me, knowing with all my heart that God was with me in this. I was set for the journey ahead. The poem, funny enough, was called “Encourage”.

Conclusion:

Prophetic Poetry is an awesome platform to glorify God first and foremost, but also to uplift and encourage the reader. They can be put into storage until the time is right for them to be used, sometimes years later. They are to be used to build up the reader and never to break them down. It is an honour to be an instrument in His hands, whether it be a pen or scalpel or whatever- with utter humility, this should not be taken for granted! May your journey begin as God leads you into it.
“You will be amazed at what you will witness. Get ready for the ride of your life!”

With humility in Christ
Richard Lionheart