Entries tagged with “impartation”.
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Tue 19 Mar 2013
Do you want to hear God’s purposes for your life and ministry, or receive a fresh infilling of His Spirit? Do you desire to encounter God and know Him more?
Prophetic worship is one way that you can have a face-to-face meeting with God—or provide a means for others to encounter Him. ‘Prophetic praise and worship enables God’s message to be brought, or His purpose to be accomplished, in a worship setting.’ [1]
Here are 6 benefits of prophetic worship, followed with some ways that you can put this into practice in your personal life with God.
6 Benefits of Prophetic Praise and Worship
1. Facilitates God Encounters.
God created us for face-to-face relationship with Him.
Our worship honours God and brings Him pleasure. However, if we view worship as being solely a one-way giving of our love and adoration to Jesus, we have not attained the highest purpose of worship.
God’s desire has always been to commune with His people. Prophetic worship enables the Father’s voice to be heard, His heartbeat to be felt, and His purpose to be accomplished.
When we encounter God in a time of prophetic worship, we are transformed and brought closer to Him. We leave that place knowing that God has touched our lives personally and that we will never be the same again.
2. It Enables us to Receive an Impartation from God
When we are yielded to Jesus in an attitude of love and worship, we are more receptive and open to Him than at any other time.
‘Impartation’ means a release of God’s power into our lives. This can be an infilling of His Holy Spirit, or a specific attribute of His nature; for example, He may desire to infuse us with peace, strength or faith.
We can have an expectation that as God leads us in praise and worship, we and others will be healed and set free from oppression. Psalm 107:20 says, ‘He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.’
The young David was employed by Saul to play the lyre. As David played, the anointing of God on his music caused the demonic oppression to lift from Saul. (1 Sam 16:14-23)
3. It Breaks open the Atmosphere for God to Move
We know that an open Heaven is our inheritance. However, there are times when we have to contend for it, whether in our personal lives or in the Church.
This is where prophetic praise is especially helpful.
Praise is prophetic when it is directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit to accomplish God’s ‘now’ purpose for our lives or a particular meeting.
Prophetic praise is the Spirit-led proclamation of who God is, of His attributes, of what He has done and what He will accomplish.
Prophetic praise penetrates the atmosphere and pushes back oppression, apathy, fear or any other effects of spiritual warfare. (See 2 Chron 20, Psalm 149:5,9)
4. It Prepares Our Hearts for God’s Word
Prophetic worship is, at its foundational level, Spirit-directed and Spirit-empowered worship. (John 4:23-24)
During a time of prophetic worship, the Holy Spirit has begun to speak to us and our hearts are opened towards God.
When the preaching or personal study of God’s Word accompanies or follows prophetic worship, the two merge together and a continuum of inspiration from the Holy Spirit takes place.
5. We can Receive a Prophetic Message from God
In prophetic worship, God uses a song, instrumentation or other prophetic communication to speak His purpose into our lives—and that word has creative ability. Your Father may have a specific word of encouragement or instruction for you to receive.
Whether personally, or corporately in a meeting, prophetic worship provides both the expectation and the opportunity for God to speak to us. (1 Cor 14:26)
6. Ii is Powerful When Specific Breakthrough is Needed
Prophetic praise celebrates the fulfilment of God’s promises before they are manifested in the natural realm. Prophetic praise is one vehicle that God uses to release His power and bring about His purposes in our lives and in the Church.
We see examples of the power of prophetic praise in the Bible.
King Jehoshaphat sent singers and musicians out ahead of his army to celebrate the victory God had promised through His prophet. The battle was won as God routed the armies in front of the praisers. (2 Chron 20)
A song of prophetic praise was also significant to releasing God’s provision (Num 21:17-18), transforming barrenness into fruitfulness (Isaiah 54:1-3) and overcoming obstacles and persecution. (Acts 16)
How to Incorporate Prophetic Worship into your Personal Life
Last week I looked at prophetic worship in the Church setting. However we can also use prophetic worship in our personal life with God.
Note that any prophetic revelation (beyond general encouragement) received during personal times of worship need to be weighed up and followed through with leadership.[2]
1. ‘Soaking’ worship means positioning ourselves before God in a dual attitude of worship and of receiving or hearing from Him. As we yield to His Spirit, He fills us, empowers us and speaks to us.
Discover the unique way of connecting with God that suits you—for example, finding a quiet place accompanied by a worship CD, or walking outdoors in an attitude of worship and receiving. The key is to take time and to be intentional.
2. Develop a playlist of songs that are God’s ‘now’ encouragement for you personally, and listen to them regularly.
3. If you are a musician, take time with your instrument to worship God without a practice agenda. As you do, wait on Him for fresh inspiration, believe He is filling you with His Spirit, and allow Him to fill your heart and mind with the Father’s personal message to you and others.
4. When attending a worship gathering with others, enter in wholeheartedly and with the expectation that you will personally meet with God and receive All He has for you.
Notes:
[1] See my previous post, ‘A Vision for Prophetic Worship in Church Life.’
[2] See ‘The Power of Prophetic Accountability.’
Related Posts:
How Your Prophetic Song Can Release the Power of God
A Vision for Prophetic Worship in Church Life
An Open Heaven is Your Inheritance
Do you have any thoughts about the benefits of prophetic worship, or stories of how you have been personally impacted? I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment in the comments box. If the comments box is not visible, click on this link and scroll down.
© Helen Calder Enliven Blog – Prophetic Teaching
On team with David McCracken Ministries: Prophetic Ministry That Empowers The Church
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Fri 21 May 2010
Have you ever wondered why you feel more comfortable with some styles of prayer than with others?- Do you desire for people to be healed when you pray for them?
- Have you ever been intimidated by another person’s healing gift or ministry?
Did you know that God has given you a unique gift of healing?
During my years of leading people in the ministry of prayer, I have come to recognise that every person expresses his or her spiritual gift in a unique way.
For example, an intercessor can have a bent towards warfare, or worship, or identification, or prophetic intercession. Another may simply be a faithful, task-focused intercessor. Sometimes surprisingly, no two people with the gift of intercession operate effectively in exactly the same manner [1].
It is the same with the gift of healing.
When we study the way Jesus healed people, we can observe many different ways that it happened: He pronounced healing (Mark 5:34), gave a word of command (Matt 12:13), laid on hands (Luke 4:40), used unusual means such as spitting (John 9:6-7), and even repeated praying (Mark 8:22-26)
However, I noticed in studying the book of Acts, that God used Paul to heal predominantly through physical impartation—touch and laying on of hands [2]. Peter healed primarily through speaking a word of faith or command [3].
Like Peter and Paul, we are all wired differently. Our personal combination of spiritual gifts, along with our God-given personalities will impact the way we best pray for and minister Jesus’ healing and love to people.
We need to be comfortable with our own unique expression of the gift God has given us, and allow others the room, and grace, to operate differently.
I have discovered that I have a gift of impartation—when I lay hands on someone and pray, the Holy Spirit flows through me to minister infilling or healing.
For example, one time at an altar call I prayed for a woman, soaking her in prayer for an extended time. She said afterwards that as I prayed it felt as though she was placed into a warm bath. Physical pain that had been a part of her life for a long time disappeared.
One of our team members has a gentle approach in praying for healing, and God has used her prayers to effect some dramatic miracles. Another has a very bold approach using words of command, and has also seen physical healing.
I love the gift of team. One person may have insight into a demonic cause of affliction and be able to break its power. Another’s soft approach may bring healing to both body and soul. Yet another team member’s bold word of command or word of knowledge might be what is needed for a miracle.
How can you discover your unique healing gift and style?
1. When you are starting out, learn a variety of methods for praying for healing [4]. I liken this to adding tools to our healing toolkit. Gradually, we become aware of which ‘tools’ suit us best.
2. Feel free to practice, and to try out different methods. Find a safe environment to have a go, with other Christians who are on the same journey.
3. Be aware of all your spiritual gifts, and explore how these may work together and impact the way you best minister healing.
3. Don’t limit yourself to one style of prayer, even after you discover a preferred means of praying for healing.
Always listen to the Holy Spirit. He may lead you to take an approach that is outside of your comfort zone in order to bring a healing miracle to someone’s life.
4. Do not feel intimidated or made to feel inferior by another person’s style or gift, or feel that you have to be like them.
On the other hand, take care to remain grounded and be wary of others being impressed or intimidated by your gift—especially if you have a bold expression.
5. Be sensitive to people—sometimes you will need to modify your preferred approach if the situation requires it or it is not appropriate. The Holy Spirit will still move, and love is His way.
6. We should never criticise or look down on someone who does not operate in his or her healing ministry the same way that we do.
7. If you lead or teach others, be wise in your approach to mentoring and training. It is vital that we encourage the gifts of others and do not try to recreate people ‘in our own image.’
Healing and Honour
Having said all this, we need to honour the leadership of organisations, ministries, or churches that prescribe set methods, or lead a distinctive culture for operating in gifts of healing and miracles. God can and does use these powerfully.
If, like me, you are privileged to lead and release people into their ministries, consider the joy of helping them identify and discover their unique spiritual gifts and style.
I believe that in our generation we are going to see His healing power break out in an even greater measure than ever before.
Let’s honour each other and release each other to do and be all that Jesus has called us to be—and not settle for anything less.
1 Cor 12:4-6
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
Notes:
[1]. A great resource on this topic is FEMRITE, T; ALVES, E; KAUFMAN, K. Intercessors Discover Your Prayer Power. 2000. Ventura : Regal.
[2]. Acts 20:10, 19:11-12, 28:8
[3]. Acts 3:6, 9:34, 9:40
[4]. E.g., laying on hands, anointing with oil, words of command or pronouncement, caring and pastoral prayer, praying scripture.
Related Posts:
3 Simple Ways to Pray For Healing
7 Reasons Why You Can Pray For Healing
© Helen Calder 2011 Enliven Blog – Prophetic Teaching
On team with David McCracken Ministries: Prophetic Ministry That Empowers The Church
Fri 15 Jan 2010
This week, The Hunk had to carry me out of a church service. I could not walk, because I was utterly overcome physically by the presence and power of God (I can only recall one other instance of a similar thing happening, around twelve years ago).
‘Do What it Takes to Get Filled’
Only four months ago, I was sitting overlooking a local reservoir that has been affected by our State’s drought. It was around 30% full.
The emptiness of the reservoir echoed the devastated state of my soul. 
I had spent most of the year **not** recovering from ministry burnout. I mistakenly thought that taking extended time out and reducing my ministry responsibilities would help me get better. It didn’t.
A wise pastor who had himself been through burnout said to me, ‘Time doesn’t heal the problem. You need to intentionally do whatever it takes to get refilled again.’ As he spoke, I realised that one of those things, for me personally, was taking time outdoors to meet with God.
Being intentional about doing what it took to get refilled, spiritually and emotionally, proved a turning point for me.
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How Am I Going–Really?
Jesus called His disciples firstly to be with Him, and then to serve Him (Mark 3:14). When we get the order of that around the wrong way, we get into trouble. I have learned this the hard way.
As we begin a new year, let’s reflect on this very important question:
- Am I filled, or depleted in my spiritual life?
A similar question that is also vitally important, is:
- Am I filled, or depleted in my emotional life?
It can be difficult to tell how used up the tank of your emotional and spiritual reserve is, until it is too late. This is where looking for external clues to your condition become important—a subject I may cover another time. (If you have questions or ideas about this, feel free to comment on this post or email me).
As Christians we can receive the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, to empower us to be all we can be, and change our world (Acts 1:8).
However, we continually need a fresh impartation of the Holy Spirit if we are going to minister out of fullness (John 7:37-39). We also need to be acquainted with the Spirit if we are going to hear His voice and receive prophetic revelation that will break open situations and lead people to Jesus (John 14:26).
According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the word ‘impart’ means ‘to give, convey, or grant from or as if from a store.’
Impartation implies a source. When that source is God, and our need is for His Spirit, we know He has an unlimited heavenly abundance that we can draw from. (John 3:34)
3 Ways the New Testament Church received an Impartation of the Holy Spirit are:
1. Directly from Jesus
Matt 10:1, John 20:22-23.
We can also receive directly from Jesus when we spend time with Him by having a healthy devotional life.
2. From God as they prayed
Acts 2:1-4
The Church received the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. However, this kind of praying and waiting on God should not just be a one-off experience. We see the church praying and receiving an infilling of the Holy Spirit again in Acts 4:24-31
3. Through the Ministry of Laying on of Hands
Acts 6:6, Acts 8:17, Acts 19:6
As effective as ministry with ‘laying on of hands’ can be, it should never become a replacement of our receiving personally and directly from God.
Also, it is our own responsibility to maintain the gift from God that this kind of impartation gives us. The Apostle Paul said to Timothy,
‘For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.’ 2 Tim 1:6-7
How to Receive a Fresh Infilling of the Holy Spirit
The Apostle Paul’s present continuous use of the verb, ‘Be filled with the Spirit’ in Eph 5:18-20, indicates that being filled with the Holy Spirit should be our ongoing experience.
Here are some things that I have found useful to receive a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit in my life over the past four months:
1. Doing what it took to be renewed in my devotional life
2. Being intentional about doing the things that connect me personally with God
(in my case, this included spending time in prayer and reflection outdoors, however it will be different for every person)
3. ‘Soaking.’
(Dictionary definition: To be immersed until thoroughly saturated.)
For me, this means taking time in God’s presence with no other agenda but to connect with and receive from Him. I find that intimate worship music is a great facilitator of this.
4. Receiving prayer from others (laying on hands) for a refilling of the Spirit
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Has this worked?
Recently, I was again visiting the reservoir, when I noticed the difference: the emptiness of the dam no longer reflected my inner state. I knew I had been refilled. (Thank You Jesus). My response to God’s Presence in the meeting we attended this week demonstrated the overflow.
What are the ways that you can be filled with God’s Holy Spirit, and refreshed, spiritually and emotionally?
For related posts, review the Spiritual Renewal Category
Check back on this blog over the next couple of weeks as I will be discussing ‘Prophetic Activation through Journaling‘
Related Posts:
7 Signs Of Spiritual Dryness
How To Discover Your Spiritual Pathway
The River Returns: How To Be Refilled With The Holy Spirit When You Are Dry
© Helen Calder Enliven Blog
