Entries tagged with “Prophetic Gifts”.
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Sun 6 Jun 2010
For those readers who are interested in the online prophetic training course, there is a new update here. Read this if you would like to know about the opportunity to receive free prophetic coaching as part of an initial pilot training project.
Welcome to the third in this series of podcasts on the topic of identifying and breaking through barriers to growth in your gift of prophecy.
In this session, I outline
3 kinds of desire that you need to have to grow in your gift of prophecy
**Desire is what motivates us to keep close to God and on track with our spiritual gift of prophecy. Discover how to regain the gift of desire when it has waned.
Some quotes from this podcast:
- be like Elisha who pursued Elijah for his mantle..
- desire the Giver AND His gifts
- If you feel that you have lost that sharp edge of hunger for God and His Presence, it’s time NOW to get back
- love that leads us to desire to help people and grow Jesus’ Church is vital
Click on the message title below to listen to the 12 minute podcast in MP3 format. To save the file to your computer right click on the link and select “Save Link As …” (Firefox) or “Save Target As…” (Internet Explorer).
The next in this series of podcasts will be on how to identify and be released from hurts or wounds that you have sustained in relation to your prophetic gift.
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Related Posts:
Podcast series:
Pt 1: How to Overcome Blockages and Barriers to Growth in Your Prophetic Gift – Intro
Pt 2: How to Overcome Blockages and Barriers to Growth in Your Prophetic Gift – Identify Your Season
© Helen Calder Enliven Publishing
Thu 27 May 2010
Welcome to the second of a series of podcasts on the topic of identifying and breaking through barriers to growth in your gift of prophecy.
In this session, I outline
6 key stages in the development of your prophetic gift
Listening to this podcast will help you identify which phase, or season you are in, in relation to your spiritual gift of prophecy.
It is possible to become blocked in your development in any one of these phases—so a key to breakthrough is to:
1. Identify which season of development you are in
2. Check whether you have become stuck in that phase
3. Make the most of your season of development and
4. Do what it takes to break through to the next level.
Click on the message title below to listen to the 11 minute podcast in MP3 format. To save the file to your computer right click on the link and select “Save Link As …” (Firefox) or “Save Target As…” (Internet Explorer).
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Related Posts:
How to Overcome Blockages & Barriers to Growth in your Prophetic Gift, Introduction
© Helen Calder Enliven Publishing
Tue 18 May 2010
Welcome to the first of a series of podcasts on the topic of identifying and breaking through barriers to growth in your gift of prophecy!
Have you Ever Experienced a Blockage in Your Prophetic gift or Ministry?
God’s plan for us is to grow to our highest potential in our lives, our calling and our spiritual gifts. Why is it, then, that we sometimes feel as though our prophetic gift has been blocked in some way, or as though we have hit a ceiling in our ministry gift and find it hard to move forward?
The good news is that once you have identified an obstruction that is preventing you growing in your gift of prophecy, you can deal with and remove it, with God’s help. Over the coming series, I will explore a number of reasons a barrier can occur, and provide some keys to dealing with them.
In this short 8 minute introductory session, I identify 10 signs that there may be barriers to your growth in prophetic ministry.
Click on the message title below to listen to the podcast in MP3 format. To save the file to your computer right click on the link and select “Save Link As …” (Firefox) or “Save Target As…” (Internet Explorer).
As this is my very first podcast, special thanks must go to Ray Keefe for allowing me the use of his musical interlude called, appropriately, ‘Finding Hope.’
Blessings,
Helen
P.S. Over the next few weeks, I will be releasing these podcasts weekly to complete the series. I will also continue to write some articles. But wait, there’s more! Watch this space for news about the upcoming online prophetic training launch!
© Helen Calder Enliven Publishing
Mon 19 Apr 2010
Prophetic Evangelism
Prophetic evangelism is sharing the Good News about Jesus with people, using the means of prophetic revelation.
I have come to realise that God wants to use our gifts in every arena of life, not just in ministry in the church.
The gift of prophecy, when used in the process of evangelism, is a powerful way that we can partner with the Holy Spirit to lead people to faith in Jesus.
Over the last few days, I have been thinking about Jesus statement: ‘I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing.’ (John 5:19)
It seems so simple, and yet so profound. It is the basis that Jesus lived and ministered from—and holds a vital key for us today.
Seeing the way Jesus Sees
In John 4, the disciples returned from buying lunch and saw that Jesus had been speaking with a lone Samaritan woman. They wondered why Jesus had crossed cultural and religious boundaries to speak with her. No doubt they were shocked at His social impropriety.
Jesus, however, saw the situation differently to the way His disciples did. He looked at the Samaritan woman and saw a precious soul in need of a Saviour—and a city won to God.
He said to His astonished followers,
‘”My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.’ (John 4:34-35)
Jesus had the ability to look beyond the situation or person that He was presented with. He knew whether or not that person was someone the Father was ministering to at that time.
Another time, Jesus drew one man out of a crowd of disabled and ill people who were gathered at the Bethesda Pool, and healed him. In response to criticism of this healing being done on the Sabbath, Jesus said,
‘I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing.’ (John 5:19)
The Power of Focus
It seems that faced with numerous options as to how to spend His time and particularly, who to focus on, Jesus limited Himself to doing those things that He ‘saw the Father doing.’
Sometimes I feel guilty or inadequate because I do not have the personal resources or time to meet the needs of every person I come across.
But Jesus’ example assures me that success in ministry in general and evangelism in particular, does not come from spreading myself thin, but in focusing on what God is doing at any given time.
What freedom! Truly, His ‘yoke is easy and His burden is light.’ (Matt 11:30)
How did Jesus see what the Father was Doing?
This week I have asked myself the question, ‘If Jesus did what He saw the Father doing, how did He receive that revelation?
I used to imagine that when Jesus had His prayer times, the Father would show Him in open prophetic vision what His plans were, and who Jesus needed to spend time with. Somehow, the level of prophetic revelation that Jesus walked in always seemed unattainable to me.
But what if the way Jesus was able to see what the Father was doing IS attainable to us? What if the way that the Father guided Jesus is the same way He wants to guide you and me—any Spirit-filled believer—today?
Prayer is the Starting Place
The prophet Habakkuk said,
‘I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me.’ (Hab 2:1)
In order to be effective in prophetic evangelism, we need to put ourselves in a place where we can see what the Father is doing, and that begins with prayer. Prayer is the primary way we connect to God.
As we pray, we can receive prophetic revelation about what God is doing in the lives of people around us. I have received scriptures, visions, insights and feelings about what God wants to do in the lives of people around me at different times.
Seeing what God is doing after we have Prayed
However, seeing what the Father is doing only begins with our prayer times. It continues as we commune with God in our daily life. Here are some more things I am learning to look out for:
1. Being alert to what happens next after I have prayed—in other words, actually believing God is answering my prayer! Who is God bringing into my life or across my path?
2. Learning to look past what I see with my natural sight, to what God is seeing. Being aware that I can be derailed by prejudice, by the hurriedness of my life, by my insecurity.
3. Holding on to my own agenda or expectations lightly.
4. Realising that God often works through happenstance—seeming coincidences and interruptions to show me what He is doing.
I am learning not to limit God. There are many ways that He can show me what He is doing. One time, a scripture verse emailed from our church office prompted me to visit a friend. The timing of that visit set in motion a chain of events that would bring my friend closer to faith in Jesus.
This week, I’m going to ask, Father, what are You doing? What are You doing in ____’s life right now? How can I join with You?
In the next post, we will look more closely at the part that prayer plays in the process of prophetic evangelism.
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Are you interested in Prophetic Evangelism?
For further information, inspiration and stories, check out the e-book,
‘How To Be a Supernatural Christian In Your Everyday World’
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Related posts:
A Beginners Guide To Prophetic Evangelism Part 1
© Helen Calder Enliven Publishing
Mon 12 Apr 2010
The prophetic evangelism movement is growing.
Teams of Christian believers are pouring out into the streets and shopping malls, listening to the Holy Spirit as He directs them to speak with people. Using spiritual gifts, they are passing on words of knowledge and prophecies to people who may never have stepped into a church. They then offer to pray for them—and Jesus is doing miracles.
As awesome as this is, I have a burning conviction that ordinary, Spirit-filled believers, who might never join a team doing street witnessing, do not need to miss out. Anyone who has a heart to hear from God and to walk in spiritual gifts can learn prophetic evangelism. I believe that:
1. Prophetic evangelism can occur in our daily life
2. The principles of prophetic evangelism can be learned in a series of simple steps.
But before I start—lets ask the question:
What is Prophetic Evangelism?
Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. (John 5:19)
Prophetic evangelism is, at its most basic level, sharing the Good News about Jesus with people using the means of prophetic revelation.
It begins with hearing from God (or seeing, if you’re wired as a visionary person) how and what He wants you to pray, speak and do in the process of witnessing, as well as where and to whom. Sometimes, but not always, prophetic evangelism involves sharing a prophetic message from God with someone who is not a Christian.
‘Revelation’ means that you are receiving knowledge or insight from God that you wouldn’t know by natural means. The Holy Spirit reveals it to you supernaturally.
Supernatural Evangelism
One time, I was walking along a beach when I noticed a man and his son dragging a large net to shore. With great difficulty they laboured to bring the net into shore, only to find it contained a few bits of seaweed. The young man shrugged his shoulders and began to take off his wetsuit. His whole demeanour said, “Don’t ASK me to do that again!”
It reminded me of how many times in church life we have worked hard to bring lost people to Jesus, only to have worn ourselves out for very little result.
Jesus once told His disciples to let down their nets for a catch of fish. Like the young man I saw, they had worked hard all night for nothing, but when they let down the net at Jesus’ word, a miracle happened. The net was filled to overflowing with fish. (Luke 5:4-6)
This is a great illustration of prophetic evangelism. When we partner with the Holy Spirit, miracles happen.
God never meant for spiritual gifts to be confined to within the four walls of the church. Jesus moved in healing, prophecy, deliverance, miracles and knowledge in the streets, in fields, in homes and in parties. The early church did the same.
I am being challenged not to be one kind of person in a church meeting and another outside. If the Lord has given me gifts of prophecy, intercession and so on, why shouldn’t I walk in those gifts wherever I go?
Over the next couple of weeks we will be looking at some simple principles to help us enter into a fruitful partnership with the Holy Spirit in prophetic evangelism. These include:
Prayer—waiting in God for prophetic revelation. Who does He want us to share with? What is He doing in their lives and what is He saying to them at this time?
Position—we recognise that God has placed us alongside people, and that He is already at work in their lives
Power—felt needs in people’s lives give us an opportunity to offer prayer and for miracles to happen
Prophecy—an opportunity may arise in which we can share a message from God. Or—He may give us prophetic direction as to what to speak or an action to take.
Proclamation—at the right time, we share the story of Jesus with them.
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Are you interested in Prophetic Evangelism?
For more information, inspiration and stories, learn more in the e-book,
‘How To Be a Supernatural Christian In Your Everyday World’
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Related posts:
How To Share A Prophecy With Someone Who Is Not A Christian
How To Be a Supernatural Christian: The Good News
© Helen Calder Enliven Publishing
Thu 4 Mar 2010
Are you looking for resources to help you develop your gifts of prophecy or prayer?
I am thrilled to announce that all four of my books are now available in e-book format. Here is a synopsis of each of them, or you can review and purchase them on the e-book sales page:
HOW TO BE A SUPERNATURAL CHRISTIAN IN YOUR EVERYDAY WORLD
$8.95 e-Book*
A step-by-step guide to prophetic evangelism that you can apply every day.
Have you ever dreamed of miracles taking place as you prayed in your home, neighbourhood, school or workplace?
Have you wondered whether God can use you to pray for healing or bring a prophetic message to someone who is not a Christian?
Do you desire to live a supernatural Christian life — one where Jesus is the only explanation for what takes place—in your ordinary, daily world?
(More details …)
PROPHETIC PEOPLE IN A CHANGING CHURCH
$9.95 e-Book*
Have changes in church life impacted upon your personal priorities, relationships and ministry dreams?
Are you, or others around you, experiencing discouragement, or have you been hurt in church life?
Are you wondering how your prophetic or prayer gifts can be used in your current church setting?
(More details …)
GROW YOUR PROPHETIC AND PRAYER GIFTS
$9.95 e-Book*
Would you like to develop your spiritual gifts of prophecy, intercession, miracles, word of knowledge, discernment, deliverance or healing?
Have you ever dreamed that you could prophesy? Or pray for the sick and see them healed?
The desires of your heart are the first clue to the gift and ministry calling that God has placed in your life.
In ‘Grow Your Prophetic And Prayer Gifts’, you will discover…
(More details …)
PRAY FOR THE LOST: Impact The Eternal Destiny Of Those You Love Through Prayer
$6.95 e-Book*
Do you have loved ones whose salvation you are concerned about? Discover how your prayers have power.
This book includes the following helpful tools:
**A worksheet to help you pray strategically for the person on your heart
**A powerful sample prayer you can personalise.
In ‘Pray For The Lost: Impact the Eternal Destiny Of Those You Love Through Prayer’, you will learn… (More details …)
*All prices are in Australian Dollars (AUD).
To purchase an e-book, use your credit card by selecting the ‘Add to Cart’ buttons on the website. This facility by PayPal is easy, very secure, and will do any currency conversion for you.
Note: You do not need to have an account with PayPal to use this facility, and we do not keep a record of your credit card information on this site.
After checkout, you will receive instructions on how to download the e-book as a PDF file.
© Helen Calder Enliven Publishing
Sun 24 Jan 2010
Do you want to develop or sharpen your prophetic gift? Journaling is an easy but powerful tool for prophetic activation. It can help you grow your gift of prophecy.
Journaling is basically recording any insights you receive from God during your prayer and Bible study times.
Some ways journaling can help you grow in your prophetic gift are:
- It encourages you to listen to God and become familiar with his voice (John 10:4). You can also practice receiving revelation from God and processing it.
- Journaling helps you remember what God has spoken to you by providing a record to refer back to
- It provides a means of focus, discipline and accountability
- You can practice putting what God is saying into a clear and communicable form—an necessary skill for prophecy
- You can look back later and see what, in the case of prophetic revelation, has come to pass—this helps sharpen your gift.
- Journaling provides a record from which you can pray God’s purposes into being
- You can get more revelation when you journal. Once you record what you have received, it frees your mind so that you can be open to hear more of what God is saying.
- You can use what you have received in your journaling time to share with others
- It brings glory to God when the things you have journaled take place
- It provides a safe place to practice receiving and processing prophetic revelation without the pressure of public exposure
- You can use what you have heard from God to help you walk with Him and obey Him (Hab 2:2)
Journaling in scripture
For an example of journaling, we don’t have to look past the Bible itself. Much of scripture is prophetic revelation recorded in written form.
What Do You Need for Journaling?
The type of journaling you choose should suit your personal style. There are also a variety of media you can use to help you journal. These include:
- Writing in an A5 or A4 journal
- Typing and recording your journal using a computer.
- If writing or typing is difficult for you, you can record your journaling in small, bite-sized files using a recorder, MP3 recorder, or mobile phone, then name and store them for later reference.
Journaling is essentially private, but if you would like to share from your journal, another media you can use is the Internet. Some of my blog posts started out as journal entries.
It is best to keep your journal notes together in one place, such as a notebook, journal or single folder on your computer. This way, you can refer back to them later.
Types of Journaling
You don’t have to stick to any one type of journaling. Choose a journaling style that best suits you.
Some simple options you can use for written journaling are:
Two popular methods that can assist you with the journaling process are:
1. SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer)
2. Prayer journaling
Remember that journaling methods are tools, not rules.
The Two Week Journaling Challenge
I will be reviewing the prayer journaling and ‘SOAP’ methods in the next couple of posts.
I am not currently using these two journaling styles (I use mind-mapping). But I will use these methods for one week each as I blog about them, and describe my experiences in the comments section of each post.
It would be fun if you would join me on this ‘two-week journaling challenge.’
Consider some of the benefits I have mentioned in this post. Journaling can help you sharpen your prophetic gift, and it could change your life as you hear from God.
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Would you like to develop your prophetic gift?
Enter your email address in the subscribe box at the right hand side of this page to receive:
- regular blogs and teaching to help you grow in your gift of prophecy
- notifications about online prophetic training opportunities
- news of resources to help develop your prophetic gift
Check here for online prophetic training opportunities in 2010
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© Helen Calder Enliven Publishing
Tue 22 Dec 2009
Posted by Helen Calder under Supernatural
[2] Comments
Some of the most precious Christmas gifts I have ever received have come in unexpected wrapping.
- Roughly packaged treasures from small children,
- Innocuous cards containing expensive surprises,
- The smallest of presents from the largest of hearts
To accept or reject a gift based on its external presentation would be unthinkable.
This week I have been reading the Christmas accounts in Luke and Matthew and wondering again at the priceless treasure hidden in a stable and cradled in a manger—Jesus, Immanuel, God With Us.
The packaging may have been rough and ordinary, but this gift was also gilded with unexpected lashings of glory.
After 400 years of prophetic silence in the land of Israel, angels burst upon the scene bringing the word of the Lord direct from God’s throne, and people—not prophets as of old, but ordinary people—are filled with the Holy Spirit and bring prophetic proclamations.
As Luke recounts events surrounding the birth of Jesus, my ‘Spirit Filled Life Bible’ makes the margin note, ‘..the new era is signalled by the renewal of the gift of prophecy, which has been dormant…’
I muse on the angelic and prophetic activity recorded by Luke, in the first two chapters alone:
- The angel Gabriel appears to Zacharias, bringing God’s word and instruction concerning John (Luke 1:11-22)
- The angel Gabriel is sent to Mary (Luke 1:26)
- Elizabeth makes a prophetic proclamation concerning Jesus (Luke 1:41-45)
- Zaharias prophesies (Luke 1:67-79)
- An angelic visitation to shepherds in the fields (Luke 2:8-15)
- Simeon prophesies over the baby Jesus (Luke 2:25-32)
- Anna prophesies concerning Jesus (Luke 2:36-38)
Matthew adds to this, instances of angelic guidance in dreams to Joseph and the wise men (Matt 1:20-23, Matt 2:1-15).
These events are not limited to the occurrences surrounding Jesus’ birth. Throughout the book of Acts prophetic guidance and yes, angelic activity, continue to be a part of the normal early church experience (see Acts 1:10, 5:19, 8:26, 10:3, 12:7, 27:23 for accounts of angels, before we even start on prophecy and signs).
Supernatural is now the new normal, testifying of Jesus and attributing to His saving grace and Divine intervention.
As I meditate upon this, I find it incredibly challenging.
What if the gift of God’s Presence, in 2010 and beyond, was to come in unexpected wrapping? What if I failed to see it because I was looking for something else—or worse, dismissed it out of hand?
I am comfortable with prophecy and have grown to expect the occasional spiritual dream. But angels and signs? Reading Luke, I realise, with dismay, that I tend to rate some types of supernatural activity as acceptable and normal, and others as unexpected and abnormal.
I wouldn’t consider picking and choosing gifts under the tree based on the colour or packaging or size. So why would I do this with the gift of God?
As we enter the New Year, let’s be open to whatever way God chooses to manifest His purposes and His activity in our lives, our churches and in those around us. Let’s look for Him both in the rough and ordinary, and the supernatural, glorious and unforeseen.
Let’s enter 2010 EXPECTANT.
With prayers for a blessed Christmas from my house to yours!
Helen Calder Enliven Publishing
Fri 18 Dec 2009
Posted by Helen Calder under Prayer
[2] Comments
Dear friends,
Exciting news—Enliven Publishing will be launching an Online Prophetic Training program in 2010!
This is still in the formation stage; so now is the opportunity for you to let me know what you would like to learn about, and any topics, questions or sticky issues you would like covered.
Those of you who have attended my training sessions will know that I like to be really practical in my approach to prophetic training.
With this in mind, I am exploring the medium of an online forum, where members who are training with us can log in to a secure forum, share ideas and practice giving, receiving and providing feedback to prophecies, with the assistance of online coaches.
Some of the topics I am considering offering are:
- Prophetic Prayer
- How To Receive Revelationary Knowledge From God
- How to Prophesy
- Prophecy In The Church
- Personal Prophecy, giving and receiving
- Prophetic Dreams
- Prophetic Evangelism
These won’t just be information or theory, but some practical ‘How-to’s,’ steps and exercises to help get you started.
Here are some prophetic training tools that will be included:
- Receiving an e-Book that will help you in your prophetic journey upon subscribing
- Weekly MP3 podcasts on each topic, along with a PDF worksheet
- A weekly prophetic activation plan and access to helpful related articles
Here are some responses I’ve had to past training sessions:
- ‘Very balanced and God-focused,’ ‘Very straightforward and easy to grasp’
- ‘Excellent blend of teaching and hands-on learning, ‘Really powerful’
- ‘It took the fear out of prophecy…less scary than I thought’
- ‘Very straight-forward and easy to grasp’
- ‘Excellent–love the chance to experience and practice’
- ‘The right balance of theory and practice, all Biblically based’
If you would like to be involved, keep an eye on my prophetic training page and subscribe to this blog to stay informed of developments.
Please forward this information to anyone who may be interested.
Blessings,
Helen
P.S. If you have any responses or ideas about online prophetic training, or if you have had experience with online prophetic training, I would love to hear from you! Please leave your comments in the boxes below—if the comments area is not visible, click on the blog post title and scroll down.
Related posts:
How to Develop Your Prophetic Gift Pt 1: Where to Begin
How to Exercise Your Prophetic Gift Pt 1: Understand the Process of Prophecy
You might like to also check out my article at ezinearticles.com on ‘7 Reasons Why Prophetic Training Can Help You Develop Your Gift of Prophecy’
© Helen Calder Enliven Publishing
Tue 17 Nov 2009
You are praying for yourself, another person, church or group and waiting for God to bring a prophetic word through you. Now you receive a revelation—a thought, picture, scripture verse, Bible story word, feeling, dream or other impression.
How do you know that it is from the Holy Spirit?
Our senses are constantly being bombarded with all kinds of thoughts and feelings. We need to carefully assess whether the revelation is from God and not our own opinion, imagination or even demonic in origin. This is important even when we are in prayer or waiting on the Lord for a prophecy.
As you grow in your prophetic gift, this process will increase in speed until it occurs almost simultaneously as you prophesy. As you start out, however, it can take a bit longer. In the early stages of developing your prophetic gift you may prefer to meditate on your revelation, journal it, or share it with a mentor or leader before sharing it as a prophetic word.
If you are unsure whether the impression you are receiving is a message from God, it is OK to dismiss it, or to shelve it for a later time. We need to give ourselves the grace that God extends to us in this process and not get hung up that everything we are getting has to be 100% perfect (see the post, ‘Not Word-Perfect’ for more about this). If this happens, pass over it and wait prayerfully for another revelation.
There are two things that we can do that will help us in this process:
- Assess the likely meaning of the revelation
- Assess whether or not the revelation is likely to be from God
1. What Does the Revelation Mean?
Broadly, revelations from the Holy Spirit can be either plain or symbolic in their meaning.
Plain Revelation
Plain revelation has an obvious meaning and can be interpreted in a straight-forward way. If the revelation were to be shared without elaboration—as is—to the person you are prophesying to, the meaning could easily be understood by them.
Some examples of plain revelation are:
*You think of a Bible verse, for example Psalm 23:1 ‘The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want’ or Proverbs 3:5-6 ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart… He shall direct your paths’
*A word comes to mind, such as ‘boldness’
*You have an impression, such as ‘God is releasing provision for an area of need’
*You have a feeling, such as, “I am feeling God’s compassion and love for this person’
*A non-symbolic picture or vision comes to mind, such as seeing the Lord embracing the person. Most visions and dreams, however, are symbolic in nature
Symbolic Revelation
Symbolic revelation occurs when the impression, picture or word you receive is representative of something else. It requires interpretation by yourself or the recipient in order for the meaning to be understood.
Some examples of symbolic revelation are:
*You recall a Bible story, such as David and Goliath (1 Sam 17). The presenting symbolism is that God is giving the person or group you are praying for victory over an enemy or adversity
*You have a symbolic picture come to mind, for example you see the person standing behind a huge shield. This seems to mean that God is encouraging them that they are shielded from something that could be potentially harmful. You are also reminded of Bible verses such as Psalm 3:3 that says that God is our shield.
Questions to ask about a symbolic revelation:
1. Is the symbolism Biblical?
If so, what does it mean in the Bible? Does it have more than one meaning? For example fire in the Bible is representative of the Holy Spirit—but it is also representative of trial and judgement (Acts 2:1-4, Ps 66:12, 1 Cor 3:13)
2. Is it non-Biblical symbolism? If so, does the symbol have a meaning in our cultural context?
A symbol can be a combination of both—for example, if a picture of a lighthouse comes to mind, you remember that Jesus said that His followers would be a light to the world (Matt 5:14). As the specific function of a lighthouse is to show ships the right way to travel and prevent loss and destruction, the symbol has an added value of meaning.
3. Is it a symbol you don’t understand?
Here you have a choice as to whether to dismiss the impression if you believe it may not be from God, or to proceed and share it as you receive it. The symbol may have a significant meaning to the recipient that you are unaware of—we will discuss this in the next blog post.
Sometimes a revelation can have both plain and symbolic elements.
2. How to Check Whether the Impression You Have Received is From God
Once you have assessed a revelation for its probable meaning, you can check the revelation, along with your interpretation of it, by passing it through a simple test:
A. Does it fall within the Biblical guidelines of being strengthening, encouraging and comforting? (1 Cor 14:3). In other words, does it ‘build up, lift up or cheer up?’
B. Does it reflect God’s character and nature?
C. Is it redemptive? (i.e., true to the ‘Good News’ of salvation, containing a positive outcome and speaking of God’s redeeming purposes)
D. Is it loving in expression towards the recipient?
E. Does it adhere to scriptural principles?
F. Is it, or could it be relevant to the professed need of the person, group or situation that we are praying for or ministering to? (This may be difficult to ascertain, and this is where faith comes in as we mature in the prophetic gift)
G. Is it true to God’s voice as He normally speaks to you?
As you start out in prophecy, you experience doubts as to whether the impression you have received is really from God or was from your own imagination. However, if it is Biblical, and builds up, lifts up or cheers up, it can still bring encouragement.
You will know for sure whether it was from the Lord by the fruit, or outcome of the word after you have delivered it. Time will tell. Deliver the message in faith and watch what God does.
A good guideline for beginning in prophecy is, ‘No direction or correction; no dates or mates.’ If you strongly believe you are receiving a warning or direction from God for the person, group or church you are praying for, either refrain from bringing it and commit it to prayer, or submit it to a leader for guidance.
I encourage those who are maturing in prophecy to ascertain and communicate God’s redemptive purposes (that is, the positive outcome He intends), when the prophecy contains a warning.
Once we are comfortable with sharing the revelation we have received, we then need to decide how best to communicate that message from God.
In the next post, I will discuss the next stage of prophecy—which is deciding how to frame and then deliver your prophetic message.
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Would you like to develop your prophetic gift?
Enter your email address in the subscribe box at the right hand side of this page to receive:
- regular blogs and teaching to help you grow in your gift of prophecy
- notifications about online prophetic training opportunities
- news of resources to help develop your prophetic gift
Check here for online prophetic training opportunities in 2010
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See also:
How to Exercise Your Prophetic Gift Pt 1: Understand the Process of Prophecy
How to Exercise Your Prophetic Gift Pt 2: How To Receive a Revelation From God
© Helen Calder Enliven Publishing
