Our friend Charlie Forrest* began a conversation in the comments section of my last blog post on ‘The Heart of A Discerner.’ His thought-provoking observations are so good that I have decided to put the discernment series on hold in order to share the discussion with you.

Here are Charlie’s comments, in blue italics (I’ve added the emphasis in bold), followed by my own responses.

Would you like to add your own thoughts to this conversation? Feel free to join us in the comments section of this post. (If the comments box is not visible, click on this link and scroll down).

Charlie: ‘Thanks for the reply Helen, just a couple of extra points. I believe the need of intimacy with the Father is vital for the prophetic to function as it should. A prophet has absolutely nothing to say if he does not hear what the Lord is saying.’

Charlie, you are so right—the whole point of prophecy (and other revelationary gifts such as word of knowledge and discernment) is to speak forth the heart, mind and will of the Father. Intimacy is vital if we are to accurately represent Him.

How tragic to catch the revelation of God’s purposes—His mind and will—but to miss His heartbeat!

I believe it is the apprehension of His heart that will enable us to frame a prophecy in such a way that His love—and redeeming purpose—shines through (1 Cor 13:1-2). Without this, a prophecy is empty and incomplete.

Charlie: If he does speak and does not hear from the Lord the source of what he is saying is coming from either the flesh or worse, demonic. This will cause much hurt in the body.

Personally, I do not believe that all prophecy sourced in the flesh (out of our natural heart and mind) is damaging, although it can be, especially if it is misleading or employs soulish manipulation. A prophecy (or ‘word of encouragement,’ as it may better be termed), spoken out of our own heart, may fall short of being God’s best; but if it is encouraging, simple, Biblical, and spoken in faith—with love—I believe God can still use it.

If we allowed ourselves to fear speaking ‘in the flesh’ (out of our natural heart and mind), many of us, myself included, would never speak a prophecy at all!

I believe this potential for us to fall short in prophetic ministry, and for damage to be caused, is the reason Paul exhorted the Corinthian church to ‘weigh carefully’ prophetic words (1 Cor 14:29). And as he said in 1 Thess 5:20-21:

‘Do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good.’ Unsaid, but inherent in the text is, ‘Reject what is not good.’

These guidelines were given by the Holy Spirit to the church to help purify prophetic ministry.

It continually amazes me that Jesus entrusts us, His church, with gifts that are—not in terms of source, but in our expression of them—imperfect and incomplete (see also 1 Cor 13:9-10). His higher plan is for us to be interdependent upon each other in the use of our gifts.

Check out an earlier post I wrote on this subject:

‘Not Word Perfect: Understanding How Prophetic Ministry Works In The Church Today.’

The other point that flows from this of course is, ‘What do we do about damaging prophecy?’ I started to explore this in the comments section of the following post:

‘How Do I Know A Personal Prophecy Or Dream Interpretation Is From God?’

This topic is much broader than what we can cover here.

Charlie: Secondly from being in the Fathers presence we learn His heart and are then able to discern what is from Him and what is not.

So true. And I do agree with your implication that the ability to discern is not limited to those with a gift of discernment.

This leads us to your question about spiritual gifts, which we will dialogue on in next week’s post.

Charlie: I have heard a lot of prophetic words lately and I feel much is wishful thinking and the flesh. I long for the day when there will be men and women released in the body who know the Father and will speak his word in power and humility.

Charlie I know this is also the cry of my heart and many who read this blog will agree.

Deep down we know there is more. We live in the tension between our current experience and what we know is available.

I feel as though I am paddling in shallows, but longing for deep waters.

However, I am also mindful of the scriptural injunction to not despise the day of small things (Zech 4:10).

The greatest thrill I have in prophetic training is to watch people who have never received a prophetic word before receive and share a simple revelation from the heart of God.

It is not perfect, but it is a little baby step. And I know that just as a parent delights in a child’s first steps, our Heavenly Father takes joy in these moments too.

The thing is not to stop at that place, but to keep moving closer in intimacy with the Father, growing in character and in skill in the use of our gift.

I love your heart, Charlie, and your hunger.

Let the hunger spread.

**Next week I will continue the dialogue with Charlie Forrest on the topic of spiritual gifts. Charlie has raised some provocative questions, for which I don’t have all the answers. But we can certainly explore them together.

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Related Posts:

A Dialogue On Spiritual Gifts
‘The Heart of A Discerner.’
‘Not Word Perfect: Understanding How Prophetic Ministry Works In The Church Today.’
‘How Do I Know A Personal Prophecy Or Dream Interpretation Is From God?’

I sat in the office of a counsellor, head down in prayer. The visit was precipitated by difficulties in a ministry situation that had left me discouraged and heartsick.

At this point in the session, the counsellor was inviting me to look into my heart—to visualise, with God’s help, what was happening on the inside of me.

To my complete surprise, instead of the darkness she was verbally preparing me to face, I found myself in a vision:

---

I was under water, looking up towards the surface, where a current was flowing swiftly. A thin layer of scum was being carried along and away by the fast-moving water, skimming across its surface.

As I wondered what I was seeing, the vision changed. I saw myself at the bottom of a river, and Jesus was with me. Together we were pulling up weeds from the riverbed, laughing, enjoying the moment. The weeds came away from the river’s floor easily. As we raised our hands and released them, the current of the river caught them away.

---

My problems were not difficult for the Lord to handle. In fact, I saw that He delighted in sharing this process—of identifying and removing what was not of Him in my life.
That day, I looked for pain and encountered my Saviour. The prophetic vision He shared with me changed my perspective and helped bring me healing.

Revelation Brings Heaven’s Perspective.

The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” But Abram said, “O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless?”  (Gen 15:1-2)

Abram had a perspective problem. He was wealthy, but without an heir and without lands he could not comprehend how God could bless him.

The Lord responded by assuring him that He would give Abram a son and that his descendants would possess the land around him. Then:

‘He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars–if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”’ Gen 15:5

When God gives us prophetic revelation—whether in vision or otherwise—He enables us to see from heaven’s perspective.

• A vision from God changed Peter’s perspective about the Gentiles and facilitated the spread of the Gospel throughout the Gentile world (Acts 10:9-20)

• A vision of the Risen Christ overturned Saul’s perspective, transforming him from a persecutor of the church to a founder of many churches (Acts 9)

How can we tell whether a personal revelation is from God?

A revelation from God does not come cloaking own ideas; neither does it reinforce our opinions, suspicions or prejudices.

Instead, like a contact lens placed on a natural eye, a vision from God brings adjustment and focus.

The Holy Spirit enables us to see circumstances, others and ourselves as the Father sees them.

He transforms our viewpoint so we can see like Him—and ultimately become like Him.

• When we are discouraged, He brings hope
• When we are fearful, He speaks a word of faith
• When we are hungry to know Him, He reveals more of Himself to us
• When we are confused, He brings clarity
• When we are critical, He shares His love for another

Here are some more ways we can check whether a vision or revelation is from God:

1. Is it Biblical?

2. Does it reflect God’s character and wisdom?

3. Is it redemptive—speaking of God’s heart to save and restore?

4. Do you have an inner witness that it is of God?

5. If it concerns direction—does it have the confirmation of circumstances, your gifts and wiring, and other believers—including your leaders?

The Power of a Vision to Restore

If you could see what heaven sees for your situation right now, how would it change your viewpoint?

Years ago, we experienced division in our church. I was deeply hurt, and shared the opinions and grievances of my friends who had left the church. My heart was urging me to leave.

Standing in a service one day, I received a prophetic vision that brought heaven’s perspective to my situation. I stayed, repented, and was restored. And the rest, as they say, is history.

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Related Posts:

How to Exercise Your Prophetic Gift Pt 3: How Can You Tell Your Revelation Is From God?

How to Exercise Your Prophetic Gift Pt 2: How To Receive A Revelation From God

Need a Breakthrough? Uncover the Mysteries of Heaven

© Helen Calder    Enliven Publishing

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).

How to Overcome Blockages In Your Prophetic Gift, Desire

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.
__________________________________________________________

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

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).

How to Overcome Blockages In Your Prophetic Gift, Identify Your Season

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Related Posts:

How to Overcome Blockages & Barriers to Growth in your Prophetic Gift, Introduction

© Helen Calder    Enliven Publishing

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).

How To Overcome Blockages and Barriers To Growth In Your Prophetic Gift, Introduction

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

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

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

Have you ever received a prophecy that left you feeling uncomfortable?

On rare occasions, I have received a prophetic word that has felt wrong—and yet because it was given to me in a ‘Thus saith the Lord’ manner, the person prophesying was inferring that to reject the prophecy was to be in disobedience towards God!

This dilemma has the potential to cause great pain and can especially be harmful to newer Christians. I have prayed with people who have received a negative or ‘off’ prophecy and together we have broken the power of the word spoken over their lives.

Prophecy is abusive when it does not give room for a receiver to weigh up whether the prophecy is from the Lord or not. This is true even if the word is one of encouragement. But if the word is mistaken, it has the added potential of becoming a curse that bears negative fruit in the recipient’s life until it is broken in Jesus’ Name. (For more information about breaking the effects of abusive prophecy check out the post and comments, ‘How Do I Know A Personal Prophecy is From God?’)

• Releasing the Receiver of Your Prophecy

When you share a prophetic message, it is vital that you give the person or group you are prophesying over freedom to weigh up the prophecy and receive it, or discard it.

You can do this by using releasing language such as, ‘I believe the Lord is saying…’ ‘Does this mean anything to you?’ ‘I sense…’ This communicates to them that you see yourself as a ‘human vessel’ that could miss the mark. You are submitting the word to them for their assessment.

You do not need to worry that the effect of the prophecy will be watered down by such an approach. The Lord honours humility in the use of His gifts.

This is not to say that prophesying as though God was speaking in the first person through you is always wrong. In fact, this approach can be incredibly powerful, especially when the prophecy is being accompanied by the impartation of an anointing or spiritual gift. However, I believe that this style of prophesying is best left to those who are mature in the prophetic ministry.

If you do move into first-person prophecy such as, ‘The Lord is saying…’ ensure that it has been prefaced or concluded by releasing language as we’ve discussed above.

When prophesying over individuals, I like to make available a brochure I have written called, ‘What to do With Your Personal Prophecy.’ The handout explains how to weigh up a prophetic word and what to do with it. It reminds them that they have the freedom to receive or release the word, and fulfils a duty of care on my part.

• Be Honest About Conflicting Motives

Prophecy is not a format for us to give our opinion, nor under any circumstances should it be used as a cover for directing or counseling a person to our way of thinking.

If we are experiencing conflict about our motives in bringing a prophecy— it is better to abstain from bringing the word—or to be honest about this conflict as we deliver it. This can occur when we are familiar with the person or situation that we are prophesying over.

• Provide Accountability

Whichever means you use to deliver a prophecy, it is important to do so in a way that provides you with safe accountability (you can review the Biblical guidelines in 1 Cor 14).

This means that if the prophecy is not delivered publicly or where there is at least another witness, it is able to be remembered and recorded in some way. That way, the recipient can receive advice or oversight about the prophecy if desired. It also provides you with protection should your prophecy come under question. Churches usually have their own guidelines and protocols regarding prophecy.

Writing down a prophetic word (or storing it electronically) aids with both accountability and the communication process. It also means the recipient can keep the prophecy for future encouragement or reference.

• Prophetic Evangelism

When you are using prophecy in the process of prophetic evangelism, accountability would take the form of sharing what is taking place with Christians that are journeying with you.

If the person you have a prophetic word for is not yet a Christian, I would add the following guidelines to the above:

• Be careful how you communicate that you believe what you have is a word from God. You could preface your insight with a statement such as, “I’ve been praying for you and I believe God is saying…”
• Bring the word in a natural manner and avoid using religious jargon. This is preferable at all times, but especially so when sharing a prophecy with an unchurched person.

• How To Release A Prophecy You Have Given

Once we have delivered our prophecy, we have completed our part in the process. It is over to the recipient of the message to assess the prophecy and decide whether to take current or future action on the word from God.

Bringing a prophecy is like a postman delivering a letter. Once we have faithfully ‘dropped the letter in the mailbox’, what the receiver does with it is generally no longer our concern.

We can pray about the person and the word, especially if we sense the Holy Spirit urging us to do so. However, we need to release the outcome to the Holy Spirit and to the recipient of the prophecy.

****************************************************************************************

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

****************************************************************************************

Related Posts:

How to Exercise Your Prophetic Gift Pt 4: How to Deliver a Prophecy

4 Things You Can Do With Your Personal Prophecy

© Helen Calder   Enliven Publishing

At the beginning of this series we identified 5 links in the process of prophecy:

1. We receive a revelation from the Holy Spirit

2. We assess the revelation and how to best communicate it in a prophetic message

3. We then deliver the prophecy to the person or group God is speaking to

4. The recipient(s) of the prophecy assess the message

5. The recipient(s) of the prophecy respond to the prophecy.

In the last two posts we have discussed how to receive a prophetic revelation, as well as how to assess its meaning and determine whether or not it is from the Holy Spirit.

At this stage, you believe you have received a message from God for a person, group or church that you have been praying for. It is time to deliver the prophecy God has given you.

For the purposes of this discussion, I am going to assume that you are delivering the prophecy using words, whether spoken, written or in song.

During delivery, you are framing your revelation from God (picture, word, scripture, impression, or feeling) with words

There are two ways that you can do this:

• Describe the revelation
• Unfold the revelation

1. Describe the Revelation

Describing the revelation is sharing the impression as you receive it, without elaboration. You may choose to simply describe the picture or vision, pass on the word or impression, or share the Bible verse or story that has come to mind.

The advantages of sharing a prophetic revelation just as you received it are:

• It is easier when you are beginning in prophecy
• The revelation runs less danger of being tainted by your own opinion about what it means
• The revelation may have special significance for the person that you are unaware of
• It aids the recipient in remembering the prophecy, especially if the revelation was a picture, verse or Bible story.

Simply describing a revelation also has limitations:

• The person may not have the Biblical knowledge to understand any symbolism in your revelation
• There may be more insight about the revelation that you have received, or could receive, but are not sharing
• This method does not require a high level of faith
• If you always use this method, you will limit your growth in the gift of prophecy.

2. Unfolding the Revelation

Another way you can share a revelation is to use the impression you received to launch into a more detailed prophecy.

When you unfold a revelation, you are bringing an interpretation of the revelation, and enlarging upon it, as the Holy Spirit illuminates it to you. By faith, you are also allowing the Spirit to direct the flow of your expression.

As you grow in prophetic ministry, you will find more revelation comes to mind as you are prophesying, enabling you to share an extended prophecy. You are assessing the new revelation during the process of prophesying.

The advantages of this kind of prophetic ministry are:

• It enables the recipient to receive a greater clarification of the prophetic word
• The impact and impartation of the prophecy increases due to the higher level of faith and boldness required to deliver this kind of prophetic message
• It suits maturing prophetic ministry.

Some cautions about unfolding revelation in this way are:

• At this stage, if not careful, you are prone to filter God’s word with your own ideas, judgements, history and experience (especially if the recipient of the prophecy is known to you)
• If you step into this kind of prophecy when you are not ready, the prophecy can go awry!

I believe that it is usually best—if you feel confident enough to do so—to both describe and unfold the revelation you have received. For example, you may say, ‘I had a picture of… and I believe the Lord is saying…’

This way, the recipient receives the benefits of both the initial revelation and the extension of the prophecy.

I have seen mature prophets deliver prophecies in this way that have had a high impact on the recipient.

When beginning in prophecy it is best to start with simple sharing and work up to stronger prophecy as you grow in experience and wisdom, taking small steps forward at a time. This is where growing your prophetic gift in the safe community of a church is valuable.

Some Other Thoughts About Delivering a Prophecy:

It is vital that we use wisdom as to the means, context, place, manner, and timing of delivering a prophecy. I’ve often heard it said that the church carpark is the wrong place to bring a prophecy!

• Verbalising a prophecy is only one way in which it can be delivered. Other ways you can share a prophecy include in writing, through prophetic song, prophetic art, multi-media and through symbolic action. Ensure that you are gifted in the media that you decide to use!
• Deliver the word clearly. If the message is delivered in an unclear or ambiguous manner, it will obscure its meaning. Also remember that what is clear to you may not be clear to someone else and that you may need to adapt your approach at times;
• Delivery also involves how you bring the message. It includes your style, the tone of your voice and your attitude as you give it (if you write a prophecy, this includes your writing style).Your attitude and manner of speech should reflect the heart of God towards the recipient;
• Be sure to share the prophecy in a way that gives them room to weigh up whether the message is from God, and receive or release the word

In the next post, I will be discussing two very important aspects of delivering a prophecy that creates a safe environment for both giver and receiver.

****************************************************************************************

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

****************************************************************************************

See also:

How to Exercise Your Prophetic Gift Pt 3: How Can You Tell Your Revelaton Is From God

How to Develop Your Prophetic Gift Pt 1: Where to Begin

How To Share A Prophecy With Someone Who Is Not A Christian

© Helen Calder   Enliven Publishing

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:

1. Assess the likely meaning of the revelation
2. 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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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