Ask Teresa

Dear Teresa

I have been to the #prophetic-school chatroom a few times. The reason I am going to that room is because I am in a time of great transition and find it difficult to hear God clearly for myself. How do I get them to give me a prophetic word in that room?

Also, are all believers will be able to hear God giving prophetic words? Or is this a gifting that only some Christians have? (I believe I hear the Lord speaking to me from the Bible, and also now and then directly on other topics, but usually I find it hard to discern His voice clearly).

Sincerely,

- Trying To Listen

Dear Trying To Listen

Let me answer the 2nd question first. I do believe that all believers can (and are expected to) hear God's voice as per John 10:27. God wants to speak to each of us personally and we should all be able to hear His voice, but it usually requires a learning curve to recognize when God is speaking to us and what His voice sounds like. [There are several resources to help you learn, I have listed some of them at the end of this write-up.]

It is possible to learn to hear and recognize God's voice clearly and to hear Him speak to you directly for yourself and even for others. This is not the gift of prophecy, it is more like the Apostle John leaning his head on Jesus' breast and asking "Who is it Lord?" at the Last Supper. Since John asked, Jesus talked to him about Judas and answered his question.

The Lord does that frequently today--when we ask Him about a fellow believer and what He wants to encourage them with, He will often give us something to encourage the person with because we asked. This is not the gift of prophesy, it is just God (out of His love and friendship for us and for the person we asked about) answering our question. Then we can share what we hear (from our own personal hearing of God's voice) with the person that we asked God about.

Prophesy is a bit different than what I described in the above paragraph. It is a spiritual gift from the Holy Spirit, that is given to some (not all) members of the body of Christ to encourage, edify, build up and strengthen the body of Christ as per 1 Corinthians 14. Those who have this spiritual gift are ones who God chooses to use to bring messages from Him to others. Most of the time, the prophet does not seek God for a word for a given person. Instead the Lord says, "I have a message for so-and-so. Would you please deliver it to him/her for Me?" There is usually great power and life in the words that are spoken by a person with the gift of prophecy, usually more so than the power in the words we get from our own personal hearing.

There is one more thing that can go on in the prophetic. Some people call it the "Spirit Of Prophecy." That is when God is so interested in speaking prophetically to a person or group that He releases a special anointing that allows whosoever is willing to flow in the prophetic with Him at that moment because that is what He is doing at that moment. I believe this is what Paul was talking about in 1 Corinthians 14 when he said, "desire earnestly to prophesy." When the Holy Spirit chooses to do this sort of thing, then pretty much anyone who wants to can speak prophetic words. This often happens in a group setting during worship, or at a training session where people are learning to move in the prophetic and learning to hear His voice more clearly.

That Spirit of Prophecy often goes on in the #prophetic-school chatroom that you asked about. Many times the Lord will release the Spirit Of Prophecy in that chatroom, where anyone who is in the room at the time can prophesy. At other times, the words given in that room come from personal hearing. Also, there are a few in there who have the gift of prophecy and minister in the room from that.

Now let's talk about your first question.

You want to know how to request a word in that room. The short answer is that you don't ask the people there for the word, you ask God to speak to you. Sometimes people in that room ask for a word and receive it, but many times they do not get much of a word when they request one, because the request goes against the philosophy/goals of the room.

The #prophetic-school chatroom is not intended as a place for people to go when they want to receive prophetic ministry; e.g., it is not a place to come to get a word. Rather, it is a place to learn to listen to God, to hear Him speak to you on behalf of another and to share what you hear so you can get feedback. It is intended as a safe place to learn.

The goal of people coming to that chatroom is not to receive words (though many do receive good words there as others practice hearing/sharing). The goal in coming there is to learn to hear God and to minister to others.

I should say one more thing about the room. It is a place to learn and not everyone is at the same level in their ability to hear God. Some hear quite well and others will hear wrong. That is why all words given there must be prayerfully judged before you receive them as "from God."

NOTE:

for those of you who are not familiar with the #prophetic-school chatroom, there is a web page that gives information about it:

www.godspeak.net/chat

I have a book out on that subject that many find helpful called How To Hear The Voice Of God In a Noisy World. There is also a lot of free teaching material on that subject on the GodSpeak web site, at www.godspeak.net -- such as "Prophetic-School Training 101," "Prophetic- School Training 201," "Workshop 100: Dialogue With God" and several individual courses in the "Prophetic-School Mini-Course Series." Just go to the GodSpeak web page and then click on the link from the left- hand index that says "Classes And Teachings." That will take you to list of the courses. To see the individual miniseries courses, click on the "Prophetic-School Mini-Course series" link and it will bring you to an index of individual short courses. Ones of particular interest to you include "Course 20: Ways God Speaks", and "Course 33: Discerning God's Voice." You will find many of the other courses are helpful as well, especially "Course 18: Desperate For A Word."]