Desperate For A Word

In the first lesson, I shared how some otherwise very reasonable and mature people seem to "go crazy" when then get around the prophetic. They feel a desperation for a word that leads to extreme frustration if they don't receive one. This leads to struggles with other emotions ranging from anger to jealousy or depression to resentment of those who receive words. Sometimes the intensity of these emotions will drive a person to think, say, pray or even do things that they will later regret. It causes some to become pushy or demanding, or to say or do something rude or childish and immature. Some gripe and complain. Others feel they have been deprived of something that is rightfully theirs. Others feel they have been wronged or mistreated when they don't receive a word. None of these responses is helpful. None of them draws us closer to God.

I Cor 14:3-5 says that God intends for most New Testament prophecy to strengthen, encourage, build up, comfort, edify and exhort. When the prophetic is accomplishing the opposite in you, God is not pleased.

Let's look at one case in the New Testament where believers had problems when they got around the prophetic: the Corinthian Church. They were out of order in their response to the release of God's true prophetic. Paul rebuked them for inappropriate responses to the prophetic in 1 Cor 14:20. He said, "Don't be childish in your understanding of these things (prophecy and spiritual gifts). Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature and wise in understanding matters of this kind" (NLT). The NKJV put it this way, "Brothers, stop thinking like children."

If other words, if we have wrong reactions when we get around prophetic ministry, then we need to change our thinking to line up with God's thinking. I would like to share some principles to help us think and behave like spiritual adults when we get around the prophetic.

Look to God, Not to the Prophet

It may be that God wants to speak to you directly before He will allow you to receive a prophetic word from someone else. In many cases, God means for prophecy to be a confirmation of what He has already spoken to you, not a substitute for hearing Him for yourself. Jesus said in John 10:27, "My sheep hear My voice." This means that He expects His followers to learn to hear God for themselves.

If you are not getting the prophetic words that you feel you "need," sit down and ask God to speak directly to you. Talk to Him about the pressing issues in your life. Or possibly ask Him to talk to you about why He is not giving you prophetic words through others. His answer might come in any of several ways. First, it may be that the Lord will speak directly to your spirit and you will suddenly realize things or understand things as God drops them into your spirit. Or you may hear Him speak to you in that still small voice that sounds so much like your own thoughts. Or He may give you a picture or even a dream or a vision that sheds understanding. Or God may speak to you through the scriptures. Or God may bring along someone who gives you godly counsel in those areas. There are many ways God can speak to you.

Also, start pouring yourself into God's word, the Bible. If you are seeking Him for a particular theme or issue, study the Bible and see what it says about that area. Drag out the concordance or computerized Bible search program and find verses that deal with it. Or look at the lives of God's servants (Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Hannah, Daniel, Elijah, the disciples, apostle Paul, etc) who went through a similar issue -- and examine how God met them and worked in their lives.

Go to God, wait on Him and seek Him for an answer. There is a very good chance that He has been waiting for you to do this, and that may be why He has withheld personal prophecies from you. You will find that He will speak to you. He may not speak as fast as you want Him to, but He will speak. He has promised that He will do this in James 1:5.

A Symptom of an Inner Issue God Wants to Heal or Deal With

Sometimes this "craziness" rises up in you because it is a symptom of a deeper issue God wants to heal. It may feel like your highest priority is to hear from God and get prophetic direction, insights and revelation. But God's priorities for you may be totally different. He is "the Lord who heals you" (Exodus 15:26). If you are struggling with issues such as rejection, condemnation, fear, etc, then God wants to set you free from this torment. In Jesus' first sermon, He quoted Isaiah 61:1, which shares God's heart to set people free from physical, emotional and spiritual bondages. Then Jesus said that He is the fulfillment of that prophesy, He is come to set us free from all of the captivity and bondages of the enemy. Yes, He is the Word of God (John 1:1-5) and we can expect to hear from Him. But He is also our healer, and sometimes He wants to meet us in that capacity. God wants us well and full of His love, peace, joy, patience (Gal 5:22). In other words, He wants us physically and emotionally well and happy.

Typically when God wants to heal something in us, He allows that thing to surface in us so we recognize the need for healing and turn to Him for help. After all, Jesus said in Matt 9:12, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." Sometimes He has to show us that we are sick so we will turn to Him for healing. So He has to allow our issues to surface in some area so we realize they are there and bring them to Him for healing.

The prophetic tends to reveal truth. It can be revelatory in nature. It can cause things that were previously hidden (or in darkness) to surface and come to the light. Jesus, the Word of God, moved very strongly in the prophetic when He walked this earth. In John 3:16-21, Jesus talked about how His light (or revelation of truth) exposes things and makes them come to the light for all to see. Let's look at verses 20 and 21: "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." Jesus explained how the prophetic (shining God's light) reveals things, and causes them to come to the surface so we have to deal with them. It causes issues to be clearly seen. Sometimes, this revelation anointing will cause your issues to rise to the surface so you can see and experience them, so you know you have to deal with them. Most prophets carry this revelation anointing. They don't have to prophesy to you personally for that anointing to effect you.

There are different roots or underlying issues that might cause inner issues to surface when you get around the prophetic. You may have been deprived things that you needed when you were growing up. Or you may struggle with rejection and self-condemnation. Or maybe you have been deeply hurt by others or you had unloving parents. Or maybe you struggle with anger or control issues. It does not matter what your underlying issues are, God can and will heal them. The good news is that God loves you dearly and He wants you well. He wants your joy to be full.

If you have deep inner issues, you already know what they are because you struggle with them on a regular basis. You may be good at keeping the issues and inner struggles hidden from others, but you and God know what they are. Yet at the same time, we can try to repress issues or pretend they are not there instead of dealing with them and getting them resolved. That may be why God causes the prophetic revelation anointing to bring these issues to the surface, to force us to deal with them.

If you have significant issues like that in your life, present them to God. Invite Him to heal you -- begin to look to Him in that area. But understand that this is a process. Inner healings usually take time, God seldom does them instantly. So be prepared to spend a period of time with God under His healing care. And, as God begins to break the roots of these issues, you will find that the emotional struggles and "craziness" around the prophetic begin to noticeably decrease. You may not find yourself receiving more personal prophecies, but it won't be nearly as frustrating when you don't get a word.

By the way, one of the first things God usually does in this type of healing is to make His deep love for us personal and real to us. The enemy and/or our inner issues may be saying, "God doesn't love you or He would have given you a prophetic word." God wants to make His love very real and very personal to you, but He probably won't do it through prophesy. If you have been looking at the absence of a prophetic word as evidence that God doesn't like you or doesn't love you, He is going to want to make you secure in His love for you before He releases those prophecies into your life.

This doesn't mean God won't talk to you prophetically in the future. It just means that right now He wants to focus on healing these issues instead of on prophesying to you. So cooperate with Him in the healing process. Remember, His goal is not to deprive you, but to get you whole in every area and filled with His joy and His presence.