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Mike Bickle is director of the International House of Prayer of Kansas City, a 24-hour citywide spiritual warfare ministry. He serves as ministry director of Friends of the Bridegroom, a ministry dedicated to equipping forerunners in the beauty of God, and he is also president of the Forerunner School of Prayer, a full-time training school in Kansas City. I had the privilege of sitting under Bickle's teaching while he was the senior pastor at Metro Christian Fellowship in Kansas City, Mo.
"Growing in the Prophetic" is published by Charisma House, ISPN 0-88419-426-4, copyright 1996.
Joel 2:28-30 says, "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophecy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth."
There will be an outpouring and a multiplication of four elements in the last days:
Possible Misunderstandings of God's Prophetic Outpouring
This outpouring will not only be confined to a few prophetic churches, but upon all believers for believers and unbelievers to see. It is through this outpouring that the lost are invited, the prophetic truth is confirmed as well as the body of believers encouraged. This will help us in our perseverance in the difficult times that are coming so that we do not lose heart if we have to suffer while waiting our Lord's return.
We must not have a know-it-all attitude as the church moves into these exciting and challenging times. Rather, this is a time to express humility with a teachable spirit.
We must understand that we will make some mistakes as we grow in the prophetic. We are not false prophets simply because we make a mistake or because we interpret a word incorrectly. But we can use some simple guidelines to help guard against common errors.
God will not work His complete purpose through only one single church. He is committed to using all the parts of His body, working together in unity, in each area.
It is easy to assume that because God moves through a person powerfully the person has a special standing with God. In situations like that people are more apt to follow that person instead of God. The important fact to remember is that God intends to make His Son the central focus, not His vessels.
Confirmation of a man as a valid prophetic person is not a universal endorsement of all he says or does. We need to guard ourselves from concluding that when a prophetic minister is used powerfully by God that God must be pleased with every area of that person's life. Simply because power and revelation flow through a vessel do not necessarily mean that God is pleased with all the other areas of that person's life. At times God will continue using a vessel even though he/she may have sin in their life. One of the reasons God may allow this is that He wishes to give the believer time to repent.
We must also guard our hearts against high-mindedness, especially when we are moving in prominent spiritual giftings or when we are called to leadership positions. When we yield to high-mindedness we conclude that our purpose is so important that it deserves a more lenient accountability. This attitude gives way to thinking we are not accountable to things like integrity, honesty and kindness. We need to be aware that God's gifts are given by grace as a sign of His mercy, not because of His approval.
Maturity, Integrity and God's Silence
As a prophetic minister, we need to flow in absolute integrity, and this requires a certain level of maturity. The Lord tets that maturity when He remains silent in situations that appear to require an immediate answer. When this happens, there is a very great pressure to fabricate a word to "save face." After all, the reputation of the prophetic minister is on the line. Or is it?
A mature prophetic minister will not speak unless God speaks, no matter how great the pressure. If we fabricate words or add to words God has given us, we compromise the purpose God wants to accomplish in the person's life. And if we fabricate words, we are demonstrating a lack of integrity.
Often God will reveal only a small word or a partial vision that make the revelation seem insignificant to us. Once again we may be tempted to add to the revelation to make it more spectacular. We need to understand that, just because something may not appear significant to us, this doesn't mean it is insignificant to the person we are ministering to. It is advisable to share exactly what we see or hear even if we hear nothing. In the case when we don't receive an immediate word, we may be required to wait on God.
Bickle uses the example of Saul who was instructed by Samuel to wait for Samuel's return before the sacrifice could be made. When Samuel tarried, Saul grew impatient and started with the sacrifice even though it was against the law for a king to perform sacrifices. Because of Saul's lack of obedience, his personal life was at a crisis from that point on. (1 Samuel 13)
Some prophets find it difficult to be quiet when God is not speaking because they want to take credit for what God is doing. Often God will reveal things to us, but doesn't want us to share it. This happens when the information given is to be used in prayer and intercession for that person. It is important that we give credit to God and do not try to take it for ourselves. We must be faithful to obey God regardless of what looks like to others. Then we will store up treasures in heaven, just like God's Word promises.
Bickle states: "Maturity as it relates to the prophetic ministry is not only the willingness to speak a difficult word when God gives it, but also the willingness to be silent even when offering a 'prophetic word' might seem appropriate."
At times it appears as if we are pushed to the outer limits of our spiritual edge and trusting God becomes very difficult. In situations like this we need to continue walking on, trusting God despite the fact that we may not know exactly what lies ahead. This requires trust because we walk in unknown territory without a clear vision and reassurance as to where God is leading us. It is during these times that we feel like God is far away from us especially when He seems to be silent. What is really happening though is that God's silence forces us to grow in our confidence in Him. The Word promises us that He will never leave us nor forsake us and eventually we will realize that God has never distanced Himself. God will use times like this to test and refine His people.
Misunderstood Silence
We often have a preconceived idea of how and when God should act in a given circumstance. And when God answers contrary to our preconceived thinking, we are more apt to reject it.
When God is silent, some people assume He doesn't love them or that they are unworthy of His attention or perhaps that they are being punished. Bickle uses the example of Lazarus to show that when God doesn't answer (or when He answers late), there is a good reason for it. When Jesus heard that Lazarus was deadly ill, He waited two more days instead of immediately coming to Lazarus' rescue. Jesus loved Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha. Yet, He did not respond immediately. His seeming lack of response had nothing to do with a lack of love for Lazarus, but had everything to do with fulfilling the redemptive purpose of God (John 11). Another example is John the Baptist. Jesus loved John, yet he did nothing to prevent him from being killed (Matt. 14 1-12).
These examples and others teach us that God's silence does not reflect God's lack of love for us. When we find ourselves in a situation where God is silent it is important to grow in peace, trusting rather than being disillusioned or in unbelief. Bickle writes: "God wants us to learn to be at peace in our souls by virtue of our relationship with Him, not by virtue of the information about our circumstances that we sometimes receive from Him."
Other Reasons for God's Silence
There are other reasons why God may withhold a word. One is because there may be sin that needs to be dealt with. An example is when we hold on to unforgiveness or we may have other hidden sins in our life.
Other times we may get the false impression that God talks all the time and when there are longer periods of silence we conclude that God must have withdrawn from us or that we have grieved Him in some way. When we fall into this thinking we live under a cloud of condemnation, yielding to the accusations of the accuser instead of trusting in God. The point is that we can't manipulate God into talking to us if He is determined to be quiet. Instead we can ask Him to let us know whether there is something blocking Him from answering. As we continue to yield to God in trust and obedience to His direction, God will help His church to grow in its expression of the prophetic nature and calling among the nations.