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-- © GodSpeak International 2008 --
-- Do not republish without written permission from <copyright@godspeak.org> --

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND CONTRIBUTING RESOURCES
Author: Teresa Seputis ts@godspeak.net http://www.godspeak.net

FireSide Chat II

Informal Prophetic MentoringWith Teresa Seputis

Week 9
Prophesying Can Feel "Scary"

Last week we talked about the power and impact that a true word can have in a person's life. We also talked about how a false word can have great power for harm in a person's life--especially when they latch on, in faith, to something that God hasn't really said.

Prophecy is not some "toy" to play with--it is a loaded and powerful weapon. The bible says, in Hebrews 4:12, "The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." That verse is speaking about both God's written word (the bible) and also about His prophetic word.

The type of prophesy that Hebrews 4:12 is talking about is not when anyone gets up in a service and says, "I have a word from God"--because not everything that "claims" to come from God really is from Him. Hebrews 4:12 is talking about those words that really do come from God, where His message is clearly and accurately represented. That is "true" prophecy, and that is the only kind that should be released. Look at what 2 Peter 1:21 says about prophecy: "for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."

This is how God expects us to prophesy: we do not speak on our own, but only at His prompting, and then we only speak His message.

Does that sound scary? Well, yes, it does. In fact, it would be downright terrifying we were still in Old Testament times, and did not have the Holy Spirit living inside of us to help us. But the good news is that He is that we are not our own, and all that "responsibility" is not hung solely on our shoulders. Personally, I think that it is very good news that we can't prophesy on our own--we can't speak God's words apart from God.

The Holy Spirit resides in us; He is there with us to help us. So, don't you think it is a good idea to cooperate with Him and make the most of His help? Personally, I want all the help He is willing to give Me, so that I can clearly and accurately represent what God is saying. Let me share a few things that I regularly do to cooperate with and make the most of His help. Perhaps you might want to try them too.

First, I try to cooperate with Him as He works on my character, because godly character is really important in the prophetic. I try to examine my heart and motives with Him on a regular basis, and let Him show me things that we have to work on together. I ask Him to look at my motives and attitudes and to point on the ones He wants to work on. Then I do my best to cooperate with Him in that word.

Second, I review my day (and my ministry) with the Lord. I ask Him to point out the things I did that were not of God, and I ask Him to make me aware of the things He wanted to do that I did not let Him do through me. I also go over my prophesies with Him and ask Him to make me aware if I inadvertently added anything to a word or omitted something He wanted to say. I know that He will be faithful to lovingly correct me if I begin to wander into error. He will work with each of us to help clearly and accurately represent Him in all that He wants to speak through us.

When we are Spirit-led, the Holy Spirit gives us another safeguard that we can be grateful for: He will also be at work in the lives of those who we prophesy to. He will bare witness to the things that are of Him, and to recall them to the person's memory. Likewise, He will be faithful to put checks in their spirit if we accidentally said anything that He wasn't saying.

The more closely you learn to work with the Holy Spirit, the more He will release His power and anointing through you as you prophesy.

But there is one more thing that we need to prophesy--faith. Look at Romans 12:6. It says, "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith..." That verse tells us that we should only prophesy to the level that our faith permits.

Prophesying in proportion to our faith is an important principle, and there are two things we need to keep in mind about this.

The first is that we should not try to prophesy things that are above our current level of faith. If we are brand new and just starting to gain faith in God's ability/faithfulness to speak through us, then we need to stick to basic encouragement. We need to prophesy things we absolutely know to be true from God's word. For instance, if we hear God say to tell them that He loves them, we can have faith that this message is really from God because of verses like John 3:16.

We need to shy away from the things that we don't have faith (e.g., being sure that God is really saying it). For example, prophetic beginners should not be installing people into offices, speaking forth their life-direction or giving direction on important decisions they will face.

However, it is ok to share non-life-direction-changing things that you think God might be saying, even if you are not 100% sure it is Him. Just make that "uncertainty" clear to the person you are prophesying to. You can say something like, "I am not 100% sure this is God, but I think it might be. Here is what I am hearing..."

The second thing we need to know about prophesying in proportion to our faith is that our faith is expected to grow over time. This means that our prophetic ability should also grow. Whatever level you are at now, you should be at a different (higher) place in a year. If you are not growing in your faith/gifting, then something is wrong.

You don't have to crank your faith up to a certain level to begin...you can start where you are at now. If you are really low on the faith totem pole, then you can still prophesy--just do it in proportion to that level of faith. For instance, God may quicken bible verses you read for certain person, then ask you to share that verse with them. It is pretty safe to start that way, because we know the Bible is the word of God, so any verse in it is also His word (provided it is not taken out of context and misrepresented). You can't go wrong when you allow the Holy Spirit to quicken a certain verse for a certain person.

You may already have a higher level of faith that the "lowest possible." If so, great! Whatever level you are at now, that is where you begin.

God wants us to grow in faith and to grow in the prophetic. At times, He will go out of His way to put us into what I call "growth situations." E.g., from time to time, God will push us to speak out something that requires a slightly higher level of faith than we feel we currently have. So, with the adrenalin flowing and knees knocking and our voice shaking, we stretch and share what He gave us that feels a bit scary to share. Then we see God back up what He told us to say, and that causes our faith to grow. At some point, the new "scary" level starts to become comfortable. God may let you enjoy that comfort for a while, but He will eventually push you on to the next level of faith.

Of course, when you are stretching, don't pretend that you are positive that you are speaking God's words. Share that this portion of the word is a stretch for you and that it may not be as accurate as the rest of the word. Encourage the person to judge it, then go ahead and present it. That way, if you make a mistake, they won't be setting their whole life direction based on your stretch. It is not a bad thing to admit when you are stretching your faith for a portion of the word, just be specific about which part of the word you are stretching on. If you do that, it creates a "safe" environment for both you and the person you are ministering to.

The bottom line is that prophesying (speaking God's words) can feel "scary." That comes with the territory, because there is a lot of responsibility attached to it. It is OK to be scared, just so long as you don't give up and quit. Remember, God will never give you more than you can handle. In fact, God expects us to start small (in proportion to a beginner's faith) and then to grow over time in both faith and ability.

But we have to grow closer to Him if we want to grow in the prophetic. This is another important key: Increased prophetic grows out of a deep personal relationship with the Lord. The more we build intimacy and relationship with God, the more we get to know His heart, and the better we know what He is likely to say (or not say). When we know Him like that, we can be more proficient in speaking His words and representing Him accurately.

But, no matter what level of prophetic proficiency you reach, God will still expect you to continue growing in your gifting. And part of that growth process will involve Him asking you to stretch (or to speak forth something that feels "scary" to say.) So keep walk close to Him, keep cooperating with the Holy Spirit and keep growing in your faith and gifting.


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-- Do not republish without written permission from <copyright@godspeak.org> --

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