First, a challenge: watch for miracles!
These gifts are not necessarily big and flashy. I’ve found some of the most important miracle gifts have been those that meant nothing to someone else, but helped me see that God was still watching, that He know exactly where I was, and that He loved me. This type of miracle has so often pulled me out of the doldrums and set my feet back on the path I’d been called to walk.
The result was that I re-entered the battle instead of hiding in a cave like Elijah did when he was afraid of Jezebel (I Kings 19: 3-18). Just like Elijah, the enemy had convinced me of my own smallness and aloneness, but God showed me His hugeness as my Commander, as well as His love, approval, and provision. A miracle!
All right, it’s time to talk about the gift of prophecy. Don’t get all freaked out on me, now. Prophecy isn’t weird. It often is thought of as “revealing the future” (foretelling). That’s only one type, and generally the least common one. The most common type of prophecy is actually “revealing the present” (forthtelling). Can you think of a better way to bring the Kingdom to earth than by speaking God’s revelation to someone who is struggling to believe?
I often get prophetic pictures or even videos when I am praying for someone. These are usually scenes of what God is seeing. For example, when I was a small group facilitator for Family Foundations, International (a ministry specializing in inner healing), God would show me symbolic pictures for a group participant. Once I saw a machine that took in information, synthesized it, then spat it back out in an understandable or usable form. That one really surprised me, but I had nothing else so I told the participant what I saw. It spoke to his heart, and he replied that was how he saw himself – as an information gatherer and distributor. Remember, I didn’t know this guy. I just spoke what God showed me.
Sometimes I get “videos” for people. Those are kind of fun, because I can just narrate what I’m seeing in the spirit realm. Those often are a portrait of the person doing something related to what we are praying about, or a symbol of the problem. Once I saw a football game from the perspective of the defensive line. God had me move behind the person and put my hands on his shoulders. The message was one of reassurance in a trying circumstance – God had his back.
One rather unusual aspect of all this is when I feel not my own emotions but those from God’s perspective. I have to be careful about laughing out loud when He lets me feel His joy about His child, or how much He loves them.
All of these circumstances of prophetic actions, scenes, and words are used in warfare. They are guides and aids in our fight to bring heaven to earth in someone’s life.
Even our own.
this is part 8 of a series on Warfare
Part 1| This Means War!
Part 2| The Big “D” of Warfare
Part 3| Charge!
Part 4| Swing That Sword!
Part 5| Worship IS Warfare
Part 6| Warring Through Worship
Part 7| Fight With Powerful Gifts
All illustrations courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net