TOS012 Charism of Prophecy (Part 2); for Audio
Extraordinary Gifts of Grace Series
The Gift of Prophecy is a supernatural communication from God to an individual or a group of believers. It is an anointing given by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 14: 1 “Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.” NAB Prophecy is speaking of the mind and heart of God to His people. God’s voice is gentle and strong, listen for love in it. His voice brings peace. Rarely does He use a burning bush, chariots of fire or a thundering voice to speak to you.
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Welcome to Truth of the Spirit. I’m Patti Brunner.
During this episode we will discuss the Charism of Prophecy. It is part 2 of the Extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit. During our last session, we talked about the unusual gift of Tongues but mentioned that Paul said that the gift of Prophecy was greater.
What is your reaction when someone says, “God told me ….” Do you roll your eyes at them? Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:14 “Now the natural person does not accept what pertains to the Spirit of God, for to him it is foolishness, and he cannot understand it, because it is judged spiritually.” NAB
The Gift of Prophecy is a supernatural communication from God to an individual or a group of believers. It is an anointing given by the Holy Spirit. Prophecy is speaking of the mind and heart of God to His people. Prophecy can manifest through a vision, words, and thoughts or be prompted by a form of physical sensation to alert us to listen. A person yielding to this gift must listen and expect that God will speak, and always yield to authority for discernment.
If you are thinking that the gift of prophecy is all about telling the future, let me help you learn the truth. The Gift of Prophecy is primarily hearing God’s voice speak to you. Does that surprise you? Generally speaking, when we pray, we do the talking and God does the listening. Since in prayer we are conversing with God, doesn’t make sense that sometimes He would do the talking and we would do the listening?
The prophet Joel 3:1 wrote: “It shall come to pass I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.” NAB Immediately after the first Pentecost the apostles were accused of being drunk. They were not drunk on wine; they were under the influence of the Holy Spirit. There’s no high like the Most High! In Acts chapter 2 they explained their exuberance by saying : 16 “No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 yea, and on my menservants and my maidservants in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.” NAB
It sounds like just about anybody and everybody is called to this gift. The Catechism [paragraphs 1879 and 1913] reminds us of our responsibility to bring Christ into our homes and our places of work; into our places of chores and places of play; into every relationship and into every need; then into society, into our every time, talent and treasure.
Catechism of the Catholic Church #871 says “The Christian faithful are those who, inasmuch as they have been incorporated in Christ through Baptism, have been constituted as the people of God; for this reason, since they have [1268-1269] become sharers in Christ’s priestly, prophetic, and royal office in their own manner, they are called to exercise the mission which [782-786] God has entrusted to the Church to fulfill in the world, in accord with the condition proper to each one.” [385].
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 2:12 “ We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom, but with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms.” NAB
The people who truly long to hear his voice do not have a long journey to find Him. He is as near as the nearest quiet place—or noisy place if you can be single focused! The communication between God and Man is made possible, first, by the connection of the Holy Spirit, speaking within the heart, and secondly, through the heart that desires to hear. Each moment of the day God’s grace is poured forth. Most moments of the day, mankind is ‘busy’ with many things and does not turn his ear nor his heart toward heaven.
Prophecy is God’s gift of encouragement for the people. This gift manifested in what we call “scripture”. It is available to all who would listen and seek My Face. The gift is used to manifest the love and the power of our Father. When the sacred scriptures were composed, the Holy Spirit inspired the fullness of the revelation of God to be contained within them. Yet, even those who cannot read can lift their hearts and minds to God. The Lord is with them, too. Think how many times especially during the Mass the following is spoken: “May the Lord be with you…and with your spirit.” Of course these words can be meaningless to some but surely many hope to actually welcome the presence of God.
Do you really think God is mute? You don’t believe God is “deaf”! Witness the many prayers and petitions that are offered up to the Lord with hope of answers that match up with the prayer request. God is not mute. He speaks to us constantly and in various ways.
Prayer
Lord, You are the Shepherd and we are your sheep. The sheep recognize the voice of the Shepherd and follow him. (John 10:4) Help us today to recognize your voice. Help us to block out every distraction and to take every thought captive to obey Christ. (2 Corinthian 10:5) Help us to be still and know that You are God. (Psalm 46:10) We ask for patience and determination to persevere until You let us find You.
The Holy Spirit is God connected to man. When you are “inspired” it is the Spirit speaking to your spirit. It is an awesome thing to think that God dwells within you. Like a tabernacle within your heart God is present. But the Spirit is not someone to put in a box and to ignore. He is a giver of great gifts—gifts that require opening –receiving—and using to get the full benefit.
The barriers in the hearts of men people [and boys] are slow to dissolve at times. Other times it is God’s discernment that causes them to wait. God desires that all His children might seek His face, hear His voice, come into His presence, and be one with Him. So how do we do that? Commitment is a key. Those who hear the Lord’s voice should set a part of each day to listen to Him. Ask for patience and determination. The pure hearts will be tempted with other activities, but the faithful who quiet themselves before God will hear His voice.
How do we recognize God’s voice? If your mom calls you on the phone can you recognize her voice? Why? You recognize her voice because you have a relationship with her and because you know how she sounds. How does God’s voice sound? The Lord’s voice does not ramble; it does not criticize or chastise the sinner but draws the sinner to Him so that God’s grace will aid the repentant heart. If your own child was cut and bleeding to death would you not try to rescue them?
God’s Voice does not contradict Truth – Truth has been revealed to the Church. Discernment is a caution to line up truth with truth. “It is necessary to discern the message that is spoken, not necessarily to accept everything that is said. Prophecy should always be discerned and tested by the body of believers present. Prophecy is not an ability given to someone to prophesy at will, but rather a definite message given at a particular time by the Spirit for a distinct purpose. Not all who prophesy are prophets (cf. 1 Cor 14:31). A prophet is a person who consistently over time expresses prophetic words which are powerful and which elicit a response from many in the group.”
God’s voice is gentle and strong, listen for love in it. His voice brings peace. Rarely does he use a burning bush, Chariots of fire or a Thundering Voice to speak to you. In Jesus and through the Holy Spirit, I Am resides within your heart. You are the tabernacle of the Living God. Understand this. As you would hear your own thoughts, you would hear the Lord. As you would sense your conscience –you will sense the Lord. Sometimes you will sense God very physically with “chills” or “heat”, with shaking or with total relaxation of your whole body. Sometimes you will see the Lord or the pictures (visions) He sends in your “mind’s eye”. You can see with your eyes closed or open. Once we recognize God’s voice, He can use us to give His gifts to others. He will give us Prophecy and Words of Knowledge to encourage and to heal.
1 Corinthians 14: 1-6 tells us the importance of hearing the voice of the Lord in prophecy, that is, to be shared with others. (1 Corinthians 14: 1-6) “1 Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, he who prophesies speaks to men for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than he who speaks in tongues, unless some one interprets, so that the church may be edified. 6 Now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how shall I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?” NAB
In the last episode I shared about receiving the gift of tongues by asking. I have also received the gift of prophecy, which is the ability to hear the voice of the Lord in various ways. One of the first times I heard a heavenly voice I was driving through the Wal-Mart parking lot and I heard a voice say “slow down”. I was so surprised! I wasn’t going fast but immediately I slowed way down. Right then a toddler ran in front of my car. I figured it might be the voice of my guardian angel—or the toddlers!
After I heard the words of prophecy at prayer meetings and talked to people who could regularly hear from God, I longed to hear his voice every day. But nothing was happening.
Scripture says “ask and you will receive” so after a year of asking and a little fasting and a lot of hoping, I was frustrated. I asked God, “Why can’t I hear your voice?”
Then one day at my brother’s house in the spring of 1998, I felt like the Lord actually gave me something to write down. It wasn’t for me; it was for someone else, for the team that we were actually helping with a spiritual retreat at a Church in central Arkansas. And I thought “O man, this is awesome, God has spoken to me!” And I shared that word with the team. And then I waited. Then nothing! He didn’t speak again!
So I started praying fervently, and I started seeking his face, “Lord! Speak to me, speak to me!” And nothing! A couple of months later I went to a women’s retreat, by Sister Yvonne, and she was just awesome. And she led us to a new deepness with the Lord. And she invited us to allow the Lord to give us a vision so I did. She was doing this meditation and I called the Lord and he came and took my hand and there was this gorgeous mountain stream. I saw it in my mind’s eye. And he took my hand and we were playing and laughing and he showed me which stones to step on to cross the stream. And it was just awesome. But he didn’t say anything.
After I get home I’m still praying to hear his voice and I can remember this so vividly: I’m sitting in my husband’s recliner and the Lord said: “Sit down and listen. Patti, I have been watching you. You want to do my work but you won’t listen to me for instruction. I want you to set aside an hour day to listen. It can be anywhere you choose but should be free of distraction.”
Whoa! He challenged me to be quiet and listen an hour a day. At that time our church had adoration one hour a day, so each day I took my journal and soon the Lord was conversing with me. Most of the first year the Lord just spoke words of encouragement to me, reminding me how much He loved me.
As the years continued, I turned to him for every need and especially when I had to teach or pray in public. Sometimes He would give me a word to share with others during prayer meetings. He helped me to place my trust in him in all things. With discernment I verified the teachings in my journal with the documents of the church including the bible and the Catechism. He doesn’t give new revelations—it’s just new to me.
Since 1998 I have kept prayer journals, recording my conversations with God. Right now I am writing in my 52nd journal.
So, you may be thinking, well, “Who does she think she is?” saying that she hears from the Lord. Well, I thought that myself. Who am I that my Lord would speak to me? And what he has helped me to realize, in this day and time, the Lord wants to speak to everyone. He wants to speak to everyone.
As I heard God’s voice, he encouraged me, recalled scripture to me, and began to help me to understand his kingdom. I have used his gifts every day to work to build up his kingdom, in hopes that others could experience the fullness of his love as I have. As I have researched the teaching of the Church, especially the bible and the catechism, I realize that the Lord is not telling me anything that He has not already told me through the Church. But when you listen to the “pure source” of all knowledge the understanding is there and all the “research” makes sense. The scripture comes alive and personal. Jesus becomes real. The Holy Spirit becomes a personal teacher and guide and consoler. I believe that why in the bible, 1 John chapter 2: it says … “27 As for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false; just as it taught you, remain in him.” NAB
I ask the Lord to help me, and He does. I ask Him to teach me to pray, I ask Him to help me to teach, I ask Him to help me examine my conscience. Sometimes I just share my life, joys and troubles with Him. Now, I realize that as I listen to God, I filter His words through my own understanding, sort of like how pure water is poured through coffee. It can cause a wonderful combination, but if our container is dirty, the end result is not usable. If we have too much coffee—that’s us— the result has to be thrown out. The bible is like the filter that allows the word/water of God to pass through to us, but keeping out the coffee grounds. If we are clogged with sin, God’s living water cannot pass through us. We must cleanse the pot and start over.
Let me share something Anna Dickey taught at a prayer meeting. Anna had a tremendous gift of prophecy. “The gift of prophecy is an action of God whereby a person speaks God’s message. Although prophecy can predict the future, usually the message focuses on a truth already known but which needs, at that moment, to be brought to mind. It is the action and power of God in prophecy that lifts and builds up the heart of the person speaking it and the people receiving it, bringing each one closer to His presence. True words of prophecy are words of direction, encouragement and consolation that can build up the group as a whole. They are always building up, even when they are bringing conviction.
“In the beginning, when you feel a prompting from the Holy Spirit to speak, you aren’t sure whether you are supposed to speak out loud or not. This is another case for using discernment. Does this build up the Church? Sometimes the prophecy will be for you alone. You need to ask the Lord to give you a sign. Ask him if he wants you to speak. He will probably repeat the prophecy to you, or you may feel a strong stirring of your heart. Don’t be afraid to speak out. All prophecy must be judged (discerned). It is not just the responsibility of the leaders of a prayer group to discern the prophecy; it is each individual member’s. By allowing God to speak through you, you are being obedient.”
Anna continued, “I remember a time when the Holy Spirit gave me a prophecy to speak. I asked if I should speak it out loud, and the prophecy was repeated to me. I was afraid to speak out, so I sat still. A third time the prophecy was given to me and I sat still. Shortly after, someone else gave the same prophecy I had been given. I really felt rotten because it was for someone I consider a very special person and that person needed to hear it. Since then, I have tried to always speak, even when it didn’t make too much sense to me. When I discern it is to be spoken, I speak.
“It is important that the prayer group listen to the prophecy. If it is true prophecy, God is speaking and we need to be listen and react. Prophecy is needed for growth. Nothing substitutes for it. Paul says in 1 Corinthians: “Pursue love, but strive eagerly for spiritual gifts, above all, that you may prophesy.””
Say this prayer with me for the release of the gift of Prophecy:
Father, I have received Jesus as the Lord of my life. I now ask in the name of Jesus that You fill me with a strong outpouring of Your Holy Spirit. You tell me in Your Word that if I ask I will receive, so Father, right now I’m asking, in Jesus’ name. Fill me with the Holy Spirit. Open me with your grace that I might receive your power, your word, and your revelation.
Lord, Holy Scripture instructs me in 1 Corinthians to “Pursue love, but strive eagerly for spiritual gifts, above all, that you may prophesy.” I acknowledge that the gift of prophecy is an action of God whereby a person speaks God’s message. I ask your forgiveness for any time I have denied your action, disregarded your message or not been willing to receive your words. Help me to be open to your promptings. Please remove any obstacles to the release of this gift, Lord.
I ask your forgiveness for being afraid of using the gift—afraid of being rejected, ridiculed or simply afraid of being wrong. For any way that these responses have blocked the flow of this gift in my own ministry, I am truly sorry. I receive your forgiveness, Lord, and I forgive myself.
I ask now to be totally open to the use of this gift. Touch me, Jesus, and release in me the gift of Prophecy and, also, a gift of your Wisdom to know how to act upon the words that you give. Please provide opportunities for me to exercise this gift.
Lord, I believe that your Holy Spirit is working in me more than I realize. Please help me to be more sensitive to what you are already doing. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the many ways beyond my understanding, in which this gift will be manifested through me. I pray for an outpouring and anointing of your Spirit upon me. Amen.
Try. Listen. If you cannot discern if it is God’s voice or your own, journal consistently what you hear after prayer asking to hear God and a time of listening. If all you hear is silence, then yearn for His Voice. “Speak Lord, your servant is listening!” over & over seek His face. Persistence is rewarded. The faithful servant pleases the Lord.
Another way to discern if this is from the Lord is when it is affirmed by others. Several people might hear approximately the same thing or they will hear a continuation of what you speak out. The Lord is so good. And trust me, he wants to speak into your heart and share his love with you.
If you would like to read the blog of this episode, you can find it on my website: PatriarchMinistries.com. I’ll continue to discuss some of the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit on my next episode.
You’ve been listening to Truth of the Spirit with Patti Brunner. I invite you to subscribe–its free–and come back for more. With the Holy Spirit there is always more!
Amen.
