Monday, February 24, 2014

Signs You May Have A Gift Of Prophecy -- Helen Calder

A prophecy is a message from God, brought through a Christian who is filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:17-18) The spiritual gift of prophecy is a special ability given to some Spirit-filled Christians to receive and share a message from God that will bring people closer to Jesus and help move them towards His future purpose for them. Prophecy is one of the gifts God uses to help build and grow the church (1 Cor 14:4).

So—if you believe that you may have a prophetic gift, but are not sure, what are some signs that will help you identify it and move forward? You may not identify with all of the following points, but if you do have a prophetic gift, you will recognise many of them in your life:

1. Desire to Help People Through Prophecy (1 Cor 14:3)

  • You have a desire for God to use you to bring a message from Him that will encourage your leaders or church
  • If a person is in trouble, needs guidance, or to connect with God, you find yourself wanting to pass on an encouraging message from God

2. You Pray in a Prophetic Way

  • After praying for people, they comment that you ‘prayed the right thing,’ or they ask, ‘How did you know that?’
  • When praying for a person, group, geographical area, or for your church, you sense that the Holy Spirit is directing your prayers about God’s purpose for the situation.
  • You seem to know what Bible verses apply to a situation that you are praying for; symbolic pictures or words may come to mind when you pray.

2. Attraction To Prophetic Ministry (1 Cor 14:1)

  • You have a keen interest in prophetic ministry
  • You are attracted to prayer meetings or any meetings where prophetic gifts are being used and find yourself drawn to prophetic people.
  • You may feel that you have a call from God to prophetic ministry but sometimes experience doubts.

3. Motivation to Learn How to Prophesy (2 Tim 1:6)

  • You are motivated to learn about how to use the prophetic gift or further your understanding of personal prophecy.
  • You may already be actively seeking out teaching or training through reading books, attending training sessions or learning from people who are experienced in prophecy
  • You are reading this blog!

4. Other Signs… That may Indicate you Have a Prophetic Gift

  • You may get discouraged when things you believe God has promised don’t come to pass as quickly as you would like
  • You may have an affinity with symbolic pictures, stories or actions
  • You may have had unusual or supernatural experiences that point you to having a prophetic gift—however note this is not a prerequisite
  • You may have a keen sense of justice—however, remember that human personality is not an indicator of whether a person has a prophetic gift from the Holy Spirit.
If you do recognise any of the above signs and would like to grow in your prophetic gift, here are some ideas to help you:
  • Find a healthy Christian church where prophetic ministry is encouraged, and where you can grow in your gifts
  • Focus on developing your general Bible knowledge; resist the temptation to take verses or Bible stories out of context
  • Learn the principles of hearing God’s voice and how to filter out what is not of God
  • Practice hearing messages from God to yourself and others in your own times of prayer. Use a journal to keep track of and check what you believe God is saying to you.
  • Ask for feedback when you bring a prophetic message and be open to both encouragement and correction
  • Choose your mentors carefully. Looks for people who are enthusiastic and supportive members of a church where they are accountable to church leadership
  • Find good sources of training and teaching to help you grow in understanding and using the gift of prophecy

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

31For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted;
Three verses at the bottom and two free resources. All where to be taught in every church. We have fallen so far from what a basic Christian was in the new testament and the way leaders trained them compared to what we consider leaders today. It saddens me in the inside...
13Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret.
What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.
free on the web
Dereck prince message- using Gods power( He was told it's not just enough to teach it)It's shameful so many professing leaders deny the command and order of service for when we come together. Also free on you tube -Derek Prince - Exercising Spiritual Gifts (Part 1-3)
Derek Prince - Exercising Spiritual Gifts (Part 1-3)1. Receive the Holy Spirit: 00:002. Interpreting & Prophesying: 52:443. Gifts of Power & Revelation: 1:46:28The ...
So many churches so little resemble the new testament it's a fearful thing to claim to be a leader and neglect and ignore all of the above yet so many do....