PREPARING TO RECEIVE PROPHECY.
HEARING GOD.
This is a teaching primarily about hearing God. How do we position ourselves to hear the Lord
better? I'll look at three key disciplines in the prophetic ministry which are vital if we want
to hear the Lord consistantly and clearly. The three disciplines are being available, being a
listener, and being a seeker.
1. BE AVAILABLE.
Always seek to have a heart that is available for the Lord. The Lord is on the lookout for those
who are ready and waiting for Him to speak and to move through them.
2 Chronicles 16:9
'For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the whole earth to stengthen those who hearts are fully
committed to Him'.
The Lord is looking for hearts that are ready and available for Him to use. In the prophetic it's
even more important to have the right heart as it's 'out of the heart the mouth speaks', Matt 12:34.
THE LORD LOOKS AT THE HEART.
The primary qualification to be chosen and used by the Lord is based upon your heart. God is looking for
someone with the right heart:
1 Samuel 16:7
'Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart'.
It wasn't David's muscles or good looks or his stature that made him the one the Lord had chosen
to be the king of Israel. It was his shepherding heart, and his heart towards the Lord. He was 'a
man after God's own heart'. That is high praise indeed.
There is a lesson in this story for prophetic people. We're called to uncover diamonds in the rough
like David. It's easy to see people who we think are perfect for a certain task or calling, but it's
vital that we ask the Lord to reveal the heart of the person. Often the Lord has a totally different
person in mind than the one that we would choose. Even the prophet Samuel had to learn this lesson.
MAKE YOURSELF AVAILABLE.
I love the story of the call of Isaiah in Isaiah 6. The turning point in the story is in verse 8, when
Isaiah chooses to make himself available for the Lord to use; 'Here am I. Send me', was his cry.
Make yourself available, and tell the Lord that you're ready and available for Him to use you. When I
am in a church ministering, I always tell the Lord I'm available. Then I look around the room and see
if my heart is stirred or drawn towards someone. When I feel a sense of compassion or love for someone
I can be sure that the Lord will speak some word to me to share with that person. This is all about
lining your heart up with the Lord's heart for a person. Never neglect a vague sense or a feeling
towards someone, as often this is the starting point for the Lord to speak through you in the gift of
prophecy. Ask the Lord 'Why do I feel compassion towards this person? What do you want me to say to
them?'.
Making yourself available for the Lord is the first step in moving in the prophetic. It's all about
preparing your heart, and your heart posture towards the Lord and His people so that His love and
His words can flow through you to His people.
2. BE LISTENING.
How many of us have had a 'one way conversation' with someone? Someone will talk and talk about themselves
but you can't get your point across to them either because they won't give you the chance, or when you do
share they just don't listen. It's so annoying! Yet most of us do this to the Lord all the time. We love to
pray, but are we also giving the Lord the opportunity to speak to us as well? Is your prayer life all one
way traffic? Always give the Lord a time to speak to you.
It sounds easy to just listen, but it's a real discipline to be able to quiet yourself before the Lord. Yet
it's one of the most important things that we as prophetic people need to learn to do. Samuel was a great
prophet, and in 1 Samuel 3 we actually get to see the very first thing that the Lord wanted him to learn in
regards to the prophetic calling. He had to learn to listen, and to make a time for the Lord to speak. He
said 'Speak Lord for your servant is listening'.
A GENTLE WHISPER.
The Lord often speaks in a gentle whisper. It's so easy to miss what the Lord is saying. Very rarely does
the Lord do the spectacular to speak to us, although it does happen. Remember Elijah in 1 Kings 19? There he
is, he has fallen on hard times, and is in the cave. Then the Lord sent a powerful wind that actually tore
up rocks. Elijah just stayed in his cave; the amazing wind didn't faze him. Then the Lord sent an earthquake.
Again, Elijah was not moved by the powerful quake. Then the Lord sent a fire that consumed the side of the
mountain. Elijah stayed where he was. But when there was a 'gentle whisper' Elijah came out of the cave and
met with the Lord. It says that 'the Lord was in the whisper'. Elijah knew that the Lord rarely speaks
intimately through the spectacular, but He often speaks in a 'gentle whisper'.
This is important to know, because many people expect the Lord to speak in a spectacular way. But He loves
to speak in a gentle and unassuming way. It's easy to miss Him, it really is. Why does He choose to speak
in a gentle whisper? Because to hear a gentle whisper you need to be listening very, very carefully, and you
need to be focused 100% on Him. You also have to be very close to Him to hear His whisper. The Lord wants
your undivided attention, and He wants you close to Him. You need to practice both of those things if you want
to hear His whisper. You must listen intently and not be distracted.
A TEST FROM THE LORD.
Is there constant chaos in your life? Are there lots of distractions? The Lord may be testing you. Can you still
discipline yourself and hear His gentle whisper through all of the hussle and bussle? The Lord may be allowing
all of the chaos to test your ability to hear Him. The Lord is looking for prophetic people who can speak the
word of the Lord faithfully no matter what the circumstances are around them. In the midst of the chaos and confusion
always look for the Lord to speak.
So learn to be a listener. Discipline yourself to listen out for His gentle whisper wherever you may be.
3. BE SEEKING.
Always have a hunger and an expectation for the gift of prophecy to flow:
1 Corinthians 14:1
'Follow the way of love and eagerly desire the spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy'.
The word that Paul uses for 'desire' in this verse, is the Greek word 'zeloo' which means 'warmth of feeling
for, affect, covet, desire, envy, be jealous for, zealous'. Many scholars say it is similar to the word 'lust'.
We're called to have a hunger for the gifts, to long for the gifts of the spirit. The phrase 'Seek the giver
not the gifts', is only half true and is certainly not Biblical.
Expect the Lord to speak through you. The Holy Spirit longs to speak through you. He wants you moving in the
prophetic gift.
John 8:47
'He who belongs to God hears what God says'.
John 10:4
'His sheep know His voice'.
John 16:13
'But when he, the Holy Spirit comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own;
he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come'.
Joel 3:28, Acts 2:17
'I will pour out my spirit....your sons and daughters will prophesy, and your old men will dream dreams'.
So seek Him in faith, knowing that He will speak to you as He longs to do so. Have faith because 'we prophesy in
proportion to our faith', Romans 12:6. Be a seeker.
IN CONCLUSION.
Prophecy is '90% seeking and 10% speaking'. Let's make ourselves ones who are available for Him to speak to us,
intently listening for His gentle whisper, and ones who eagerly desire and seek the gift of prophecy.
