Baby steps to the prophetic...

My buddy William got a comment the other day on his blog post about Hurricane Gustav, which asked about the journey into prophecy.

William posted a good response to that question, outlining his gradual journey into experiencing the Holy Spirit and His gifts. 

The only thing I might add is that the most baby christian can exercise spiritual gifts - and I mean 1st Corinthians gifts, like prophecy, tongues, healing, words of knowledge.

My parents are seasoned and wise believers of many years, and have introduced many new believers into the things of the Spirit with some exciting results. 

Praying for healing is a simple way to explore this stuff...pretty non-threatening, and less weird than jumping up and speaking in tongues in the middle of church.  But you can do that too, if you want.

But here's what I really want to say:

Eagerly seeking the greater gifts, especially prophecy, is less about 'BAM' and more about 'shhh'.

My own journey into prophecy has been mostly personal, up to this point.  At about age 15 I began to try and hear the voice of God - that involved a perception that my own thoughts were noisy and hard to tame, when I began to try and quiet them.

As time went on, with the guidance of my parents and a lot of journaling, I discovered that I was very naturally having an ongoing, internal conversation with the Holy Spirit.

I fell into a rhythm of walking through my life and experiencing God's presence with me, conversing, asking for dumb stuff like parking spots, talking about what was on my mind, and hearing Him speak to me internally.

I've even graduated into some pretty clear predictive and directional words from Him - He promised to double my income in a year - and he did.  He told my wife and I the names of several of our children over time, and that we'd have twins, before we were even pregnant.

Some of us hear - words or thoughts in our minds, or infrequently aloud - others get pictures.  That's what the Old Testament calls being a seer - see-er.  one who sees.

All through the Old Testament, prophets are asked 'what do you see?'  Jeremiah saw an almond branch, a boiling pot, figs...Amos saw a plumb line and a basket of ripe fruit ( Amos 7:8 and 8:2 )...Zechariah saw a flying scroll ( Zech 4:2 ) , and a lampstand ( Zech 5:2 ).

Prophets often see, and in many cases, the Lord gives them an interpretation for what they see.

Whatever way the Lord ends up speaking to you, the plain scriptural fact is that he does speak.  John 10:2 has Jesus telling us that the sheep listen to the voice of the Shepherd.  That's an identifying mark of being a sheep - they listen to the Shepherd's voice.

So whatever path the Lord wants to put you on, it's probably not dramatic and Hollywood-esque, at least not at first.  It will be relational - the person of the Holy Spirit wants you to get to know him.  One of His fruits is gentleness, so you can expect that he will be as gentle with you as you need him to be.

So take a deep breath, remember that He lives in you, and ask Him to speak to you.  You might need to confess some sin, lay your cares on Him, or just be quiet for a minute to get your thoughts taken captive, so that you can hear clearly.  Peace is also to be expected when He speaks to you.

After you've been listening a while, you might find that as you pray for someone, he gives you a picture to share with them, or a bible verse will come to mind unbidden...share it with them.  Be brave.  You'll discover getting to know the Holy Spirit is a lot of fun.

I've got one more story, but I'll post that next time.  It's formative enough for me that it deserves its own post.

g'night.