We all need strengthening, encouragement, and comfort. That’s what prophesying is all about. (1 Cor 14:3) The first time I intentionally reached out for prophetic ministry was in the mid-1990s. A small conference I was attending offered the opportunity to sit with one of their prophetic teams in order to receive a word from the Lord.
I excitedly jumped into line. Hearing from God is something I could never get enough of. There have been many times in my life when I wouldn’t have been able to identify that. But, it has always been there. There has always been a relentless hunger and thirst for more.
I sat down with three wonderful women of God… ordinary people, like me, but so beautifully intent on getting a message from God that would strengthen, encourage, and comfort me. I still remember the three prophetic words they spoke into my life:
1. They sensed the Lord’s great favor over me and on me. He really likes me, enjoys me, and lights up every time and any time he sees me coming to him.
2. They saw me as a farmer, an ordinary man who is intent on being authentic. They sensed that the authenticity on my life was anointed and that God was going to powerfully use it to help others.
3. Seeing me in the Spirit as a farmer also spoke to them about my devotion and loyalty to the Lord and my commitment to stay at the work he gives me through all of the seasons, including the harvest. The Lord wanted me to know that I am a man who does what I am told and will stubbornly complete the work.
That was almost thirty years ago in a church facility less than a mile from where I am writing right now. But, there is still life coming from that encounter. The Holy Spirit moved me deeply and quietly that day. They were prophesying to me. They recorded it on a cassette tape and sent me on my way. I’ll let you know if I find that tape some day.
If you know me, you may see some of those same things in me that they saw a few decades ago. I have learned that once a prophetic word is spoken to you and you can tell it is the Lord speaking, it then becomes your work (sometimes painful work) in the vineyard of your life to encourage yourself with it and use it to help you take your stand in your everyday life.
I am so grateful for the blessing of that day when those three friends of Jesus prophesied to me. But, unless I worked with it by faith, you wouldn’t be able to see any of the fruit of it in my life today.
Do you have some strengthening, encouraging, and/or comforting things that have been prophesied to you in Jesus’ Name that you need to go back and work with again? There is still life from God in them.