Before I answer the question about what a farmer, engineer and ballerina have in common, we are going to flash back to November when I was in the Philippines. This is where it was first brought to me that I was a prophet. I chose to ignore it and keep on going on being me and not worrying about what my spiritual gift was. Then another person called it out in me the next month when we were in Thailand. I still didn’t change my way of thinking but now I was starting to wonder. It wasn’t until Swaziland that it finally meant something to me. I was talking to a friend at the beginning of the month and she was just encouraging me to truly listen to God and see what happens from there because it is a gift to be a prophet. So that night I went to my tent and pulled out my bible to find my note from Philippines with the characteristics of a prophet on it that my friend gave me.
Prophet
Characteristics:
-sees things in black and white (right and wrong) committed to the truth
-taps into the mind of God
-takes initiative: enjoys things that are new, not good at maintaining things
-verbally expressive, can be compulsive about it
-judges and evaluates everything, even if it does not directly affect them
-needs a goal, a reason to live, an objective
-visionary, compulsive for honesty, transparency and integrity
-can embrace a problem and figure out a way to repair it
-needs time to refuel, re-energize, process
-large range of emotions, intense passionate extremes
-goes through more difficult times than other gifts to purify and sanctify heart
-higher level of sacrifice required
Birthright:
-help others obtain their birthright, rebuild and restore
Weaknesses:
-judgmental, critical towards others, even more themselves
-unforgiving, not willing to overlook failures and weaknesses of others
-bitterness, enduring battlefield can have unforgiving spirit that is destructive
-may become isolated and withdrawn
A higher level of holiness is required from prophets than any other gifts
As I sat there in the dark in my tent I just kept thinking this isn’t me. “Taps into the mind of God”..that’s cute because most of the time it’s just me talking to Him. “Higher level of Holiness is required”..well that’s a joke because I’m most likely to stumble and take the wrong road and often. But for the sake of knowing I decided to give it a try. And for the next 10 days I spent my free time in prayer with God for my squad mates. I would just listen and write. By the end of our time in Swaziland, I had several letters to deliver. It was terrifying but great. Then we left for PVT (Parent Vision Trip). As racers we were asked back in December if we wanted to invite our parents out into the field. About 25 of us did and we spent the last week with them. Which brings us to the farmer, engineer and ballerina. What they have in common is that God used me to talk to each of them during that week and in that He showed me the unthinkable.
The Farmer
He has been in my life for 27 years and I call him dad. He is a great man who has always supported me and loved me. I’m going to be honest though, I was nervous for PVT because the church I grew up in, that my parents still go to, is conservative and I didn’t know how my parents were going to react to the way my squad mates and I worship. It is a free worship. Meaning you worship however the Holy Spirit leads you to. Sure enough the first night when we sat down for worship my dad asked me “They aren’t going to make me stand up and dance or wave my arms around are they?” I found it funny imagining my parents worshipping like we do but I reassured him they will not make them worship any certain way, that everyone has their own way to worship. The following night one of my squad mates got up during worship and challenged all of us racers to do a listening prayer for our parents. I was immediately discouraged. I don’t know my parents’ view on this AND I’m new at listening prayers. But I bought into it. First God gave me something for my mom. And then I was sitting praying for my dad when God put this image of Jesus standing on the water with His hand out. I questioned it right away because there wasn’t a storm, it was actually a very beautiful day. And so I said God I don’t understand. Then the image came back and Jesus said “Trust me Jim”. I then shared with both of them but for some reason my dad’s stayed with me. I was curious what God was asking of him. Fast forward to the last night of worship. My dad got up and spoke to all of the racers and parents. In the message he said “There is no right or wrong way to worship as long as you are getting your fill of the Holy Spirit. I sit back in my chair and observe worship and then there are people like Joe who are up and singing with everything they have. Neither is right or wrong it’s just the way the spirit moves and to make sure that when we get home we get that fill of the holy spirit like we are now.” After this we started worship. It was the third song “Nothing I hold onto” during the verse “I will climb this mountain with my arms wide open” that I felt my dad’s presence no longer behind me sitting but standing next to me. I didn’t believe it at first. But then I heard him singing the words with such a freedom and urgency. I couldn’t contain my excitement so I opened one eye to see if it was true. And sure enough folks, my dad had followed Jesus out onto the water and trusted Him. PRAISES!!!!
The Engineer
He was a stranger. He came into my life on Tuesday with all the parents but he is a brother to one of my squad mates. His name is Grant and I knew of him because his brother John Michael and I are close. But Tuesday and Wednesday were a blur because I was so excited to be with my parents that we hadn’t met yet. Wednesday night at worship there was a station set up for all the parents to write down a dream they have during worship sometime. I was singing and enjoying my time with God when he gave me something for this guy I had never met. It was just a few points but it was for someone who I had never even had a conversation with so i was terrified. After worship I went up to him and asked him if we could talk later. So later comes and I’m still to chicken to talk to him because I feel like a crazy person BUT he came to me and was like are you ready to talk and I was like no not now. So the night continues on and now it’s 3am and there were four of us left by the bonfire and we decided it was time for bed and I was about to walk away and just say oh well I won’t tell him and he says hey we still have to talk. I was so upset he remembered but I walked back over by him. I told him what had happened that night at worship and what God had said. The whole time I was talking he was looking me in the eye and not blinking. He also had a very concerned/confused look on his face that made me want to run away from the conversation. It was clear that what I was saying was not what he wanted to hear. After I was done talking he said that what I was saying directly correlated with what he wrote down as his dream at worship. Weird!! He asked me to repeat a few points and it seemed like he heard me and that he was going to truly reflect. The next day I battled with the feeling that it wasn’t complete. I never feel that way after I deliver a message but for some reason I couldn’t shake the feeling. So I decided that maybe if I wrote it down for him it would help him. I put the note in my bag and went to bed. The next day I gave it to him and he seemed to really appreciate that and then I felt closure.
The Ballerina
She has been in my life for about 9 months now. We met at training camp and we spent the first 4 months of the race on a team together. Jenny is one of my best friends now! She asked me on Tuesday to intercede for her. I had never intentionally interceded before. Never had I went to God for someone so I was a little nervous that I wouldn’t be able to deliver anything for her. But I still went to God that night at worship on Jenny’s behalf. I didn’t get anything. So the next day when we were in worship and I didn’t know the song we were singing so I went to the Lord for Jenny again. After a little bit of time I felt this urgency to go to Jenny. I didn’t have any words or an image I just had this urgency to get to her and it was overwhelming. So I stepped outside for a minute to catch my breath and when I came back in Jenny was praying. I sat next to her and put my hand on her back. Without looking she said “Bre”. Now I’m going to pause there and give you Jenny’s last 10 minutes. She had been spending a lot of time in prayer looking for answers. While in prayer though God put me on her heart. She was like ok God what do you need me to talk to Bre about. But He didn’t answer. She continued to wait for an answer but nothing came. She opened her eyes to participate in worship and she said she saw me in the reflection of the window so she went back into prayer like ok God I get it but what does she need. Nothing. So she opened her eyes again and that is when I walked outside. She decided to go back into prayer because God was obviously putting me on her heart. That’s when she felt my hand on her back. Back to my view of the story. I know this is getting long but bare with me because this next part was my favorite part of the whole week. We sat there for a second silent. I didn’t have words, I never did so I didn’t know what to do. But then all the sudden I heard my voice. But that didn’t make sense because my brain wasn’t forming sentences but somehow they were coming out. I felt like I was listening to someone else talk to Jenny. That’s when I realized I was, I was listening to God talk to her. He said “My sweet daughter joyous Jenny. I’ve missed you. It makes me so happy to see you happy. My child do you remember back when you were a kid and you would be waiting on the side of the stage waiting for your turn to go on? You were practically bouncing with excitement and fear. You would check your slipper laces non stop and check and re-check to make sure every hair was in place. You were so cute to watch. I have something grand prepared for your near future, so find that bouncing excited little girl from the side of the stage because this is going to be life changing”. Well needless to say, Jenny was a crying wreck when I finally stopped talking and I was too. Which I don’t know why because I didn’t know the situation but I think I was just overwhelmed with excitement for her future. We talked for a few moments and then we began worshipping. Then we were both so full of the Holy Spirit that we got goofy and “high”!!! It was so freeing and such a great memory!
Why am I sharing these stories? For a few reasons. One reason is that these three people and messages have changed my future. God has been trying to talk to me for months about my gift and I refused to listen. So He used these three to solidify my future. Also because they were all three so different. For my dad I had an image and I’m not to sure he believed me but it didn’t matter to me because I saw the fruit in the end. My now friend Grant who was a stranger didn’t look to happy about what I was saying and a little confused. Which was terrifying. But he still listened and somehow God gave him his answer to his dream the exact moment he wrote it down. And my best friend Jenny, who I had been interceding for. I had no words just a feeling I needed to go to her. It was a great week but that week also showed me how important our gifts are. God gave each of us a spiritual gift. I believe it is our duty to mature in them and use them to better His Kingdom.
