One of the greatest thing about living in a Spirit-led community of high grace and deep love is the prophecies which are spoken over us. When I first came to Training Camp, I was astounded that the staff expected us all to be prophets and prophesy over one another. In my mind, prophecy was something that only fell every blue moon when God would tell some televangelist that Los Angeles was going to be destroyed with fire from above on January 16th. So when January 17th rolls around and nothing changes, it only verifies that prophecy was something that we either misunderstand or don’t fully articulate.
However, my idea of prophecy has changed so much since May that I don’t hesitate to say that I am a prophet. Anthony, Don, Brandy, Ashlee, Katie, and Kendra are all prophets. Every person on my squad is a prophet. You, reading this, are also a prophet. New Testament prophecy is simply speaking life of someone, calling out the things in them that you see with your spiritual eyes as an encouragement and even command to step into a deeper role in God’s Kingdom. Since living in intense community with my team, I’m beginning to see huge gifts in every person on my team.
For example, I have seen Anthony’s passion for God turn into a compassion towards people. A day literally never goes by when he doesn’t pull me aside just to see if I’m doing okay spiritually and emotionally. Coming from an affectionate family, there have been countless times when I was missing a hug from my mom or how she would run her hand through my hair. Just as I would begin to become sad, I would receive an unprovoked hug, or a brush of fingers through my hair. There was no way that Anthony could have known what my mom did to comfort me, and there was no way he could have known when I needed it. I have seen his ears become so in tune to God’s voice that he lives by His leading alone. I have seen his heart for people in that he pours out every ounce of his love and affection on people, leading them straight to the source of his overflowing love.
I have seen Ashlee set on fire for the Lord. The power that pours from her prayers and the immovable strength that s
he exhibits in everything she does is the core of our team. She has a tenacity and a fervor for the Lord I have never seen, her drive is raw and her gaze is set. She is truly a warrior for the Kingdom, unafraid of tearing down strongholds in Jesus’ name. When I first met her, I saw a strengfth in her from being a strong, independant woman. However, these past months of walking together have shown me that she has replaced her own strength with God’s strength. She has spoken specific words over me that I saw fulfilled the very next day. In everything she does, I see a fire that rages for God, and it envelopes those around her and sets them on fire, as well.
I have seen the gift of prophecy pulsing through my Kendra. The Lord gives her such pristinely clear images, either in her meditations or in her artwork, and it has been a guiding light for our ministry and our path. The Lord has given her a gift of being able to call out upcoming situations, spiritual climates, and lead our team with words of wisdom from the Lord. She reminds me of a person who climbs to the top of tower and calls out to those below what is to come. I am overwhelmed by how tangibly God speaks to her and how clearly she conveys that to us. I have only seen our family grow stronger and more unified through her gifts.
I have seen a passion inside of Brandy that manifests in her servitude and leadership. To the world, it might seem paradoxical that she can be such a servant and such a leader at the same time. In this way, she is a perfect representation of Jesus Christ in Philippians 2:5-11, allowing her life to be brought low so that He might be raised high. In her humility, she challenges each of us without words to strive for the servitude with which she leads. I have seen in her a hunger for more, more, more of God and His Spirit. Her faith is powerful and her hunger refreshing. The intensity in her heart sets each of us after the feet of Jesus, desiring more than anything to know His will. She is such a perfect combination of power and gentleness; of a leader and a follower; of an authority and a child with faith.
I have seen in Katie a heart that breaks for the world. The gift of mercy is so heavy on her that just by being around her, my own heart begins to change. Whether it is an orphan, a beggar, a businessman, or a fellow teammate, the humble way that she loves is overpowering. She sees people with the eyes that Christ sees them and loves them with the heart that Christ loves them. She has a settling and quiet spirit that brings calmness to chaotic situations. She brings a peace to our team and the purity of her Spirit refocuses our aim to live holy before the Lord. In her soft-spoken and sweet nature she encapsulates a powerful fire of love for the least of these, and her love and mercy spreads wordlessly like a virus when we are surrounded by those who truly need physical help.
I have seen Don rise up as a leader of this team. He has the strong spirit of one who is called by God to lead others who are in need. Such a strength has emerged from him that is almost impossible to believe I once overlooked it. In love, in patience, in trial, in leadership, he rises in wisdom and authority. He has become an anchor to our team, a man truly led by the wisdom of God, wisdom that he readily and willingly imparts to our souls. When I am at my weakest point, I always end up finding more than enough strength in him to sustain me. When Don speaks life over me, I physically feel the arrows Satan has plunged into me dropping like flies. In his mouth is the power of God, and his life is lived in such submissiion to His Lord that life and light and strength and power flourish inside His Spirit. He personifies a shepherd, a leader for the weak.
In no way are any of these prophecies untrue or fabricated. When you live in the Lord’s presence every day, it is impossible not to begin to see things the way He does. As we dive deeper into the things of God, I cannot wait to call out more gifts in them and begin to see the development of who they are becoming in God’s Kingdom.
Today, I would urge you, pray for God’s eyes for those around you. For your family, your friends, your co-workers, people in line at Wal-mart, anywhere. Then boldly speak the gifts over them that you see in them. It is amazing how you will begin to see that everyone around you has a gift for God in their life, whether they are using it for Him or not. We all have someone in our life that we want to come to know Him in a deeper way, but for some reason, all we can see are the ways that they fail.
Instead of acknowledging death, speak life over them, and watch as God changes their hearts.
