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One weekend during my time in Serbia, there was a prophetic seminar at the church where we were. A woman named Cath Livesey came with a team of people to teach us about prophesy and lead us in activation exercises of listening to God. The following are notes I took on the weekend and my experience.
We can hear God for ourselves or hear God for other people. As followers of Jesus, it’s important we learn to do both. Many people don’t make the effort to listen to God. Why do I want to hear God? Who is God? Who am I? These are the most important questions we could ever ask. What you think about those two questions affects everything, including how we hear God. In life, there’s a battle for clarity and for truth. So much in our world and culture conspires to warp and distort our idea of who God is. According to Mark, Jesus’s first words in public ministry were repent and believe.
The definition of metanoia is a change in one’s way of life resulting from penitence or spiritual conversion–aka change your mind, change your way of thinking. Think about who God is and who you are. Engage in a continual process of metanoia. It’s not a one time thing, it’s a process of aligning our thoughts with heaven; a process of knowing more and more about God and his nature and character. Growing in revelation of who we are: our covenant identity. What is God really like? What we think about God is incredibly important, many things in our upbringing and culture and even churches may conspire to confuse us about who God is. Such as: He’s never entirely pleased with me. He’s not quite enough. His favor has to be earned. He has favorites. He’s like my strict and distant father or teacher. Not your theological knowledge, but your deep seated pattern of thought, things that run through your head and you don’t even know they’re there most of the time but they affect how you react in situations. There’s the fear that if we properly listen to Gods voice that he’ll tell us something we don’t want to hear or to do something we don’t want to do like sell all your things and be a missionary. So when the speaker would sit down to listen to God, the fear popped up and kept her from hearing God. Lies lead to fears. She repented of believing the lie and the block disappeared. Jesus came to put a face on God. John 14:9 if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the father. Colossians 1:15 the son is the image of the invisible God. What is Jesus like? He came to set the prisoners free, to find the lost sheep, to proclaim God’s favor, bringing grace and goodness and healing. We see in Jesus a radical selfless love and forgiveness. He’s incredibly good, so much better and closer than we can think or imagine. When we think about the why of hearing God: He’s really good, a good Father. If our thinking doesn’t match up with that, we need to do metanoia. Who am I? What does the pattern of thoughts run like? Do you truly have the mind of Christ in regard to your identity? Or is it more like this: “I’ve messed up, I’m not that important, I struggle to hear God, I’ll never do anything truly great for God, this is just what I’m like and I cant change it, something always goes wrong for me, etc.” These thoughts are nearly subliminal but have a profound affect on our behavior. Acting like an orphan instead of a beloved son or daughter: there’s a battle for identity. When the spirit led Jesus into the desert and Jesus faced the temptations, the temptations were all about identity. God defines who you are–the world does not, we must not make agreements about who the world says you are. See how He sees. Approach the father and ask who do you say I am and pause long enough to hear the answer. Allow him to speak deeply into your identity. To get a picture of who we are, to understand our identity we can look through the lenses of the trinity. Our father already is pleased with us and we are unconditionally loved and accepted. For those who didn’t experience unconditional love and an amazing earthly father, we have to allow God to heal our wounds. See how we are seen by God. We are completely forgiven, restored and set free. New identity in Jesus. Finally we look at ourselves in the perspective of the Holy Spirit. The Bible doesn’t use words like dripped or sprinkled in regard to the Holy Spirit; it’s an outpouring of the spirit. So much more of the Holy Spirit. We are filled and overflowing with the Holy Spirit, you are the dwelling place of the spirit of God! The residence of the Holy of Holies. The same power that raised Jesus from the grave, lives in me. The spirit of sonship with God. Spirit of wisdom and revelation. He’s the spirit of joy and he’s living in each of us. Jesus talks about the spirit like the friend, the comforter living with us 24/7. Children of the father, friends of Jesus, and the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Is this really how I’m thinking, when I look at myself in the morning, am I thinking wow, look at this child of God, this dwelling place of the Holy Spirit?! When we know to the depth of our being that we are children of a loving father that wants to pour his love out on us, it changes our outlook on life and our ability to hear his voice. Knowing who God is and who we are is the beginning of hearing God’s voice. Where is my thinking not in line with truth? Grasping the concept that I really am new. That I’m truly not the same.
We hear God best when we listen from a place of rest. Two difficulties of the prophetic: striving and stress. We have to learn to rest in the fathers presence and unconditional love, to learn some disciplines of rest. It’s a long journey but you can get there. Rest in Gods presence. Spiritual disciplines can help you. Learning a lifestyle of pursuing God’s presence. Where you let God satisfy and rejuvenate you. Build stillness in your life. We have our own struggles to let stillness in our lives. Psalm 131 : Every day at 4 the speaker stops for 10 minutes. He has a reminder to quiet his soul. Reminded in 131 where David says he quieted his soul. Stop working, stop thinking, bring his soul to rest. He has this alarm every day, and says at least three times a week it really works. It’s a reminder that he needs a habit to create stillness in his life. One fundamental problem in hearing God: we think it’s always about guidance and instruction. He’s interested in relationship with us, so when he speaks, he speaks for our relationship and to speak identity over us. During Jesus’s baptism: God says, “you are my son whom I love with which I’m well pleased.” Not instructions. Not about shoulds and shouldn’t. Not about being more productive and effective. It’s about relationship! Hearing God isn’t about him being your CEO or manager, it’s about God affirming that He is your father and you’re His beloved child. It’s about intimacy. God comforts us. His reason for communicating is a loving relationship. He wants you to hear his voice so he can tell you how much he loves you, how wondrously he created you, and to establish your identity. Relationship comes before guidance. Hearing God isn’t an activity, it’s an overflow of who God is. It’s being connected with the Father. There’s nothing wrong with his voice, he isn’t silent and he doesn’t have favorites. We have issues that affect our hearing: that affect our spiritual ears. In John 10: good shepherd story: “My sheep hear my voice and know me, I know them.” This sounds simple, but it’s hard to compare ourselves to dumb sheep. There’s a liberating message in that, that we become sheep following the shepherd. We make it hard for ourselves. Visualize yourself as a simple sheep. Understand yourself as a child of the father. This goes back to the perception of God, his voice, and who we are.
In the journey to hearing God better, it’s about removing things. Removing barriers and obstructions that have come in the way over time. For most of us, there’s something in our life stopping us from hearing God as clearly as we could hear him.
Removing barriers: there’s many but here’s three:
- The Poverty Mindset: A mindset is a construction of how we think. The belief that God’s voice is a scarce resource. “Im afraid I won’t hear anything. If I make a mistake in hearing God, there won’t be any anointing. God may speak but he won’t speak to me. Maybe they will hear Gods voice but not me.” This creates doubt in hearing Gods voice. Internal battle. “What if I don’t hear anything?” Stops us from hearing God. Replace mindset of poverty for mindset of Gods generosity and abundance. God is good and generous with his gifts. There’s so much to go around, we can all join in! We can joyfully anticipate his goodness today and now!
- Rationality: When we lean too much on our own understanding and working wisdom, (there’s nothing wrong with this thought as a way of understanding the world) but an over rationalization in faith and God will create a barrier. Thinking “is that really God? Could that be God?” Rationalism causes us to dismiss God’s voice every moment it appears because it doesn’t make sense to us. Hearing God is spiritual not logical. We have to learn to respond to revelation with our spirits rather than our minds. Rely more on faith than logic. Build on faith and rely on our spirit. We must choose a mindset of openness to whatever the Holy Spirit brings us. Sometimes we start with this: “This may sound strange to you but…”
- Fear! Fear can be such a loud voice in our mind. What if I hear something and I don’t like it? What if I get it wrong? What if I hear something I don’t know or understand? What if I’m being deceived by the devil or myself? Fear comes in many shapes but it distracts you from hearing God’s voice. Stop making agreements with fear, instead cultivate peace. Take on a new way of thinking. “Father you are my perfect Heavenly Father. You are the kindest and most generous person in the universe. You love to speak to me and have great things to share with me so how do you want to encourage me today?”
Listening: we listen for the voice that is kind, loving, full of life. God speaks in many creative ways; He made us all different. Don’t dismiss just because something doesn’t make sense. You could be someone who sees pictures, God giving you a thought, reminder of a scripture, or a feeling. We have to be active listeners, go after it. We have to create the space. Some people find it hard to hear God because they go though their lives thinking, “well if God wants to speak to me, He’ll send me an angel or a burning bush, but until then I’ll just go about my life.”
When God speaks to us, we have to respond. We have to have an obedient heart and to realize that God speaks for a purpose and looks for our response. Choose a positive mindset.
How we hear God for other people: Learning how to deal with blocks, such as fear, disbelief, tuning out the other voices fighting for your attention. Sometimes listening for God is like sitting in a noisy cafe trying to hear your friend. You have to learn how to tune out all the other voices and tune into God’s voice. There’s nothing wrong with God’s voice. God is speaking all the time and he doesn’t have favorites. Knowing your identity as a child of God, stepping out and practicing, finding lots of opportunities to have a go at it. Being brave and find people to prophesy over. In some churches prophesy is a controversial thing. It’s been taught wrong and people have experienced falseness. Two ways: a church that wants nothing to do with prophesy.. or a church where it’s over the top where anything goes where there’s no accountability or protocol and people get damaged. There IS a middle ground where the gift of prophesy can be welcomed and exercised with humility, maturity, and power. Biblical, wholistic, grounded. In the New Testament it’s a good gift endorsed by Paul. Acts 2:17, 1 Corinthians 12:7, 1 Corinthians 14: 1-3
Spiritual gifts are for the church body. Prophesy strengthens and encourages the church. If you have fear thinking, “what if I get it wrong or make a mistake,” think, what about the danger of never sharing? What’s the greater risk: getting it wrong or not giving a life giving message to someone who needs it? Strengthen, bring hope, and draw people closer to God. We have to set aside fear. It’s better to have a go than to never go near it.
Story: In bed, nearly awake, halfsleep, and her husband was working far away, and boss asked him to move to that city–he did it. She didn’t like the idea. But this morning she heard almost audibly God say, “your husband will be finished with this job by spring.” She wondered if she should tell her husband, but she decided to leave it for a while. A couple months later, her husband said he cannot work there anymore and in May his contract is finished.
Story: A couple months ago, she had a practical problem at work. Had info about a person but wasn’t sure if she had to be a whistleblower. Her heart and head didn’t match up. She went to a seminar, learning how to prophesy over people. When she drove there, she asked God for a word about that situation. She didn’t talk with anyone so no one else knew about her question. At the table four people were listening to God for her, they didn’t know what was going on. The first person, had an image of a motor and said she can be a spinning motor for something. –If she was to speak up it would get something started. Second person: I have the idea that you can stick out your neck, said “I want you to know it’s no problem if you go first.” Last two were comforting about being in God’s rest. How to weigh God’s prophesy: when she got back in the car and asked Jesus is this you? She felt it was too clear not to be. So she thanked Jesus, and took the step to speak out after praying how to do that. She knew after praying a new way to do it that she hadn’t originally considered.
Let’s be clear about prophesy: It’s not, speaking in a strange or loud voice. Not judging people for their sins. Not predicting the future. Not a mandate to speak with no accountability. It IS about hearing God for other people, making known the heart, mind, and intention of God. It’s sharing the Father’s heart for people. There can often be a future element to prophesy, but it’s often God speaking into our here and now, the current reality.
Quote: “The gift of prophesy is the ability to find treasure in the dirt of people’s lives.” It’s about asking God the answer to the dirt. The world speaks to the dirt and the spirit speaks to the treasure. There’s treasure in everyone. Prophesy is a gift for everyone. Desire this gift! Some have a special call to prophetic ministry. From the framework of Ephesians 4 and the fivefold ministry. We can understand that in any church, there may be people we describe as a prophet. Their primary goal is to teach others how to hear God. We can all use the gift of prophesy. It’s through this gift we get to see the Father’s heart for other people. Unpacking the process: Striving is the enemy of the prophetic. Rest in God’s love, lay down agendas and be open to however God wants to use you. It’s okay if you don’t get anything. It would be a fine teaching example. No pressure or striving.
Three parts of prophetic
Revelation: This refers to the verse, words, or picture that is given from God to you. It’s the raw data.
Interpretation: the meaning of the revelation you received. We have to be more careful. Application: what are we going to do with what God has given us. When God gives us something for someone else, what will that person do with it. Be careful!
Say you see Africa for the person, and if not careful with interpretation she could think it means to vacation to Africa, could be just to pray for people in Africa, or to drink coffee with your African neighbor. You have to wait and discuss the interpretation with God. When she shared the picture of Africa, you don’t tell the other person what to do with it. They have to go to God with it, to discuss it with people from church before she decides what to do with it.
We did a listening exercise where we spent a minute listening for the other two people in our group: For myself:I saw God laughing with me and talking about the ways I’ve tried to lead people to him and he told me how their hearts were affected or how I came at the right time in relevant ways. We laughed like friends and he gave me a friendly hug.
From someone else for me, she saw a small boat on the big ocean. I would be okay in a storm because I had an anchor. I have to drop my anchor before the storm. There was a storm and then it was calmed, etc. During the other prophetic times one guys said he got the feeling of satisfaction from God to me. Another guy said that the Lord sees my love and honor for him and will reward this.
These were good for me at the time, for me the boat on the ocean is me thinking “Oh no, how do I handle life when I’m tempted back at home, or how do I battle the feelings of inadequcy or worrying about not being the best me.” The anchor is in reference to my foundation of beliefs. I have what I need when the storm comes. I know I have the Spirit and I know the truth, I have the anchor I need for the storm. I have felt God’s satisfaction toward me in my prayer time, and that morning for our SOAP (a bible study about one or two scriptures), the scripture was James 1:12.
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” So that word seemed quite relevant to me for the day.
The Bible is clear that we weigh prophesy with scripture.
Parameters: maturity in the gift
Love-1 Corinthians 13, comes right in the middle of Paul’s teaching of spiritual gifts. Our gifts are expressions of Gods love.
Serve-1 Peter 4:10
Good practice- listen to the peace of God, trust the peace of God when stepping out into prophesy, trust the Holy Spirit and ask God questions all the time. Don’t put your own interpretations on revelation. Be cautious with directional words. Be sensible. The vast majority of the time we should avoid babies and marriages. Accountability is very important. Doing ministry in pairs is safe and healthy. Have strong and accountable relationships. Weigh-even if an incredible leader or prophet gives you a word, you have to pray and seek whether this is truth. Respond-respond to God’s voice actively. See every word from God as an opportunity to partner with Him. What is God saying to me and what am I going to do about it?
Observe Reflect Discuss Plan Account Act
Observe: Ask what did I see, what did I hear, what did I feel Interpretation: stage of reflecting Better not to do it alone Ask new questions What could it be referring to What is this about What does this mean? What are your impressions?
Reflecting and discussing: what eternal change needs to take place in me for this to become a reality. What step of faith do i need to take? What will this response look like? God speaks to set us in motion. The process should be taken seriously. Danger is going into action too quickly, another is ignoring the word. The problem is that our human minds get active and as soon as the first bit of the picture or the word or sense starts to become apparent to us, our minds will say, that doesn’t make sense or that can’t be right or I don’t understand. The easiest mistake to make it to jump to conclusions and put our own interpretation on the revelation. It’s the mistake everyone makes. Words of advice: always ask God for the interpretation. If you don’t get an interpretation, share the revelation and be honest and say it’s all I got. Encourage the person to go and pray about it. By the time everyone had shared, you felt God had given you a sentence and all the revelation joined up to make sense. Go with the first thing but don’t jump to conclusions.
Find where God is at work. Mission is about finding out what God is already doing and joining in. The Holy Spirit is already at work in our cities, towns, regions so we have to discern where he is already at work, so we can join in with what he’s doing. Part of this is developing our spiritual sight. The physical world is not the only reality. As disciples of Jesus we have to be aware of the spiritual world. We develop our spiritual sight so we can see where the spirit is already at work. Understanding the gift of prophesy in evangelism. It’s about sharing Gods love with those who don’t know him. As you learn to hear God for your christian friends, learn to hear for your non-christian friends. Speak life and love to those living in darkness, not in an overly religious way. The world really needs the true prophetic. There’s good and bad about spirituality becoming mainstream. People are increasingly intrigued by spiritual things and the wrong sorts of prophetic coming from the wrong source are becoming more visible. People are hungry for true destiny and purpose that they are gravitating toward any expression of spirituality that meets their need so they’re looking in the wrong place for identity, purpose, and destiny. Rather than being frightened by that, we should see it as an opportunity to show people the true prophetic to connect people with the heart of God. We must offer an alternative to tarot card readings or psychics. I believe there’s a God in Heaven who has a purpose for your life, so I’m gonna go ask Him what you should do next. We can bring words of life to people. Incarnational mission: being people that speak out for justice, mercy, and compassion. Standing up for the poor and oppressed, demonstrating God’s kingdom by the way we live our lives. Being prepared to live radical lifestyles so our lives demonstrate the kingdom. One of the most prophetic things her church does is they run a large ministry called restore that reaches out to the least, last, and lost. Many ways : homeless, addicts, street drunks –Prophetic message of that ministry is that God is real, he loves you, he’s a God of mercy and compassion. See, speak, and live prophetically. For people who don’t know Jesus, They get these cards saying, “If God was alive, what might He want to say to you?” It is an invitation for people to come. Ministry is unchurchy. It’s an opportunity to speak prophetically into people’s lives. As disciples of Jesus we have to live from the heart of the father. Prophesy reveals the heart of the father. Jesus came to reveal the father among other reasons and to give us a true picture of what he’s like. In John 1:18, Jesus says he only does what he sees the father doing. Break my heart for what breaks yours. How can my words and actions represent Christ. See others how He does. Partner with the Holy Spirit.
SO After this awesome Friday and Saturday, I felt God was showing me what I already know: that I hear His voice. For myself and for others, and that I should take a bigger step or role in this, more ready to listen and share. During listening activities, I got good words for others and shared some meaningful words from God.
Sunday after church, a woman who is an artist and says her paintings are prophetic stayed after to lead us in a short activity where we look at her paintings and we ask God to give us a message for the two people we grouped up with. While looking at this painting, this guy I had never met before says that he hears for me, “Peter Pan.” This guy hasn’t seen Peter Pan, or read it, and literally doesnt know that those words are the biggest confirmation I could’ve received!! I freaked out, and jumped for joy! This is a reminder from my miracle story, the day I shared a word for someone from God, and then someone shared through ways that would’ve been impossible for a person to know exactly what’s been on my mind and to God through prayers. It was confirmation for me, God saying, remember this day –the importance of prophesy!! I wouldn’t have my miracle story and the day that gave me increased faith if someone hadn’t been obedience to share God’s word. So I say yes when God gives me a word for someone, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that God delights in me and wants me to partner in sharing His love. This may look like me standing up after church to pray with people, or something more, but I know God has chosen me for this, and I will not hold back from what He wants to do through me. 
To read my miracle story about Peter Pan, click here!
