Prophet: Learning to Listen With Discernment
Learning to listen with discernment means that you begin to recognize the voice of God so well that other voices sound unfamiliar.
In John 10:5a, Jesus told his followers, “Yet they will never follow a stranger.” This statement needs to become a reality in your life. It takes practice and requires that you learn well the lessons in listening with discernment offered to all of us by the Holy Spirit.
Don’t be so overly zealous, that instead of making the time to take driver’s training classes, you quickly get into the fastest car you can find and go off to the races.
Some, sad to say, end up in a ditch or become a casualty of driving without a license! But you can avoid the ditches.
First, get your permit while being mentored by others, and then graduate to driving alone. Where hearing God is concerned, driver’s education consists of discernment lessons.
The Need for Discerning of Spirits
The gift of discerning of spirits, which is listed in the New Testament as one of the gifts of the Spirit, is desperately needed in today’s church culture. This gift helps you distinguish what motivates spiritual activity. It helps you see through the gray areas and differentiate light from darkness.
The following are some examples of the gift of discerning of spirits in operation:
Why You Should Not Underestimate the Power of Coming Into Agreement
Jesus told us to persist—continuously and tirelessly—in asking, seeking and knocking on the doors of heaven.
The New Living Translation emphasizes the ongoing action of Jesus’ words:
“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened” (Luke 11:9-10, NLT).
Keep on doing it. Keep on keeping on. Keep on praying!
I also want to urge you to keep on coming—keep coming to God and keep coming into agreement with Him as well as with your brothers and sisters who pray alongside you.
Prophet: Why Courage Is Worth Its Sometimes Exorbitant Price
Courage doesn’t take a large bank account, big muscles or impressive beauty.
It simply requires making yourself available and being willing to obey.
And it is always worth it.
Some of you may think that you are the most unlikely candidate for God to use to accomplish anything significant.
Most of us think of ourselves in that way.
The world teaches us that it is the rich, the powerful or the beautiful who are important and make a difference in the world.
That’s not what God teaches. He doesn’t think or work the way the world does.
The prophet Isaiah recorded, “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts'” (Isa. 55:8-9, NASB).
I like the way Randy Clark puts it: “God can use little ole me!”
God can use anyone or anything He desires to accomplish His purpose.
Why You Need Spiritual Discernment in This Hour
Satan’s number one weapon is deception. Your number one need is discernment.
Someone once said, “To be forewarned is to be forearmed.” That is why you need discernment in this hour.
That old saying captures a scriptural truth: Discernment forewarns us so that we do not fall prey to subtle deceptions.
Forewarning gives us courage, too, as we find out what we are dealing with and what to do.
“The Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1, NASB).
The above Scripture begins with the phrase, “The Spirit explicitly says …”
The Holy Spirit is the one who forewarns us, in this case that some people will abandon their faith in Jesus because other attractions will draw their attention; they will be allured by convincing voices that will manipulate their attention and cause them to give up on their belief. Their walk with the Lord will seem too wearisome and strenuous, and they will start to look for something more “fulfilling.”
Prophet: Two Keys That Will Increase Your Sphere of Influence
Do you want to grow and increase your sphere of influence? These two keys will make all the difference: faithfulness and divine intelligence.
Biblically, I don’t know of any greater example of this than Daniel and his friends.
No matter what circumstances or negative situations were thrown at Daniel, he was faithful. He didn’t waver, change his values or compromise his integrity. He always looked out for the best interests of the ones he served.
God responded to Daniel’s faithfulness by adding to his efforts a multiplier: He blessed Daniel and his friends with divine intelligence. Scripture says God gave them knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. (See Daniel 1:4.) And on top of this, Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. That’s what I call divine intelligence.
So, if you want increase, you must grow in faithfulness and divine intelligence. But how?
Faithfulness Brings Increase
The Stand in Ukraine: Crisis Intervention Through Intercession
“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18, NASB1995).
Multiple forms of prayer exist with great diversities of application, including every expression from devotional communion with God, to praying and singing in the Spirit or in the gift of tongues, to spiritual warfare dimensions accenting the gift of discerning of spirits.
In addition to these different models of prayer we also have petitions, devotional contemplation, travail, the prayer of tears, reminding God of His Word and so many other expressions. Prayer can be a form of taking a stand or a stance on something.
I teach through a variety of forms of prayer in my book Strike the Mark. That is the resource where I give the widest exposure to biblical, historical and revelatory intercession. However, in this setting, I am emphasizing my book The Global Prayer Storm: Where Every Prayer Counts and Every Sacrifice Matters.
Why? In this book I distinguish “crisis intervention through intercession.” It is the need of the hour!
Ephesians 6:18 says, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times.” We need every form of Spirit-directed and Spirit-empowered prayer. With this foundation in place, the scripture tells us to now “be on the alert.” The word alert means to be vigilant. We are not to fall asleep on our watch. We are to be alert! Wake up! Be vigilant!
Conspiring (Co-Inspiring) With God Through Prayer and Prophecy
A lot of people have conspiracy theories, but did you know that there is a real dimension of co-inspiring, or conspiring, with God? It is an invitation into God’s strategic plan. Conspiring is a form of partnering with God. This realm is best expressed in prophecy and prayer — and combined together in prophetic intercession.
What exactly does this mean? The word conspire means “to breathe together.” According to Genesis 2:7, when God created man from the dust of the earth, He “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (NIV).
This Hebrew word that we translate “breathed” can mean breathing violently, such as when the violent rushing wind filled the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost. New covenant believers conspire with God so His glory will be seen, felt and known in the earth. These prophetic intercessory warriors are conspiring and breathing together, allowing God to breathe violently into situations, through prophecy and prayer, in order to bring forth life.
Conspiring: An Invitation to Strategic Planning
How You Should Pray for People in Authority
We all know that Scripture tells us to pray for those in authority. To those who possess the fear of the Lord, that is not to be taken lightly, even if we understand nothing else.
But why should we pray? Who exactly is our authority? And what should we pray?
Why Pray for Those in Authority?
Prayers for people who are in positions of authority have high priority in the heart of God.
We see this in scriptures such as 1 Timothy 2:1-4: “I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (NASB1995).
The prayers that Christians pray for those in authority matter; they are essential to the advancement of the kingdom. We cannot afford to leave them up to others.
The Overlooked Weapon of Spiritual Warfare
Did you know that Communion, the Lord’s Supper, is a weapon of spiritual warfare?
It really is.
Some years ago, when I was in a time of worship with a group of prophetic intercessors, the Holy Spirit dropped this phrase into my heart: “Communion, the Lord’s Supper, is one of the highest and most overlooked weapons of spiritual warfare.”
That phrase, and its revelation, has stayed with me ever since.
Days of Increased Spiritual Warfare
There’s a lot of chaos, confusion and many swirls going on in the world right now. There are many competing voices attempting to distract us.
Some of this we could flat-out call an assault from the powers of darkness. These are days of increased spiritual warfare, so we need all the tools on our tool belt that we can get.
I understand and appreciate the different theological perspectives and views concerning the sacraments of the Lord’s Supper, or Eucharist. I am a church man, so I honor the diversity of different denominations and their historical applications. But, for a short moment, let me give some brief scriptural insights concerning Communion.
7 Reasons Why You Should Pray for Israel
Have you ever missed a strategic appointment?
Have you ever realized at the last minute that you were about to miss an important engagement unless you kicked into action right away?
If you miss the appointment altogether, you are filled with emotions and thoughts of disappointment, anger, sorrow and even “Why did I do that!”
But if you are awake, prepared and ready for the appointments on your calendar, then a sense of destiny fulfilled, satisfaction and anticipation for what comes next arises within you.
Did you know that God has a calendar with appointments waiting to be fulfilled?
You Are Appointed as a Watchman for Israel
God Encounters Change Lives—Including Yours
Does God still invade people’s lives with the supernatural today? What happens when God gets ahold of a person? How is a person’s life changed by God encounters?
It only takes one touch from the living God, and you are never the same.
God Encounters Change Lives!
Certainly, as Scripture shows from these powerful examples, nothing is ever the same again once God has invaded your life.
— Jacob’s encounter with the living God—in a dream in the wilderness at Bethel—changed him from a deceiving schemer and trickster into Israel, “prince of God” and father of a nation of the people of God.
— Moses’ encounter with the living God—in a burning bush—changed him from a stuttering backcountry shepherd into a bold leader and deliverer of a nation who could confront the Pharaoh of Egypt, the world’s most powerful ruler.
— Deborah’s encounter with the fierceness of God changed a respectable judge into the deliverer of a nation who rendered courageous counsel to those in authority and vanquished the enemy’s army.
How to Find the Secret Place Where God Abides
The gospel is so simple and real. God loves us enormously; it’s as though He has decided to leave us love notes everywhere. But how do you find the secret place where God abides?
Whenever you open your heart to see and hear Him, He is there.
It’s wonderful to look back over your life and see those hidden messages strategically placed — especially when you did not notice them earlier.
When I’m Calling You
I have one such love note I’d like to share with you. When I was growing up, my family enjoyed watching Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy movies. Jeanette MacDonald had a beautiful operatic voice and she seemed to be a Christian. When her lovely voice was blended with Nelson Eddy’s rich baritone, the musical match was just heavenly.
Prophet: It’s Time to Dust Off Your Dreams
It’s time to dust off your dreams! Even if you’ve lived through some disappointments or disillusionment related to the dreams of your heart, I want you to know this: It is better to risk and have a life filled with some hope versus being someone who has no dreams fulfilled at all.
So roll the dice, take the risk and dare to believe again! Dust off your dreams!
Here Comes the Dreamer
My theme verse for you comes from Genesis 37:19, in the context of Joseph and his brothers. “Here comes that dreamer!” (Gen. 37:19, BSB). The first time his brothers said this, it was in a mocking manner. Then, after some time, they said this once again, but this time in a rather encouraging manner. Here is the word they said to him, “Here comes the dreamer.”
Wow! Here comes the dreamer.
Sometimes we label people. Sometimes we label ourselves in ways that are not encouraging at all, like “that guy is full of fantasy.” That person has “got a pipe dream.” But you know, you’re never too old to dream! And I have had several dreams. With some of them, I have had to deal with a lot of disappointment. But recently, I have had the honor of fulfilling some dreams. So, dust off your dreams!
James Goll: The Unlimited Power of Prophetic Intercession
While the term is not found anywhere in the pages of Scripture, “prophetic intercession” is powerful because it allows you to lean into the heart of God and then pray His heart back to Him in accordance with His will.
Finding Words for Scriptural Principles
As far as I know, airplanes are not in the Bible.
School buses and bicycles are not mentioned, either.
The book of Leviticus does not say anything pro or con about contact lenses or television.
The term “Trinity” is not found anywhere in the Bible. Were you aware of that?
“God in three persons, blessed Trinity.” It’s in one of our greatest church hymns, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” It’s in some of our recited church history creeds. It has to be used in the Bible, somewhere, right? No. It isn’t.
Neither is the phrase Sunday school.
Now some of you just said, “I knew it the whole time!”
Does that mean Sunday school is unscriptural?
Prophet: Why We Must Catch the Mordecai Anointing
The dark spirit of antisemitism—or what may be called “the spirit of Haman,” named after the man in the book of Esther who plotted to exterminate the Jewish people in the days of King Artaxerxes—is on the move across the world today.
We Christians have a dangerous tendency to consider biblical narratives such as the story of Esther, Mordecai and Haman as myths or children’s stories. On the contrary, these stories are real and instructive to us today. The Bible declares, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16).
The fact is the ancient spirit of genocide yields only to the power of God, which can be released only by a people who, like Esther’s cousin Mordecai, pray and fast and even put themselves at personal risk, as Esther did.
Today I am convinced that we are destined to relive the book of Esther in this generation. Her older cousin, Mordecai, warned her about Haman’s plot against the Jewish exiles (see Esth. 3-4). Let’s take a deeper look at the call of God on Mordecai. What was his God-given task, his divine assignment?
Prophet: Filling Every Clay Pot With God’s Glory
Some years ago, I was teaching from Habakkuk 2:14 that the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the seas. The topic, to a certain degree, was theoretical.
Then the Holy Spirit asked me, “How will that happen?” Not knowing the answer, I said back to Him, “Oh, how will that happen?”
Always remember, the best way to answer a question from God is to ask Him what the answer is. He does not ask a question because He does not know the answer. Every question He asks is an invitation into greater partnership with Him.
Prophet: Filling Every Clay Pot With God’s Glory
Some years ago, I was teaching from Habakkuk 2:14 that the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the seas. The topic, to a certain degree, was theoretical.
Then the Holy Spirit asked me, “How will that happen?” Not knowing the answer, I said back to Him, “Oh, how will that happen?”
Always remember, the best way to answer a question from God is to ask Him what the answer is. He does not ask a question because He does not know the answer. Every question He asks is an invitation into greater partnership with Him.
S
o, while I was teaching the class and declaring God’s Word, I was actually having a personal exchange with the Holy Spirit, although the students did not know about this behind-the-scenes discussion.
When I returned the question to God, He answered, “One clay pot at a time. I will fill the earth with My glory one clay pot at a time.”
Prophetic Vision: Worship God in the Hallway
Recently I had a profound prophetic vision in which the Holy Spirit spoke to me, “Worship God while waiting in the hallway!” Before I give you more details about this vision, allow me to give a little background.
Have you ever wondered where in the Bible the word “worship” is first mentioned? We probably think it comes from the life of King David or some other skilled “worshipper.” The first time something is mentioned in Scripture is extremely important. This is called the “law of first mention.” In this case, surprisingly, worship has nothing to do with instruments, vocal projection, a choir or any such thing.
It’s found in Genesis 22:5 (NKJV), set in the lives of Abraham and Isaac. “And Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.'” Abraham, by the word of the Lord, was going to offer up his son of faith, Isaac, as a burnt offering on Mount Moriah. What a profound, complex and yet straightforward statement!
Prophet: Turn the Tables on the Enemy With This Bold Spiritual Action
A battle is being waged in society. It is one that affects every life, whether we are aware of it or not. It is a battle of fear versus faith.
Who controls the new cycle? There is a vomiting forth of news based on distorted information that is forced upon us on a daily basis. Problem is, this has been happening for more than a generation and now we are eating its fruit. Long ago, a Trojan horse was allowed in our churches, governments, educational institutions, news agencies, economic systems and so much more.
But it’s not too late. A clarion call is arising to turn the enemy away at the gates of our cities! A call to mount the wall of intercession is being released like never before. A global prayer storm is mounting where faith matched by our works displaces darkness.
Prophetic Dream: God’s Lightning Bolts of Glory
I awoke suddenly out of a vibrant prophetic dream that was filled with lightning. (Although this happened years ago, I remember it as if it were yesterday.) One lightning bolt after another exploded before my eyes—continual, splintering, powerful lightning bolts from heaven to earth.
No people. No words. Just incessant light, action, sound.
When I woke up from this intense, Holy-Spirit-saturated dream, the whole room still crackled with God’s electric presence. I lingered in that presence for 20 minutes or so before it dissipated.
As I lay there musing, What in the world was that about? I saw “Job 36:32” spelled out in large, illuminated letters that were two or three feet tall.