Prophetic Ministry: How to See in the Spirit and Begin Prophetic Words

A Nathan type prophet sees with his eyes. A Samuel type prophet sees with all 5 senses.

In the natural realm, I am reminded of Albert Einstein. He is well known for his genius. He is probably best remembered for his formula E=MC2 (squared). But did you know that he did not come up with that incredible idea overnight? No, but rather it took him 10 years to figure out that formula. Albert Einstein for 10 years imagined himself flying in an airplane at the speed of light. He imagined himself holding a hand mirror in front of his face. Then he asked himself the question...if I travel the speed of light and look into a mirror, will I see my reflection? It is said that he would incorporate all 5 of his senses to solve problems. He would mutter repeatedly under his breath in ways that seemed nonsensical to others around him. But, it was using this imagery technique that 10 years later, he was able to figure out one of the secrets of the universe. That is, the Theory of Relativity

I was in a service where there were two very well known prophetic ministers and I asked the Lord, "Who is the greatest prophet in the house?" and He said "The one who has my word needed for that moment."

I asked the Lord, "What is the greatest gift in the house?" and He said "The gift that is needed in that moment."

You see, God will use anybody he wants to make His will for the moment known. God is not a respecter of persons. God will use YOU if you will put aside your inhibitions and offer yourself for service. It is not just the big prophets that can hear God or see what He is doing. As Bob Jones says, "The more people that minister together, the more ministering will get done." "The more people will get blessed."

God gives everyone of us a piece of the puzzle. Imagine a large jigsaw puzzle. You get a piece of the puzzle. Someone like Bob Jones gets several more pieces or perhaps bigger pieces of the puzzle. But we must also have you bring your pieces to the table in order to get the complete picture of what God is doing in the earth. Some preachers have said that if you don't come into line then the Holy Spirit will blow right past you and give your gifts to someone else who is ready. That is simply not true. It will simply mean that your particular gift will be missing from the body. Can you imagine what it would be like if everyone brought their spiritual gifts to be used each time we gather together? What if we defragmented the church for the glory of God? Imagine how quickly the Spirit of Truth would operate. Have you ever defragmented your computer? Then you are aware of how your computer ran in an optimized condition. We will get more ministry accomplished when we are all in our positions and operating in optimum condition.

We will now discuss some different ways to exercise the gift of seeing for others. Why is prophecy important?

Imagine a teacher. He can point to a tree and identify it by name. An engineer can look at that tree and estimate the thousands of matchsticks being harvested out of it. A chemist can combine sulfur and phosphorous to create those matchsticks. But a prophet can come in and with a word he can strike those matches!

There is a creative realm to prophecy. If you say "God, I don't want to be making this stuff up." Bob says "that is doubt!" Now remember that without faith it is impossible to please God. Like any new thing you are trying to learn, it takes time. It takes time to become good at expressing what you see in the spirit.

Why?

It is because you must sort through all the impressions and pictures that come to mind. You must take time to learn how to interpret them. If you are going to move in the prophetic, then you must be willing to be made a fool for Christ. Does that sound familiar? Have you ever done something that you thought you heard God tell you to do? You must be willing to make mistakes. You will learn what not to do through experience. That is the price.

My desire is to point out the land mines early so you don't blow up and become an unnecessary casualty. Most of the embarrassments are avoidable. Just remember to remain humble and point the glory back to Jesus every time you do something right. Yes, that means you do the work and someone else gets the glory. Paul Cain, a prophetic minister once gave this advice. He said his mother used to say to him, "Now son, you make yourself as small as you can be, and make Jesus as big as He can be." I think that is perfect advice.

TO BEGIN THIS EXERCISE

Choose the person you will be practicing with. Open your eyes and look at him or her. Pray silently for a moment under your breath and ask the Holy Spirit to help you see something for this person.

Say, "Lord I am here and I am willing to be your servant." "I ask you to please show me something that will help one of your precious children." "I am willing to be used by you, Lord." "Please have your own way with me and give me the words to speak, in Jesus' name." "Lord, I ask you for a picture and help me to interpret it correctly, for your glory." Amen.

Now, look at the person and take a "snapshot" with your eyes. Close your eyes and hold that image in your mind. Now be quiet without praying and look at the image in your imagination and wait for it to change into another picture. It should form easily. If you struggle to see an image then open your eyes and take another snapshot with your eyes. Start over. Anything from the Lord will form easily. But though the vision takes time, wait for it. It is alright. Just don't force the picture. Don't judge the picture. Just see it.

Alright, now that you have a picture in your imagination, write it down in your notebook. Draw a picture to describe what you saw. It is good to write out a description also. Always keep a pocket size spiral bound notebook in your pocket or purse. You must be ready at all times to jot down impressions from the Lord. On the cover of the notebook, write the date you started the notebook. When you finish or fill up the notebook, remember to write down the final date on the cover also. Then later you may go directly to the notebook to recall a word you have for someone. If you go to a city to minister, then write the name of that city on the outside of the notebook too. I have notebooks from cities that I will return too someday. I will be able to give prophetic words when I step off the plane, because I got the words the last time I was in that city but did not have a chance to give them. I will take that old notebook with me. It is up to God's timing to present the opportunity between when we get the word and when we give the word.

The next step is to interpret the picture into a message for the person. If you do not interpret the message, it is like speaking to the person in tongues. In other words, tell what you think the picture means or it does not edify. What is the Holy Spirit saying? How could you interpret it in such a way that it would encourage the person? Could you interpret the picture in such a way that it may comfort the person? Can you edify the person ? You have a choice. You can tell what you saw, which may or may not mean anything. Or, you can take time to get an interpretation of the picture and give that. The interpretation is more valuable. Many people won't take time to interpret the picture. They are content to say what they saw. But, that is baby food. You can start out this way, but you can progress to a point where you will become comfortable doing this and you will become much better at it. To start out, it is alright to tell them both the picture and the interpretation. Remember you are practicing. When you become comfortable prophesying like this later on, then do not tell them your picture. That is, do not tell them how you got the revelation.

Why? Because if you are doing street ministry, the person will be surprised to hear a message from the Lord, through you. He will think you have heard from God when you reveal the secrets of their heart. But, if you tell him how you got the revelation, he might think you are goofy. He may think you are nuts. That is what we call casting your pearls before swine. Do you understand? I am not calling any of God's children swine. A gentler way to say this is casting your pearls in the mud. Please do not misunderstand me. But, when you mature in this technique, and it is only one technique; you can help to open up the individual to receive more ministry from you. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. (or left brain) This "snapshot" exercise will stimulate your right brain imagination. Please take notice whether the individual's response is right or left brain. This will help to keep from offending the person. You want to be able to help him and not alienate him.

In this exercise you are emptying your mind for Christ. (Phil 2:7) You are desiring to be taught by God. (John 6:45)

Practice Practice Practice.

Repetition will make this become an easy tool within your grasp. It will become a tool you can use to look into the spirit. This technique may work for you when your other senses seem to be quiet.

Kenneth McDonald is a co-founder of Prophetic Seminars .Com. He has written a Prophetic Seminar Handbook. His passion is to teach other ministries how to hear God speak by the Spirit. God does not always speak in words, but in impressions, dreams, visions and in your imagination. Kenneth McDonald and his wife, Brenda McDonald travel the world teaching prophetic seminars and dream interpretation seminars as it relates to the model of the old and new testament scriptures. Their ministry is Book Of Life Ministries. The website may be found at http://www.propheticseminars.com