God still speaks – Part 2

How Prophecy Works
Once you’re open to the idea that God can speak to you, what next? Here are the basic ground rules:

1. Have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If you’ve received Jesus as your Savior, you’ve already met the first and most important requirement. When you opened your heart to Jesus, you began an intimate relationship with Him not only as your Savior, but also as your friend, teacher, and counselor.

2. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus told His disciples shortly before He was crucified that after He was gone, He would send the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to teach them all things and guide them into all truth (John 16:7,13–14). He has promised to give the Holy Spirit to you, too, if you ask for it (Luke 11:9–13).

3. Pray for the gift. The ability to receive messages directly from God­—commonly referred to as the gift of prophecy—is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are explained in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. God is more than willing to give you this or whatever other gifts of the Spirit you ask for (Matthew 7:7–8).

4. Talk to Jesus. Prayer is not meant to be a religious ritual, but a living relationship. Jesus wants to speak to you as openly and freely as your best friend or spouse would, but it’s a two-way street. It may be awkward at first if you aren’t used to speaking to Him personally, but it gets easier once you begin to do it regularly. He understands and loves you as no other can. He wants you to tell Him your deepest thoughts, your innermost feelings, your secret dreams and longings.

5. Read God’s Word. In order to correctly apply the words that Jesus speaks to you personally in prophecy, you need a certain understanding of God’s already recorded Word. Knowing the Word also helps you to have faith that the message you are hearing is from the Lord. The Bible is your foundation. Read it, study it, memorize it, and let it become a part of you.

6. Have faith. The Bible tells us that having faith is being certain that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it right now. How do you get faith? Simple! Faith comes from reading the Word of God (Romans 10:17). As you read the Word and commit key passages to memory, your faith will grow.

7. Ask! This may seem pretty obvious, but in order to receive something in prophecy, you first have to ask the Lord to speak to you. “Call on Me, and I will show you great and mighty things which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3). Place your telephone call and get His reply!

8. Be humble. Your mindset, your attitude of heart, your motives—all of these help determine how clearly you will be able to hear from Heaven. You need to realize that you are weak in yourself, that you don’t have the answers and therefore need God’s answers. “We have this treasure in earthen vessels”—lowly clay pots—“that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

9. Ask God to override your own thoughts while hearing from Him, and to help you submit your will to His. To receive God’s messages, you need to have an open mind and heart. You need to be ready to accept whatever He gives, even if it’s not what you were expecting, not completely to your liking, or you don’t understand it fully. Your own ideas and desires may be good, but His will prove better.

10. Now you’re ready to begin. Start by finding a quiet place and taking a few minutes to talk to the Lord. Tell Him what’s on your heart. Thank Him for His blessings in your life.

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Jeremiah 33:3 (ESV) Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

2 Corinthians 4:7 (ESV) But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

Romans 10:17 (ESV) So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.