A Proved and Approved Gifting

Practical Exercises

Just a little diversion in that here are some practical steps that you can take in developing the nature and spirit of the prophetic person. Just try to do as many of the things listed below each week for ten weeks and see what happens.

These are the rules:

Do not tell anyone what or why you are doing these things
Start with small steps and progress to larger steps during the ten weeks
Pray for ten minutes each day specifically for God to show you each step
Keep a record of what steps you have taken
Smile at people as you take each step.

Acts of service
Do something for someone which is an inconvenience and something you were not expected to do. This step should be something where reciprocation is not expected or warranted.

Submission by faith
Submit to a leader or leaders within the church. This submission is not brought about by understanding or agreement, but by faith and should be evident even when the leader or leadership is perceived to be wrong.

It is important that this submission is not rooted in blind faith but rather a faith that faces the facts and then trusts. People must be allowed to ask questions about what happened during a service and receive a non-defensive response from the leadership. This allows for transparency and the opportunity for everyone to learn.

Prayer - second nature
Prayer should be the first thing we think of and do when facing a decision that needs to be made; say to everyone, "Let's pray about this for a moment and give it to God". Maybe at the start of a journey say, "Let us give this journey to God and ask for travelling mercies."

There is a need to be sensitive to others at such times and to be careful that what is said is appropriate and doesn't undermine other people's gifting.

Hearing not just listening
Many people today are so busy they don't take the time to hear what people are saying to them, they listen thinking of what they should say next, rather than truly hearing the information being communicated.

To the trained communicator it becomes obvious when people are listening but not hearing. Here are two major give-aways:

People speak over the thing that's being said because they think the speaker has finished.
When repeating the information they make substantial errors because they do not realise they did not hear the correct information.

Both of these display a lack of concentration and sensitivity, giving the astute speaker a real sense they are wasting their time speaking to the person, for truly they are.

Take the time to listen to someone, give him or her signs that you are truly listening to them. You can do this by nodding your head or making sounds of agreement and by asking questions that show they come from what has been said and you have been listening.

Some people, especially some Christian leaders, have leant listening techniques without learning to listen. Don't be like that and ask the person a question relevant to what they have told you previously.

Speaking with boldness
A policeman once told me that when in the witness box, you should:

take a deep breath to calm the nerves
stand up
speak up
and then shut up

I think this is good advice if you get an opportunity to share about Jesus during the week and you can pray for opportunities to be bold.

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