Look...Admit...Expect

Before I met my husband, I thought the prophetic was something that worked at YHWH's whim. I believed that YHWH could give me a word of knowledge for someone whenever He felt like it and it was then my decision as to whether or not I would deliver that word to the person (depending on if I believed I was hearing from YHWH...usually I didn't believe it). Upon meeting Pierre, who had been studying the prophetic for years and praying for a prophetic wife, I learned that it is a gift just like any other which can be improved by study and practice. Whoa.

That was 4 years ago. I've since let that knowledge slip, but am ready to take the bull by the horns. I downloaded a bunch of free podcasts from www.stirthewater.com with Jim Driscoll, as well as their linked sites. I've listened to one of them (Growing Your Faith to See, Part 1). This is what I learned:

The first step is to ask YHWH a question and then LOOK to see what He is showing you. Don't have predisposed expectations of what you're supposed to see, just look objectively at whatever He is showing you - even if it doesn't seem to answer your question.

The next step is to ADMIT what you're seeing. Do not dismiss it. Admitting what you see is in itself an act of faith. If you don't act in faith, you lose faith. Do not allow fear or trepidation to come in at this point; just write down what you are seeing/feeling/hearing without making any judgement on it.

The third step is to EXPECT understanding. When you get a revelation that you can't make heads or tails of, go back to YHWH with it. Believe by faith that what you have heard is correct, and expect the interpretation. YHWH wants to train you in hearing Him more clearly, but He can't do it if you are constantly questioning whether or not what you hear/see is valid. It is valid - now get the understanding.

Jim Driscoll gave a personal example of a time when for 21 days he went to YHWH every morning and asked Him what was going to happen that day. One day YHWH told him there was going to be a lot of change. Jim looked over his journal at the end of the day and realized nothing much had changed. He didn't say, "Oh well, I guess I missed it," (which is most likely what I would've done). He went to YHWH and said, "I asked you what was going to happen today and you said lots of change. I have seen no change today, so I'm taking the word back to you. I know I heard it." YHWH told him to put his hand in his left pocket. He felt a bunch of coins and realized he had gotten lots of change from several purchases he had made. The point wasn't that it was a big revelation he needed to receive ahead of time...the point was that YHWH was training him to hear. If Jim had dismissed that word, he wouldn't have heard YHWH tell him to check his pockets. He never would've known that he actually did hear YHWH correctly and would've missed out on an opportunity to grow in his faith.

I'll leave you with one last thought from the teaching. Your ability to hear from YHWH is like a vessel that receives revelation...and if you use it, it'll grow. The day is coming and quickly approaching when YHWH is going to outpour more faith than you can contain. Whether He overflows your thimble or your bucket is up to you. The more you can contain, the more you will operate in. Don't be left standing in front of the opened, gushing fire hydrant holding a thimble.

LOOK
ADMIT
EXPECT