Prophecy 101: The Prophecy Palette - A Sounding Board For Prophetic Words
Prophecy 101: The Prophecy Palette - A Sounding Board For Prophetic Words
Prophecy 101: The Prophecy Palette - A Sounding Board For Prophetic Words
Introduction
How often have you thought the Holy Spirit was speaking to you prophetically, only to be disappointed later? Have you tried to share your word only to watch it fall flat with no reaction or response? Have you gotten into trouble before by sharing prophetic words, which were ultimately not very helpful to you or anyone else?
Have you ever been frustrated by not knowing for sure whether or not you are actually hearing from the Holy Spirit? Or perhaps youve been confused by what to do with a prophetic word or sense when youre pretty sure it is from the Holy Spirit?
Introduction
Too often, people with prophetic words make one or more of FIVE simple mistakes.
1. They think they know exactly WHAT it means, but havent given the Spirit time to clarify it.
Introduction
2. They think they know exactly WHO it is for, again without allowing the Spirit to clarify whether it is for them personally, for another person, or for a group of people.
Introduction
3. They think they know exactly WHEN to share it, and its almost always a sense that is for RIGHT NOW!!!
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4. They believe they know exactly HOW to share it, without getting any additional insight from the Holy Spirit or from others who know more about a situation, are in leadership, or are gifted prophetically.
Introduction
5. And many times they believe they
know exactly WHY God has communicated prophetically to them, often reading their own circumstances or issues into the prophetic encounter.
Introduction
I believe that the foundation for the gift of prophecy is the grace of God.
By Gods grace the Spirit sovereignly and graciously communicates prophetically regardless of a persons situation, circumstances, problems or issues.
And Gods grace of prophecy is still given even when we make one or more of the five simple mistakes.
Introduction
I also believe that the God of the Bible wants to communicate to His people, and to His world, in order to make Himself known. This implies two things. First, this implies that He wants to speak in such a way as to get peoples attention. Prophecy almost always does that (1 Cor. 14:3, 24, 25).
Second, this implies that He wants to speak clearly so that people really know He cares about them.
Introduction
I also believe that prophecy is supposed to be simple. Here are the ABCs of prophecy.
Amazing. It arrests our attention and astounds us. Beneficial. It is constructive and caring. Clear. It is coherent and comprehensible.
If its not as simple as this, its probably not from God.
Introduction
Finally, I believe that if a prophetic word is beneficial and clear, that it is more likely to amaze a person.
Consequently, the more they are amazed, the deeper the impact of the prophetic word, and the broader the expansion of the kingdom in their lives.
Introduction
Imagine for a moment a palette from which a painter uses all sorts of colors to paint a picture. He has many colors at his disposal and knows how to mix them all to achieve the desired results.
Introduction
Then imagine a prophetic palette which the Holy Spirit has given to all of us, which He wants to use to paint a prophetic picture for yourself or someone else, in order to build His kingdom.
The Design
The Prophecy Palette is a simple tool designed to take into account your personality bent as well as the various ways in which the Spirit communicates prophetically.
The Design
In addition to this, it is also designed with several other crucial elements which aim to keep prophecy biblical and genuine.
The Design
1. It is a tool designed to develop patience in the prophetic, teaching the believer to slow down and pray and wait for more insight from the Spirit.
The Design
2. It is a tool designed to help clarify prophetic communication from the Spirit, so that both you and the person(s) you share it with are built up, encouraged, and/or comforted.
The Design
3. It is a tool designed to help synthesize the various things God is revealing to you, so that you better understand the mind of God in the prophetic word.
The Design
4. It is a tool designed to help anchor your prophetic words in the most objective revelation of God found in the Scriptures.
The Design
5. It is a tool designed to help teach you how the Holy Spirit speaks to you individually and personally.
The Design
6. It is a tool designed to help you become comfortable and confident in your life with the prophetic.
The Design
With these designs in mind, here is a look at the tool.
Youll want to look on with your own copy as we work through it together.
Biblical Text
Dream / Vision
Word of Wisdom
Idea
Synthesize
What You Believe the Holy Spirit Has Communicated to You
Second, pray for more understanding and illumination. Ask God to clarify it in other ways (other categories), and expect Him to answer.
Third, as He communicates in additional ways, write down what you sense from God where it seems to fit best to you.
Fourth, when you feel that the Spirit is finished talking to you, take additional time to think and pray through HOW the pieces of information fit together.
Fifth, assuming you have information in at least two categories, and given enough time, a clear sense of what God is wanting to reveal should emerge.
2.
3.
4.
Lets Practice!
Use the instruction sheet were handing out right now and take the next fifteen minutes to practice what youve just learned.
Begin by finding someone in the room whom you know well, and partner up with them.
Lets Practice!
Now, lets practice using it. Lets assume the Holy Spirit is always ready and willing to talk to us in order to bless someone else. 1. Find someone whom you dont know that well, if at all, and partner up with them. Square up your chairs so you are facing each other at a comfortable distance, close enough so that you dont have to talk too loud. 2. Spend a minute or two praying earnestly for the Spirit to speak to you a word of blessing for your partner. Then wait silently until you sense the Spirit speaking to you. 3. Begin writing what you sense from the Spirit in the category that most corresponds with what youre hearing. 4. Then pray for more insight or information via one or more categories. Write down what you hear, see, think, or sense. 5. Turn the paper over and begin synthesizing what youve written. Feel free to scratch out, erase, or rearrange as necessary. Pray for the Spirit to give even more clarity and illumination. 6. Now package the word as a blessing from God according to the first three guidelines. Deliver it to your partner in humility. 7. Finally, ask your partner to pull someone else over who knows them well, or better than you do. Read to that person the prophetic word youve packaged and delivered to your partner. Get their take on the word, based on what they know about your partner. If youre off the mark somewhere, share with them the information and insights you recorded on the grid, and ask your partners friend to help clarify what you heard from the Spirit, asking them then to help shape it better so that it would be more beneficial.
Lets Review!
Use the review sheet we are now handing out to you. Work through the review sheet with your partner for the next ten minutes.
Lets Review!
Did you feel like you were hearing from the Holy Spirit? If not, why? When you had your first prophetic sense, were you able to properly identify what category it best fit into? If not, why? Did you get additional prophetic insight or information from the Holy Spirit to help illuminate or clarify the first sense? If not, why? Were you able to properly identify what category that additional insight or illumination best fit into? If not, why not? On a scale of 1-5, with 1 being impossible and 5 being easy, how would you rate your ability to synthesize the insight, information and illumination you wrote down? If you rated yourself anywhere from 1-2, why did you feel this way? On the same scale, how would you rate your ability to package what you synthesized? If you rated again at 1-2, why? On a scale of 1-5, with 1 being completely inaccurate and 5 being completely accurate, how close was the prophetic word your partner delivered to you? When you invited your partners friend over to weigh your prophetic word, how would they have rated your word? Regardless of the rating, please explain. When you asked them to sift through what you heard from the Spirit, were they able to offer any additional illumination or insight? If so, what was it? If not, why not?
As you use this tool, what youll find over time is that one side of the grid will tend to be more prominent than the other. This simply means that you are hearing from God in the primary ways God has wired you. In other words, you will most likely tend to hear from God the most in the ways you most naturally tend to think and process information.
The prophetic should lead you back to the Scriptures each time to hear from God in this most objective way.
The prophetic should deepen your understanding of the language of God found in the Scriptures.
Lets PracticeAgain!
Use the same instruction sheet and practice the prophetic once more.
This time, find someone else in the room whom you do not know very well, and partner up with them.
Lets PracticeAgain!
1. 2.
3.
4. 5. 6.
7.
Find someone different, again , whom you dont know that well, if at all, and partner up with them. Square up your chairs so you are facing each other at a comfortable distance, close enough so that you dont have to talk too loud. Spend a minute or two praying earnestly for the Spirit to speak to you a word of blessing for your partner. Then wait silently until you sense the Spirit speaking to you. Begin writing what you sense from the Spirit in the category that most corresponds with what youre hearing. Then pray for more insight or information via one or more categories. Write down what you hear, see, think, or sense. Turn the paper over and begin synthesizing what youve written. Feel free to scratch out, erase, or rearrange as necessary. Pray for the Spirit to give even more clarity and illumination. Now package the word as a blessing from God according to the first three guidelines. Deliver it to your partner in humility. Finally, ask your partner to pull someone else over who knows them well, or better than you do. Read to that person the prophetic word youve packaged and delivered to your partner. Get their take on the word, based on what they know about your partner. If youre off the mark somewhere, share with them the information and insights you recorded on the grid, and ask your partners friend to help clarify what you heard from the Spirit, asking them then to help shape it better so that it would be more beneficial.
Lets ReviewAgain!
Use the review sheet we are now handing out to you. Work through the review sheet with your partner for the next ten minutes.
Lets ReviewAgain!
Did you feel like you were hearing from the Holy Spirit this time? If not, why? Did you find that you could better identify what category it best fit into? If not, why? Did you get additional prophetic insight or information from the Holy Spirit to help illuminate or clarify the first sense this time? If not, why? Were you able to properly identify what category that additional insight or illumination best fit into? If not, why not? On a scale of 1-5, with 1 being impossible and 5 being easy, how would you rate your ability to synthesize the insight, information and illumination you wrote down? Do you feel that your ability increased the second time around? If not, why? On the same scale, how would you rate your ability to package what you synthesized? Did this increase also? If not, why? On a scale of 1-5, with 1 being completely inaccurate and 5 being completely accurate, how close was the prophetic word your partner delivered to you? When you invited your partners friend over to weigh your prophetic word, how would they have rated your word? Regardless of the rating, please explain. When you asked them to sift through what you heard from the Spirit, were they able to offer any additional illumination or insight? If so, what was it? If not, why not?
What I Have Personally Learned About the Prophetic Through the Prophecy Palette
The Textual is a close second, almost always giving an application as it were to the Visual.
Since Ive started asking for clarification (via other categories on the grid), the Lord has been happy to reveal more information and insight, because I believe He wants to be revealed and understood.
As a result they have been having a far deeper and wider impact on people than Ive ever experienced before.
Simply taking the time to think through it all more carefully has produced a more careful and caring approach in sharing the prophetic word.
It has also deepened their respect, appreciation, and desire for the Word of God as the primary means of building up their faith in Christ.
When to Use It
As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect, or more accurately put, practice makes proficient. Youll never get this down perfectly.
The more you use the tool and practice the better you will become. With that assumption, here are some practical ways to use this tool.
When to Use It
At Home
In your personal worship time with the Lord, ask Him to reveal Himself prophetically to you regarding things He wants to show you or teach you. Maybe theres a new revelation God wants to make of Himself to your heart. This is what Paul prays for in Ephesians 1:18 and following. God will often answer that prayer prophetically. Maybe theres another person God wants to do the same for. Again, God will often answer this prayer for others through a prophetic word. The home is perhaps the best place to practice because there are few distractions and more time both of which give rise to more patience.
When to Use It
On Saturday Nights
There is great emphasis put on the prophetic in a public worship setting. This is much of what 1 Corinthians 14 is really all about. Yet we see so little of it today. Lets change that!
Pray on Saturday nights for prophetic words for the church family. The tool will be extremely helpful in clarifying and preparing any words so that they may be clearly and beneficially communicated on Sunday morning.
When to Use It
On Sunday Mornings
The Spirit expressly desires to move among His people when they are gathered for worship. As the fellowship is singing, dancing, and praising God dont hesitate to take a seat and use the tool to begin working through something God reveals to you.
God may desire to sovereignly use you to build up, encourage, or comfort His people through you on a Sunday morning!
When to Use It
On Vacation or When Travelling
God wants to amaze people wherever we go. This is part
and parcel of taking the kingdom to the world. God goes wherever we go.
God has used this tool in wonderful ways
when Ive been travelling before. Restaurants, airplanes, parks and all kinds of environments have proven to be fruitful grounds for hearing from God for other people.
When to Use It
In Your Neighborhood
God especially wants to influence your neighbors to follow
God has also used this tool in my life with regard to neighbors and acquaintances. Imagine the shock of an unsaved person or someone you barely know hearing that God wants to say something to them!
This time, find someone else in the room at random, and partner up with them.
Lets PracticeAgain!
1. 2.
3.
4. 5. 6.
7.
Find someone different, again , whom you dont know that well, if at all, and partner up with them. Square up your chairs so you are facing each other at a comfortable distance, close enough so that you dont have to talk too loud. Spend a minute or two praying earnestly for the Spirit to speak to you a word of blessing for your partner. Then wait silently until you sense the Spirit speaking to you. Begin writing what you sense from the Spirit in the category that most corresponds with what youre hearing. Then pray for more insight or information via one or more categories. Write down what you hear, see, think, or sense. Turn the paper over and begin synthesizing what youve written. Feel free to scratch out, erase, or rearrange as necessary. Pray for the Spirit to give even more clarity and illumination. Now package the word as a blessing from God according to the first three guidelines. Deliver it to your partner in humility. Finally, ask your partner to pull someone else over who knows them well, or better than you do. Read to that person the prophetic word youve packaged and delivered to your partner. Get their take on the word, based on what they know about your partner. If youre off the mark somewhere, share with them the information and insights you recorded on the grid, and ask your partners friend to help clarify what you heard from the Spirit, asking them then to help shape it better so that it would be more beneficial.
Lets ReviewAgain!
Did you feel like you were hearing from the Holy Spirit this time? If not, why? Did you find that you could better identify what category it best fit into? If not, why? Did you get additional prophetic insight or information from the Holy Spirit to help illuminate or clarify the first sense this time? If not, why? Were you able to properly identify what category that additional insight or illumination best fit into? If not, why not? On a scale of 1-5, with 1 being impossible and 5 being easy, how would you rate your ability to synthesize the insight, information and illumination you wrote down? Do you feel that your ability increased the second time around? If not, why? On the same scale, how would you rate your ability to package what you synthesized? Did this increase also? If not, why? On a scale of 1-5, with 1 being completely inaccurate and 5 being completely accurate, how close was the prophetic word your partner delivered to you? When you invited your partners friend over to weigh your prophetic word, how would they have rated your word? Regardless of the rating, please explain. When you asked them to sift through what you heard from the Spirit, were they able to offer any additional illumination or insight? If so, what was it? If not, why not?
Thank You So Much for Making This a Success Today! Youre Dismissed