As we see throughout the Scriptures, the Lord does not always speak in our native language, but most of the time He uses a spiritual language through dreams and visions, which includes symbolism. Why? Because His language is about much more than just conveying concepts—His language speaks to the heart and soul, not just the mind. This is stated by Jesus in John 6:63, “the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” It is basic to prophetic ministry to discern the spiritual purpose and nature of a message. Words can mean more than just...

In Ephesians 4:11-13 we are told, “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” Is there anywhere on earth that a church...

As we have discussed, after the Fall, the first one about whom it was said that walked with God was Enoch. We are told in Jude 14 that Enoch prophesied, and a good case can be made that everyone who truly walks with God prophesies. This does not necessarily mean predicting the future, but simply speaking for God. However, many do not even recognize when they are being used in this way—not that this is essential, but we might be used more if we could recognize it.

     To become sensitive to when the Lord is speaking, to us...

We are studying the increasing need to know the Lord’s voice, and for authentic, trustworthy prophetic ministry in our times. This is reflected in
Acts 2:17-18, which is a quote from Joel 2:
 

The primary way we get to know the voice of the Lord is by being with Him, yet some principles we learn in our own personal relationship with Him can be helpful to others. He relates to each of His people in a unique and personal way. This is not because He is changing, but because we are all unique, an attribute He seems to especially love in His creation. This is why He gave a different word to each of the seven churches in the Book of Revelation. Even though they all existed at the same time and in...