I want to depart for today from the series I have been writing on to address a vision I have received from the Lord that I believe will bring great insight and blessing to the family of God. I heard the Lord say, “There is an urgent need to revive what has been prophetically spoken to my people over the years; the year 2012 is the year for these prophetic promises to be realized. Yet, unless certain steps are taken these promises will remain unfulfilled.” I was immediately impressed to once again read the story of the Shunammite woman. If you remember, she was one who perceived that the Prophet who passed by was a holy man of God. It is only when we are able to recognize and value the prophetic anointing that we can receive the blessing the Lord is seeking to bring into our lives.
2 Kings 4:9
9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.
Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
Many of you have fulfilled this first requirement and “perceived and valued” the Lord’s Prophets. As a result of your faith, the Lord has caused a prophetic word to be spoken over you. Yet, much of what the Lord spoke has not yet come to pass. Please understand something about the Prophetic; in almost every case when a Prophetic Word is spoken to us, it is given to us as a seed. That seed must be planted in the good soil of faith and cared for with diligence; it must be watered, hoed, and fertilized. Just as there are many enemies to a natural seed, there are many enemies of spiritual seeds. These parasites include unbelief, discouragement, offenses unforgiveness, and sin. Very rarely does the Lord give to us an unconditional Prophetic Word. If you will notice, the Shunammite woman made an investment in the Prophet.
2 Kings 4:10
10 Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.
Investing in the Prophetic with our faith, words, and deeds is the next step in developing the promise the Lord has given us. We can do this in many ways, but let us understand what the Lord is after. He is after more than just bringing a Prophetic Word to pass in our lives. He wants us to BECOME PROPHETIC.
Numbers 11:29
29 And Moses said unto him, “Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord ‘s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” ( emphasis mine)
So we must ask ourselves, “how does the Lord make us a Prophetic People”? Once again the answer is recorded in this story of the Shunammite woman. As a result of her desire to honor the prophetic and make provision for it in her home, ( I just heard the Lord say, “Have they made a provision for the Prophetic in their home?”), she received the greatest longing of her heart. As you know, she was barren. To be barren in the natural or the spiritual is a terrible thing. When we are unable to conceive the promises the Lord wants for us, life has little to offer. Yet, when we become spiritually healthy we find that “conception” is not only natural and easy, but fulfilling and delightful. Here are the words the Prophet spoke the the Shunammite woman:
2 Kings 4: 14-16
14 “What can be done for her?” Elisha asked. Gehazi said, “She has no son, and her husband is old.”
15 Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16 “About this time next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.”
So we see now why some of the Prophetic words spoken to us or over us have not yet come to pass. Let’s review a few of these.
- We must perceive and value the Prophetic Word as well as the prophet.
- We must make room and provision for the Prophetic in our home. That is, literally honor the Prophetic in our house and our heart.
- Invest in some way into Prophetic Ministry.
- Understand that the Lord wants to do more than just fulfill our prophetic promise. He wants to make us a prophetic people. That includes building into our lives the nature and character of Jesus Christ the Prophet.
As we study this passage, we find out that this precious woman received the prophetic promise she had so desperately desired and enjoyed the fulfillment of this promise for a short season, but then her prophetic promise died. Has this happened to you? Dear one, if this is true in your life I want you to take heart. This is the pattern revealed all through scripture and it is the process by which the Lord develops his Prophetic People. The Shunammite woman will reveal the pattern to us of how she became not only one who received the Prophetic Word but was used by God to “resurrect” that promise. We will cover these steps in our next writing and I will reveal the vision the Lord gave me concerning 2012.
MORE TO FOLLOW
Apostle Robert Rogers
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