A few weeks ago, someone told me that they had met a man and he invited this person to visit a church with him so he could be prophesied over. According to the Bible, to prophesy is to use the gift of speaking, preaching, and expounding scripture under the Holy Spirit's influence.
Okay, so this person accepted the invitation, went to the church, and reported to me that it was a God-ordained experience and that the Holy Spirit was at work. There was a woman who spoke over him as if someone was speaking through her. Her words were not her own, and her knowledge was not of this world. The person was so amazed by the amount of detail about his life and current circumstances that was spoken over him, that he decided to invite others. This experience had encouraged him so much that he knew others needed to have this experience.
As you might have expected, he invited me to attend this church service with him, and after hearing his testimony to the experience, I was extremely intrigued. So, I obliged him and I made a declaration to God that day that I wanted a specific thing answered and I was going to hear it audibly from Him. And so, I was excited all week leading up to the moment that someone would prophesy over me. I could not wait to hear God speak to me through someone.
The day of...
Sunday morning, I'm ready to go, I meet this person and we walk into this tiny, crowded church. Did I mention that it wasn't an English-speaking church? No? Well, there's that. But I still expected to hear God speak to me (in English). So, we walk in, there are interpreters there for us and we are greeted and directed to a seat in the FRONT ROW. I was just waiting until the end of service to get that person to prophesy over me, so I didn't care where I went to sit or if I understood the preacher that day.
During the service...
After worship, which was all old hymns and choruses sung in two different languages at the same time....the message was delivered by a guest speaker. Here I am thinking, I don't even get to hear the main speaker today, but it's fine, I'm just waiting to get prayed and spoken over. So I hear the message. It was incredible! Not only was it unbelievably clear, it was as if God wrote it word for word for me. I've never heard a sermon or message written precisely for me for exactly what had spoken to God about the previous week, as if he told the speaker, "Change your message, say this instead". Every moment and every sentence was for me.
After the service...
This was the moment I had been waiting for. I was going to have someone prophesy over me and hear God audibly speak something to me. The moment of truth...the man that invited me waiting eagerly for me to have my 'moment' and could hardly wait to hear what I thought and what had been spoken over me. So, I waited in line for my turn. Every person who walked away was in tears and full of joy and encouragement. I was so READY!
My Turn-
I sat in the chair...the woman was very kind. She looked me over, asked me if I was ready, and I nodded yes. She placed her hands on my head and started speaking...
....I ...felt.....NOTHING. I waited and I listened.....and I heard......NOTHING. I felt as if she was trying to be vague and that she was trying to read me and say things that she knew could work if she was wrong. I didn't hear God. I was so extremely disappointed. I walked out with a somber demeanor. The man who invited me could see that I was disappointed...and as we walked out to go our separate ways, I expressed to him what I expected, what I was looking for, and how when, and why I was looking. As he seemed to empathize with my dismay, he looked at me waiting for the 'but'.
The but...
But, how foolish was I that I was so fixed on what I was expecting from God and how I was expecting for Him to deliver an answer to me, that I completely overlooked how amazing He really is and what He ACTUALLY did for me during that church service. The question I wanted the answer to was delivered to me during the first sentence of the sermon, and throughout the entire message, it was explained and expounded upon. To prophesy is to speak as if divinely inspired. I wanted to hear something divine. The ENTIRE message was inspired by God for ME. I was so intent on seeing God work in the way that I expected, that I missed what He was actively doing for me. I wanted to see God meeting my needs in the way that I could imagine. The problem with that is that God is better. God is bigger. God works in mysterious ways and ways far more creative than I can imagine.
The takeaway-
God will answer us, but it may not be the way that we expect it, so instead of having expectations, we should have faith. If we know God will deliver, but we're open to seeing how and when- it's better because God's way is better than our way. Our minds are incapable of seeing the world the way God does or delivering messages the way he does. The next time you ask God for something, ask him to show you through his eyes and have Faith that he will deliver the right answer at the right time, in the right place, and in the way he knows best.
I hope this was a reminder and encouragement to someone! Be blessed!
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