Prophetic Part 8: Growing in the Prophetic

This series on the prophetic is based off my handwritten notes, which I took as I attended classes on this topic at church in Oct 2024.

Wherever you are now, you can still grow
Luke 1:80: John the Baptist grew and became spiritually strong
1 Sam 3:1-18: Samuel had no clue that God was actually speaking to us, like us where sometimes we do not know if it’s God speaking
Here is Samuel learning to hear God, as he is developed to be a prophet

7 lessons we can learn from this passage (1 Sam 3:1-18):

Samuel ministered to the Lord:

v1: While Eli was still priest and his family was clearly not walking with God, which reflected poorly on Eli’s leadership, Samuel was not focussed on how Eli did / what wrong he did
And being unaffected, he ministered to the Lord
Psa 5:3 (TPT): Every morning I lay out pieces of my life on the altar
We need to have a fixed time, place, pattern how we spend time with God, and pattern how we read the Bible
We should become well-versed in the Bible: reading, memorising, and feeding our spirit daily with His Word
For example, to have a healthy diet of the Word, instructor reads 1 chapter from: Psalms, Proverbs, Gospels (Matt-John), Epistles (Acts-Rev), History (Joshua-Job), Prophets, Pentateuch (Gen-Deut)
And it does not take him more than 15 mins, to just read through
Then he highlights verses that jump out to him, that he feels God speaking to him
And prays those verses, so his prayers have freshness daily, and not always be the same

Resting in the presence of God:

v2-3: Samuel was resting near the temple / ark of God, while Eli was lying down
Everything in our Christian life should come from a place of rest (Matt 11:28-30)
Please refer to Matt 11:28-30 article, for how following Jesus is not burdensome or tiring
1 Kings 8:56-58: God gives rest to His people
Some people in ministry are tired, frustrated, restless (please refer to A Fresh Encounter with God article)
Let’s learn to minister from a place of rest:
a. Schedule
Psa 90:12: Sometimes we get so busy in ministry of God, that we forget the God who also gives rest
b. Stress
Isa 40:29-31
c. Sleep
Sleep affects our position of prayer (Psa 3:5, Psa 4:8)
Natural things affect spiritual things, the more rest we have, the more effective our ministry is
d. Sin
Heb 12:1: Deal with sin / weight, that so easily trips us up, and miss the mark
Sometimes it is those small addictions (e.g; Netflix, Facebook), that distracts us and causes us to drift
e. Spirit

Hab 2:1-2: When we have established a place of rest, we put ourselves in a position of rest where God can speak to us, and we can communicate effectively with Him too
Please refer to Supernatural Healing Part 2: Revelatory Gifts of the Holy Spirit article, for how we first need to stop and pause in order to hear God
This might seem straightforward, but it is important and foundational, especially for people in the prophetic ministry: that Christ-likeness be shown through us

Man mentors, but God matures:

v4-9: When Samuel heard the voice of God, he kept going to Eli mistakenly
And then Eli realised Samuel did not know God was speaking to Him
So Eli took him aside and mentored him
Similarly when we start out in the prophetic, get mentors operating at a higher-level than us, and have humility to ask for help
As we grow deeper in the prophetic, we also come to realise there are other spiritual gifts: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, and discerning of spirits (please refer to Supernatural Healing Part 2: Revelatory Gifts of the Holy Spirit article)
The nine spiritual gifts in 1 Cor 12:4-10, can be grouped into 3 categories:
a. Perception gifts
We see or perceive something from God
And receive revelation in our spirits
They unveil the things in the mind of God
Prophetic gifts lie here, and work in tandem with other gifts, e.g; word of knowledge
b. Power gifts
Manifests as a result of obedience, where we do something, e.g; healing, miracles
c. Proclamation gifts
Speaking and proclaiming
The speaker becomes the mouthpiece of God, as the Holy Spirit leads

1 Sam 16:1-2: Word of knowledge is given to Samuel to go to Jesse’s house and anoint one of his sons, and word of wisdom: if Saul hears it he will kill me
But Samuel was not given further instructions who to anoint, so he tried one by one and kept asking questions to God what he was not clear about (1 Sam 16:9-11)
So when given a word of knowledge, learn to ask questions too
Word of wisdom was given to Ananias (Acts 9:15-16): the why he must heal Saul because in future God has plans for him, after the word of knowledge on what to do given in the previous verses
Word of wisdom is directionally futuristic, while prophecy is informationally futuristic
We have prophetic people good in foresight, insight, oversight respectively, so we need to work with all of them to see everything together
And learning to work together, helps us sharpen each other in the prophetic
7 ways to receive words of knowledge:
a. I see it: Like a vision
b. I feel it: We have pains, things we feel in our body that are not usual (please refer to Supernatural Healing Part 2: Revelatory Gifts of the Holy Spirit article)
c. I say it: Suddenly we say things, as we are praying for people, and the person starts to cry
d. I read it: Instructor sees words over the foreheads of people
e. I dream it: Dreams
f. I experience it: Some things we go through in life, is how God communicates to us
g. I think it: Jesus perceived their thoughts, instructor walks into a house and suddenly thoughts just enters his mind

Obedient hearing:

v10: Samuel did as Eli taught him: speak Lord Your servant is hearing
In the Hebrew context, hearing = obeying
As prophetic people, we need to cultivate obedient hearing: Lord before You say anything, I’m willing and ready to obey
We have to learn to develop instant obedience
The closer we are to God: 1) our humility will develop, and 2) there will be a quickness to our response / obedience

Proper timing:

Maturing is a process:

v19: The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up
Maturing takes time, trust the process of God and how He wants to shape us, in His own timing

Allow the Lord to establish and confirm you:

v20-21: All Israel knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord
Don’t go fighting for titles and men’s approval, e.g; I’m a prophet
Don’t find our identity and security in all this, but because we are loved by our Father (please refer to Prophetic Part 7: Ministering from a Place of Wholeness article)
If there is a gift, trust God as promotion comes from Him

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