One thing is to get a word from God. Another is to understand that word correctly. The third step is turning it into action. When we act upon the word of God, we activate the word of God. Getting a word is not enough. You need to do something with it — and sometimes the do is simply allowing that word to sit, change, develop, and shape you.
More Than a Thirty-Second Blessing
As written in Proverbs 4:7, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding” (NKJV). By and large, in the Western Pentecostal and charismatic world, we relate to hearing from God at a very emotional level. We get a word, feel good for thirty seconds, and forget it. I have seen people treat an old word like a souvenir: “I had that one years ago.” If God keeps saying the same thing to you, you might be missing it.
God loves your emotions, and He may well minister to them. What I am really saying is that God is more interested in your identity and your inheritance. When He speaks, He is speaking to both. How should we approach a prophetic word? The first thing you should do is test it.
Put the Bible Above Any Word
As written in Acts 2:16, “But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel” (NKJV). Peter stands up on the day of Pentecost. There is all of this supernatural stuff going on. What is Peter’s first action? It is not to justify it, not to explain how good it feels. Peter’s first action is to open the Bible. In those days it was only the Old Testament. With all of this supernatural experience — we will call it revelation — he points straight to Joel the prophet and says, “This is that. This that you see and experience here is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel.”
The first thing you should do when you get a word — somebody gives you a word — is ask: is it biblical? I do not care what it is. If it is not biblical, throw it out. If somebody prophesies over you and says it is not God’s will to heal you, throw it out. I do not care if you have an angel and neon lights and trumpets and Johnny Cash singing in the background. Throw it out. It is not of God. Put the Bible above any word.
I remember in the 1980s in London hearing T.L. Osborn preach. He said so passionately, “I do not believe in anything like I believe in this book. I have seen healings all over the world. I have seen the dead raised. Jesus has appeared to me. I have heard angels. I have been with the greatest ministries on planet Earth. But I believe in this book.” Put everything under the Word of God. That is a great place to be.
Once a word is biblical — or at least not unbiblical — look also for the dog who does not bark. In the old Sherlock Holmes story, what the dog did not do mattered as much as what it did. Sometimes what a word does not say is as important as what it says. Many words are not unbiblical; they are simply neutral when it comes to the Bible.
Go Back to God, Not to Your Own Understanding
As written in Proverbs 3:5–6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (NKJV). Around 2010, just after Dylan was born, we applied for a visa to come and live in America. We thought it would take two or three months. We waited through the rest of 2010 and all of 2011. By the fall of 2011 we were sick of the process. Our lives felt on hold as we tried to uproot our family and move to the other side of the world.
An eighteen-month immigration deadline was approaching in early 2012. Within about a week they had to say yes or no. I was preaching in Belgium, staying with friends in Brussels, when I had a vivid dream — so real it was hard to wake from. In the dream I went with my daughter Noah to the US Embassy in Paris. We queued, had an interview, and the man stamped “refused entry” on my passport. I woke still feeling dread, sweating, everything in me peed off after all we had spent and waited for.
In the midst of that storm I looked up and said, “Lord?” He said straight away, “Everything’s fine. I called you. You will get your visa.” As an act of faith I threw those feelings in the trash. I do not mean they vanished instantly. I said, “You have no authority over me.” Here is what I want you to get: I am not led by dreams. I am led by a Spirit relationship with the Lord. My body and soul screamed that it was falling apart. My spirit said everything is great. A week or two later I walked into that interview with Leah and my kids knowing we would be approved. We were. Then a second visa, a green card, citizenship — and the rest is history.
When you get a word, do not lean on your own understanding. Do not buy a dream-interpretation book. Seek the Lord. Our flesh loves to interpret a word outside of God. Most of the time when God speaks, He does not give you everything. He gives a piece of the jigsaw puzzle and says, “Seek Me more.” A word from God is not an invitation to rush out and buy a house or stocks. It is an invitation to meet God in the midst of the word. Mary stored prophetic words in her heart, not on the fridge door, and pondered them. Record the word — then ponder it. Let it sit, germinate, and come into your relationship with the Lord. As you do, He will show you what it means and give the next pieces. If He gives the interpretation, He will also give the application.
Your Response Determines the Outcome
As written in James 1:22, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (NKJV). Ask the Lord, “What do You want me to do?” Sometimes the do is rest — not Martha-busyness. Yet there is a difference between rest and passivity; between waiting on God and waiting for God; between sitting in prayer and hiding in prayer. James says that vertical prayer without horizontal obedience ends in self-deception. If you bless your brother with “Peace be unto you” and he needs food, go buy the dude some food.
At the end of Elisha’s life, around 2 Kings 13, the king of Israel pays a courtesy call to a dying prophet. Elisha opens a window — revelation — and tells the king to fire arrows through it. The king fires a token gesture, three arrows or so. Elisha is angry: because you fired only three, you will have three victories and then you are done. A window was open, but your response to the word determines its power and outcome. It is possible to half-heartedly respond to a word from the Lord.
This is not generally a solo sport — especially with larger decisions. Go to godly people: a pastor, elders, voices who know the Lord and have practiced discernment. Ask them to witness to the decision. All of us have blind spots in the spirit. You do not need a council of elders to choose your socks. With larger decisions, ask: Is the Lord saying anything to you? Am I missing it?
When I was coming to America, I went to five or six ministers I respected and honoured. I was not seeking permission or control. I wanted their first response. Every one smiled and said, “Yes, this is God. How can we help?” One said they had known for years, had money set aside, and wrote me a check there and then. Have people around you who can help and cover you in those decisions.
Conclusion
A word from God is an invitation into more of God — into identity and inheritance, not a thirty-second emotional high. Test it by the Bible. Watch for what the word does not say. Go back to the Lord rather than leaning on your own understanding. Ponder it in your heart as Mary did. Ask what do looks like, knowing that rest is sometimes the obedience, and passivity never is. Respond with more than a token arrow. Invite trusted voices to cover the larger decisions, because all of us have blind spots in the spirit.
Let me challenge you: take the word you have been sitting on, bring it back to God, and ask Him for the next piece of the puzzle — interpretation and application together.
Scriptures for Study
Acts 2:16-21, Joel 2:28-29, Proverbs 3:5-6, Proverbs 4:7, James 1:22-25, James 2:15-16, 2 Kings 13:14-19, Luke 2:19, Luke 1:38, Isaiah 30:21, John 10:27, 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21, 1 John 4:1, Hebrews 5:14, Psalm 119:105, Romans 8:14, Romans 8:16, Colossians 3:15, Habakkuk 2:2-3, Matthew 7:24-25, John 14:26, 1 Corinthians 14:29, Proverbs 11:14, Proverbs 15:22, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
10 Questions for Reflection
- Have you treated prophetic words as thirty-second emotional blessings rather than identity and inheritance?
- When you last received a word, was your first move to open the Bible as Peter did?
- What “dog that did not bark” might be missing from a word you are currently holding?
- Where have you leaned on your own understanding instead of going back to God?
- How does Mary’s pondering differ from putting a word on the fridge and forgetting it?
- Where might you be confusing passivity with peace, or waiting for God with waiting on God?
- In what open window have you fired only a token response, like the king before Elisha?
- Who are the godly voices you would invite to witness a larger decision?
- What blind spots in the spirit might others see that you cannot?
- What word will you bring back to the Lord this week for the next piece of the puzzle?
