Prophetic Word Symbols: How to Prophesy with Accuracy, Clarity, and Comfort
Pictures are so important in speaking about the mysteries of God.
A picture will often mean more to the person who is receiving it than to the person who is giving it. A picture speaks in parallel realities that bring revelation to the person receiving it. Sometimes when I am ministering prophetically, and I notice the recipient is in confusion over the details, I will stop for a moment to help the person to see it as a simile, as something that reveals truth in a parallel spiritual reality, but is not a natural fact.
Most people pick up on spiritual parallel truths immediately. There are times when I think it is a spiritual parallel, and the person will inform me that the word is literally who they are, what they are doing, and the situation that they are facing. Until they informed me, though, I continued speaking in prophetic parallel realities. Do not interrupt the flow, trying to see if it is literal. When I hit a pause point in the prophetic word, I will ask them, “Is this literally what you do?”
I called a man forward to give him one of my books. I gave him a prophetic word. “I see you lost a dream when you went to college. Did you go to college?” He replied, “No.” Then I inquired, “Did you lose a dream in what we would consider college years?” He replied, “No, I dropped out of college my first year.” I am sharing this story to help you understand that people may be nervous or have a different view of the same events. He may have experienced a loss that he did not want to discuss in front of others. I just prayed, “Lord, I thank You for restoring his dreams.” Never focus on proving that you were right, make it safe for others, and bring on the life.
One time, I gave a word to a woman who was traveling to Washington, DC. “I see you going into a room; there is a woman there laughing, and she’s wearing a pink jacket. You’re going to talk to her, and it’s going to open a door for you.” As she is standing in line to register in the foyer of the ballroom in DC, she looks up and sees a woman in front of her in a pink jacket, laughing.
Immediately, she knew that it was the God-connection. She walked up to the woman and introduced herself. They had a brief time of fellowship, sharing several stories. The woman in the pink jacket became an important connection to her in Washington, DC. In prophetic parallel realities, small details that the Holy Spirit highlights may seem insignificant to the main message of the prophetic word. Yet, I have found over the years that these details are very special to the person receiving the word. Never think of specific details as unimportant.
The Holy Spirit has a unique way to direct the words of the person prophesying to say certain things that are deeply meaningful to the person receiving the word. When the person receiving shares what it means to them, it can birth more revelation to the prophet. The receiver will understand the significance of particular words because of actual experiences. When those experiences are shared with the one prophesying, it can open up more insight and wisdom.
When the Holy Spirit draws my attention to seemingly insignificant details, I inquire of the Lord for revelation. It is important to describe them in the precise way I see and hear them. I try to avoid arguing over details that God tells me or shows me. That is another way of saying that I have argued with God in the past. I remember prophesying to a young man that he would receive a college scholarship. I heard the Holy Spirit say, “a full scholarship,” but fear gripped my mind, so I took the safer approach. Our safety is in God, not in our reasoning. The pastor told me later that the young man had received a full scholarship for four years of college. Don’t be hard on yourself, but grow in grace and faith. Learn to be obedient.
I was in Japan when the Lord started speaking about the stock market and the fluctuations it was going through, and how it was going to rebound in a short season. A year later, when I returned to Japan, a stock investor came up to me and asked me for another prophetic word on the stock market so he would know how to invest again. I wasn’t sure what he was referring to because of his broken English.
The pastor told me that the man had made a sizable stock investment after my word last year, made a significant profit, and had blessed the church from it. There was something in the word that spoke directly to his investments. He wanted to know what he should do this year.
I had to inform this gentleman that I could only speak in this area when God speaks to me. It was a prophetic word for that season, not a place of authority or my call. It shook me with a bit of godly fear when I heard what he had done. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Keep it with you.
I have a good friend, Pastor Tom, who had a church about an hour away from my home. The church’s lease on the building was set to expire. He wanted to buy a building, but he didn’t know exactly where the right building was located. Suddenly, I saw him standing in front of the church door in my spirit with his outstretched arm pointing to the left. I heard the Lord distinctly say that Tom’s church was in that direction, within a mile to three miles. I asked Tom to look in that direction and see what was available. The church purchased a building that was to his left, just a little over a mile away. Later that year, another pastor was talking to me about needing to buy a building for the church. The Lord reminded me of that prophetic experience.
For Pastor Tom, it was a miracle, but for me, it was a prophetic experience, a point of faith. A pastor who heard of this testimony called me on the phone and asked me to look prophetically for his building. I told him that if he would retain the authority that God had given him to possess the church property, I would be willing to listen prophetically. He agreed. I heard the Spirit of God say three miles to the East. He told me that there was a shopping mall he wanted to buy three miles to the East. He was so excited. Three years later, he called me back. He told me he was disappointed when he was outbid on the purchase of the mall. The church rented another building for three years. The shopping mall came back on the market, and he bought it for half of the original price. He was rejoicing.
Experience is required for a doctor to be known as an out-standing surgeon. A medical career is called a “practice” for several reasons. Doctors go through an internship and a residency before going into their own practice. Who have you interned under? Elisha interned under Elijah. I have been mentored by Dr. Bill Hamon and various prophets who look to him as their spiritual father. Book knowledge with theories is not the same as wisdom gained through experience. Out of that experience, I gained a place of faith and a method to help about twenty pastors find their new buildings. I start off the same way the Holy Spirit started me off with Pastor Tom: “Step out of the front door of your church with your back to the door…” then I ask Jesus to help me…and He has. He is that good.
God Knows the Details
Small details are often the most amazing parts of a prophetic word; they speak to deeper issues. If we are puzzled by a certain detail, it may be that God is hiding it from us but speaking clearly to the person receiving it. If I notice that the person becomes quiet or embarrassed, then I know he or she understands what it is. At times, people will inform me of more than I desire to know, and other times, they simply shut down. I will sometimes inquire, “Does this mean anything to you? You don’t need to tell me the details.” The prophetic altar should be safe for everyone. It is not a place where prophets should expect others to tell all to validate their ministry. Words that are confrontational regarding sin are not for public display.
People will stand amazed at the details while I prophesy, yet I am clueless, but I know what I hear and see. In the church, I called up one of the pastors. I was ready to speak about his anointing, but a phrase came to me: “Who stole your wallet?” he literally jumped back, he stared at me in unbelief. In shock, he turned to his senior pastor, Joseph Mwenya, and said, “I didn’t tell you yet, but yesterday someone stole my wallet.” Only one other person knew it in the entire church. He was astonished. I declared by faith that his wallet would be returned to him based on the fact that God had revealed it was stolen supernaturally. Within two weeks, it was returned with all the credit cards in it. It was found seventy-five miles from where it was stolen. We are walking and listening to a mighty God who loves to remind us that He knows us and what we are going through in a detailed way.
