One of the amazing things about being a Christian, and particularly belonging to the charismatic part of the Church is the belief not only that God sees and guides our lives generally but that he can lead and speak through us as we counsel, support and share his love with others.
We see this in the New Testament both in Jesus’s life and ministry and in the book of Acts. One obvious example is Jesus speaking with the Samaritan woman in John 4. Here the Lord receives insight into the woman’s circumstances and history in a way that shows her that God sees her and knows her. A slightly different type of encounter is recorded in Acts 8. Here Philip is in a place he’s not used to when he feels God’s Spirit provoking him to go to a particular chariot. When he gets there he doesn’t have great insight of supernatural guidance, rather he just shows an interest in the individual he finds there. The prophetic element was in putting him in that place to begin with. Finally, there is the story in Acts 9 of Ananias and Saul. In this story Saul is in bad need of prayer and baptism, of someone to make sense of the profound experience he has held of Jesus but which no one else knows about. Here the prophetic call comes when Ananias hears the Spirit telling him to go and pray with Saul in Jesus’ name for him to receive the Spirit.
These stories can feel a million miles away from our personal experiences. Even for those of us who enthusiastically affirm that the Holy Spirit is at work in and through his Church in much the same way now as he was then, it is hard to translate them into practice. In the rest of this post I am going to suggest a couple of principles we find in these stories which help us to start to experience prophetic leading in our evangelism and pastoral care. Then I will share a couple of stories of how this has worked out in my own (admittedly meagre) experiences.
Principles at Work
Each of these stories has, I think, three things in common that are simultaneously easy and hard for us to imitate.
- They all happen to people who are listening to God whether they are talking to someone (Jesus) or in a strange place (Philip).
In turn this implies that they are paying attention to the impression they feel in their spirit. The voice of God rarely comes in an audible way. More often it is a strong impression that we should do or say something, combined with an awareness that it might not come from ourselves.
This comes with practice and time spent in worship and prayer. It also means taking off headphones, sitting and being present to God and to the place we are in. - They all involve being willing to take a risk in response.
It’s great to hear what God might be saying. Then we have to take a risk and do something about it.
The risk is usually that we will go up to someone and they won’t be interested. Or that we will fail to see any benefit. Or that we will be embarrassed. Or that we will waste our time.
All of these things will happen sometimes. But unless we are willing to risk them, we won’t ever see the prophetic at work. - They are all focussed on making Jesus’s love present in the moment.
Prophetic evangelism (or pastoral care, for that matter) is never focused on ‘wowing’ someone or looking good. It isn’t a demonstration of power or ability. Rather it is the precursor to going into a situation in order to minister the love of Christ to someone.
A Practical Example
So how does this work out in practice? Here’s a very limited and broken example.
Last week my wife and I were in a coffee shop talking about various bits of church admin. At the same time I was looking around and, as I often do, quietly asking Jesus what he was saying.
A lady walked in wearing a traffic warden’s uniform. As we carried on talking, I couldn’t get her out of my mind. Over and over again, the thought came to me that her job was horrible and I should offer to buy her a coffee.
That’s the listening phase.
After a while of this (about 2 minutes), I got up and went over to the lady as she decided what to order. I said ‘excuse me’ and interrupted her. I asked if she was a traffic warden. She said she was. I explained that I’m a priest (that’s the language I find most people understand better than Elder or Pastor) and that I had been praying for her. I asked if I could buy her coffee for her because her job could be horrible.
She looked surprised and touched. The barista, to be honest, looked completely confused. I paid for the coffee and went and sat down.
That’s the risk-taking phase and love phases. She could have said ‘no’ and I would have felt embarrassed, especially as I was trying to do it in Jesus’ name. But equally if I succeeded, at very least she would have a coffee and know that there were people praying for her and that Jesus is kind.
Then, the twist. This is where the prophetic bit comes in.
After getting her coffee she came back over to the table where my wife and I were sitting. She was emotional and explained that she had been at Alpha in another village the previous night. She was finding life really hard but knew that Someone was holding her and caring for her.
I offered to pray for her and her daughter. She was very glad to accept.
I had no idea about any of this. But God did. He saw her, loved her, and showed her his care at a time when she was seeking him.
Prophetic evangelism might be easier than you think. It requires listening, responding, and risk-taking.
Deep Church 