How do we get more faith? It might be easier than you think and yet much more costly. Before you check this box, listen to my story.
I sat across the table from a prophet the other day. We came to celebrate a mutual friend who had told me about her crazy friend who was really prophetic. However, once he opened his mouth and began sharing God stories, I saw the stark difference between having a gift and having a mantle.
The prophetic gifting is the ability, granted by the Holy Spirit, to know or see a thing, and to declare a thing that will happen in the future. Think of God sending people postcards from far-off places. Only instead of saying, “I wish you were here,” He sends them pictures, words, insights of places or things and says “You will be here.”
Whew. That’s wild. It’s a lot to take in. And it is 100% biblical.
We all have the ability to be prophetic if we have the Holy Spirit. Even our kids! They have 100% of the Holy Spirit. Not some kind of Junior Holy Spirit, like a Whopper Jr.
But, this guy at dinner, instead of just being prophetic, was a prophet. Meaning God would tell him things to tell other people. Good and seemingly bad things. Even the bad things turned out to be blessings because God was always working for the hearts and the success of the people targeted by the messages.
I noticed a couple of things as I soaked in every story he told.
1) God is alive and well and moving mightily all the time for those who will a) stop and ask Him and b) do what He says.
2) God doesn’t blink an eye at making humans uncomfortable in order to lead them to wholeness and outrageous faith. Whether it is the prophet speaking or the receiver of God’s message, God happily shatters our comfort zones.
3) God is supremely patient with stubborn and disobedient children who don’t listen, until He isn’t. He offers counsel and wisdom and then He practices holy tough love as we temporarily suffer from our self-made consequences.
4) We have permission to grab hold of every God story we hear for ourselves. I literally kept praying as the prophet spoke, “Lord I would like that too please.” It’s part of the prophet’s reward.
5) God stories (or faith stories) beget other God stories. As the prophet shared stories, my mind filled with my own stories. I shared a couple of my own, and you could see both of us reveling in the power and mystery of this Beautiful God.
There is a right standing with God. The bedrock of that right standing is faith.
Do you need an extra dose of faith? Recall what He has done for you. Act forward on what He has said is coming. And. And. Share your God stories and listen to others. That will fill up your tank in no time.
For the righteousness of God is revealed in it from faith to faith, just as it is written, “But the one who is righteous by faith will live.” Romans 1:17