Tag Archives: how to hear from God

Visual Reminders for Prophesying

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Over the last fortnight I have taught the teenagers (ages 13-15) in our church’s Teen Leadership Academy. Some of these teenagers have grown up in our church and have had numerous teaching on the prophetic before and have also been involved in giving numerous prophetic words to people. Others were brand new to hearing God’s voice.

Our aim was to help these teens not only hear God for themselves but also for others. A secondary aim was to invite these teens to release prophetic words to individuals after our church service along with the adult prophetic team.

After we had looked at hearing God’s voice for ourselves, I concentrated on hearing God’s voice for others. To help introduce the purpose and aims of prophesying to others, I gave each teen a ‘goodies’ bag. These bags had eight items in them. They were a huge hit!! Visual cues help reinforce our teaching point so much more effectively.

These items were:

  1. Heart shaped sunglasses

So important to have love as the basis for communicating God’s heart to others.

  1. Packet of very sour & very sweet lollies

When we are prophesying to others, we want to leave a ‘sweet’ taste in their mouth. We do not want to leave a sour taste.

  1. Candle

When we prophesy, we want to light a fire within them that burns for what we have communicated.

  1. Gold medal

Each person has their own race to run and must run their race. The medal symbolised us enabling them to see, through our prophesying, what their race is that they are called to run and finish.

  1. Water pistol

When we prophesy, we are called to hit the target that God has placed on their life.

  1. Australian Tattoo

We are Australian. That is who we are. An Australian tattoo symbolises our identity.  Part of prophesying is calling people into their full identity as sons and daughters of God.

  1. Ring

Another part of prophesying is helping people to realise their full authority. The ring symbolises the ring the Father placed on the prodigal son. This means having full identity and authority as the Father’s child.

  1. Key attached to a (photocopied) computer ESC key

(This was a stretch but all I could think of that communicated the acronym ‘ESC’). 1 Corinthians 14:3 says that all prophecy should be encouraging, strengthening and comforting.

The teens loved it and the following week could remember all the objects they had received in their bag.

What are your thoughts?

What are some other items you may have included to help them remember what prophesying over others is about?

I would love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to comment or let me know.

 

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to practice to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Have gold/yellow cardboard precut to look like a medal. Punch a hole in it and thread cord through it so that it looks like a winners medal. Have pens/pencils handy. Ask each person to make a medal for themself about what God says that they are the winner for in Heaven and here on earth. If time, ask them to make one for someone else, asking God what that person’s purpose is here on earth or the race they will win at running.

2. Group Activation: Have sheets of A4 paper and pens/textas handy. Distribute a sheet of paper to everyone. Ask them to place their name in the middle of the page followed by the word ‘is’. eg ‘Jane is’. Then ask everyone to give their paper to the person on their left. This person will write one sentence that they sense, hear or see from God about who that person is. Then ask everyone to keep passing the paper around to the people on their left until at least everyone’s sheet of paper has at least ten sentences on it about who they are, their identity. Return the sheets to their owners. Maybe even have someone speak the sentences over each person as the papers are returned to their rightful owner.

3. Beginner Activation: Spend some time with God asking Him to show or tell you how He sees you dressed. As you begin to hear or see or sense what it is, then ask God further questions. Eg Why am I dressed that way? Is this how I am seen in Heaven? What is on my head? What would you like to put in my right hand God? etc

4. Intermediate Activation: Find a community group that is struggling in its identity. Ask God for a prophetic word about this group’s identity. Ask God how to most effectively release that word to the group.

5. Advanced Activation: Ask God for a prophetic word for your nation’s first people and their future. Ask God what He would like you to then do with that prophetic word. Then do it.

What if my mind goes blank when I go to prophesy?

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Has your mind ever gone blank when you have been faced with having to immediately give a prophetic word to someone?

Mine has.

Often.

I am on our church’s prophetic team and we are often involved in a prophetic presbytery. Our church sets it up with a number of teams comprising of 2 people who prophesy over a person for a maximum of 5-6 minutes. We have a line of people waiting to receive a prophetic word. As soon as you & your partner have finished prophesying over a person, that person leaves and the next person in line moves forward to come to an available team. We begin by introducing our names and ask if they have a recording device if they don’t already have it in front of them ready to go. I usually get a sense of something from God immediately for the person and, as I speak it out, more comes. I am also learning to wait for a minute before I speak so as to try to get more of the detail and a greater depth to it. There are some occasions, though, when I don’t get anything and my mind is blank.

I used to be often teemed up with different people who wouldn’t speak first but liked to wait for me to go first. This gave them confidence plus they were sometimes seers and saw pictures and they tended to like several minutes to ask God more about those pictures before they spoke. The last few years I have usually been teemed up with a person who is relatively new to giving prophetic words and wants to hear what I have to say first or who is not 100% confident in giving prophetic words to people. Unfortunately, since we are usually limited time-wise, we don’t have the luxury of having a long pause before we start speaking the prophetic word.

What do I do in those circumstances if my mind is blank and I don’t have ‘anything’ for them?

The first thing I do is to turn my heart and affections to Jesus. I silently worship God. Praise shifts the atmosphere. Psalm 100:4 says “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise”. If I want to enter into His presence and see what He is seeing and hear what He is saying, praise and thanks will do that.

I then ask God how He sees this person and how He wants to show love to them right now? If I’m still finding it hard to connect, I ask God how He sees this person dressed, what their strengths are, if the person was a tree what sort of tree they would be and what sort of fruit they would be producing etc. I also ask God what this person’s identity in Heaven is ie how is this person known in Heaven?

If I’m still finding it hard to get a prophetic word for this person, I then picture them standing under a Holy Spirit waterfall. I imagine them standing there with the Holy Spirit flowing down over them and I ask the Holy Spirit what it is that the Holy Spirit is showering upon them.

Bear in mind, this usually occurs within 10-30 seconds. If I was at home writing a prophetic word out for someone, I take a lot longer. Thus, in situations like the Prophetic Presbytery’s, I find it invaluable to have a list of questions to ask God in my mind, ready to ‘pull on’ and get God’s perspective for the person.

To summarise and put it in a list format, the questions I have ready to ask God include:

  • How does God see this person?
  • How does God want to show love to them right now?
  • How does God see this person dressed?
  • What are their strengths?
  • If the person was a tree what sort of tree they would be and what sort of fruit they would be producing?
  • What this person’s identity is in Heaven ie how is this person known in Heaven?
  • If this person was standing under a Holy Spirit waterfall, what is it Holy Spirit that you are pouring over them and filling them with and why?

Upon reflection, the times I find hard, I need to take a further moment to not rush things. I also need to look at my preparation. How have I prepared and what have I done in the preparation for giving prophetic words? These questions challenge me and help me be ‘switched on’ immediately to release God’s word out of my mouth for these folk.

I know from past experience that when I have feasted on God’s Word in the lead up to giving prophetic words to people, parts of Scripture will come back to me as I prophesy and will be relevant to that person. There is definitely a key in the preparation process to be spending time with God and nurturing my intimacy with Him.

What do you find helps you when you have a ‘blank’ mind when you go to give someone a prophetic word?

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to practice to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Have pre-prepared sheets of paper with an outline of a person drawn on them and some crayons etc. Ask everyone to select someone they are sitting opposite to and to then ask God how God sees this person dressed in God’s Kingdom. Then encourage everyone to draw what they see, hear or sense on the outline of the person. Encourage everyone to give the sheet to their partner and explain what it is about.

2. Group Activation: Break into groups of 6-8 people. Ask everyone to place something from their pocket or handbag in the centre of their group.  Ask everyone to try not to look at what people are placing in the centre. Then ask everyone to pick up an item from the centre and then take it in turns to prophesy over the object and the person whom the object belongs to.

3. Beginner Activation: Spend some time with God on your own and ask God to highlight to you your life as a fruit tree. Then ask God some questions in relation to this – what does the tree look like? Which sort of fruit? How much fruit? How deep are the roots? What does the tree need at the moment? What season is the fruit tree in at the moment? Spend time asking God further questions and seeking clarification.

4. Intermediate Activation: Ask God to highlight to you someone who lives on their own. Spend time with God asking Him to show you that person’s future. Try and formulate with God a song title that would emulate that person’s future as God has shown you.

5. Advanced Activation: Ask God to highlight to you a certain person or people who are currently in a war zone. Ask God to give you a prophetic declaration and decree that you can pray out aloud for these people.

Our Responsibility when Prophesying

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DiggingI was tired. We had had a late night the night before. I had had an extremely busy week. I was on the team prophesying in pairs to individuals after the church service. I love prophesying and seeing people get a taste of what God thinks of them and His heart for them and how it can impact them greatly. I love helping to ‘unlock the gold’ within each person. This morning, we had prophesied well. The words had been accurate, encouraging, comforting. Many had tears as they listened and tried to take it all in. Most of the other teams had finished and left. My partner and I were still there, plus another team comprising my hubby and another team member. I glanced at my watch and realised that we had to get going as we had a luncheon appointment to be at. Plus, I was exhausted. The adrenaline was ‘running out’.

We finished with the lady we were prophesying over and then I saw someone else approach the front. My heart sank. This lady turned up every month for a prophetic word. I had given her several over the last six months and I could feel an ‘injustice’ (& a judgemental spirit) rise within me. Why was this person so ‘needy’? She should really chase after God for herself and not continually try and receive a prophetic word from others for herself. My judgemental attitude really kicked in. She approached for a prophetic word and my mouth opened and asked her about what she had done with all the other prophetic words she had received from us over the last 12 months. It was totally inappropriate of me. I was reacting out of my tiredness and frustration with people who chase after prophetic words and don’t do the hard yards putting in time with their own relationship with God. This lady responded by saying that she hadn’t received any prophetic words from us before. I was flabbergasted as I was sure that she had as I could clearly remember prophesying over her several times. My response did not communicate God’s heart as I turned and whispered to my partner that I needed to go. I called over the team leader and shared my response and my team leader kindly stepped in to give a prophetic word with my partner to this lady.

It’s fantastic that we can hear, see or feel God and what He wants to communicate to us and through us, but if we are not aware of the responsibility that comes with this, then we can hurt people. Plus, we can fall in to the trap of not representing God’s heart well. The goal of prophesying is 1 Corinthians 14:3 – to encourage, comfort and strengthen. Our role is to represent Father God well. To communicate his truth, love and heart for others in a manner that befits Him well.

On the day I was prophesying as described above, I did not represent the Father’s heart well. Sure, there was an identity issue with the lady concerned as she was always chasing after a prophetic word instead of listening to God for herself, but that doesn’t justify my response.

Below I have listed some of our responsibilities we need to incorporate when we are prophesying over other people.

  1. Be Prepared

Make sure you are on top of your game by having an early night the night before. Check your heart and confess sin. Keep short accounts with people and forgive quickly. What you take in affects your heart and mind so be careful what you watch and hear. Live a pure life. Devour the Bible. Keep your relationship with Father God, Holy Spirit and Jesus as number one in your life.

  1. Treat each person with dignity. Respect and honour the person.

They are a child of God. We need to see them through the Father’s eyes and have compassion on them and share the Father’s heart for them. They are a child of God. When we prophesy, it is not just about what we say but about what we communicate as a whole and how the person felt loved. We are communicating God’s heart to them.

This becomes evident with

  • how we speak ie the tone of our voice, the volume, intonations etc
  • what we say,
  • our body language and what that is communicating,
  • who is around when we share and how ‘public’ we say it ie the volume we use and how many others can hear what is personal for this individual especially if it is something they would not want others to hear.
  1. The prophetic word and how we communicate it must be encouraging, strengthening and comforting.

Thus we don’t prophesy anything negative. If we receive a ‘word of knowledge’ that is negative, we turn it around 180o and prophesy the positive.

  1. Ask permission first.

Do not just presume that because you think you have a prophetic word for someone, that they want to hear it. You need to ask their permission to share it with them. They may say no and you need to respect that. Also, please do not touch the person eg on the arm, shoulder etc without first asking permission to put your hand there.

  1. Stop when God stops.

When you stop hearing from God, stop. Do not add any extra. Do not add your spin (or hobby horse/pet topic) on it or try to expand or explain it. On the other hand, God loves questions, so ask God if there is anything more He wants you to communicate.

  1. They have a choice whether or not they accept it or do anything about it.

It is their choice. We cannot dictate what they do or not. If they choose not to do anything about what you have shared that you sense God’s communicating to them, that is totally their choice. You have not failed. You also cannot make them do something about it. We also are not fully aware of their whole situation. Instead, exude grace.

  1. Accountability

We do not have free reign to go up to everyone we have a prophetic word for and share. We need to come under the authority of our church plus any ministry group we are operating under. We also need to make sure that a ‘third person’ is present or that the person records what is said. That is the beauty of mobile phones these days as you can easily record a prophetic word. This is so important for accountability and being above reproach.

  1. We need to use clean language

We don’t say ‘God told me’. Instead, use language that gives the person a ‘way out’ eg ‘I have a sense that…’ Communicating that ‘God told you’ about another person borders on spiritual abuse. It implies that the person needs to do whatever you say otherwise they are not obeying God. That is not fair or correct.

  1. Remember that we prophesy in part.

We do not have full access to everything that God thinks, says, sees and knows. Therefore, there is always more to the story. 1 Corinthians 13:9 says “For we know in part and we prophesy in part.” We never have the full and total picture. That is also why it is helpful to have someone else prophesy with you eg in pairs as that can help spur you on and you can see and hear more of the picture.

  1. Be humble.

We are not God’s gift to mankind. No matter how skilled and accurate we may think we are, humility is important. We are not God. We represent God when we prophesy but we are not God.

  1. We want to make God look great, not the prophet look great.

A great question to ponder on is “Why am I wanting to give a prophetic word to that person?” Is it because I want to ‘look’ good?

12.Timing

Is it the right timing to tell the person what you are feeling, sensing, hearing, seeing? Is this God’s timing to release it to that person now? Am I meant to share it with them or is it for me to pray about and intercede for them about this?

 

Prophesying over people is exciting and rewarding to be a part of but it also carries with it the weight of responsibility. Keeping in mind these points means that you will be able to release the Father’s heart in a way that reflects who God is more accurately.

 

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to practice to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Make or buy the cardboard cut-out shapes of a person’s body. Ask everyone to write a person’s name on each ‘person’ and then a word that God uses to describes that person. Then pray over each person and give the cut-outs to the appropriate people.

2. Group Activation: Pair up and make 2 circles one inside the other and facing towards each other ie one of each pair on the inside circle facing outwards and the other on the outside circle facing inwards. Give everyone 30 seconds to hear, see, or sense one word for the person opposite them and then share that one word with their partner. Then ask the outer circle to move 3 people to the right. Everyone has 30 seconds again to get one word for the person opposite them and to share it with them. Then ask the inner circle to move 3 people to the right. Repeat the process.

3. Beginner Activation: Spend time with God and quieten your heart and mind. Ask God what He would want to give you or if there is something He would like to place in your right hand at the moment. Ask Father God more questions about this eg why that object, what is it for, what does it look like etc

4. Intermediate Activation: Prophesy over yourself. Focus on God and imagine yourself somewhere with Him. Start your recording device and begin to prophesy over yourself what Father God thinks of you and feels for you and His plans for your life.

5. Advanced Activation: Record yourself the next time you prophesy over someone. Ask them permission first. When you have finished, spend some time later re-listening to what you said. Ask God if there was anything else He would have liked you to add. Listen and pay attention to how you prophesied and how you communicated God’s heart for the person.

Prophesying over Land Issues

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Prophesying over Land“That corner of the land has had something bad happen on it and there’s something black on that corner,” my kids both stated. I then realised that I was standing in such a way that I had my back to that corner as if I was subconsciously shielding myself from something ‘dark’ over that corner.

We were standing on a major country road with a Pastor and his church’s intercessors. The Pastor had asked our family to come and pray with them as they were selecting a new site for the church premises. We had already checked out a town block that they were deliberating over but didn’t get any real sense of yes or no. Now we were standing outside a block of land several acres large.

I shared what the kids had quietly stated with me and also my feelings, all information that our spirits were picking up. The Pastor and the intercessors gathered and chatted for awhile and then shared how there had been a murder on that corner of the land years before. Once this was openly realised, we received a good sense of the use of the land and that the corner of the land would need cleansing but that there was a great sense of hope for the use of the land.

Another occasion presented where we were assisting another group of people. They were wanting to buy a house block for ministry purposes. As we started walking over the land, a strong sense that the land had something under the ground that wasn’t good began to surface within me and became extremely strong. I sensed that whatever was underground would potentially cost so much more to fix. The ministry leaders then shared that there were many underground tunnels and mines in the area that weren’t mapped and people had no idea of where they were but if one was on your property, then it was extremely costly to fix.

The group became quite dejected and expressed major disappointment as they had searched for the right property for so long and this was the ‘best’ option. As we hopped back into our cars to drive to a place for lunch, the leader briefly suggested that we drive past another house that he had heard that morning was being put on the market that next week. As we drove past that new place, there was such a strong sense that we needed to stop. This was definitely the place. The group went on to purchase the property and it is still being used majorly for God. The position is excellent and there were no major issues.

Another time a friend of mine purchased a residential property to use it for commercial purposes. Others were doing similar things in the same street and it was very straightforward for the other people. My friend’s property, however, was still tied up in council issues twelve months later. I can remember asking her one day about it and she explained that she had no idea why there was all the holdups but could I please drive past the property and see if I ‘picked up’ anything to do with it and to pray about it. The next time I drove past, I glanced up the long driveway at the side of the house with the garage at the end. There seemed to be a huge black presence covering the garage.  Now I didn’t stop, I was just driving past. I rang my friend, told her and we prayed about it. Shortly afterwards, the police rocked up with a warrant to tear down the garage due to the remains of a body being buried there. I drove past the property after that, and sensed all was clear and there was definitely no black presence up the driveway. Shortly afterwards, the council permitted the property changes to go ahead.

Praying and using our prophetic gifting in purchasing and selecting land and/or buildings is something that we can all do and upskill in. But we need to do it wisely. It can have huge implications!!

Several keys I have found useful when prophesying over land:

  1. Prepare – pray, research etc.
  2. Make sure you have spiritual authority over that piece of land
  • Are you the owner or occupier?
  • If there is a business on the land, are you a customer?
  • If it is a church, are you committed to that church and pay tithes and involved in ministry there?
  • Have you been asked by the owner?
  • Is someone in authority with you if you don’t have the ‘land authority’?
  1. Quietly worship on the land if you can. Try and sense what happens when you worship.
  2. Be certain that what you are sensing, hearing, seeing is from God. It can have major financial implications for people.
  3. Ask God for a sign. With the first example above, once the group had chatted about the murder and realised what the darkness over the corner was about, a rainbow appeared (even though it wasn’t raining) and then a flock of eagles came from seemingly nowhere and swooped over the land.
  4. Practice and obtain authority over land issues. I have found that the more I practice and sense stuff in regard to land issues, the more authority I gain in relation to this. A great way my friend does this is to find blocks of land that are for sale but not selling or businesses that keep changing hands. Go and buy something at that business and ask God what is happening there. Start blessing the land and business. You don’t need to tell the owner. Just release joy, peace, prosperity, blessing over the land and watch to see the results.
  5. Decree and declare over the land. Release Biblical promises over the land. Read Scripture and worship there.

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to practice to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Go to a local park that has a playground and spend a few moments asking God what His heart is for this park. Find a creative way of expressing God’s heart for it there – speaking it out, drawing it, playing with laughter, doing a prophetic act etc.

2. Group Activation: Prepare beforehand by finding several parcels of land nearby that don’t necessarily have the best reputation or are the home of corruption. Try and have a photo of each piece of land for people to see. Divide into small groups with one parcel of land each group and spend time listening to God for His heart about the land and its use and then prophesy as a group about that parcel of land. Finish by having a time of blessing each parcel of land.

3. Beginner Activation: Spend time with God asking Him how He feels about where you live and the land your building is on. Grab some oil and anoint the boundaries of the land, praying a blessing over the land and its use and everyone on the land. If you have any issues with neighbours, ask God what the issue is really about and prophesy into the outcome.

4. Intermediate Activation: Find a struggling business and make a purchase there. Ask God to highlight to you the real reasons that the business is not going well. Prophesy into the reversal of the reason and prophesy the outcome of the business. Finish by blessing the business.

5. Advanced Activation: Ask God to reveal to you a land issue within your local community, state, or nation. Spend time with God listening to Him and asking Him what to prophesy and decree over the issue. Ask God what you are then to do with this prophetic word – speak it out, visit the land and speak it over that, send the prophetic word to a certain person, pray and intercede for God’s heart to be realised in relation to the issue etc.

When I can’t hear God for myself?

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My 13 year old son has recently joined Air Force Cadets and, on Anzac Day, as I watched him march with his unit, I began crying. Not sobbing but crying enough that my response shocked me. Why was I crying? When anything unexpected occurs, I try to ask God “What did that trigger in me?” or “Why did I respond like that?” or “What’s underneath that emotion?”

Nothing came. My mind was spinning with a thousand thoughts – was it because our son wanted to join the Defence Force and he may be fighting in a war one day? Was it because…. Numerous what if’s came to mind. But God seemed to be deathly silent in answering me.

I sat with it a bit longer and it suddenly struck me – I think I was asking the wrong question. A more appropriate question was “Was it appropriate the emotion I expressed?” Immediately I heard God’s voice – “Yes. You are extremely grateful for those who served and fought to save this country and your future.”

Wow – I suddenly realised that often when people say to me “I can hear God for others but I find it hard hearing God for myself”, then perhaps they need to change their question.

I encourage you, next time you find it hard hearing God for yourself, to change the question you are asking God.

I believe that there are also several other things we can do so that we open up the communication lines between God and ourselves for ourselves.

Listed below are a few ideas to implement when you feel a blockage in hearing God for yourself.

  1. What am I asking God? Can I reframe my question? Am I asking God the wrong question? Am I wanting to hear a specific answer ie treating God like Santa Claus, thus not hearing God because I’m not hearing what I’m wanting.
  2. Change things up a bit. Do something different. Perhaps put on different worship music. Try spending time with God in nature or a different place than normal. I love going to the beach on a stormy day and ‘feeling’ God in the storm.
  3. Have I been obedient in doing what God has asked of me? This is a question I ask of myself. If I haven’t been obedient in following through on what God has already asked me to do, how can I expect Him to then tell me the next step?
  4. Is there any sin in my life that I am aware of? Sin has an amazing way of blocking the relationship between God and myself.
  5. Facilitate an encounter with God. In your imagination, go to a place where you feel close to God, a place where you hear God’s voice easily. Imagine yourself there. What is it like? What does it feel like, look like, smell like, taste like, sound like? Imagine that Jesus walks to where you are in that place. Look for Jesus in your imagination and imagine that He has a present in His hands for you. Watch Him place it down next to you or place it in your hands. You have a choice what you do next. Do you want to open it? Go ahead and open it. What has Jesus just given you? (Usually something like this can open up those lines of communication between God and ourselves again.) Another encounter to try is to imagine yourself under a waterfall. Look around and feel, hear, smell, see what it is like under that waterfall. Imagine next that that waterfall is God pouring out good stuff over you. What is He pouring over you? Revel in what is being poured over you. Enjoy. Splash around in it. When you finish imaging this, try spending some time just enjoying God for who He is.
  6. Am I prepared to really lean in to God over a longer period of time – fast, meditate, pray over a period of time, enjoy being with God, spend time listening.

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to practice to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Have paper and crayons/pencils ready. Ask everyone to find a partner and ask God to show them what sort of present He wants to give their partner. Encourage them to draw what the outside of the present looks like. Then ask God what the actual present is and draw that. Ask them to give the paper to their partner and share what it was.

2. Group Activation: Play a harder version of Prophetic UNO. You will need some UNO cards (you don’t need the whole pack – just select a few of each colour) and the instructions below copied so that people can easily see them. Take it in turns going around the circle turning over the next card. Follow the instructions as to what to do with that colour card. This works best when the group is about 6-8 people in size. If your group is larger, perhaps form two groups, with enough UNO cards and instructions for each group.

UNO Prophecy Instructions – remember to be encouraging, strengthening and comforting

RED – you give a prophetic word to the person on your left about their financial situation

GREEN – you give a prophetic word to the person on your right about their relationship with someone close to them

BLUE  – you give a prophetic word to the person opposite about something that concerns them

YELLOW – you choose who to give a prophetic word to in the group about their career/employment/job

DRAW 2 – give any 2 people in the group a prophetic word about their identity

DRAW 4 – choose 4 people to give you a prophetic word

WILD CARD  – choose whether you give a prophetic word to someone about their destiny or choose someone to give you one about your destiny

3. Beginner Activation: Spend time with God asking Him about something you have felt He has been quiet on. Brainstorm with God several different questions about it. Perhaps facilitate an encounter with God eg present encounter or under a waterfall etc and see if you can hear God easier.

4. Intermediate Activation: Spend time with God asking Him for a prophetic word/picture for me (Jane – the author of this blog). Feel free to email it to me at [email protected]

5. Advanced Activation: In Australia, we are in the lead up to voting for the leadership of the country and for the Prime Minister for the next three years. Spend time with God hearing from Him about this and what He desires. (If you are in another country, please feel free to join with us in Australia and listen to God for what He desires for our nation.) Devise with God a prophetic act to do that ushers in spiritually and physically what’s on God’s heart.

Helping my Children to hear from God part 2

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In December last year, I blogged on part 1 of helping your child to hear from God. In fact, it is not just relevant to children but to adults as well. In the first blog, I looked at hearing God for yourself and learning to recognise what God’s voice is like.

Today – I would like to look at hearing God for someone else.

I find it helpful when we are learning things to practice them first. A great place to practice hearing God’s voice for others is in your own family. An ideal time is when you are having devotions or just after your evening meal when everyone is still seated at the table.

It tends to be easier to hear God’s voice to begin with if you have a starting place. With kids especially, a visual starting point is ideal. I like to use cards with animals on them or a number of matchbox cars etc. Objects that will capture their imagination. It doesn’t really matter what the objects are, just a variety. It could be a fruit platter.

Begin by recapping on what God’s voice sounds like. Ask your kids what God’s voice would sound like (peaceful, quiet, only good etc) and what it wouldn’t sound like (eg angry, fearful, pushy, demanding, etc). Also share how God sometimes shows or tells or we sense something from God ie we may hear, see or feel what God is saying or showing us.

Then ask them to each look at the objects in the centre of the table (eg fruit platter, matchbox cars, animal cards) and ask God which object best represents the person sitting on their left. Remind them to go with the first object that ‘pops’ into their mind or captures their attention the most. When they have that object, then ask God why that object best represents the person on their left.

When they have all received an answer, take it in turns to go around the table and share what object they felt God show, tell or impress on them about the person on their left and why.

Practice this using different objects several different times to get into the flow of hearing or seeing or sensing from God.

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Make a fruit platter and all gather around. Ask everyone to stop for a moment and ask God which fruit best represents the person on their right. Then ask God why He says that that fruit best represents them. Then take turns sharing.

2. Group Activation: Prepare cut out fruit shapes with positive words on them eg fruit of the spirit, grace, joy, peace, thankfulness, contentment, confidence, self acceptance etc. Ask people to identify which one they need to grow in most. Spend some time alone with God chatting about this. Then pair up and select a ‘fruit’ for your partner. Prophecy over your partner about the growth of that ‘fruit’ in their life this year.

3. Beginner Activation: Find a blank card that you can write and/or draw in. Think about a significant event that is occurring to you this year eg birthday, wedding, graduation, new job, birth of a baby etc. Ask God to show you His heart for you for that special time. Write and /or draw what you sense God saying or showing you on the card.

4. Intermediate Activation: Spend some time with God going through your diary from the last month and for the coming month. Review how you have spent your time and how you are planning to spend your time this coming month. Wait on God and ask God for His input. If you have commenced something new this year, ask God what He would like you to cease to allow space, time, energy and thought space for this new activity. Ask God to show you what you are currently ‘doing’ that is of eternal significance. Spend time just being with God and hearing His perspective on your calendar and they way that you spend your time.

5. Advanced Activation: Spend time with God asking Him about His heart in regards to your country’s abortion policy. Ask God what part you are to play, pray and prophecy – where, when and to whom.

Helping my Children to Hear from God – part 1

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Exasperated, I told my daughter rather harshly that God didn’t talk like that. We had had our morning devotion, we had then put on a Christian song to listen to quietly in the background. My kids had grabbed their journals and blank paper and pencils & crayons. I had then asked them to ask God what He wanted to say to them today. My daughter immediately said that God had told her that He was going to give her an apple device. This was the third day in a row that God had apparently told my daughter that. I retorted by saying, “That’s because you want an iPad or iMac. God doesn’t work like that.”

I now look back on that interaction at least five years ago and I am embarrassed. Embarrassed at my callousness and impatience and unkindness towards my daughter. Embarrassed by how I misrepresented God. Embarrassed by putting my frustrations over my relationship with her. Embarrassed that my daughter had a lot greater clarity of how God works than me. (For the record, within a few months God did miraculously give her the money for an iMac.)

I often get asked by parents to share with them how I taught my children to be prophetic. Yes, my children are prophetic but I don’t think I can take all the credit for ‘teaching’ them.

In fact, I really learnt heaps by helping out in their Sunday School class. (Parents – please, I implore you – help out regularly in their class and pick up strategies and tips for use at home.) I was sitting at a table with 4 & 5 year olds. My 5 year old son next to me. The children were all lined up opposite each other with a sheet of paper in front of them and crayons on the table. They were then simply asked to draw a picture from God for the child opposite them. Us adults then asked the children what they had drawn and wrote that on the sheet of paper. The children then gave the paper to the children opposite them and explained what they had drawn.

 

I was gobsmacked. Basically this was all there was to prophecy with children.

 

I went home and that week, I started to incorporate this every few days into our devotions.

I find that children hear, sense and see from God immediately. Children don’t seem to have the same ‘hang ups’ as adults do about what God would and wouldn’t do and say, so they find it easier to trust God. They just seem to automatically accept that the first thought through their mind is from God. They asked God and He answered them. Perhaps it is also that they don’t have all the years of experience of ‘not hearing from God’ or perhaps more correctly – not recognising that what we were hearing and sensing was actually from God.

So, when I start with people wanting to teach their children how to hear from God, I start with having them explain briefly the character of God to their children in a really basic manner of a couple of sentences. Get your children to brainstorm what God would sound like. He is a good God so He is not going to say anything mean. God is going to be encouraging, positive, kind.

Second step is to hear from God for yourself and feel God’s thoughts towards you (or your children to hear and sense from God for themselves). Once you can recognise God’s voice for yourself, or your children can recognise God’s voice for themselves, it is pretty straight forward from then on.

I have listed below two activations or practical exercises that you can do yourself or with your children to help you begin to hear, feel, sense or see what God is saying to you or your children. It can be helpful to provide a quiet place where you can all rest or lie down. It is also helpful to have sheets of paper and pencils /crayons /textas that people can use to draw what they feel God saying or showing to them.

First Activation:

  1. Find a quiet place to lie down and close your eyes.
  2. Ask God, “If you could play any game with me right now, what would it be?”
  3. Capture the first thought that goes through your mind, or the first thing you feel.
  4. If you are having trouble getting something, ask God to give you a feeling or to bring to mind your favourite game. Use that game in your imagination.
  5. Then ask God a question based on that, for example
    1. “God, why did you pick that game?”
    2. “What is special about that game?”
    3. “What do you want to teach me or show me through that game?”
  6. Draw a picture of what you say or felt or heard.
  7. Share with someone, your parent etc.

Second Activation:

  1. Ask God if He could have a special time with you anywhere in the world right now, where would He take you and why?
  2. Capture that first thought that goes through your mind, or the first thing you feel.
  3. Ask God some more questions about that place. Eg
    1. “God, why did you pick that place?”
    2. “What’s special about that place?”
    3. “God, what do you want to say to me here in this place you’ve chosen for me?”
  4. Draw a picture of what you felt, saw or heard.
  5. Share with someone, your parent etc.

Chat with your children about the fact that God loves chatting with us. He wants us to have a two way conversation with Him. Thus, He loves it when we ask Him questions and clarify what He said etc.

Next week’s blog post will be part 2 on helping your children hear from God for other people.

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Have everyone close their eyes and ask God what supernatural clothes God wants to give to them to be dressed in. Share what you heard, saw or felt.

2. Group Activation: Play prophetic duck, duck, goose. Have everyone sit in a circle and ask them all to close their eyes. Walk around behind people and touch one person on their head or shoulder. Then ask everyone to open their eyes. Ask them to hear from God and prophesy over the person you touched (whom only you and that person know who it is). After a certain amount of prophetic words, ask the ‘receiver of the prophetic words’ to identify themself and share how the words resonated with them. Repeat with another person being the receiver.

3. Beginner Activation: Spend time with God asking Him where in the universe He would like to take you and why. Ask Him questions about what you would do there together, why that place is special etc.

4. Intermediate Activation: Write a prophetic word for your garbage collector this week. Buy a small present that relates prophetically to this and give them both to your garbage collector when he next collects your rubbish.

5. Advanced Activation: Write a prophetic word for the leader of your country. Remember to exude grace and love and kingdom values. Find a way of emailing or posting this to Him/Her.

Hearing God’s Voice for Others (Part 3)

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  • “I’ve got nothing.”
  • “I can’t Hear God.”
  • “I’ve never heard God before.”
  • “What if it’s not God but my own thoughts?”

These are all comments I regularly hear when adults are beginning to prophesy. With children, I don’t hear the same. Children tend to just take it for granted that they will hear or see or sense something and that what ever that is, then it must be from God. Us adults can tend to highlight our own thoughts way too high and believe that what we are hearing or sensing is from ourselves, that no way would it be from God.

First Thought Principle:

I encourage people to grab the first thought that comes through your head when you are trying to hear or sense from God. This works well if you are in a great place emotionally and spiritually, but not so well if you are in the pits of despair or a spiritual barren place.

I find that the ‘first thought’ through my mind is from God. It comes so quick. Then a second thought follows soon after – “What if it is me and not God?” Grab that first thought and hold on to it and expand it with God. Don’t partner with the second thought of “What if it is from me?” Ask God questions to find out more information because He loves answering them.

Once you have started hearing God for yourself, you learn to recognise what God sounds like. Some people will see pictures or sense what God is saying. Once we can hear God or sense Him, it is easy to begin to hear God and what is on His heart for others. We can help others realise how God sees them.

When starting to hear God for others, it is always important to remember that you only ever communicate to another person the positive. 1 Corinthians 14:3 says “But the one who prophesies speaks to people for the strengthening, encouraging or comfort.” Thus, we only share that which will be encouraging, comforting and strengthening.

What if I am wrong?

I can remember when I was fairly new at hearing from God. I was matched up with another person and we were giving prophetic words to leaders in a prophetic presbytery at our church conference. This lady came in and sat down. I immediately received the words ‘Romanian orphanage’. I was aghast. I must have heard wrong. Fancy saying that to someone. What if I was terribly wrong? I couldn’t say that!

Take note that during these thoughts I had, I was giving myself and my thoughts far too much credit and not focusing on the magnificence of God. It became all about me and not about God.

I managed to say something to the lady but did not utter anything about Romania and orphanage. The lady politely sat there impassively, recording the conversation. At the end of five minutes, after repeated promptings of ‘Romanian orphanage’ in my mind, I finally blurted out, “I just keep getting a sense that you will have something to do with an Eastern European orphanage”. (I tried to be more general and not mention the exact word ‘Romania’ to be safer.) The lady immediately burst into tears and then preceded to share with us that only the evening before, her husband and her had agreed to lay the years of infertility treatment behind them and felt that God was calling them to adopt a baby/child from Romania. They had pleaded with God to confirm it within the next few days.

I am so glad that I finally got ‘over myself’ and the thoughts of it being from me or thoughts of ‘what if I was wrong’. It was so exciting to partner with God and see this lady receive an answered prayer. I decided then and there that I would always communicate exactly what I felt God was wanting to say through me.

This blog post is third in a series of 4 blogs. Last week, I blogged about Hearing God’s voice for yourself (Part 2). The first week of the series was Hearing from God (part 1)

For now, we are going to practice hearing or sensing from God for something for someone else. Encourage everyone that this is a safe place to learn to hear God for someone else. As long as it is encouraging, then that is great.

If you have more than one person with you, these two following exercises work well. If you are on your own, ask God to highlight to you a person whom you could use to follow these exercises.

First Activation: (For this activation you will need a number of matchbox vehicles)

  1. Put a number of different match box cars, trucks, planes, trains on the table.
  2. Partner up.
  3. Ask God to highlight one particular vehicle to you that represents your partner.
    1. Ask God why that particular vehicle.
    2. Ask Him what does that vehicle have about it that is similar to their partner.
  4. Pick up the vehicle.
  5. Explain to your partner what you felt God say or tell or show you.
  6. Ask if anyone wants to share in the bigger group or in front of every family member present what they felt, saw or heard from God for their partner.

Second Activation: (For this activation, you will need a number of pictures or patterned paper)

  1. Put a number of pictures or patterned paper on the floor.
  2. Partner up with someone different to your first partner.
  3. Get everyone to walk around and look at the pictures.
  4. Ask God to highlight to everyone a picture that says something of God’s heart for their partner. (Even just pick up a picture that gets your attention.)
  5. Pick up the picture.
  6. Give it to your partner, explaining what God showed, told or impressed on you about your partner and the picture.

I would love to hear how you are finding hearing from God. Please feel free to comment below. Next week I will blog in part 4 about how to grow in your ability to hear, sense and see from God.

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

The purpose of these exercises is to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and recognise God’s voice and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Sit in a circle and ask God to show, tell or give you a movie/tv character for the person on your right. Ask God why this particular tv or movie character and what is similar about the character and the person on your right. Share with the person on your right.

2. Group Activation: Play ‘prophetic tag’. Choose a person to be ‘the tagger’. They stand in the middle of the room and everyone goes to the other end. These people have to try to get to the other side of the room without being tagged by the person in the centre (the tagger). If someone is tagged, that person has to give ‘the tagger’ (the person who tagged them) a prophetic word. They then become ‘the tagger’ and the previous ‘tagger’ joins the rest of the group trying to cross the room without being tagged. If you have a large group, consider having several people in the middle being ‘taggers’.

3. Beginner Activation: Ask God to highlight a Psalm from the Bible to you. Read it through and meditate on it. Ask God to highlight whom you could share this Psalm with today and how it might minister to them.

4. Intermediate Activation: Select a very old person at church and spend time with God receiving what He has to say about this person. Communicate this to them in an appropriate manner.

5. Advanced Activation: Spend time with God asking Him for a prophetic word for the Seniors group in your church. If your church doesn’t have a Senior’s group, ask God which other Senior’s group it would be relevant for and deliver it to them appropriately.

Hearing God’s voice for yourself (Part 2)

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As I asked God what He thought of me and how He saw me, I stood still and waited. Almost immediately an amazingly beautiful picture filled my mind of a me as a Princess. I was wearing this stunning pearl blue sparkling long gown with a stunning diamond tiara. But as I looked at this princess, I was most struck with ‘this is how God sees me, as a beautiful princess’. I had never believed I was pretty but it hadn’t been anything I had spent time thinking about. But looking at myself as a princess in this picture in my mind, I realised that God saw me as beautiful, as His princess. He was my daddy and I was His princess and that was all that mattered.

I was so excited. This was such a great picture and made me feel so great, that I couldn’t wait for the rest of the exercises or activations for that night. It was truly transforming for me.

That evening was one of the first times that I had actually heard God for myself about myself. I had heard His audible voice a number of times in relation to a directive for my life, but not like this. I was undertaking a year long course in inner healing and prayer ministry and we were looking at ‘Hearing God’s voice’. The first thing we had to do was ask God how He saw ourselves.

I believe that a great place to start when beginning to prophesy is to hear and feel God’s thoughts towards yourself. This process works really well with all age groups, particularly children. Children don’t seem to have the same ‘hang ups’ as adults do about what God would and wouldn’t do and say, so they find it easier to trust God. They just seem to automatically accept that the first thought through their mind is from God. They asked God and He answered them.

I have listed below three activations or practical exercises to help you begin to hear, feel, sense or see what God is saying to you. It is helpful to provide a quiet place where people can rest or lie down. It is also helpful to have sheets of paper and pencils/crayons/textas that people can use to draw what they feel God saying or showing to them.

First Activation:

  1. Find a quiet place to lie down and close your eyes.
  2. Ask God, “If you could play any game with me right now, what would it be?”
  3. Capture the first thought that goes through your mind, or the first thing you feel.
  4. If you are having trouble getting something, ask God to give you a feeling or to bring to mind your favourite game. Use that game in your imagination.
  5. Then ask God a question based on that, for example
    1. “God, why did you pick that game?”
    2. “What is special about that game?”
    3. “What do you want to teach me or show me through that game?”
  6. Share with someone what you felt or heard. Perhaps draw a picture of what you say or felt or heard. If you are alone, it is great to draw or write down what you felt, saw or heard God saying.

Second Activation:

  1. Ask God if He could have a special time with you anywhere in the world right now, where would He take you and why?
  2. Capture that first thought that goes through your mind, or the first thing you feel.
  3. Ask God some more questions about that place. Eg
    1. “God, why did you pick that place?”
    2. “What’s special about that place?”
    3. “God, what do you want to say to me here in this place you’ve chosen for me?”
  4. Share with someone what you felt God say. Perhaps draw a picture of what you felt, saw or heard.

Third Activation:

  1. Ask God how He sees you dressed. Ask God what sort of clothes you are wearing, what is on your head, what is on your feet, if there is anything you are carrying in your hand, etc. Ask God what sort of person and character He sees you as.
  2. Keep asking God more questions about this. Pay attention to anything you hear, feel, and see.
  3. Share with someone or write or draw it in on a sheet of paper.

Today’s blog is part 2 of a 4 part series. Next week I will be covering the practical steps of how to start to hear God for someone else.

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

The purpose of these exercises is to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and recognise God’s voice and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Get some large paper eg Butchers paper (Ikea has huge rolls of this) and textas. Place a long roll of paper on the floor that’s long enough for a person to lie completely on and ask a person to lie down on the paper. Trace around their body. Write that person’s name on the sheet of paper. Do this for every person. Then spend some time writing on the paper encouraging words about that individual. Ask God to show, tell or give you words that describe that person. Write it on that person’s piece of paper. Then get each person to read aloud what is written or drawn on their piece of paper.

2. Group Activation: Divide the group into equal teams. Select one person from each term to stand at one end of the room. These people are the team captains and will receive a prophetic word. The rest of the team stands at the other end in a line. One at a time, each team member has to race to the other end and give the team captain a prophetic word. Once they have done that, they return to the team and the next team member runs to their team captain and gives them a prophetic word. Keep going until every team member has given a prophetic word to their team captain. The team captain then reports back on what they received, the accuracy but more importantly the flow of the combined prophetic words from their team.

3. Beginner Activation: Quieten your heart before God and ask Him “What do you think of me?”

4. Intermediate Activation: Ask God to help you activate a sense that you don’t use in the prophetic eg smelling or taste or seeing. Ask God to highlight this and spend time over a series of days practicing receiving from God using this sense.

5. Advanced Activation: Ask God to highlight an unreached people group to you. Spend time with God hearing from Him for this people group. Then decree and declare out aloud what God has told, shown or given you for this group.