The Prophet & The Wilderness
The Calling & the Consecrating
Have you noticed, there is an increase in the use of the words, “Prophecy/Prophetic” everywhere? Throughout the Internet and in churches all over the world, we are seeing a people being raised up, who are hungry to learn how to hear the voice of God, what it means to move in the prophetic and what does a Prophet do? Is there any doubt Yahweh is raising up His end time prophetic generation, right in front of our eyes?
There are many in this remnant who seek to prophesy and have their eyes on fame and glory. However, Yahweh wants much more than just an inflated mouthpiece. He is pouring His Heart into those who will carry His Words to a hurting and dark world, snatching souls out of the fire and declaring and proclaiming His Will for this Earth through the Ministry of the Prophets.
Some people will move in the prophetic gift and be satisfied to just give a couple words here and there, but there are others, who are struggling with a hunger and passion burning deep inside of them, and they are willing to “pay the price,” to carry the mantle of a Prophet of Yahweh.
So, what does it mean to, “pay the price?” It means you will be trained, tested and examined, to see what is on the inside of you. The call upon a prophet does not just revolve around whether you will stretch your faith and trust out of the boat and walk on the water to prophesy. Biblically speaking, there are three categories or areas you will have to go “through,” if you are seeking to be a prophet.
There is the Calling, the Consecration and then, the Commissioning
Many of us have an inner knowing, we have been called into the prophetic ministry. You can’t stop thinking about it, you read about it, you join prophetic classes, go to conferences to hear people prophesy, study the prophets, in other words, you eat, sleep drink and think about the prophetic realm. It consumes you day and night.
You may have also had some supernatural experiences, where God has touched you and confirmed through seasoned prophets, He has given you the ability to hear and speak, to prophecy, His Words. You have spiritual confirmations and it is on your heart, to share His words with those He puts in your path. You hunger to prophesy, you love sensing Yahweh inside you and moving through you, to speak to those in need. You seek to learn more about the prophetic, but the real passion in your heart, is to have a deeper and more intimate relationship with God. You want to know everything about Yahweh.
For me, my knowing came when I was sleeping. I heard an audible voice call my name. I woke up and looked around, but no one was there. Then, in my spirit, I heard the word “Grace” and then, number 5. So, I knew my name was called and then I had grace, but doesn’t the number 5 mean grace too?
I did not see or understand the message until Risa and I went to a Mike Bickle 3 day Prophetic Conference in Kansas City. When we returned to Nashville, Risa and I were talking about a possible Firestorm Conference and she was telling Deborah Inghram about it on the phone. So, I started browsing through a dream book written by Ira Milligan I bought at the conference.
I was looking in the number section and when I came to the number 5, I got suddenly moment, because He wrote: FIVE – Serve! It was at that time, I knew it was Yahweh who woke me up, by calling my Name. The message: Bonnie, I’m calling you and I am giving you Grace (power) to serve (#5). My spirit resonated in this and I know that I know, that day He called My Name to come forth and to go and serve.
So, knowing you are called is the first step but, what about consecration? What is consecration?
Consecration is the action of making or declaring something sacred.
If you believe Yahweh is only looking for those who have their eyes and ears tuned to Him to speak out prophetic words, you are mistaken. He is looking for those who will teach and activate His People and He is looking for those who will carry His standard or banner of excellence to this Earth.
He is wanting to share His Heart with His people through you. He is not interested in condemning or putting a guilt trip on someone, nor is He interested in sharing someone’s sins on an outdoor clothes line. He is in the business of saving souls, healing and deliverance and showering His Family with Supernatural Love and Grace (Power).
In the FS Situation Prayer Room Thursday Night, we had people asking for prayer because they are continually having to deal with all kinds of personal issues such as; health, finances, family, relationships, jobs, you name it, everyone was dealing with something. It is interesting though, in the midst of these storms, everyone is still passionate about Yahweh and seeking His Help. They are faithful to Him and yet, trouble is everywhere. Several mentioned they felt like they were in the “wilderness.’ and they are just wore out.
Well guess what? The wilderness is the next step in the process of becoming a vessel Yahweh can flow through and trust to be obedient. You have to know and understand where you are and what season you are in, to be able to stand. The wilderness is where a vessel is pressed and broken, through the trials and tribulations, this world brings. Consecration reveals the character of the one who will stand and be faithful under pressure and operate under the banner of Yahweh, with humility, holiness, authenticity and His Power. That is the Real Deal. It is not the real deal to be a prophet for hire, who falls in love with all the stage lights, cameras and sells prophetic words with no regard or desire to help introduce, teach and train people in the church about Yahweh or His coming Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth.
Consecration is a process repeated several times in the life of a prophet who is seeking to minister for Yahweh to the Body of Christ. The wilderness training is where the desires of a carnal heart are revealed, those desires hidden deep in the heart, which long for the applause of men, character flaws of religious pride, fleshy arrogance, ambition and the lust for money, such as with Balaam, Simon the sorcerer and the Pythia, who prophesied as the oracle of Delphi, to make money for herself and her masters.
Those who have never spent time in the place of consecration in the wilderness and refuse to go in, miss the training of being in the “hiddenness” place with God and can still crave earthly praise and platforms on the world stage, instead of spending time with Yahweh in conversation (prayer), behind closed doors, learning more about His Heart and Will for His Kingdom.
Think about it and check your heart. Do you think Yahweh would raise up a prophet in the midst of today’s world, whose heart was dark, filled with impure thoughts and motives for self interest and personal gain? I think not. The consecration, the stripping, the purifying, the cleansing all have to come first and if not…around the mountain we go again to learn humility, meekness and how to overcome, as best we can, as we go “through the valley of the shadow of death.”
And, are we alone in our consecration ? No! More than once in the Situation Room, I heard the Word of the Lord saying, “I will not leave you or forsake you, I AM with you.” And if He is with us, who can be against us? Do not lose heart regarding the processes you will have to go through. Know Yahweh is with you and has only good thoughts for you. Go for the training and see the Hand of the Father upon Your Life. Think upon those things, which are to come, when there shall be no disease, no death, no bondage or prisons and such.
When Jesus told us to pray the Lord’s Prayer, He knew this was the best prayer for us to release over and into the Earth, which would best bring Him back to us. What a Great and Mighty God – Yahweh!!!! Hallelujah!
The prophetic training ground for “all” of the called prophets of God Is the Wilderness. This is where we are consecrated, (made holy) for service to Yahweh and His Church. Here is where we learn our talk has to line up with our walk.
Do you think that is why James said, “count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driving and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” James 1:2-9
Matter of fact the whole chapter of James 1 is important – to those seeking the Prophetic Gift or title of a Prophet. I have enclosed the rest of the chapter below from James, but there is one more area after the consecration (ouch, ouch, ouch) in the wilderness. It is the commissioning and it is coming next, in part 2.
Blessings and please read the rest of James Chapter 1:9-27 below.
The Perspective of Rich and Poor
9 Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, 10 but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. 11 For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
Loving God Under Trials
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
Qualities Needed in Trials
19 [c]So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Doers—Not Hearers Only
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and [d]overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone [e]among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, andto keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Footnotes:
a. James 1:3 endurance or perseverance
b. James 1:4 mature
c. James 1:19 NU Know this or This you know
d. James 1:21 abundance
e. James 1:26 NU omits among you