Permission to Speak
A couple of years ago, I was driving to the bank during a
low traffic time. There are two intersections with lights on my way to the bank
from where I live; both intersections have a right-turn lane and a through/left
turn lane. Another car was waiting to turn left so I moved into the right-turn
lane to go around him. I continued my way to the bank and noticed the van
behind me was headed in the same direction. In fact, the van stopped at the
bank machine. He got out of his vehicle at the same time I did. Then he came
over and started to berate me for breaching a traffic law. I was taken back and
surprised he had driven out of his way to scold me.
He wasn’t wrong. I committed a traffic violation but his
method of exposing my crime didn’t endear me to make changes, rather I was
inflamed with anger and I reacted in a similar manner to his delivery.
Last week I posted about the better way to give someone a
prophetic word. (You can read the post here). Prophecy should encourage, strengthen and
comfort but what happens when the Lord reveals something less than lovely about
another person or situation. What should you do?
John Paul Jackson teaches 90% of prophetic knowledge is meant
for intercession. That means we should pray about it. Too often, though, prayer
seems like a dissatisfactory and passive solution. We want to take matters into
our own hands and correct the sinner among us. But the reality is the prayer of
a righteous man is powerful and effective (James
5:16). When we pray into situations the Lord reveals by prophetic
knowledge, we are partnering with Him to bring about the necessary change. The
angels are moved into action by the word of the Lord (Psalm
103:20) and when we pray with the knowledge given by Him, it releases
angels to move into action to redeem the person and/or situation.
Okay, but what about the 10% when we should say something?
Unlike the man in the van who scolded me for my driving, the best way for words
of correction to be received is to have favour with the person you are going to
speak to. I have a dear friend who has given me an invitation into her life and
I speak candidly with her. Sometimes the words are strong but because she knows
I love her and value her and want her to move into the will of God in all areas
of her life so she allows me access and listens to me.
Likewise, I have some friends (including my Man) who I allow
to bring unpleasant things to my attention. In fact, I invite it. I consider
their Godly wisdom as coming straight from the Lord and I give weight to their
words. Most people outside of my inner circle don’t have as much favour with me
and I’ll likely not receive their words as readily.
Graham Cooke makes a relevant comment regarding this topic,
he says:
Speaking the
truth in love is not telling someone’s shortcomings in the nicest possible way
because that’s not truth. It’s only true. The truth is, they are dead in Christ
and all that stuff is done away. The truth is, this is who you are in Jesus. So
when we’re speaking the truth in love, we’re not putting someone down nicely,
we’re elevating them brilliantly.
The next time you hear something from the Lord about another
person or organization, ask yourself, “Does the Lord want me to share this
information or should I pray and release the angels to do their work?”
I love this post!! I love it more than words can say. Thank you for talking about this, reminding me of my call to intercession, and giving us all permission to speak in love and truth, not correction and facts. Peace & Joy to you, my sister.
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