Episode Transcript
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
Help me to eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Matthew 2:1–10
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:
"'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.'"
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
CONSIDER THIS
Yesterday, we considered the role of the heart in prophetic ministry. We noted that Paul exhorts us to "eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy" (1 Cor. 14:1). Today, we want to discuss the role of the mind.
Let's begin with the low-hanging fruit—the "people's chief priests and the teachers of the law" knew Scripture. They would have carefully studied Scripture and treasured it. There is something admirable about this, and despite their shortcomings, the story unfolds in the way it does because they knew Micah's prophecy about a promised "ruler" from Bethlehem who would "shepherd my people Israel." Had they not known the Scriptures, the story may have unfolded differently. We may never have heard about the Magi if, after Herod had "asked them where the Messiah was to be born," they replied, "Uhh, dunno. Your guess is as good as mine."
And while it is true God sometimes speaks in what appears to us as an audible voice, this is not the norm. He more often puts a picture, thought, or impression in our minds. But unless we train ourselves to test these thoughts, we'll miss most of them or confuse Holy Spirit–inspired thoughts with our own. How often, for example, has the face of a friend popped into your mind during your prayer time? More than likely, these are invitations to join Jesus in intercession for your friend.
Now, let's return to the star. We should ask ourselves how the Magi noticed that rising star in the first place. We don't know for sure, but stargazing was likely part of their training. Had they not regularly looked at the night sky, they would not have spotted something different about "his" star (v. 2). God used their training to speak to them. He often does.
God spoke to David, using shepherds and sheep to illustrate his message. Similarly, Jesus incorporated fish and fishermen when he called his seafaring disciples, just as he used a star to get the attention of the stargazing Magi. If you are a florist, an engineer, a poet, a nurse, or a teacher, perhaps he might use a rose, a bridge, a stanza, an ointment, or a book to speak to you. Be on the lookout!
Here's another question: How many times did the star appear to the Magi? We often think it popped up in the east, and the Magi simply followed it to Bethlehem like an updated version of the pillars of cloud by day and fire by night (Exodus 13:21). I'm not so sure. If this was the case, why did the Magi use the past tense when they described the star to Herod? "We saw his star when it rose," they said. Surely, they would have pointed it out to Herod if the star were still visible.
"Come out here, your Royal Herodness, and look up there. No, not that one; follow my finger. Can you see it?"
But they didn't—they simply told Herod that they saw (past tense) the new King of the Jews' star when it rose. Furthermore, when the Magi continued their journey after leaving Herod in Jerusalem, why were they overjoyed to see the star (v. 10). Maybe they had traveled during many cloudy nights and lost sight of the star. But I think not. A more likely explanation is that they did not need to see it continually as they had enough information to make it to their first stop: Jerusalem.
When they asked Herod, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?" (v. 2), they probably thought he'd take them to the first-century nursery at the back of the palace. But Herod doesn't know about the new king and begins to sweat buckets. He calls the holy brigade to help, and they identify Bethlehem as the likely place of the new king's birth. The Magi leave and head to Bethlehem, and, wow, they see the star again and are overjoyed. The star goes ahead of them until it "stops over the place where the child was." It was quite an unusual star, for sure.
This is how prophetic ministry often works. God gives us a snippet of insight—maybe a picture or thought in our mind. We don't fully understand it, or it seems incomplete. So we ask the person we believe the message is for whether our impression is helpful to them and invite them into the conversation. Through dialog, we understand more fully what the Lord wants to communicate, and often, he shows us more in the process.
Let me give you a recent example. Last month, I was speaking in a church near Birmingham, UK, when I had a prophetic snippet, a mental picture I knew was for a young woman in the church. It was a simple mental picture of Jesus pulling a duvet over the woman and a sense that God would do something that her earthly dad either could not or would not do for her. I had no idea what the picture might mean, so I asked her. The Magi asked questions, and it's my practice to do so, too.
She told me that she didn't know her birth dad at all; she knew nothing about him, not even his name. She also shared that she struggled with nightmares and could not sleep unless she had a light on in her room. This woman had never experienced comfort from her birth father. So we prayed and let God do what he wanted. He tucked her in, so to speak, not in a duvet but in his love. There were plenty of tears: tears of sadness at first, then tears of joy. Had the Lord not given me this prophetic snippet, we never would have known about this ministry need, and the woman would have missed this opportunity to be embraced by her loving heavenly Father.
So, let's add another line to our Prayer of Consecration tomorrow: "Help me discern your thoughts."
Let's see what the Lord begins to do.
THE PRAYER
Lord, thank you for the gift of my mind. Help me learn which thoughts are my thoughts and which are prophetic insights from you. Amen.
THE QUESTIONS
Have you ever had a mental picture or idea you thought the Holy Spirit might have inspired? What did you see, what did it mean, and what did you do with the insight? How can you use questions to help you discern God's voice?
