THE ENCOURAGER
I had been in prayer for some time, preparing to minister in a small church. Several people had asked to be part of my prophetic ministry team. I had so many requests; I could only take a few at a time. I was in a quandary about what to do in choosing, who would be best. I then asked God figuring He might know.
This is what He said. “Those who are natural encouragers would be the best choice”. It seemed obvious when He said it. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. He then went on to say, “Take those photos that you have taken of your daughter and send them to all the people who have requested to be part of your team. Then wait to see who e-mails you back and encourages you in your photography.” I thought, that’s a great idea! I got up from my prayer time and scanned a few photos that I had taken previously. These photos were what I thought were the best from that selection. I took these photos in my studio with full lighting and a backdrop. Each pose was delightfully cute. I sent them out to everyone, which indicated that they wanted to go on a ministry excursion with me.
At least a month went by before I decided that it was enough time to wait. The results shocked me, leaving me with more questions than when I started.
I received only one! The funny thing was, it came from someone that I didn’t even send them to! I had sent them to a woman I knew that I worked with several times. Somehow, her husband had found the e-mail and sent the encouragement to me. He was ex-homicide detective. He had vehemently opposed his wife before on previous ministry trips. He had nothing to do with church or anything else prophetically. Nonetheless, after knowing this man for several years now I have always found him to be the most encouraging person I've ever met. He is a constant natural encourager and he always finds my interests that I do, or other peoples and encourages them. He is a great example of a natural encourager.
The prophetic word that comes from our mouth should be always encouraging. It’s reasonable to assume, that we should be taking on the persona of Christ and becoming encouragers in the natural as well. One, who encourages first in the natural, will prophesy with far more purity, than one who has a critical nature.
The first stage of prophetic gifting is to encourage the body. To lift them up and revive them with a word from the Lord is awesome to watch. Sometimes it’s like an instant healing. You will see the burdens fall to the ground as a great weight lifts off their sunken shoulders.
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