Recently the Holy Spirit told me that prophets were going to begin to relate to Him differently. He talked of a coming “prophetic shift.” Let’s examine this shift from the life of Elisha.
After Elijah was taken to heaven his prophetic mantle was passed on to another prophet: Elisha. Elisha’s ministry would prove to be quite different from his predecessor’s. When Israel was under attack by the Syrian army, the enemy king’s top-secret battle plans kept getting back to Israel. Scripture says that the Syrian king’s heart was “sore troubled” and he thought there must surely be a spy in his inner circle. He assembled his counselors to locate the traitor. Some believe that the Syrian king gathered his own soothsaying prophets to identify the conspirator. At the meeting the spy was in fact identified. It was Elisha the prophet of Jehovah. Counselors told the king that Elisha “telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.” Can you imagine that, a prophet that could hear the most private affairs of the Syrian king?
The biblical testimony doesn’t end there. Scripture goes on to say that the king of Syria dispatched a great army to capture Elisha. They located him in Dothan and by cover of darkness surrounded the city. The next morning Elisha’s servant saw the militant army’s threatening position. Think about this: one prophet of God so frustrated the plans of the Syrian king that he could do nothing until he was taken out of the way. Don’t tell me that prophets aren’t dangerous to the enemies of Christ. I am sure that the whole city awoke in fear. Elisha’s panicked servant ran to the man of God asking, “What shall we do?” “Fear not,” said Elisha, “for they that are with us are more than they that are with them.” Then Elisha prayed, “Lord open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw and behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha” (2 Kings 6:16-18). When the Syrian army entered the city to capture Elisha they discovered just how extreme the prophetic gift really was. When accosted, Elisha prayed and the Lord smote the Syrian army with blindness. By the time it was over one seer of Jehovah had captured an entire army.
Elisha’s prophetic ministry is a true example of a prophetic shift. Israel’s inhabitants were familiar with Elijah’s operations but experienced the prophetic ministry in a far different way through Elisha. Could this type of prophetic demonstration be an example of the coming prophetic shift that the Lord spoke to me about? Like Israel of old, I believe the Church is going to experience a new way of relating to prophetic ministry in the days ahead.
Can you see how top secret plans kept getting back to Israel? Well… now, do you think that this “proves” that “God” really does know “ALL” things? It HAS to be God because it is “not normal” for humans to “just know things” like this. It would be sooo exciting if there is a coming “shift” in this gift to the body of Christ and to the nations! God is too awesome!
Usually a spy is a traitor in his own camp. How fearful and breathless this king of Syria and his followers must have been to know that the “spy” was “not” even among them, but could still see and say all these things! I can almost imagine his eyes, his facial expressions, and his sweat! I can also imagine the heartbeats in his chest beneath his robes of royalty, which meant absolutely nothing at the moment; for he was the leader, but was probably more scared than his subjects! How “great” is our God? You can “think” you’re the “greatest”, but if your heart ain’t right, you’ll get a chance to see just how big you really are, and more likely, to the point of “shifting” between embarrassment and disappointment! Was the king of Syria saying or thinking (with his hand covered over his highly-decorated chest), “Oh heart of mine, please don’t fail me now!”?
Thank God for the prayers of the prophets. May they always pray for those of us who may not have so strong a prophetic gift as they do; and may their imparted gift shift on us so that we can also have the ability to “see” and can become more prophetic as well. Then all of us can be joined together in the body to help advance the kingdom. We can “all” be “seers” for God and for the good of mankind. We can “all” be “sayers” and prophesy. And most importantly, we can “all” be “doers” of His holy word. Bless the Lord that we may (even though not clearly now, or only in part now) begin to “see” and keep on seeing and to “say” and keep on saying for the good of the kingdom. Father, just like the revolution, wherever it’s needed, let the “shifting” begin! And let it begin with those of us who earnestly desire the higher gifts from You, not for merchandising, but for Your glory! Let Your will be done in our lives with the help of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name. Amen. Maggie.