The gift of prophecy

People sometimes think that "prophecy" means to predict (foretell) what will happen in the future. Actually, the simple gift of prophecy is essentially forthtelling; it is a ministry to make people better and more useful Christians now. Prophecy in the New Testament church carries no prediction with it whatsoever, for "he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort" (I Corinthians 14:3). Notice that there is no mention of the word prediction here.

Persons with the gift of prophecy are not fortune tellers. I met a lady pastor today who had the gift of prophesy.
I met Pastor Joyce at a church that was not as far away as the last church, but was by far more difficult to reach. But that church was filled... with young people.

Pastor Joyce was quiet and had a beautiful round face and a very big smile. She greeted us warmly and I felt drawn to her in some way.

Then we all went in to the service. That would be the THREE hour service. A three hour service without a single sermon until the end. There were several very long periods of praise songs. It is customary in the churches we have visited to have a song played while everyone prays aloud. And there is plenty of time for everyone to pray as long as they wish. Prayers of thanksgiving and praise and prayers for healing and other things as well.

It was during that first song that Pastor Joyce began to pray in a way I have not seen someone pray in a long time. She quietly got up, knelt in front of her plastic chair and prayed and wept and prayed and wept.  It was not a show... it was heartfelt prayer.

There were introductions and more songs. Then pastor Chris asked everyone to get up out of their plastic chairs and stack them to the side of this mud hut we were worshipping in. Most ladies removed their shoes. There were two drums and two pieces of iron that served as a kind of triangle. And for one hour we danced and sang and jumped for the Lord.

And that's when Pastor Joyce went into some kind of trance. She moved into the congregation spinning and turning and speaking in a language I did not understand, but it was not an unknown language to the congregation. She did this to the point of nearly passing out.

Near the end of the song she came to the front where we were. I was on the end, and she came all the way down, she threw her head back and I thought she was going to pass out. Instead, when I went to hold her and keep her from falling, she grabbed my shirt  and spoke intently to me in either Swahili or Kikuyu. The pastors told me that she had said that I was surrounded by angels. She said that there was something special in me that was not of my own doing but of God... and I was just amazed.

Is there a part of me which thinks she was just a little coocoo... yep. But my Lord tells me that he gave some people this gift. She asked absolutely nothing of me but confirmed over and over that I was being blessed by God and that I would be protected.

I will still wrestle with these gifts. But in my heart, I know Pastor Joyce was right. And I sat in my chair and wept.