Poker Face

As prophets, we would do really well to rest in God when delivering prophetic words. There is nothing worse than wrestling for the word, striving to receive the message. Often times when that feeling of striving to hear the Lord happens, I find that the prophet is missing the word. It is also not the case that speaking in tongues brings the word to you, rather, doing so creates an atmosphere and stirs the waters into which you can tap to receive the message.

Whilst it is the case that we must remove ourselves from the picture in order to be used freely and effectively by the Holy Spirit, the truth is it’s quite comforting to see the message resonating when delivering a word. Facial reactions can be a thing to behold! Most people’s eyes tell the tale, the widening of the iris, the raised eyebrows or just that “knowing” look that invades the windows to the soul, confirming the prophetic word. When a word is particularly accurate, there may even be some jaw dropping or shocked laughter bubbling forth.  For the more dramatic personalities, there may be loud gasps of surprise or even some screaming involved! Often times when a word hits the bull’s eye or means a lot to the person receiving it, tears come gushing forth like a geyser. Whilst it is an incredibly beautiful if emotional moment for the person receiving the word, for the prophet it is a touching confirmation that they have indeed delivered the message with precision.

Now, not everyone reacts in a similar way. As a prophet, one must come to terms with the fact that human beings are all created different. This means not everyone’s reaction will be assuring enough to give you the confidence to continue releasing the word. I find that the longer one has been immersed in the prophetic, particularly where they are used to receiving words regularly, the less intense their reactions tend to be. This doesn’t in any way mean they are not grateful to receive the prophecy, or that it does not resonate. Such people have more likely come to a place of learning to weigh and process the word as they are receiving it. A gentle word of caution for prophetic people: we must resist the urge to measure the accuracy of the word using the recipient’s face as a barometer.

So how do prophets counter this? How do they avoid relying on facial expressions to measure the word as they receive it? They do so in different ways. Some close their eyes when prophesying. As they speak, they release what the Lord is telling them by faith and avoid looking at the recipient until they have fully delivered the message. Others choose to focus on “something” in the distance. Though the prophet’s eyes are wide open, and they are “here”, in reality they are in another realm. They are seeing, but not seeing in the natural sense. To avoid being thrown off by the poker face, other prophets (particularly those who receive downloads by writing out the word) will read out the word, looking up every now and again as they build it out. Most prophets though will look directly at the person as they prophesy, adopting the stance of “by faith we prophesy, if I miss it – I miss it!”

I must re-iterate that it does help immensely to see a positive facial reaction. However, this is not in any way the S.I. unit of accuracy. I recall once giving a lady – whom I shall refer to as Martha - a prophetic word. As I closed my eyes to pray, the Holy Spirit showed me a woman in transition. She was getting ready to pack up her bags and go back somewhere. As I began to release the word, I looked at her. “Martha, I’m seeing you getting ready to pack up and go back somewhere” I said. She looked at me in what I interpreted as a puzzled look. The other prophetess I was ministering with looked at me, a bit concerned. As I took a short pause, I realised the Holy Spirit wasn’t changing the image in my mind, so I pressed on cautiously. “This may not necessarily be in the physical sense of relocation, but I’m seeing you getting ready to pack up and go back somewhere. The Lord is showing me that where you are currently, things may not necessarily be working out like you hoped. And you are wondering, Lord is this you? Shall I go? The Lord says “I will go before you. Like Zerubbabel, you will accomplish that which you have started.”

All of a sudden, her face seemed to clear, and she began to shake her head in amazement. She looked at me and asked, “Please could I just confirm that word? I have been a commercial pilot for many years. I began a business a few years ago but things don’t seem to be working out like I hoped. Recently, I was contacted by the first airline company I ever worked with and they offered me a role. To me, it felt like a step back and I was wondering, do I put my business on hold and go back to this role for the short term, is God really in this thing? The look you saw on my face was not that the word wasn’t resonating, I was just extremely shocked that God was speaking about this!”

I learned the importance of obedience that day, blind obedience to the Holy Spirit. Had I chosen to focus on Martha’s face as I delivered the word, I would have been thrown off completely as she looked like she was wondering what I was on about! However, I trusted God and in the end the message rang true.

I have found that as far as poker faces go, the chief culprits are the prophets themselves! Honestly, they are the toughest crowd to deliver a word to. I suppose that’s because as prophets, we are mentally, albeit subconsciously, “grading” each other, which makes for very interesting prophetic sessions. When I know someone is a prophet, I automatically shift gears in my brain so as not to expect any sort of overwhelming reaction. I am confident they will receive the word if it resonates and if not, take it to God for confirmation - or pray for me as the case may be!

The key takeaway from all this is that ultimately, we are in God’s presence and under the power of the Holy Spirit when we prophesy. By detaching ourselves from the natural and choosing to focus on what God is saying rather than judging facial expressions, we give the Holy spirit the ability to minister to His children as He wishes to. We give God room to convey His heart and His love for His sons and daughters, which ultimately is why we are standing here as His chosen vessels.

Stay blessed, my people!