Mama's Surprise!--Part 2 Maria #393 DO/TS 3134 4/97
Dearest Family,
1. As I explained in Part 1 of this series, the Lord has recently given me a wonderful gift, His precious voice of personal prophecy! In this GN I'd like to give you more details of how it came about and share with you some of the messages of instruction and encouragement that the Lord gave me as I began to exercise this new gift. I believe they'll be a help and encouragement to you like they were to me.
2. I asked the Lord if I should wait to tell you until I have used this gift more and exercised it, and it is more practiced, complete and mature. But He said, "The little baby steps which you are taking, My queen, will be such an encouragement to the Family. The little steps of the little obediences will encourage their faith to do the same. Those who have not stepped out by faith to hear My voice in prophecy will be inspired to follow your sample, because they know that you have not had the gift of prophecy. So the message going out to the worldwide Family will be of great importance to their spiritual growth and will encourage them to exercise their gift of prophecy--not only for those who have not yet received My gift, or who are perhaps in the baby-step stages, like you are, but also for those who have been exercising their gift and have been receiving messages on a more regular basis." He also gave the following message, the first part of which is a very vivid analogy or word picture:
The Secret Weapon!
3. {\b \i (Jesus speaking:) }The time has come to arm everyone with the secret weapon of prophecy, not just the soldiers who have already been outfitted for some time with [EDITED: "spiritual"] weaponry. But the time has come to supply every man, woman and child with their own weapon, their own handheld firearm.
4. There is no discharge in this war. All are soldiers, and the time has come that all need to be equipped! In every army there are not only front-line soldiers, but there are many others that help to make up an army so it can function--from the commander in chief, the generals, and the complete chain of command, down to those who work as clerks, typists, cooks, dishwashers, maintenance men, mechanics, technicians and support crew. All must know how to use their weapon and be able to shoot, no matter what role they play, and the same is true in My army.
5. I am now passing out to each and every one, from the commander in chief down to every able-bodied person, your secret weapon, your personal firearm that each one may be equipped to fight the Enemy and be prepared for whenever you may happen to engage in warfare, either as a group or individually. For you never know when you will be called upon to charge, or lead an attack, or be ambushed or taken by surprise even when you are alone, either on patrol, maneuvers, or even relaxing.
6. I will teach you how to use your weapons. I will give you your instructions and help you in your firing practice to learn to be a sharpshooter and use your weapon effectively and with skill, to be able to hit your target in the bull's-eye time after time, becoming expert marksmen and sharpshooters!
7. So learn about your weapon, study it, read the manual about it, practice using it. Keep it clean, keep it handy, keep it by your side at all times. Sleep with it, eat with it, never be found without it day or night. For the time is approaching when all will be drafted for the warfare that is coming. Your Enemy is no respecter of persons and cares not if you are man or woman, child or old person; all are targets. He is pulling out his guns and preparing for battle, but I have promised that he will not be able to do anything except I reveal his plans to My servants. So prepare today for the battles tomorrow and learn to shoot! (End of message from Jesus.)
8. {\b \i (Mama:) }Well, that one should certainly give you extra motivation--if you need any--to read my story! Not only to see what happened to me, but to see how the experiences I have and am going through can help you also. I'm just now learning to handle and shoot my new "weapon" of the gift of prophecy, and if you aren't a "sharpshooter" yet, a practiced channel, you can learn right along with me. Okay, here we go!
A Conversation with the Lord!
9. Let me start at the beginning so I can tell you the whole story: It's never been a problem for me not to have a gift of prophecy; in fact, in some ways it's almost been a relief. For one thing, I didn't have to take my time and strength to receive so many messages from the Lord. Also, I could then delay in taking on the great responsibility of not only receiving directional prophecies for the Family but also that of receiving the messages for the world that He has promised I would eventually get.
10. After all, I had so many reliable channels with so many jewels constantly pouring forth through them that I didn't consider I was missing anything. For every question, big or little--from the secrets of the universe to Family policy, and right down to the most personal questions--the answers were all readily available in such abundance out of the Lord's great love for me and for you.
11. About seven months ago I had a little experience where I heard the Lord's voice very clearly, and it was as if I were having a conversation with Him. I'd had this same experience several months before, just as a sweet, intimate chat between the Lord and myself about some little personal thing He was showing me. I didn't remember having had these kinds of experiences before where I heard an entire conversation so clearly in my mind, and I wondered if this was actual prophecy. I would hear the Lord saying something in my mind, and then I would respond, and then He would speak again.
12. I was so happy that the Lord had given me these experiences and that He had actually spoken to me this way, in what I believed to be prophecy! But to be sure, I decided to ask one of my precious co-workers to ask the Lord about this experience. The Lord confirmed that He had indeed been speaking to me in prophecy.
13. You might not have experienced this type of "conversation" with the Lord in which you can clearly remember what He said afterwards. In fact, you might find that you have to start speaking the few words He gives you in prophecy before you hear any more. Of course, people have different experiences when it comes to hearing from the Lord, and it doesn't always happen the same way, as is explained further in this GN. But the Lord's counsel to me regarding this specific situation was so fascinating, I thought you'd enjoy reading it, too{\b \i . }He said:
14. {\b \i (Jesus speaking:) }I am always here for you. I am your loving Husband and I am happy to help you and to care for you as My wife. So just as I said, you don't have to beg Me and persuade Me to help you. Even so am I fulfilling My Word to you and My promise to you that I will speak to you at some time with My voice of prophecy.
15. Yes, you have heard the loving voice of your Husband speaking to you in prophecy. For when you hear My voice clearly and audibly and are able to remember what I have spoken to you, either by dictating it or writing it down, or by remembering it in your mind, it is because I have anointed you to hear My voice and receive My Words clearly. It is because I have spoken to you supernaturally and I have given your ears and your mind and your heart the anointing to receive.
16. It is more than an impression or a thought; it is real. You feel and know that it is I. Thus am I giving you, My love, the faith and the desire to listen and receive and hear My voice. I give it to you now so that I may speak to you personally as My lover, as My wife, so that I may give you the encouragement and the comfort of a husband, heart to heart and one on one. It is to be our special link of love one with another, that I may encourage you personally.
17. I will be there whispering words of encouragement and love in your ear that are meant for your heart and your ears. And when your loved one is away, I will speak to you personally at night, in the morning, any time. I will be there for you. I will whisper in your ear. And the things that you write down or dictate, you can listen to again and again, to be reminded of My constant care.
18. Worry not about tomorrow and what will happen and if you will need to take on the responsibility of opening your ears to My voice in prophecy for the Family. I say, My love, it is a personal link between you and Me at this time, and it is My voice in prophecy for you personally. So don't worry about tomorrow, for I have many mouths that I give My seeds through, that it may lighten your load. I will continue to use your king and faucet to be a yielded and open channel that I may flood My Words through. I will continue to give you the anointing to be the winetaster and the discerner of that which the Family needs.
19. For you, My love and My wife, I will whisper in your ears the things that I know you need personally from your Husband and Lord and King. (End of message from Jesus.)
20. {\b \i (Mama:) }I treasured these words, and I thought it was so sweet of the Lord to love me so much that He would promise to speak to me like this. I didn't really know when this was going to happen, so I just decided to trust the Lord.
The Lord's Desire to Speak Directly to Mama!
21. About two weeks later I asked the Lord to speak through one of the channels in my Home, as I needed help in reassessing my work and my time with Him. Peter had just embarked on another lengthy trip, and when he travels, needless to say, my life is quite different. I don't have someone whom I'm interacting with, working with, sleeping with, praying and praising with, and discussing with 24 hours a day. So at the beginning of his trips I usually ask the Lord to show me what He wants to teach me and if there are any changes He wants me to make in my work habits, my relationship with the folks here, my time with Him, etc. The Lord gave me very specific counsel about everything I was needing to know, and then, in addition, He said:
22. {\b \i (Jesus speaking:) }It is your hunger for Me that causes you to wait upon My voice through your faucet and through others, asking to receive My Word and My golden seeds. It is this very hunger that drives you to ask and to be sure that your relationship with Me is right, or if there is any more that you can do.
23. There is more. And as I would wish to spend more time with you so you may receive Words directly from Me, as our relationship grows and becomes deeper, so you will also hunger more greatly for My voice. You will not be satisfied to have it come through others alone, but will want to receive it directly from My lips. But even though you receive directly from My lips, you will still need these others to help receive the multitude of answers I have for My children.
24. But My darling, My love, I do not want to go only through others. For I speak to your heart and I put thoughts and burdens in your mind, and I wish to have full intercourse, to give you My seeds directly when we make love. I long to give them to you Myself, just you and Me, the gift of hearing My voice clearly, My seeds to you, My love, that My passion may be fulfilled, that I may give My very best, My intimate seeds, to the one I desire so much, to bring Me happiness and fulfillment and satisfaction. I desire you to desire My intimate seeds. I want you to be ready and to want them, My darling! (End of message from Jesus.)
25. {\b \i (Mama:) }It sounded wonderful that the Lord would want to speak to me in this way, but sad to say, I didn't take His offer, because at that time I didn't personally have what it took to put forth the effort required to receive and practice the gift of prophecy. I sensed that it would take time and effort, and I already had channels who were gifted and dependable, and I guess I just wasn't desperate enough. Besides, I think I was just waiting for it to happen, like it had happened previously. I didn't even think much about it, and was content just to wait until it "hit me" again.
26. Then a couple of months later I was asking the Lord about something on a completely different topic, about why our plans for a trip we had to make soon had been delayed. The Lord started out the answer with a very surprising message. He said:
27. {\b \i (Jesus speaking:) }Come and be filled, Maria! Come and hear My voice! Come and open up to the oracles. Come and learn to speak them. Come and give. Come and be anointed. Come and listen to the ancients. Come and speak what I give. Come and have faith. You, who have faith for others, come and have faith that I can fill you, precious earthen vessel. I will open your mouth and cause the dumb to speak. Come where you will be filled with My love. (End of message from Jesus.)
28. {\b \i (Mama:) }Well, I understood that the Lord was asking me to receive His gift of prophecy, but I didn't understand why I needed to get it while on a trip with Peter. However, I was very open to the idea and I figured if the Lord gave it to me, I would receive it; and if He didn't, I wouldn't be disappointed nor feel condemned about it. As it turned out, even though I thought about this message from the Lord several times while on our trip, I didn't see any signs of fulfillment, so I just decided to let the matter rest. I have to admit, however, that I also didn't go out of my way to take the initiative or to take any steps by faith to receive the gift at that time.
29. Even after those first three attempts by the Lord to offer me this wonderful gift, I still didn't get the point that He really wanted me to have it. I figured that since it hadn't happened on its own, it must not be time. But what I should've concluded was that He was waiting there, ready to give it to me if I had just taken a step or two in the direction of reaching out to receive it, instead of thinking He was just going to plop it down on me to where I would suddenly find myself with my mouth wide open pouring forth streams of beautiful, eloquent prophecy, instantaneously, involuntarily! Ha!
30. So I went merrily on my way, figuring that the Lord would touch me with it when it was His time. Besides, I didn't really need it now anyway, so if there was any work involved in receiving it, I didn't figure I had the time, nor did I feel the desire! Ha!
An Offer I Couldn't Refuse!
31. Almost three months later I was going through a period of some personal battles. The Lord was speaking to me about the need to be more loving, giving, yielded, and unselfish. One day I was particularly discouraged and I asked one of our precious folks here if she would ask the Lord for some encouragement in fighting this battle. In this message He gave me many sweet assurances and encouragement about not fearing, and continuing to look to Him and seeing His hand in it and not worrying if the battles seemed intense, because they would not overcome me. He said I should arm myself with the weapons of the Spirit; to put on the armor of faith and hold high the sword of the Word. He also said:
32. {\b \i (Jesus speaking:)} It will be My voice of prophecy, it will be the waters of My Words that will strengthen and give you the fight that you need for the battle. My voice in prophecy will be your shield of faith. The water of My Words will clothe you with the spirit for battle. The wine of My tongue and the kisses on your lips will be what you need to cut the Devil to the heart and to resist his lies and thoughts and fears. The way that you can fight this battle and defeat the lies and fears and overwhelming attacks of the Enemy is through My voice of prophecy--My precious gift of the Spirit. For I will open unto you the waters of Heaven that will put out all the fiery darts of the Evil One!
33. {\b \i (Mama:)} Although this was very beautiful counsel, and as I read it, I was very encouraged by it, it was what the Lord said next that made me realize that He was serious about wanting to give me a personal gift of prophecy--that it wasn't just a "take it or leave it" situation, but that now was the time! The Lord continued:
34. {\b \i (Jesus continues speaking:) }I will open unto you a channel, a special link to Me that you may personally hear My voice in prophecy, and through which you will gain the personal encouragement, faith and conviction to resist the attacks of the Enemy.
35. You will have need of My voice of prophecy whispered in your ears for yourself personally. That will be your weapon, your sword of the Spirit which none can stand against. That will be your conviction to fight the battle. And, My darling queen, that is the "kick in the pants" that you need to give you the conviction to open your channel up to Me and suck the seeds from Heaven. Turn your face unto Me, open your channel and your ears and your heart and your mind and let Me whisper unto you those things that you will need to give you the fight, the courage and the strength to resist the Enemy's whispers and the Enemy's voice.
36. You need not feel that you have to share these Words or seeds or prophecies with anyone else if you don't want to, but I want to share them with you so that our link may be stronger and tighter than it has ever been before. No matter what may come or what the tests or the battles may be, you will never have to fight them alone. You can turn to Me and get a direct answer for every attack. You can have the ammunition and the spirit and the courage and the guts and the strength to destroy the powers of evil.
37. So worry not, My dear one, for I will help you, and I will give unto you the gift of prophecy that you may hear My voice for yourself personally that it may speak to you continually in the night. Any time that you need it, you may surround yourself with My voice and suck of My seeds personally. (End of message from Jesus.)
38. {\b \i (Mama:) }The Lord had finally gotten through to me that He really wanted me to have this gift. He'd given me an offer I couldn't refuse! It was the gift of a powerful weapon to help me fight the battles more effectively. Even though I still didn't feel real desperate for it, because I was daily receiving beautiful words from Him through my other channels, I knew that now was the time to accept this offer wholeheartedly with much gratitude and begin my use of it. I knew that if I didn't feel a great need for it now, I would very possibly feel it in the future, and if I didn't start practicing now, I wouldn't be ready in the time to come. I still didn't understand when I would really need it that desperately, but I knew that if the Lord said that I needed it as a "weapon," I'd better accept it!
39. As I looked back, I felt a little bad that I had just brushed aside the first three offers; it seemed such an ungrateful thing to do. Here I was always promoting the use of prophecy and highly touting its benefits, yet I didn't want the gift myself. I wasn't quite sure why, so I decided to ask the Lord. After He told me, I wanted to keep the answer to myself, but He told me to tell you, so that further down the line, when you see it come to pass, you will know that the Lord has performed what He has promised.
40. So, when I asked the Lord, through one of our dear ones here, why I hadn't taken His loving offer of this priceless treasure more seriously before, He gave such a sweet understanding answer. He also made clear one of the major reasons why I needed to accept and exercise this gift. Here's what He said:
My Endtime Prophetess!
41. {\b \i (Jesus speaking:) }I told you long ago, My dear Maria, that I would use you as My mouthpiece to a dying world in the Last Days, that I would use you as My Endtime prophetess, and that you would shine before the people and deliver My message to the nations! I told you that long ago, and at the time that reality seemed far away. It seemed so far off in the distant future, and you didn't realize or grasp how fast time would pass. Now this reality is drawing closer and closer, and now I am working toward fulfilling My promise in your life.
42. I spoke to you in those three previous messages that I wanted to whisper to your heart and give you the gift of prophecy. First, I told you that it would be for your personal encouragement, for I wanted you to start off slowly and grow into your anointing and grow in faith. So I encouraged you that these messages were not necessarily to share with the worldwide Family; they were not yet messages for their feeding and instruction and guidance. Since then you have been growing in faith and you have also seen the need to practice hearing My voice in prophecy directly so your gift will be well exercised in the days to come.
43. Before this time you knew that it wasn't yet necessary for you to have the gift of prophecy, but you knew that I would give it to you one day. I did not feel that you were not yielding, My love, or that you were rejecting Me or ignoring Me or turning your back on the gift that I was offering you. But instead you were busy conducting the affairs of My Kingdom and helping thousands of My children around the world. I love to work patiently and gently with all of My children. I love to coax them and woo them until they are willing to cooperate wholeheartedly. I understand, My love, that your future ministry in leading My Endtime children feels like a huge responsibility to you, and that you were not too eager to jump into it before I made it absolutely clear to you when the time was right.
44. I have chosen to slowly guide you along the path, to slowly unveil the future before you, and to gently lead you along into accepting My gift of prophecy which you will one day speak before the world. So do not feel that you have been unwilling or unyielded in accepting this ministry, for it has not been unyieldedness or a lack of willingness, but it has been more of a reverence and fear and respect of the gift of My Spirit which carries a great responsibility with it. I understand that, My love, and I am patient.
45. Now that you have taken those first small steps, your stride will grow greater. And now that I have allowed you to peek into the future and hear My whispers of the Spirit, your hunger and thirst will be for more and more. The way ahead will become easier and clearer as we walk the path together. (End of message from Jesus.)
46. {\b \i (Mama:)} I must admit that what the Lord said about my delivering the message in prophecy to the nations was rather jolting! Of course, I've heard it before from Dad, but it had never really dawned on me, I guess, what it actually meant. I think it was too scary to really think about, so I just tried to put it out of my mind. (See ML #706:40-46, 62; #837; #1267:127-130; #1429; #1439:19-22, etc.)
47. The Lord was really wise in how He first presented it to me as a personal need, because if He had told me I needed to start practicing it in order to speak it in public, I think it would have scared me so much I couldn't have even gotten started! But in His loving wisdom, when He told me that I didn't have to share what I got with anybody, but it could just be for my personal encouragement, it was so much easier. And after I finally got started, then He could add this other little detail! Ha! But now I'll go back to my story.
Practice Time!
48. The reason the Lord used the term "kick in the pants" earlier was because when I had been praying prior to having one of my helpers receive that message for me, I had told the Lord that I needed a kick in the pants to get me over this hump in my life, this time of trying to overcome some of my personal weaknesses that were standing in the way of my greater effectiveness for the Lord. So after the Lord gave me this "kick in the pants" and told me that He wanted me to have this gift to help me through my battles, I determined to start practicing right away.
49. Every day as I had my quiet time alone with the Lord (Peter was gone on another of his frequent trips), I would walk back and forth in a small space outside the house, with my eyes closed most of the time, just opening them enough so I wouldn't run into anything, and I would pray and praise and sing and listen to the Word and practice hearing from Jesus. Some days it came easier than others, and some days I didn't get much at all.
50. I was tempted to be discouraged, not only because of the simplicity of the messages, but because, like so many of you have said about yourselves, I wasn't sure whether what I was hearing was pure prophecy or whether it was some of the thoughts that the Lord had placed in my mind. Sometimes it sounded more like what I thought the "real thing" should sound like, and other times not. When I'd get discouraged, I'd run to one of my precious folks and have them pray for encouragement for me and to confirm that I was on the right track. Even though I was a little discouraged because I thought things were going so slowly, still I was excited and challenged to see what the Lord was going to do as things progressed.
51. At the beginning, after only three or four days of hearing little short messages of precious comfort and encouragement, I was pouring out my heart to the Lord one day for Rebecca, one of the sweet young people in our Home who was traveling with Peter and another member of our staff at the time. The joints in her neck, shoulders, back, knees and hands had become very painful, and it was only with great difficulty that she was able to get around at all. Understandably, she was very discouraged about this, especially as she was trying to be a blessing to Peter by helping him with his secretarial work, as well as other details of his daily care.
52. It was evening and there was no one else I could get right then to pray for her, and I wanted to send her some encouragement right away, so I told the Lord that He would have to give it to me. I was so thankful that He spoke such sweet, encouraging things to her, encouraging her that it wasn't because she had done anything wrong, but that it was just a test and it wouldn't be more than she could bear, and it wouldn't last for long. It was my first prophecy that I had let anyone see, much less given to someone. And even my secretary who typed the prophecy was practically speechless when she realized that I had actually gotten something in prophecy!
53. The Lord gave me faith to believe that it was completely accurate and pure, and I went ahead and sent it. The next day I asked for someone else to also pray for her, and I was so happy when this second prophecy sounded much like the one that I had gotten! It was an encouragement to see that what I had gotten was the right thing. You didn't know that I could have the same trials about prophecy as a lot of the rest of you, did you? Well, I did, and I had to have a lot of encouragement from the Lord about my prophecies, and I'll be sharing much of that encouragement with you in this Letter.
54. Only a couple of the folks in our Home knew that I was hearing from the Lord in this way, and I hadn't told our team who was away. (I had only told Rebecca that "somebody" had gotten a prophecy for her.) I felt so shaky and unsure of myself that I didn't want to boast as putting my armor off, when I felt that I had hardly put it on! If Peter had been here, of course I would've shared it with him, but because he was ministering day and night on the field and involved in all the affairs of the Kingdom where he was, I didn't want to distract him. I did mention something general and low-key to him in our communications while he was away, but wanted to wait to share it with him in detail when he returned. Also, because it was something so precious that the Lord had done for me, I wanted to be able to share the full story with him in person, if possible. It was hard to keep from writing him all about it, though, because I always share everything with him.
55. Every couple of days I started feeling discouraged when it was going so slow and my prophecies really weren't saying anything any different than what I already knew, or what the Lord could have told me through putting His thoughts in my mind as He has always spoken to me in the past. Even though I knew the Lord was speaking to me, after each prophecy I would wonder if I had gotten it completely right. I would wonder if it was pure prophecy, without the thoughts that the Lord was giving me through my mind being mixed in. So, as with everything else, I would run to my wonderful Lord and Husband and ask Him to answer my questions, and time after time He would patiently explain--through one of my seasoned channels. The Lord said:
Encouragement from the Lord!
56. {\b \i (Jesus speaking:) }Oh, the wonders, the mysteries, and the excitement of the Spirit! You are experiencing a taste of the thrills of the spirit world. You are experiencing the wonderful, electrifying, spiritual vision--such marvels and wisdom that are so far beyond human understanding and the carnal mind! The carnal mind cannot completely understand the ways of the Spirit. You must just open up and receive and accept by faith the wonderful Words and thrilling visions and Heavenly whispers, for those are My whispers.
57. If you stop and you ask Me specifically to speak on any subject, and you specifically ask to hear My voice in prophecy, then it is prophecy that you are receiving, because that is what you are asking for. I have promised to speak to you in prophecy. I have promised that My children would hear My voice in prophecy. So when you get quiet and you raise up your spiritual antennas, when you sit still and you thirst and you hunger and you're sucking for My Heavenly seeds and listening for My Heavenly whispers, then you can be assured that those whispers are My direct, straight, pure voice in prophecy.
58. If you ask for a fish, you will not receive a stone, but you will receive My Words and My whispers. You have been hearing My voice in prophecy, My queen. I have been speaking to you, even if in short phrases or little thoughts or sentences or short lines. That is the wonder of it all, that My children can tap into the Spirit and raise up their spiritual antennas and look up with their spiritual eyes and block out the world around them and hear My whispers and My Words.
59. It is true that I also speak to your thoughts, and I lead and guide your thoughts with My Godly counsel and My Godly wisdom and discernment, and that I direct the path of My children through their thoughts. I direct your path, My queen, and I speak to your thoughts, your mind or your heart. I give you checks in the Spirit. I give you a witness in the Spirit. I give you My wisdom and My discernment and understanding by speaking to your mind and thoughts. I do that all the time for you. I have led and guided you for many years by whispering to your mind, by leading and nudging you in the Spirit, by nudging you through your feelings, through your ideas. In this way I have been giving you My guidance and counsel and direction, so that you will know which way to go and what I want you to do, and what I don't want you to do and where not to go.
60. I have led you for years and years in this way, and you have known that it was My voice, My leading, My guidance, and My direction. You have rested assured through the counsel and wisdom and understanding which you've received from My Spirit. I will continue to do that. I will continue to whisper to your mind and speak to your mind. But when you come before Me in order to hear My living voice in prophecy, when you sit quietly and you ask Me to speak to you through prophecy, and you suck for My seeds and My answers--whether it be for encouragement, for direction, for a direct answer to a question, or whatever you need--then those phrases that you hear and see with your mind in the spirit are prophecy.
61. Although you are used to hearing Me give you My thoughts in the spirit and speak to your mind, you need not worry that when you hear My voice in prophecy it is your carnal mind thinking those thoughts, or even that it is just My Godly counsel and My Godly thought-power being conveyed to you; or that it is a result of your years and years of experience of hearing Me speak to your mind, and that all this training and counsel which I have given you through the years in the spirit are coming to the fore as a result of all the spiritual experiences which you've had with Me. You can rest assured that when you ask Me to speak in prophecy, the answer and the thoughts that you receive are My voice in prophecy.
62. Even though it may be thoughts or answers or direction which you feel you already know, the answer and direction which I give you in prophecy may be for the purpose of confirming it, and it will be a great comfort and encouragement to you. Many times what you may feel you already know, or have already experienced in the past, or things which I have led you to do or think in the past, may not be the way that I lead or direct or guide in prophecy. Sometimes I may confirm things which you were already thinking about before you sat down to pray, and other times I may lead you in a totally unexpected direction, something which you didn't expect or didn't think about or didn't think I would say.
63. The thoughts that you may have or the counsel that you may already be aware of, or even if you know what you should do or think, or the direction or actions that you should take, through all your previous experience and through the teaching and training of your Father David and through the teaching and training of My written Word--even if those same thoughts or counsel are given to you in prophecy, you can stand on it and believe completely that it is prophecy directing you. It is being given as a confirmation or as a comfort or as encouragement, as inspiration and as My pure voice. It is there for you.
64. It is meant to give you encouragement and comfort, to lead and guide you in a fresh, new way, in a divine, supernatural, spiritual way through prophecy, so that you need not wonder or question whether it is just your own thoughts, or Me leading you through your thoughts. But you can bring those thoughts to Me, those questions, ideas, the whole thing, and you can ask Me to confirm it or to change it, to direct you and to lead you and to speak to you. And I will, for I will use those phrases and words, or pictures and ideas.
65. I have different reasons for delivering My messages to My channels in the way that I do. Sometimes it depends on the channels. Other times I will deliver a message which may seem to My channels to be more of a fight and a struggle and require desperation in the spirit. But even that is good for them, because if it were always very easy and effortless and the message poured through with real clarity and force, My channels might get too relaxed and not continue to be as desperate in the spirit. It is that desperation which creates a big vacuum and which sucks and pulls down My Spirit.
66. Those words or phrases that you have been hearing or seeing with your spiritual eyes and ears and mind, My dear Queen Maria, are My precious voice of prophecy being whispered in your ear. Because you are reaching out by faith and obeying and calling out to Me for My voice in prophecy, I am answering. I am speaking to you with My voice of prophecy. It may not seem like what you would expect to be prophetic form. It may not seem very different from the way that you hear Me speak to you in your mind, but the difference is that you're asking for My voice in prophecy, so you can trust completely that that is what you are hearing. Whether it is similar to the thoughts that I give you in your mind or not, it is My Spirit and My voice in prophecy. As you turn on your dictaphone and you repeat those words that I whisper to you, it will be such a comfort to you, such an encouragement, such a strength, and such a thrill!
67. It is completely different from reading My written Word or from even meditating or thinking or asking Me to lead your thoughts, because it is My living voice, and it is nothing that you do. You just open up and yield and let My voice flow through. So continue to step out by faith and repeat those words or phrases or sentences. Listen to Me, and it will be such a thrill and such a strength to your spirit! It's wonderful! It's beautiful! It's thrilling that I am able to speak to you directly! It's marvelous! It's such a wonderful, supernatural connection which I can have with you personally, and you will grow to love it more and more, and to depend upon it more and more for your personal encouragement and strength.
68. Any time you want, you can turn on your dictaphone and listen to My whispers again and again, and I will use them to comfort and encourage your heart and your spirit. Oh, what a wonder it will be, such a thrill, such ecstasies of lovemaking that we can have! And not only lovemaking, but whatever you want! For I can give you answers to your questions, or direction in your work, or whatever you want, My dear queen. It will be an encouragement to you personally and you will love it! You will love our secret times together, even if no one else knows about it. You will love to come to Me with whatever is on your mind and take your dictaphone and just turn it on by faith and ask Me to speak, and I will. I will not fail you.
69. Just trust that what you're hearing is what you're supposed to be hearing, because it is I Who will always be speaking. All you have to do is open your heart and mind and I will speak and I will fill it. I will fill your mouth and I will give you the words to say. You will be so happy, because I will make you happy. I want to be able to speak to you in this way, My darling, so I will make it easier for you and I will reward you quickly and I will make you happy so that you will keep coming back to Me. (End of message from Jesus.)
The Midnight Hour!
70. {\b \i (Mama:) }You can imagine how encouraged I was upon hearing these wonderful words from my dearest Friend and most wonderful Husband. It was the motivation that I needed to keep going. But the Lord had even more encouragement for me--a very precious message that my secretary received after I had mentioned to her that I was pretty shaky about this whole thing. The Lord gave this one at about the same time that He gave the one that you just read above, but I didn't get it until shortly afterwards. It was all beautiful, but some of it is quite mysterious and I don't understand its complete meaning. However, the specific simple encouragement at the end was a tremendous help to me.
71. {\b \i (Jesus speaking:)} The clock strikes 12! It's the midnight hour--the hour for you to arise. It's the bewitching hour when the whispers come out, when you awake from your sleep and come alive. It's the midnight hour, when your hour has come, when I strike the chords of your heart. I have wound you up, and you've sat quietly making hardly a sound, except for your quiet and rhythmic ticking. But inside are the unseen mechanics, the intricate pieces, always busy, never ceasing, gears and springs, continually operating, gearing up for the midnight hour. Your internal clock always ticking, always keeping time, always marching forward to the midnight hour.
72. And at the sound of the midnight hour, when the clock strikes 12, the gong rings out as a voice in the night, and that which was silent speaks! It lifts up its voice and gives the time, telling that the midnight hour is here, and you arise. You arise when the world is dark, and you awake when others sleep. In the night you arise and begin your work, when the whispers come out to play. It is a sign of the end when the clock strikes 12, when it lifts its voice in the night. When all is dark you can hear the sound when the clock strikes 12 midnight.
73. When the clock strikes 12 she will open her mouth. She will rise like the moon in the sky. She shall shine, she shall shine, she shall shine in the night! When the whispers come out she shall arise. With a silvery halo about her on the blackest night, she will give light to those below. They will follow the moon when the clock strikes 12 and the whispers come out to guide her. She'll lead by her light those who work by night to find their way in the dark. When the clock strikes 12, arise, My children, come hear the moon in the sky.
74. When she was moved for others, when she sought Me for this little one [EDITED: "Rebecca"], I poured forth My seeds from her mouth. In her giving, I have given unto her, as her reward, and the more she gives, the greater the treasures I will give unto her. I will give her the gift of My Words to give to others. (End of message from Jesus.)
More Encouragement!
75. {\b \i (Mama:) }Five days later, the Lord gave me some further encouragement. He was caring for me just like we do our babies when they're first learning to walk. We encourage their every step, and when they fall down and cry for help, we make such a big deal of their accomplishments, and not their mistakes, that their only thought is to just get up and keep trying. We show them just how proud we are of them for every little attempt they make, for every step they take, so they keep wanting to take another. Well, I was certainly a baby at this, and the Lord understood. Instead of getting impatient with me and figuring that He had already given me so much encouragement that I couldn't need any more, He just kept pouring it on. He said,
76. {\b \i (Jesus speaking:) }Great gifts start out as small ones. Long journeys start off with two steps. A book is written by typing the first words. A baby learns to speak word by word. So will you learn and grow spoonful by spoonful as is needed. The small amounts are to encourage you, not discourage you. It shows that I am in control, I am working, I am doing new things in your life.
77. My hand is on the spigot, turning it slowly. Sometimes I may turn it on and then turn it off, or I may just let it dribble. But know in this case that I am in control of your spigot, and "if it come, it come; and if it don't come, it don't come." Just relax and don't worry about how much comes forth and when, for this is My spigot. You will feel it coming when it comes, and it will come naturally. You will feel the urge, the inclination, the desire. You must just be faithful when you feel the desire to do it. When you feel Me leading in that direction, then follow and give, like you have, and it will be beautiful.
78. {\b \i (Mama:)} I had wanted to know if there was something that I could do better or differently, or if there was something that I was doing that I shouldn't be doing. I didn't even know, in my practicing, whether I should be asking the Lord for something specific, or just asking for anything He wanted to give me. But I had figured that the easiest thing to start with would be to get my praises to Him in prophecy. This He confirmed, saying:
79. {\b \i (Message from Jesus continued:) }Spend time with Me, loving and praising Me, loving Me in tongues and praises, and I will give you sweet praises to say to Me--praises of love, kisses of your love, expressions of your heart to Mine from your beautiful spigot, words from My Spirit, seeds from My lovemaking, precious seeds that you can keep to remember our lovemaking by, seeds that can love you over and over and over again as you read them and review them, so that I can love you and strengthen you not just once, but over and over again!
80. Go slow and let Me do the work. Just relax and enjoy My lovemaking with you, and I will begin to put so many seeds within your heart that when it is time, they will overflow on their own. You will not have to push them out or squeeze them out or wring them out. Just let Me fill you as you spend time with Me, loving Me and expressing your love and desire for Me. (End of message from Jesus.)
81. {\b \i (Mama:) }Wasn't the Lord so sweet to give me so much encouragement? Every time He did, my first thought was to praise and thank Him for answering my questions and making it easier for me to go on, and my second immediate thought was how much this would encourage each of you who have been facing similar battles and hesitations about exercising your own gift of prophecy. I was so thrilled that the Lord was giving answers that I knew would be helpful to all of us.
82. Daily I would record on my dictaphone the little messages the Lord would give me as I walked and took my special time with Him--words of praise to Him, or love words from Him to me, as well as encouragement to keep going with this gift He'd given me. As He had said, He also wanted to use this gift to help me through my personal trials, and when I would pray desperate prayers of yieldedness, the Lord would give me some beautiful words of comfort and instruction. I also stepped out by faith and asked the Lord to give me something for someone else in our Home who was going through some times of severe testing.
A Leap of Faith into the Pool of Prophecy!
83. As I continued practicing using this gift, sometimes I had "good" days and other times "bad" ones. Sometimes I felt I was really connecting with the Lord and He was really speaking to me, and other days I was very discouraged because it just didn't seem to come easily or clearly. Different questions would come to my mind which the Enemy would use to discourage me, but I would go on the attack and ask the Lord about each one--which He always answered wonderfully, clearing up my confusion. I had questions about the length of the prophecies, simple "baby" prophecies--which definitely describe mine--versus the more "complete" ones, as well as other questions. Here is some more of what He said--through one of my co-workers--on these and other aspects of this wonderful blessing.
84. {\b \i (Jesus speaking:) }If the message accomplishes its purpose and its end, that is what counts, and not how long it is or what form it takes, whether it is simple and childlike or whether it is more eloquent and adultlike. Just as your Father David always taught you, often the best thing to aim for when you are speaking to people and you want to be sure that everyone understands, is to speak to the youngest one in the group. Speak to the child, and that way you will be sure that everyone understands. Often My messages are given to the group, but I aim to speak to the youngest members so that everyone will understand clearly, right down to the youngest member.
85. So if the messages come forth in real simplicity and a childlike form, there is wisdom in sending it this way, because I want everyone to be able to understand it fully. There are many different reasons for sending messages in the way that they are sent, different reasons for different situations and circumstances and for meeting different needs.
86. You are doing wonderfully, My queen! You are doing even more than I would ask or expect of you. You have launched out by faith and jumped in completely. You have jumped into the deep end and are swimming around in the beautiful waters of My Spirit. You feel you're taking baby steps, but you have really taken a giant step and a real leap of faith right off the high dive into the pool of prophecy! And although you may feel that you're not a full-fledged swimmer yet, and that you cannot swim many laps one after the other, and that you're still learning how to master your strokes and how to move your body through the water for best results, to get where you're going, I am thrilled with your faith to have jumped in and that you are trusting Me completely to help you stay afloat. I will help you with each stroke. With each movement you will continue to make more and more and more progress.
87. You sometimes wonder whether it's worth it or not, because you have so many others around you who you can simply ask to be a channel and receive My message. You sometimes wonder if it's worth all the effort and hard work to pull down My seeds from Heaven yourself when you feel they're so small and so little and they seem so simple. You sometimes feel that the answer or message wasn't anything that you didn't already know anyway, so why go to all this trouble to pray and keep praying and hear from Me, when you could have just read it in the Word or sat and contemplated and thought about it and gotten something in the spirit that way, or you could just assign one of your channels to receive the message.
88. As I said, My queen, I have been thrilled with how you have wholeheartedly taken this step by faith and in how you are giving it your all. I'm thrilled with your importunity and how you hang on and expect and expect and expect. I will reward such faith. I do not expect you to do more than you feel you can handle. I do not wish it to be a burden or a weight or a load upon your shoulders. But your feelings are not unusual to those of My children in the Family. There are many others who have struggled in taking baby steps to hear My voice in prophecy, and they too have felt the battle in the spirit to continue walking by faith. They too have wondered if it was really worth it, because they too are not sure if it was really My direct, pure voice in prophecy, or if it was just their own thoughts and mind.
89. So don't worry, My queen. It's not all in vain, but it's all worthwhile, even these initial struggles and tests which you are enduring, wondering if it's worth it and if the effort put into it is worth the fruit borne from it. I can assure you that it's very well worth it, for through these initial lessons and learning stages and the tests which you are encountering, you are pulling down My answers from Heaven, which not only instruct you, but will be used to instruct the worldwide Family.
90. So continue by faith, My queen, and trust Me completely for how you progress, and for how fast you progress. I know just the right measure, and how much to measure out, and when to measure it out. I know when you're ready to move from the baby steps to the next step.
91. Everyone's gift is different. Some may start off with a baby gift which they will keep for a long time; others might progress more quickly. Others start off with the more adultlike gift. What kind of gift I dispense and to whom is all in My hand and under My control. If your gift is a baby gift at the moment, just enjoy it! Just revel in it and be thankful for it and enjoy the simple, sweet Words of My mouth.
92. Don't worry about how much food I give you or how many Words I speak to you, or if sometimes you hardly get any at all! Sometimes the baby will open its mouth to be fed, but the mother knows it's not time to feed the baby, that the baby doesn't need a full meal at that moment. So just trust Me completely, for I am everything to you in the spirit. I'm not only your Husband and Lover and Father and Brother, but I'm also your Mother, and I know just how much to give you of the spiritual food for your encouragement and strength. If you don't get very much, it's because you don't need very much at the time. When you do need more, I will give you more.
93. So just keep going, My dear queen, with the Words that I am giving you. If they're little, just trust Me that that's all you need. If you get messages that you feel were something that you already knew, that it was the same kind of counsel or encouragement that I speak to your thoughts or your mind, well, just trust Me that that's what you need. I never give you anything that you don't need or that's not good for you. I give you exactly what you need and what will help you to grow and to fulfill the plan that I have for you.
94. You may wonder how you are growing. You may feel that you're not growing very fast, but just trust Me for all of that. Trust Me for everything. For a lot of what I am doing through you, My queen, is for the benefit of the greater Family.
95. The Enemy will try to discourage you from the very start. He will probably try to discourage you every single day. He will probably try to minimize and belittle the steps that you are taking and discourage you from even trying further, because he doesn't want you to get any jewels, even simple, childlike jewels. He doesn't want you to have anything. He doesn't want you to have any of the Words of My Spirit. He doesn't want you to hear one of My living Words of prophecy! He wants to stop the flow and cut the connection before it can get started and grow. He wants to belittle and minimize and speak negatively about your steps of faith, to discourage you from even trying again. But every time you come back to Me and you open up your channel and receive those precious Words, no matter how many or how few, you defeat his power and you open up your channel to My power and My Spirit.
96. So continue to look to Me, and look toward the windows of Heaven, and let Me pour forth My rain which will refresh and water your soul. For My living Words of prophecy are real and they contain power and strength, just as My written Word does. They are spirit and truth, and they are quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword! Let them continue to enter your life and your spirit, for they bring with them great spiritual power and a surge of spiritual energy and input. As you receive more and more Words from My mouth, you will build up a store and a supply of spirit power and energy, and your spirit weapon will become sharper, and you will become more and more adept at wielding the weapon of prophecy.
97. You might be in the beginning stages now, learning to use your weapon. Maybe sometimes you feel you are floundering or faltering or even dropping your sword, but that's what the beginning stages are for; that's what the practice and the exercise is for. But you are progressing little by little. It might not always be very obvious to you, but as you continue to wield your weapon of the spirit, you become more and more adept at using it and you progress and get better and better at it, so that when the future battles and tests come, you will be well-practiced and well-versed in wielding your weapon of prophecy.
98. The Enemy knows this, and that is why he fights you so strongly today--and not only you, My queen, but many of My children in the Family. For he knows that with so many little Davids running around wielding the weapon of prophecy, he is at a great disadvantage and he is defeated. That is why he tries to resist and tries to attack and stop and hinder My children from even starting out by faith. So continue, My precious queen, for you are forging the path ahead for many who are following in your footsteps. (End of message from Jesus.)
99. {\b \i (Mama:) }What wonderful treasures and wisdom from the mouth of our Answer Man, the One Who not only understands our present problems so well, but Who knows all the future and what great results our present struggles will bring if we just continue to faithfully trust and obey. Beautiful, beautiful love gifts from our wonderful Lover and Husband!
A Pure, Sure Word of Prophecy!
100. A few days later, I was desperately praying for complete yieldedness to the Lord's will, and that He would give me greater love than I have had before, and not just a willingness, but a desire to give and to sacrifice for Him in anything that He required of me. He answered me in a personal prophecy, through my own mouth, with wonderful specific words of promise. It was beautiful and very encouraging, and I felt like He was really speaking clearly to me. However, I really wanted to be sure, so I could with full conviction hang on to these promises the Lord had given me.
101. I decided to ask the Lord for a confirmation through one of our faithful channels here. As you will see in the message below, He gave what I needed, and much more! How could I ever doubt again? I'm sure that you, too, will be thrilled and encouraged with this most marvelous message of His love. I love you, my precious Family, and pray that through hearing of my experiences and all that the Lord has said to me, your faith will also grow by leaps and bounds, and this priceless gift of prophecy will become a greater and greater blessing to you, as you treasure it and nurture it and use it for His glory.
102. {\b \i (Jesus speaking:)} It is a pure word of prophecy, it is a sure word of prophecy, My darling, straight from My heart to yours, from My mouth to yours. You feel that these words that you have spoken may have come from your own mind, but fear not, for many of My faithful, experienced channels also have this fear and these battles, because My whispers have echoed in their mind before they have verbalized My message.
103. Fear not, My darling, for sometimes there is a delay in the time that I speak to your heart and mind with My whispers, and the time that you put them into words, verbalizing them with your audible voice. And so you feel that these words that you speak may be your own thoughts and not truly My Words or the pure voice of prophecy. But fear not, My love, for I will not lead you astray. I will not give you colored, muddy water. I will not allow your thoughts or your emotions to taint the messages that I give you. Your desperation and yieldedness are your protection against these things happening.
104. The accuracy of a message does not depend on the amount of experience the channel has. The accuracy and purity of the message depend on the channel's yieldedness and submission to Me. As the channel has more experience, so does he grow in faith, and is thereby able to receive and give messages that are fuller and more complete. But the accuracy is not dependent upon experience. And so, My love, even though you are only now beginning to exercise this new gift, this treasure that I have placed in your hands, still the Words that I will give you to speak will be My pure Words of prophecy. They will be untainted, unhindered, crystal clear water.
105. When you ask Me to speak, when you take the step of faith to verbalize My whispers, when you have the dictaphones before your mouth and you turn them on with expectant faith, then you must know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is Me speaking. They are My Words that you are receiving--pure, clear, unadulterated.
106. For you, My precious one, are rich in the qualities that make a reliable channel! For one to be able to hear My Words clearly and purely, one must be yielded, desperate, and hungry. One must be willing to give what they receive without fear of the consequences. One must have faith to trust Me when they hear My still, small voice speaking in their heart and mind. One must be following close after Me, eagerly taking in the hot New Wine of My Spirit. One must be doing his best to leave the old behind and to become a new creature in My hand.
107. You, My darling, fulfill all these requirements, for you are My most yielded bride. There is none other like you who desires My Words and seeds above all things. So you have great capacity to receive My messages, and as you exercise this gift, so will you grow in faith. And as you grow in faith, so will you have the power to create the vacuum, to pull down the miracles, the messages, the help from Heaven, the specific instruction, the revelations, the visions of the future.
108. This is only the beginning, My precious queen! For now you receive as a trickling brook, clear, cool glacial waters. But with practice and with time, I shall pour forth unto you, My precious one, as a rushing waterfall! And the Words I give unto you shall slake the thirst of My people.
109. So continue on, My dear one, with your daily exercising, your daily practicing, and you will see your faith grow so quickly. And fear not that what I give unto you will be a mixture, part from Me and part from your own thoughts or your own reasoning. For when you put yourself in a position to receive from Me, then you become My instrument. Your tongue becomes My pen, and I bypass your mind and I speak My Words.
110. It is true that you have been speaking My Words for many, many years as you have lain upon your bed and pondered and meditated and dictated to feed the children. You have heard My voice and you have spoken My Words, but you did not realize at the time that you were speaking directly what I was giving you. You felt that you were allowing Me to establish and guide your thoughts. You thought that it was your natural reasoning and your general knowledge of Me, your years of training by the side of David and your much experience in the ways of the spirit world that allowed you to speak and feed the children. It is true that many times that was the case. But many times it was also Me speaking directly through you, using your tongue to put forth My Own Words.
111. So will it be in the days to come. There will be times when I will speak through you from your wealth of wisdom, and I will establish your thoughts and I will anoint you in your exhortation and in your counseling, in your shepherding and in your pouring out. But when you specifically ask Me to speak to you My Words, when you come before Me by faith with dictaphones in hand, when you put yourself in the position to be My channel, and you're willing to take the step of faith to label what you receive as prophecy, then I will no longer be speaking through your mind and your reasoning and your general spirituality and knowledge of Me, but I will be speaking My direct Word, pure prophecy through you.
112. And so it is, My love, with this personal message that I gave you in response to your heartcry. I spoke My Words--words of truth and promise--and you can count on them. They are My unfailing promises to you, My precious one. So fear not to shout aloud the victory that I have promised. Fear not to take it by faith, to appropriate these promises, for they are true and they will not fail you.
113. As you continue to practice and exercise this gift of prophecy, if it will bolster and strengthen your faith, you can ask for a confirmation through other channels of the messages that I give you. I will be more than willing to confirm them, if this will give you strength and confidence in Me.
114. I am very well pleased in your efforts, in your willingness to step out by faith and humble yourself. It is a great, great victory! This is a miracle of My Spirit that I have placed this gift in your hand, for it is the fulfillment of My promises, it is the fulfillment of the Words of David. So worry not, My love, but continue on in faith. And I promise you, I will never allow you to be misled or confused or in any way distracted through the Words of prophecy that you will hear and deliver. This is My promise to you, My most ardent lover, My precious channel, My wonderful bride.
115. Thank you for opening your mouth wide and letting Me fill it. Thank you for receiving My seeds so eagerly and being willing to pour them forth--not only for your own strength and edification and victory, but so the children might also be fed and strengthened and led in the paths of righteousness. (End of message from Jesus.)
116. {\b \i (Mama:)} As I was finishing up this Letter, I had a few more questions that I brought before the Lord. His answers were so interesting, helpful and encouraging that I want to share them with you here.
Multiple-Choice Beginnings!
117. Sometimes when I would start listening to the Lord, multiple phrases would come to me, and I didn't know which to choose. So of course I thought that I wasn't really hearing Him very clearly. This was making it a little difficult for me to practice my new gift of prophecy, so I asked the Lord if He could please explain why I sometimes hear more than one phrase, and how I can know which phrase is the message He wants to give me. He gave a very interesting answer. There were a few points in His answer that weren't completely clear to me, so I then asked Him for some clarifications. Following is the first message as the Lord gave it, and then my questions and His further answers, so you can see another example of how, when you don't completely understand something in a prophecy, you can just take it to the Lord again and ask Him for further information.
118. ({\b \i Jesus speaking:)} I speak to different people in different ways. Sometimes they feel My message coming through immediately. Almost before they have finished asking the question or praising Me or praying, they feel My Spirit pressing and urging them to deliver the message, for it is already coming down the pipeline. It's rushing in, and all they have to do is open their mouth and their channel and the message will pour forth. They may not have any previous thoughts or ideas or nudging of My Spirit as to which way to go, because sometimes My Spirit will pour through with great force, with a great rush, and the message can be delivered almost effortlessly. All the channel needs to do is open up and let it rush out and pour forth.
119. Sometimes it is like that. It depends on the position of the channel and their readiness to receive the message. There may be some physical factors involved. If you're very tired or preoccupied or feeling pressed with other ideas or work or situations, it may be more of a struggle and more of an effort to clear all of those things from your mind so that you can be totally single-minded and suck and pull and receive the message.
120. There are spiritual factors involved as well. Sometimes when all the factors are just right in perfect synchronization and harmony in the spirit, the message can shoot through very clearly and almost with effortless ease. Other times the Enemy jams and hinders and tries to cause static in our spiritual communications, and therefore you may see different phrases or words or beginnings of sentences, and you do not know which one to choose, which one I want you to speak, which one is My direction, My will, My voice.
121. But all you have to do is just ask Me. Clear your mind and your thoughts and pray desperately. Just yield all to Me. Just tell Me, "Lord, I'm Your channel. I'm here for Your use. I'm Your yielded, empty, open vessel, ready and willing and receptive to receive Your Word." Just open up completely to My Spirit and let Me wash you and cleanse you--your mind, your thoughts, your heart--from any of your own carnal thoughts and from any of the Enemy's interference.
122. The more you yield and listen and suck and pull and create that vacuum, the more the power of My Spirit and My voice can rush through. You just have to step out by faith and be prayerful and desperate, asking Me which phrase to repeat, and you will not fail, for I will show you. I will make it clear. I will give you the spiritual nudges and leading and direction and pull to know which phrase is the one that I want you to begin with.
123. But you don't have to worry too much about that, because many times I give you the choice; I give you an option. I may give you a couple of beginning phrases, the beginning of what you feel is My message, because I know that you're struggling; I know that you're desperately seeking Me and I'm trying to make it as easy as possible for you and help you as much as possible to receive My message. So I may give you more than one phrase, and you can choose. In either case, whatever you choose, I can still deliver My message clearly, completely and fully.
124. Whichever one you choose, just go for it in full faith. Open wide, abandon everything, and let My Words pour through your mouth. Don't worry about anything. Don't worry about what it sounds like, or even if it sounds a little funny or unclear. Just use your channel and let Me polish it and use it the way I want to the fullest. Never worry about what will come, where the message will go, whether you will get the whole thing or whether you will be able to finish it, or how it's going to come out. Just trust Me completely. Just grab that phrase that you hear or see with your eyes and mind of My Spirit and repeat it by faith.
125. Trust, and let Me fill your mouth. Trust, and let Me fill your mind, and I will not fail you. Sometimes I may want you to go with one phrase above the other, and you will know if you stop and pray, yield again, and commit it to Me in prayer. One will be predominant over the other because that is the one that I want you to go with. One will lead you more clearly than the other, and you will know because I will make it so. I will make it clear and I will make it happen. (End of message from Jesus.)
126. {\b \i (Mama:) }This message is fascinating, but I didn't understand it fully. It seemed to be a little incongruous, because in paragraph 120 the Lord says, "Other times the Enemy jams and hinders and tries to cause static in our spiritual communications, and therefore you may see different phrases or words or beginning of sentences, and you do not know which one to choose, which one I want you to speak, which one is My direction, My will, My voice." That leads you to believe that the multiple phrases may be static from the Enemy. But then, three paragraphs later, the Lord says, "Many times I give you the choice; I give you an option. I may give you a couple of beginning phrases, the beginning of what you feel is My message, because I know that you're struggling; I know that you're desperately seeking Me and I'm trying to make it as easy as possible for you and help you as much as possible to receive My message. So I may give you more than one phrase, and you can choose. In either case, whatever you choose, I can still deliver My message clearly, completely, and fully." In that portion of the message it seems to be very clear that we may receive multiple phrases because the Lord is trying to make it easy for us.
127. So I was a little bit mixed up as to exactly what the Lord was saying. I knew there must be more information that we need. I was quite sure there was nothing wrong with the prophecy, but I asked the Lord to please explain why there seemed to be some kind of conflict or contradiction. Here is His answer:
128. {\b \i (Jesus speaking:)} When My channels come before Me in faith, when they stir themselves up and create a vacuum to receive My Word, My instruction, My seeds for their edification, encouragement, and direction, I sometimes send various phrases that they can choose from. I do this to make it easier for them. If one phrase feels more comfortable or gives them more faith to open their mouth and speak, then that is the one that I wish for them to choose. When I put a multiple choice before them, they can choose whichever they wish, whichever gives them faith and confidence to step out, and I will take it from there. I will build upon that choice and I will adapt the message that I wish to give according to the phrase that they choose to be the beginning of the message. I am not limited by which beginning phrase they choose. I know what I want to say and I can work with whatever phrase of the multiple choices My channel chooses.
129. My Spirit is flexible. It flows and is moving and changing. When I have a message to give, I don't have it locked in a strongbox so that every word is structured and pre-prepared and limited, but I work with and through My channels. I work according to their faith, according to their vacuum, according to their freedom in the spirit. That's why many of the messages I give have such variety, because I adapt the delivery of the message according to the channel. But the content of the message is the same, because as I said, I know what I want to say. But sometimes I am able to add more detail or give a more complete message or include more word pictures, depending on the faith, vacuum and desperation of the channel.
130. If you come before Me and pray desperately, and want with all your heart to hear My Words, know that I will not give you a stone. I will not give you a false prophecy. I will not lead you astray or give you a bum steer, but I will give you the truth, the direction that you need, and the encouragement that you seek. I am trying to make it as easy as possible for you to have faith to step out by giving you various options, various beginnings, hoping that you will feel more comfortable or more full of faith with one of them, and that it will make it easier for you to get started.
131. I know very well that the Enemy fights very hard in the beginning. He tries to stop you from stepping out by faith and attempts to close your mouth. He'll do anything to get you to not say those first words, because he knows that once you start, the battle is nearly won. Once you get going, then you gather momentum, your faith grows, and you continue to push ahead and suck and receive My message. But the Enemy knows that if He can keep you from giving those first words, then He can keep you from receiving My message.
132. When I said, "Other times the Enemy jams, hinders, and tries to cause static in our spiritual communication, and therefore you may see different phrases or words or beginnings of sentences, and you don't know which one to choose, which one I want you to speak, which one is My direction, My will, My voice," I did not mean that the Enemy jams and hinders and tries to cause static by giving the different phrases. I meant that when you receive the different phrases, he will try to cause static and hinder by causing confusion, and by trying to get you to doubt, or to stop, or to not give My message.
133. When you come before Me to hear My Word, as a channel to receive My seeds in prophecy, it's not like I and the Enemy are on equal footing and we're both vying for your attention and speaking to you, screaming different words in your ear. When you come to Me, I speak to you. The phrases that you hear are from Me, and the Enemy's power to give you words is limited. But he does have power to try to confuse you, or to try to get you to waver or doubt or delay, and his ultimate goal is to get you to stop altogether and not receive the message.
134. So when you hear various phrases when you're trying to hear from Me, those phrases are not a mixture of words from Me and words from the Enemy, because I protect you and I grant you the desires of your heart. I honor your prayer. When you ask Me to make you a clear channel, and to wipe your own thoughts from your mind and your heart, then I do that. It's not a work of your mind or your flesh or your strength; it's a work of My Spirit. You have to believe by faith that when you pray those prayers, then I do that. I take away your own thoughts, your own ideas, your opinions, and in their place I give you My Words.
135. I often give you various starting points or beginning phrases to make it easy for you, and I protect you from false phrases or wrong beginnings. But the Enemy does have power to try to get you to doubt, or to delay, or to stop altogether. The way he hinders and jams and causes static is through confusion and trying to make you feel mixed-up, unsettled, and therefore lacking in faith.
136. But you must believe these words that I speak to you, and when you hear the beginning words, whether it be one phrase or several phrases, resist, rebuke, and refuse to listen to the confusion and doubts of the Enemy. Choose to speak whichever one of the various phrases you feel most comfortable with. Go ahead, step out by faith and speak, and I will honor it. In doing so you will defeat the Enemy's attacks, and you will render him powerless to jam, hinder, and cause static in our spiritual communication. As long as you are continuing by faith and giving the message by faith, without stopping to analyze it or criticize it or run it through the sieve of your own mind, preconceived ideas, and carnal thoughts, then you can rest assured and have faith that the words that you speak are from Me, and they are the message that I want you to receive.
137. Certain things can hinder a person's connection with Me and their being a reliable channel: If someone comes before Me to hear My Words, but they are unyielded, and their life is full of unconfessed sins; if their motivation is not right; if they have for an ongoing period of time been entertaining doubts or criticizing the New Wine of My Spirit; or if they bear in their heart oughts or bitterness against their brethren. In such cases, when a person is not right with Me, then there is the possibility that they will lose the protection of My Spirit, and in such a case, they could receive phrases from the Enemy, as he would not only tempt them to doubt or to be confused, but he would actually tempt them to speak his words, which are critical, doubtful, unloving, condemning, and away from the truth. It is not impossible for someone to hear phrases from the Enemy, but it would be a rare exception, because in most cases, those who come to Me to hear My Words in prophecy are desperate and hungry and in a prayerful spirit. In most cases they come in faith--faith in My promises, faith in My New Wine, and faith in the direction that I am moving.
138. Of course, all of My children of David have their weaknesses, their shortcomings, their besetting sins. No one is perfect, and I do not expect perfection. But I do expect and require--if you wish to be a reliable, full-of-faith channel--that you be yielded, trusting, loving, free of unconfessed sin, and following the queen and king as closely as possible. (End of message from Jesus.)
139. {\b \i (Mama:) }That was very helpful, encouraging, faith-building counsel, and such a good example of how when something seems "wrong" with a prophecy, it's because we're just not seeing it correctly or interpreting it right.
140. I had one other question. The Lord makes it very clear that He sometimes gives this multiple choice, and He's doing it to make it easier for us. Hearing multiple phrases is not necessarily the Enemy's static. But I wondered about something else. He says in the first prophecy, "Sometimes I may want you to go with one phrase above the other, and you will know if you stop and pray, yield again, and commit it to Me in prayer. One will be predominant over the other because that is the one that I want you to go with. One will lead you more clearly than the other, and you will know because I will make it so. I will make it clear and I will make it happen." Now this leads you to believe that sometimes He definitely wants us to go with one phrase above the others, and He even promises that one will lead us more clearly than the others. I asked the Lord about this seeming contradiction. How can it not really matter which phrase we choose, and yet at the same time one is seemingly better than the others, at least sometimes? Under what circumstances would He have one predominant phrase that He would want the channel to go with, and how are they supposed to know which phrase it is? As always, the Lord was happy to explain further and answer my questions, giving us the additional information we needed.
141. {\b \i (Jesus speaking:)} Sometimes with more experienced channels, those who are more exercised, I give them one beginning phrase because they sometimes have more faith to give the first thing that comes. But if an experienced channel does not give that first phrase, then I sometimes give various other options, or present them with a multiple choice. But this can sometimes be unsettling to an experienced channel, because they may not be used to having many phrases in their mind, and they may be a little bit in wonderment. But as I said, if they will "stop and pray, yield again and commit it to Me in prayer," then one will be predominant over the other, and that one will usually be the first one that I gave them.
142. The reason that I say it makes it easier, that one will lead you more clearly than the others, is because when I have given you a phrase, if you open your mouth and receive it readily, and give without allowing the Enemy to try to get you to doubt or analyze or delay, then you can oftentimes more freely flow with the freedom of My Spirit. A delay, in which case the Enemy comes in, often causes some static, and so you have to fight harder and concentrate more fully to be able to pull down the message.
143. Especially in the case of an experienced channel, sometimes hesitation or delay is a lack of faith. And such a lack of faith gives place to the Enemy to come in with confusion and his attacks to try to get you to delay or hesitate, or, if possible, even not give the message at all. I expect more of experienced, exercised channels because such channels often receive messages that are fuller or more complete. So, also, sometimes the attacks of the Enemy are more vicious on such channels, and a delay or hesitation or double-mindedness in a young or inexperienced channel will not bring about the same negative repercussions as the same hesitations or lack of faith or double-mindedness in a mature, more exercised channel.
144. If I give one phrase, it's best to step out and give that one phrase and so avoid the opportunity for the Enemy to come in, thus making the delivery of the message more difficult. The reason one phrase leads you more clearly than the others is not necessarily because of the wording of the phrase, but instead, if the one phrase is the first phrase you receive, if you step out by faith and give it without hesitation, without My having to present to you other, multiple-choice phrases, you avoid the possibility of the Enemy taking advantage of your hesitation or your lack of faith and bringing in his static. Delivering My Words is always easiest if you receive and give, receive and give, and flow with the Spirit without hesitation, analyzing or waiting.
145. What do you do during those times of waiting or hesitation? If you are praying, that is fine. If you are seeking to hear, and if you are waiting for Me to speak, that is fine. But if I have spoken, and you hear My Words but you continue to wait, then it gives way for the Enemy's temptation to analyze and criticize and wonder about the message--where it's going, how it's going to turn out, what it's going to say, and if it's going to be right--which leads to doubt and lack of faith.
146. So the key is to give whatever you receive. If you receive one phrase, give it. If you receive more than one phrase, pick the one you feel most comfortable with, the one that gives you the most faith, and give it. Give without hesitation, and so you close the door to potential attacks of the Enemy. You cut him off at the pass and limit his ability to come in with confusion. (End of message from Jesus.)
A Gift for ALL!
147. In the same prayer session, when asking the Lord the various questions that I noted above, He also gave the following very inspiring message. I think this is especially encouraging not only to those of us who have recently received the gift of prophecy, but also for those of you who may not have received the gift just yet.
148. {\b \i (Jesus speaking:)} When you come to Me to hear My voice, always remind yourself that I am eager to speak to you. I want to speak to you. I want to make it easy for you to receive prophecies and to hear from Me, your Father David, and the departed spirits that help you. I am doing everything I can to help your faith to grow, and to make it easy for you to exercise your gift.
149. In these Last Days, I will give the gift of prophecy to anyone who asks Me and has the faith to step out and receive it. I could not tell you this so directly earlier, because I knew that many of you were weak in faith and you would not believe. Plus, you would not even see the full value of having the gift of prophecy, and you would not be so hungry to reach out and to ask. So I let you, the Family, My precious children of David, experiment with this new garment of prophecy, and many stepped out by faith, received, and gave My Words. Gradually, as the months passed, you became more comfortable with using the gift of prophecy, and you began to understand the great value of it and need for it.
150. Now that you feel more comfortable and most of you have seen good examples of reliable, faithful channels, and now that you feel it is not so strange to come to Me daily to receive My instruction, confirmation and guidance, I am able to tell you that this gift is for everyone. I have it in My hand to give freely to all who will ask. Ask and you shall receive.
151. This is My gift to My Endtime prophets, that all may prophesy, that all may be channels. It's a special dispensation of grace that I have given unto the children of David because they have proven themselves so faithful with the Words that I have given.
152. My queen proved herself faithful to love, cherish, and guard the Word that was first given through your Father David, and then also the Words given through her faucet and her other channels. Then in My time, as a fulfillment of My Word, I gave her the gift as well. I knew she was ready, and I knew it was time for her to begin to practice and strengthen and hone this gift for the days of battle ahead.
153. Likewise, My precious children, you have proven yourselves faithful to love, cherish, and guard the multitudes of Words that have been delivered to your bosoms. You have hungered for My Spirit and My truth, and many of you have reached out to receive from Me yourselves, through your personal channels. You, as a body, have shown yourselves hungry, respectful and worthy of such a gift, and so now I pour forth in a great flood and a great anointing upon My children of David, and all who ask shall receive.
154. I do not give the gift of prophecy selectively to one here, and one there, and another one over there, but I give to all, according to your faith. If you read and believe these Words, they will give you faith. The gift is there for you today, for the asking. Reach out and receive.
155. As you come to Me to exercise this gift, know that in love I am making it as easy as possible for you so that you can relax and not worry and not feel that receiving My Words is a fearful thing, for it is a joyful thing. It is a tremendous privilege and a wonderful blessing, and it is one of the most excellent tokens of My love to you, My precious brides. What more could I do to show you My love than to give you My seeds, and put My Words in your mouth to give you strength, direction, encouragement, and all that you need on a day-to-day basis.
156. Our relationship is growing more and more intimate as time passes, and as you have been willing to open yourself to Me, to receive My lovemaking and to receive Me intimately. You have not held back in any way, but you have desired Me and wanted Me and sought Me in the bed of love, so now I take you a step further that we might have even greater intimacy, as I put My very thoughts and Words in your heart and mind and mouth.
157. So do not be fearful when you come before Me to hear My Words. Do not let the Enemy make you afraid. But come to Me in peace, and even with anticipation and eagerness, as you would look forward to something that you enjoy, something that brings you great pleasure.
158. This is the attitude that I want you to have when you come to hear from Me in prophecy, for fear would squelch the freedom of the Spirit. Fear is of the Enemy; it is one of the ways that he causes static, and hinders and jams our communication.
159. Fear and faith cannot occupy your mind at the same time. When you give place to the Enemy's fear, then you let go of your faith. So rebuke and resist his fears when he tries to make you afraid that you're going to say the wrong thing, or you're going to get a false prophecy, or you're going to make a mistake, be embarrassed or be led astray. Resist and rebuke and give no place to those fears, but instead come before Me in faith, knowing that I love you and I want to speak to you, and if you ask Me for bread I'm not going to give you a stone.
160. Know that there is flexibility in My Kingdom and in My Spirit. Two channels may pray about the same question, and although they will receive the same general counsel and answer, many times the presentation or the illustration or the word pictures are different, but nonetheless the message is there. So do not put yourselves in a box, and do not put Me in a box. Break out of the confines of your preconceived ideas and the things that hold you back from the freedom of My Spirit. Have prayer against your fears and the bondage of the Enemy. Unite together in prayer to be set free, because you have so much to gain and nothing to lose.
161. As you are learning and experimenting with the gift of prophecy, if you have what seem like conflicting prophecies or contradictions or things that you don't understand, just come to Me and ask Me. Don't immediately think that something's wrong with you or something's wrong with the prophecy, but have faith. Let your first reaction be one of faith, and then come to Me, bring your questions to Me, bring your seeming conflicts or contradictions to Me, and I will speak and I will make all things clear. As you do so, you will continue to learn and grow and become more mature channels, more educated and knowledgeable in the ways of My Spirit. It will also help your faith to grow, because you will see that many of the things that you felt were "wrong prophecies" or "false prophecies" in the past were probably just misinterpreted prophecies, misunderstood prophecies or prophecies that needed to be brought back to Me for further explanation, clarification, and amplification.
162. I want you to be My channels. I want to put My Words in your mouth. I want to make it easy for you. I want each and every one of you to enjoy this intimate communication with Me, and this availability of My answers. All Heaven is at your disposal. I, your Father David, the departed spirits, and your Heavenly helpers are your servants. We are your love slaves, and it brings us pleasure to give you what you need in the form of help from Heaven, answers, encouragement, and direction. For we know how desperately you need this. You may not see it, but take My word for it, you need it.
163. The time is coming when you won't be able to depend on the channels of others, but each of you will need to hear from Me directly yourselves. So reach out today and receive. This is a gift--a gift of love, a gift of gold, a gift of faith that I'm giving to each one, if you will but ask. Even if you feel that your faith is so little, say to Me, "I believe, Lord; help Thou mine unbelief," and I will help and you will see a great reward. (End of message from Jesus.)
164. {\b \i (Mama:) }God bless you, my dearest Family! I pray that these wonderful messages from the Lord will increase your faith to reach out to receive the gift of prophecy that the Lord wants to give you, and that you'll step out to practice using that gift. I understand that it's a test of faith to exercise the gift once you receive it, and I've had my share of battles with it, but the rewards are well worth it! There are wonderful blessings in store for us, and we're making progress each day! Praise the Lord! I love you!
Much love,
Mama
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family