I remember an instance about 15 years ago when I was in a meeting having a private conversation with God. As I recall it was in that moment of reflection when worship is just winding down and ministry time is in full swing. While I was sitting there a great family friend, Carl Greer, walked up to me and answered the exact question that I had been asking God. It was less than 5 words, but changed the trajectory of my life tremendously.

Having grown up and immersed in in the charismatic culture for most of my life, I have heard, received, been given, had sung and of course prayed several hundred prophetic words on the low end of estimation, however Carl’s word is one of only about three that have always stood out as near perfect. This was because the word itself was incredibly pertinent for me, but almost more important was he gave the word to me at the perfect time.

Another instance of near perfect timing was with Christine Potter. One evening during a service she prayed for me in a spectacular way. It was just a normal Wednesday night service but so much emotional healing took place I can’t really explain it. Christine is an amazingly sensitive person who sees so much, and although the issues she was praying into had probably been seen before, the difference was the moment that her prayers took place. Within 10 minutes of this ministry time I encountered an extreme situation that I don’t know how I would have handled if not for her words. It was perfect timing once again.

The last perfect prophetic word I can remember came from my father in law. He gave me a word that was almost exactly the opposite of what virtually everyone else I knew was saying. It was at a time when things were not going that great for me and the words would have been only words without this perfect timing. Standing in the gap while others where prophesying what they saw in the natural, my father in law spoke what he saw in the spirit. At the end of the day it came to pass that he was right where other voices appear to have been mistaken.

I have been blessed over the years to receive many prophetic words from different people, however in truth over 90% of them seem to have slipped into the ether or are hidden from memory. I don’t know what all the components of a perfect prophetic word are. But I am certain from my own experience that timing is a crucial element that cannot be overlooked. I know that so often what we see as being a powerful word doesn’t even compare to the importance of giving it at the right time.

Going forward I want to focus much more on knowing from God when a word is to be delivered. I think I will worry a little less if the word feels to me less powerful as a result of timing that is not always my own. Because it isn’t about saying things that I think will have a profound impact. It is about having the impact God wants to have, when He wants to have it.

Belts fray, stretch and sometimes simply wear out. There are things that can be done to extend their life through attention. Keeping them in tension is the primary key to this. The water pump in your car and the belt around your waist only work with a suitable amount of tension, too much and they snap or cause discomfort, too little and you might just lose your drawers.

In times of prayer and in dreams belts will often represent holding things to together and keeping them working. As always context is very important. But keep an eye out for things that need to be held together. Winter is the classic time for belts to fail. A hot summer can make the belt brittle and fragile and then just a bit of rigidness sets in with the cold and SNAP.

It is good to have things that are meant to be held together, held together.

Similarly my first car was an old Volvo. It was a great first car, blindingly slow and heavy. Fortunately gas back then cost less than seventy cents a gallon. One of the problems with this car was that it had a tricky seat heater, sometimes it would come on and the switch wouldn’t light up. In Texas you rarely if ever have a need for a seat heater so this was one of those things that you forget about till you are driving down the road and the person in the passenger seat starts complaining how hot it is and how the A/C doesn’t seem to be working. But the driver felt totally comfortable. Turning the seat heater back off would typically lead to a convergence of reality. Both driver and passenger felt the same temperature.

In both cases there is a baseline reality and a secondary reality influenced by a different set of circumstances. Sunglasses and seat heaters and numerous other things can augment our reality. Once we have changed our reality it can be very difficult to come back without a wakeup call. Think Jonah + Whale = reality shift.

Where are some areas that your reality doesn’t fit with that around you?

What do you use as a measuring stick for a healthy reality?

Ask the Lord to show you if you have any areas of reality that he wants to change.

In these times with so many people suffering and losing so much, housing prices are lower than they were 15 years ago in some places. True unemployment is at the highest it has been in my life and even an optimist would say that it is hard to see a positive turn in the near future. We can do many things, pouting is one option “woe is me, it is too hard to bear” anger at the banks and politicians is another option. Some will question their faith and others will find faith through this struggle.

I think that Job is a good role model in this time of strain and stress. He lost his stock portfolio; yes it was livestock but placed into modern times that is more less the same as an IRA or 401K. He lost his wealth, his health and his children, and his friends thought he was in sin and angering God. He was in what some might call his own custom made great depression. His faith did not waiver. He trusted God through the tough, hard and difficult season. Even as he bore what must have been excruciating pain he stayed the course. He didn’t blame others, he did have his moments of doubt but most importantly he praised God. He knew that what he had was God’s in reality and he was grateful in plenty and in poverty.

It is easy to praise God when we are blessed and protected. It is easy to be grateful to God when we have all that we need and the outlook is positive. But in these times when things do appear and are in reality difficult is our chance to show the world what true faith is. When we can show gratitude in times of sacrifice we display a much purer gratitude. When we can trust God as housing prices slump and retirements are put into to question we have the opportunity to show true faith and steadfastness. This season however long it lasts is our time to shine.

I have seen God act in strange ways many times. By strange I mean in ways that didn’t make sense to me. But I know that he has a plan for each of us and in that plan I believe that while finances may not quickly rebound that He will lead us all where we need to be.

Trials do not equal suffering. Suffering is the result of being overwhelmed by our trials.

In life the seasons do not follow along with the rotation of the Earth’s axis, but rather are affected by the individual. Much the same way that while it may be winter in the Hebrides with snow, sleet and bitter cold in Southern Italy it is likely still relatively warm and sunny.

What can be very difficult is being in a winter season and feeling like it should be spring or summer. Winter is the resting season, and a time for everything to prepare for the vibrancy of spring.

The key to knowing your current season rests in seeing the patterns that go on around you. Recognizing that if you are in a winter season and it feels a little warmer you are likely moving into spring.

What season are you in?

This made me think about how our focus on developing spiritual gifting can sometimes cause us not to absorb enough of the other things that are around us, or the same in reverse.

Initially everything God created was created to be in balance. We have to eat or we starve, yet over eating can lead to numerous ailments and suffering.

How do we find a balance?

I think a balance comes from taking nutrients in from many sources. As with plants, some stress, like pruning, can be essential in generating continued growth.

The short lesson I learned from my garden is that too much of a good thing is not always the best thing for it. The garden provides such a wealth of insight into the gifts that God gives us. The key to balance is to develop these gifts but at the same time to make certain we do not lose touch with the other crucial parts of our lives such as friends, family, and work. With out these elements we actually lose purpose for the gifts.

Keep a broad focus and grow!

Often when we see a decline in dreams it is because we have to much of a backlog of uncompleted cycles. Here are some questions to help get you restarted.

Here are some important questions to ask to help get you dreaming again.
Do you have dreams that haven’t been interpreted?
Do you have dreams that have been interpreted, but you no longer have expectation?
Is it difficult to prepare for sleep?
Have you left the interpretations unspoken?

These are just a few questions that can be asked to help restart your dream life if it ever gets stalled.

This is why dreams can’t be interpreted as well using a dream dictionary. Each and every symbol can have dozens of meanings, based on a person’s individual relationship with the environment around them and with God.

So what are we to do as people who aspire to help find answers through looking at the dreams God gives us? First I think we can only give the answers that we have. The worst thing an interpreter can do is try to build an interpretation on the basic understanding they have without revelation from God. The second thing, and equally important, is not to assume. So often we see a parent, car, or some other common element show up in a dream and assume that we have an understanding of what that element means based on past or present experience. While we do become more experienced, each dream we face is a blank slate, a fresh start, a chance to learn something new rather than churn out what we already know.

Dream interpretation is not a science. The danger is when we try to see the gift turned into something that we simply ‘get’. We may have interpreted thousands of dreams and so we feel we have it figured out. The truth is, in my experience, that the number of dreams and often increasing complexity of dreams interpreted can be viewed as a milestone not as a result of volume or accuracy in the interpretation. Rather I find I am increasing learning the questions to ask and hold my own ‘wisdom’ more and more loosely. As an interpreter, my role is to act as a conduit for God, not a display model for practice makes perfect.

As we investigate we learn something that every fan of Bones, CSI or Sherlock Holmes already knows. Let the evidence speak for itself. Don’t assume, and the more experience you have the more you know things can, and will surprise you. When we maintain humility God uses us powerfully. If we stay humble he doesn’t have to remind us who is really doing the heavy lifting.

It is important in the quest to develop a better sense of timing that you keep a journal. Otherwise you risk being one of those people that said “it” would happen at a certain time, and inadvertently change that timing to fit the eventual outcome.

Step 1 Ask the Lord to show you something that is going to take place locally.

Step 2 Ask the Lord to show you something that is going to take place regionally.

Step 3 Ask the Lord to show you something that is going to take place nationally.

Step 4 Ask the Lord to show you something that is going to take place internationally.

Step 5 Ask the Lord to show what the timing of each of these events taking place is.

Don’t worry if you aren’t right on from the start. Just keep practicing.

One of the often unspoken rules of the prophetic is that the greater the word, the greater the test. This test can come in the form of timing, obstacles, and even in some cases total disillusionment. Much like great cheese you can’t see what is going on below the surface. This all came up for me as I was talking with an old friend that was in town visiting about prophetic words that we have received from various well known prophetic voices. He was talking about how all three words from one person who I think of as a spiritual grandfather had come to pass, and been great. For my part I have received maybe 10 words from this same amazing man – going back about 25 years. To be honest not a single one of the words that he has given me has come to pass at this time.

The most common parmesan cheese in America is sold by Kraft, it comes in a green plastic bottle is pre-grated and often lacks the full punch and texture of one of the most loved cheese varieties in the USA. But it fills the role that most people use it for on pizza, spaghetti or making a béchamel sauce. But, in my opinion it is nothing like‘real’ parmesan aged for around 2 years and sometimes longer. The grainy, gritty texture is untouchable by anything that comes in a bottle. Yet, I use the bottle, and I suspect that you do as well. It is cheaper, keeps longer in the fridge and is hassle free. Very similar to the way we prefer our prophetic words. I would prefer to have more history with the prophetic that was quick, relatively satisfying and hassle free. But sadly as fate or destiny would have it I have a lot of unfulfilled prophetic words, and I have many friends that do as well.

Sometimes our inclination with promises that we have held for a long time is treat them as though they are the cheese in the back of the cave that has turned blue. The key is to be hungry enough to have a taste and see what you discover. This is going to be a good year to pull old prophetic words out from the back of the cave. They might be a little moldy or cracked but the truth is they are delicacies.