SCHOOL OF THE PROPHETIC—

Stephen A. Hanson

PURPOSE OF THIS MATERIAL

This will help you to be more properly trained to hear from God yourself and for others. There is more to be involved than just hearing from however, one must also be willing to work on their character and motives.
This course will begin at a very foundational level and will enable one to progress to different levels of ability and understanding in the prophetic. As each of you pray for each other in the activation sections, you will have practical demonstrations of hearing from God for each other. This course will not make prophets of those whom the Lord has not called as prophets and hence, should not be seen as the means of one's release in the local church to prophesy at will.

Week I.—Hearing From God
As people we all want to heart from God. We all want to know what He has to say to us at any given moment. We live in a world where they are many voices to hear. There are psychics who claim to hear from God and are able to help people with their problems. We live in a world where many are desperately seeking an answer to their problems. There are tarot cards, astrologers, and others who even claim to be able to speak to the dead.
We are shown in scripture that God speaks in a still small voice. Elijah who was a great prophet of God ran to a cave to get away from the drama that was around him, and to find a place to hide in.

God gives him some food, and some drink, and sends him off to the mountain at Horeb, where he climbs into a cave for shelter. And God asks him, "why are you here Elijah" Elijah tells him that he has worked hard for God, but has failed, the enemy has killed all of Gods people, he is the only one left and they are looking for him to kill him now too. God says, to go watch out the cave’s mouth. Elijah sees a wind storm of frightening power, tearing rocks out of the earth. This is the kind of man Elijah is, this is the kind of ministry he has had. The wild wind of God's power! But God was not in the wind. Then Elijah sees the earthquake, and again Elijah was this kind of prophet. Always shaking things up, disrupting the order of things, but God is not in the Earthquake either. Then the firey prophet, sees the fire. The prophet of fire, the one who called down the fire from heaven, the one who disappears into the heavens in a chariot of fire, looks unto the fire but God is not in the fire either. And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." 11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. I Kings 19

*We see from this passage that God spoke to Elijah in “a still small voice.” God did not yell at him. Elijah needed to be able to “LISTEN”. Prophets and prophetic people need to be able to listen to the voice of God. Over time and with experience, we can be able to hear that voice and how to distinguish it from the voices of others.

THE STORY OF THE YOUNG SAMUEL

The young Samuel heard the audible voice of God speaking to him as a child when he was lying down in his bed in the temple.

3:1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; [there was] no open vision. 3:2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli [was] laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, [that] he could not see; 3:3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God [was], and Samuel was laid down [to sleep]; 3:4 That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here [am] I. 3:5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here [am] I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down. 3:6 And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here [am] I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.
3:7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. 3:8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here [am] I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.
3:9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 3:10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. 3:11 And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.

What is Prophecy?

Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." Rev. 19:10
3But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. 4He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I Cor. 14

Who is the Spirit of Prophecy?
In 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 the Bible says the Holy Spirit is the source of spiritual gifts. One of those gifts is the gift of prophecy (1 Cor. 12:10). Therefore, the phrase "Spirit of Prophecy" would seem to apply to the One who gives the gifts--the Holy Spirit--and not to the human recipient of the gift. The Spirit of God is called by many names in the Bible. In all cases it would be blasphemy to ascribe these names to any human:

*Activation

The purpose of each activation is to bring about a practical application of what we have learned in the previous lesson. This also gives the person or persons, an opportunity to operate in the gift of prophecy in a safe and controlled environment. This time of the course will be involved in what is sometimes called “prophetic prayer.”

Romans 8:26-27-- 26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

Find someone in the room that you can partner with to begin this time of prophetic prayer with. One of the partners needs to lead by beginning to pray first. Allow yourself up to a minute of time to “see with the eyes of your heart” what the Lord is showing you. If He is showing you pictures of some sort, then you are a “SEER” type of a person. He may be speaking to your heart. If this is the case, then LISTEN to what is being said and begin praying these words or thoughts to the other person. You may as well be a person that “SENSES” or “FEELS” something about the other person. After you KNOW what has been said or shown to you by the Holy Spirit, then pray these words or pictures directly to the other person.

Ask for feedback:

To conclude with this time, then ask for feedback concerning what was being prayed for. Do the words of your prayer “ring true” in the spirit for the other person? Exchange email or phone numbers if you want to to continue this as an on-going exercise.