I went into the bookstore Saturday morning for the last time. Most of the morning went along as usual; greeting folks, finding books, and selling books. But at about 3pm a man walked in and started moseying around. I finished helping an old lady find some book for a woman's study and then I went over to greet the man that had walked in.
I said the usual "Hey, how are you? let me know if I can help you find anything" and he just looked at me oddly for a second then asked what my name was. I told him, and asked for his. He said his name was John and our conversation went as follows:
John: Are you a believer Bryan?
Me: Yes, I am...are you?
J: Yes, I am. I am full of the Spirit and have the gift of prophecy. When you walked over here I felt the spirit move. He spoke to me, Bryan. He has a message for you and I want to share a word of prophecy with you. Do you mind if I speak into your life?
Me: Um...sure, go ahead.
--at this point John told me not to be afraid and he pointed his finger at my chest and started uttering some unintelligible speech for a full minute and then he switched to English. It sounded as if he was quoting something from the Old Testament prophets. Something to the extent of "I am the Lord your God and I will make myself known. I will manifest myself and will glorify myself in you." Although what he said was much more verbose, that was the gist of it.
Me: Was that a passage from Isaiah?
J: No, that was a prophetic word from the Lord.
Me: Was that a quote from Revelation?
J: No. That was a prophetic word from the Spirit that He wanted me to share with you. Bryan, you have been seeking the face of the Lord about something and He wants you to know that He hears you and will answer you, and He will glorify Himself. I don't know what you are seeking Him about, but He does. Are you seeking the Lord about something, Bryan?
Me: Well, yeah.
J: Good. Well, the Lord hears you and will answer you. May God bless you.
...And then John left without looking at any other books.
I didn't know what to make of it. I've had people "prophesy" in the bookstore before but that was usually a loud obnoxious person that quoted a few well known scriptures and said some really off the wall un-Biblical things like "God has taken me to the next level and I am more full of the spirit than you." This man was humble and said nothing un-Biblical. What he had to say was more vague than a fortune cookie, and could be applicable to almost any believer. I don't know if it was truly a word of prophecy specifically for me or if it was a man with a fortune cookie phrase he'd say to 10 people that day, but after chewing on it, it was encouraging. Paul says to test the prophets, and I think the first step is to ask if what they have to say is Biblical. I decided that yes, God will make Himself known and that He will glorify Himself. I pray that He will do some of that through me during my time in Bangladesh...and who knows, maybe John was sent by God to share that.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
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