After the Order of Elijah

When I was 12 or 13 years old, I went to a teen retreat that was sponsored by the church I was going to at the time.  It was 3 or 4 days long and for the first couple of days it was interesting, but didn't amount to much more than a summer camp or an excuse to get away from my family for a while.  That changed on the last night there.  I don't know what the speaker spoke of, but afterward he gave an altar call.  There were probably 50-60 teens there between the ages of 12 to 18.  At least half of them answered the altar call.  I was sitting in the next to back row watching other kids my age go forward and meet God there.  Then I felt the first powerful move of God on my own spirit.  I went up to pray with/ for a friend and felt God wash over me like a tidal wave.  The next thing I knew, I was praying for someone else, and someone else, and someone else. . .  I prayed until I was hoarse and prayed for my voice, it came back instantly and I prayed myself hoarse again.  When my voice didn't come back that time I figured that maybe I should stop and see what happened.  I was praying for God to tell me what was going on and felt Him "calling my heart."  I was afraid that He was calling me to be a preacher, so I freaked out and ignored it.

A few years went by and God's call never let up, but I spent most of my time thinking about how messed up I was and how far from "usable" I was.  ( I'll save that story for another time.)  By the time I was 18 I knew that God was really calling me to something, but I didn't know what.  Then one day I heard Him clearly say "I'm calling you to be a prophet after the order of Elijah."

Okay, what was THAT supposed to mean?!  I checked up on Elijah and saw fire falling from heaven and a man out running chariots, not to mention years of drought.  So, I figured that I must have heard Him wrong.  That word never faded.  So, while I was pretty sure that the fire and stuff was not what God meant, I thought that I should probably figure out what being a "prophet" meant.  So I focused, REALLY focused, on hearing God.  It was rough at first, because I wasn't ever sure if I was hearing God or just my imagination.  

I was in a group that met on Sunday nights where we talked about God and what He was doing in our lives.  It was a great environment for learning to hear God.  So I wasn't afraid to try to "give a word," because if it wasn't directly from God, it was still scripturally accurate and encouraging. (An important point.  You are never wrong to encourage if it lines up with scripture)  After a while, it got easier to tell the difference from good Biblical advice, and a direct "living word from god that was pertinent to the situation."  You hear or see things that have the "ring" of God's voice to it, or it's "just God's style."

A few more years went by, (I was about 23) and I was at a conference my church was a part of.  The speaker was great and I got a lot out of his message.  Then he said something that froze me in my tracks.  He mentioned something about the call of Elijah, and I MISSED THE REFERENCE!!!!  I asked some others who were with me, but the reference wasn't as important to them as i was to me so they didn't pay attention.  So I scanned and scanned and someone said something about Malachi.  

MALACHI 4:5-6

⁵ “Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. 

⁶ His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

Ever had the light come on?  Ever heard a loud "click" in your head when something fell in place and you finally got it?  

Now I knew what "the order of Elijah" was.  Now I knew what the purpose of prophecy was.

The point of hearing God and speaking His word, is to draw people to God the Father!  

I can hear God and the reason I can hear God is so that I can show others that THEY CAN HEAR GOD TOO.  God wants a close, intimate relationship with ALL OF US!!!!!!