Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. He said unto him, I [am] a prophet also as thou [art]; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. [But] he lied unto him. So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
1 Kings 13: 15-19
To get a good understanding of today’s study, you need to read the entire chapter of 1 Kings 13. It’s been about a year and a half since I’ve written on this passage, but it is so important, that i have to revisit it from time to time. In these perilous days, there is no prepper skill nearly as important as hearing from God.
“God told me to tell you . . . ” Red flags should be popping up all over the place anytime a sentence is predicated by those six words. I’m not saying someone couldn’t have a prophetic word for you, but it should be in keeping with what God is already telling you, as a confirmation, or it could be a message that aligns with God’s Word to convict you of something you already know you need to be doing. On occasions, God can send a prophetic word through another person as an answer to a question you’ve been seeking God’s wisdom for.
But, if you get a “God told me to tell you . . .” that is in contrast to what God has been telling you directly, don’t listen to it. Like the old prophet from Bethel, the person giving you the contradictory message may have no ill will towards you, but that doesn’t mean the word is from God. For the man of God from Judah who decided to listen to the old prophet rather than the word he’d received directly from God, it cost him his life.
So how do we know? If you get a word from the Lord through another person, you need confirmation on your own. That can only come through spending time in the presence of God. And just how do we get in the presence of God? I’m glad you asked.
I suppose the obvious answer is church. And in the perfect world, yes, that would be correct. However, in the world we live in, that may or may not be true, depending on the church. The surefire answer is spending time reading the Bible and praying. If you’ll make a daily habit out of reading the Bible and staying connected to God through prayer, his Spirit will guide you and give you direction for making decisions in your day to day life. When you want to press in a little deeper, try spending time in personal worship, just listening to worship music and thanking God for all the blessings he has given you.
There will be times when an issue arises that is so complicated and perplexing, that you just can’t seem to get an answer through prayer and your normal daily Bible reading. For those times, combine your regular Bible reading, personal worship and prayer with fasting. Although the answer doesn’t always come right away, this combination has never failed me.
The key to hearing from God is stagnancy connected through daily Bible reading and prayer. Church is a good thing and you need to be in fellowship with other believers, but no Sunday sermon is going to make up for the other six days of the week when you need to be seeking God on your own. Don’t wait until the crisis comes to start getting in touch with your creator, if you’re not already doing so, start that habit today!
Jesus said “what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his own soul?” Prepper translation: “What good will it do you to survive the coming economic collapse, nuclear war or even a zombie apocalypse if you don’t know you will go to heaven when you die.” A recent study found that 10 out of 10 people die! On that day we will meet our Maker. It only makes sense to be prepared for that day. Click here to learn more about knowing GOD.
Have a blessed day and happy prepping!
Mark