The Interior Life of a Prophetic Gift

Many years ago, Bishop Mark Chironna impacted the cultivation of the prophetic gift in my life by teaching and modeling the importance of biblical meditation, stillness ,etc . Lately, the Holy Spirit has been drawing me back to meditating on the Word of God. Although he does not know it , Richard Foster has been a  long distant mentor in my inner life.  His books, ” Celebration of Discipline” and ” Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home”  have deeply impacted my walk with God for many years. Recently, Richard Foster’s book ” Sanctuary of the Soul” has reawakened  passion in my heart to encounter God in His written word. I believe one of the reasons that many prophetic gifts including myself are shallow is because we do not eat the book. We may read the bible, but we don’t eat the book. Jeremiah said the word of God was the joy of his heart. ( Jer.15:16-18). The prophet Ezekiel was commanded to eat the book in ” Eze.2:8-3:3″. In Revelations 10: 1-3, 8-11, John the apostle- prophet was commanded to eat the book. Psalms 119 is a lengthy prayer by King David to encounter God in His word. In summation, I believe  the authority and power of the prophetic flow in these men’s lives emanated from ” eating and digesting the scroll ( the Word of God)   I believe one of the ways that we can eat and digest the word of God is through lectio divine. I really like Richard Foster’s description of lectio divina in his book ” Sanctuary of the Soul” : According to Richard Foster, lectio divina means listening to the text of Scripture- really listening, listening yielded and still. It means submitting to the text of Scripture , allowing its message to flow into us rather than attempting to master it. It means reflecting on the text of scripture , allowing both mind and heart to be fully engaged in the meaning of the text. It means praying the text of Scripture, letting the biblical reality give rise to one heart cry of gratitude, confession, lament and petition. it means applying the text of scripture , seeing how God’s Holy Word provides a personal word for our life circumstances. it means obeying the text of scripture, always turning away from our human ways and into the way everlasting. Most of all,  lectio divina means seeing the text of Scripture, engaging the sanctified imagination in the full drama of God’s Word. Lectio divina is a meditative, spiritual reading in which both the mind and the heart are drawn into the love of God. As I meditate upon the Word of God , the Word of God becomes the gateway into seeing the unseen realities of God’s unshakeable kingdom