Bad Deliveries....
I'm sure I'm not the only person who has either been given a 'word' that someone felt they received while praying for me - that ended up being a HUGE hindrance. I used to shudder to think that I would ever do that to anyone...but I've come to realise that as we grow and learn about praying for others, and in particular, praying for leaders, our learning curve increases and yes, sometimes our immaturity gets exposed.
My top 5 'bad pizzas'!
I remember once praying for a specific leader who was in the public eye, and had a lot of pressure on him. I also remember sensing that because he was charismatic, and in the public eye, that there were alot of women who wanted to get close to him. So, it probably would have been a good idea just to pray protection for him and his marriage, right? Right! But that's not what I did! I got so puffed with pride, that God had shown me something, and I wanted to prove that I was hearing from the Lord about important stuff, that I did exactly what I shouldn't have done - oh my gosh! (I still shudder when I think of it! )
My top 5 'bad pizzas'!
I remember once praying for a specific leader who was in the public eye, and had a lot of pressure on him. I also remember sensing that because he was charismatic, and in the public eye, that there were alot of women who wanted to get close to him. So, it probably would have been a good idea just to pray protection for him and his marriage, right? Right! But that's not what I did! I got so puffed with pride, that God had shown me something, and I wanted to prove that I was hearing from the Lord about important stuff, that I did exactly what I shouldn't have done - oh my gosh! (I still shudder when I think of it! )
A few days after I received this word, I ran into his wife...and without thinking I grabbed her hand, looked deep into her eyes, with probing concern ( in love of course)... and said ( and remember this was her FIRST time meeting me), what the Lord has shown me...and told her 'not to worry'...blah blah blah! WHAT a disaster!! Should have just kept that one in prayer! Even tho the word was right on, and she was worried, and he was feeling it - I made them both extremely uncomfortable. They both felt 'exposed' by God, and it took months before either of them were relaxed around me! Rule #1... Always assume that what you sense from God, is for PRAYER...not necessarily for sharing..!
Another 'bad delivery'...was the time someone came up to my husband and I - who were struggling with our role in the church and so we'd pulled back in our responsibilities. This wonderful person came up to us, told us they'd been praying and that God had told them to tell us, "IF you don't lose it, you're going go lose it." Meaning ( he went on to explain), if we didn't step back up into our gifting and ministry, God would remove it and give it to another ! OUCH!! Scared the daylights out of me..and you can imagine how much I began to nag my husband! Rule#2..Listen to rule #1...and the PRAY the solution for what God has shown you. Would have been better if he'd prayed for us to not give up - to not stay shut down or isolated. Instead I felt threatened by God....Praying it would have been better.
My third bad pizza....was the person who came and told us that they'd been praying for us as a family, and that the Lord had shown them something we needed to do. It was very specific. It was also quite dramatic and so we were not sure what to do. We thanked them and said we'd pray about it. After a bit of time passed, neither my husband and I felt that we were to act on what were were told. Neither of us felt it was an accurate word for us, so we 'let it go'. A few months later this person left our church and told us that they were leaving because they gave us 'words'..and we didn't act on them. Infact they had kept a journal on how many words they'd received through prayer, for us..and how many they felt we had ignored because we hadn't either acted on them, or given them to the church. They decided that WE didn't like their 'pizzas', so they were going else where. Rule #3..It's your job to just deliver the pizza (word). What a leader does with it, is up to them and God! Your job is to just keep praying for them, and pray that you are hearing accurately if you receive something your to share! Your worth and value is NOT in whether they receive your word! Your worth and value is already IN God!
Favorite 'bad pizza'...is the one that gets delivered with ' The Lord SAYS you are to....'.... Ugh! Not much room in letting me judge it, or hear from God about when it's delivered that way. Kinda makes me feel like if I don't act on it, I'm being rebellious or disobedient to the Lord! That can cross into manipulation - so be VERY careful ! Rule #4 Always give a word with an 'open hand' and 'open mind' - no one hears 100% correctly, so be humble and always willing to concede that you might be wrong.
Last bad pizza: The one that starts off with so many disclaimers, that by the time you give the word, there is no faith in you, the word your about to give, your ability to hear God..OR that, what you are to give has the slightest chance of being right. In fact...you've already set them up to not believe in what you're about to give them, or worse yet, to believe your wrong!! ( See the fine balance between this and rule#4??) Example: I gave a word to someone and said ' I'm not really good at this, and so I could be wrong....and if it doesn't sound right to you, you dont' have to listen to it..and I won't be offended if you just throw it away, because I don't always hear 100% correctly...and this could be one of those times......and I'm really not sure about it myself...BUT here goes......" Oh good grief. They looked at me like I was crazy! I thought I was humble. It was a MESS! They looked at me as I gave the word and just kind thanked me, like I was a crazy lady..and walked away. I knew they didn't receive what I'd said. A few minutes later, I'm walking by them, and another gal I know who was praying for them also, had the EXACT same word, delivered in a much better fashion, and I heard them say, ' That' awesome! Thank you so much!'... Rule #5 Just deliver the word, in love - don't prepare someone to reject it before you even speak it out. Just be humble enough to to give it with rules #3 and 4 in place.
So there you go! My top 5 bad deliveries! See everyone makes them - its not the end of the world! The important thing is that you keep moving, keep learning and allow God to sharpen and hone your skill for prayer, on behalf of leaders!
Another 'bad delivery'...was the time someone came up to my husband and I - who were struggling with our role in the church and so we'd pulled back in our responsibilities. This wonderful person came up to us, told us they'd been praying and that God had told them to tell us, "IF you don't lose it, you're going go lose it." Meaning ( he went on to explain), if we didn't step back up into our gifting and ministry, God would remove it and give it to another ! OUCH!! Scared the daylights out of me..and you can imagine how much I began to nag my husband! Rule#2..Listen to rule #1...and the PRAY the solution for what God has shown you. Would have been better if he'd prayed for us to not give up - to not stay shut down or isolated. Instead I felt threatened by God....Praying it would have been better.
My third bad pizza....was the person who came and told us that they'd been praying for us as a family, and that the Lord had shown them something we needed to do. It was very specific. It was also quite dramatic and so we were not sure what to do. We thanked them and said we'd pray about it. After a bit of time passed, neither my husband and I felt that we were to act on what were were told. Neither of us felt it was an accurate word for us, so we 'let it go'. A few months later this person left our church and told us that they were leaving because they gave us 'words'..and we didn't act on them. Infact they had kept a journal on how many words they'd received through prayer, for us..and how many they felt we had ignored because we hadn't either acted on them, or given them to the church. They decided that WE didn't like their 'pizzas', so they were going else where. Rule #3..It's your job to just deliver the pizza (word). What a leader does with it, is up to them and God! Your job is to just keep praying for them, and pray that you are hearing accurately if you receive something your to share! Your worth and value is NOT in whether they receive your word! Your worth and value is already IN God!
Favorite 'bad pizza'...is the one that gets delivered with ' The Lord SAYS you are to....'.... Ugh! Not much room in letting me judge it, or hear from God about when it's delivered that way. Kinda makes me feel like if I don't act on it, I'm being rebellious or disobedient to the Lord! That can cross into manipulation - so be VERY careful ! Rule #4 Always give a word with an 'open hand' and 'open mind' - no one hears 100% correctly, so be humble and always willing to concede that you might be wrong.
Last bad pizza: The one that starts off with so many disclaimers, that by the time you give the word, there is no faith in you, the word your about to give, your ability to hear God..OR that, what you are to give has the slightest chance of being right. In fact...you've already set them up to not believe in what you're about to give them, or worse yet, to believe your wrong!! ( See the fine balance between this and rule#4??) Example: I gave a word to someone and said ' I'm not really good at this, and so I could be wrong....and if it doesn't sound right to you, you dont' have to listen to it..and I won't be offended if you just throw it away, because I don't always hear 100% correctly...and this could be one of those times......and I'm really not sure about it myself...BUT here goes......" Oh good grief. They looked at me like I was crazy! I thought I was humble. It was a MESS! They looked at me as I gave the word and just kind thanked me, like I was a crazy lady..and walked away. I knew they didn't receive what I'd said. A few minutes later, I'm walking by them, and another gal I know who was praying for them also, had the EXACT same word, delivered in a much better fashion, and I heard them say, ' That' awesome! Thank you so much!'... Rule #5 Just deliver the word, in love - don't prepare someone to reject it before you even speak it out. Just be humble enough to to give it with rules #3 and 4 in place.
So there you go! My top 5 bad deliveries! See everyone makes them - its not the end of the world! The important thing is that you keep moving, keep learning and allow God to sharpen and hone your skill for prayer, on behalf of leaders!
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