During a deliverance session at Awakening House of Prayer I heard the Lord say something I had never heard before: “Bind the jackal spirit.”

I hesitated for a moment because I was not familiar with that demon, but I obeyed. I took authority over the jackal spirit, commanded it to cease and desist its operations against the woman, told it to leave her home and stop its harassment in the name of Jesus.

That night, she wasn’t jarred awake at 3 a.m. like most other nights. She slept soundly for the first time in a long time. I decided to study out this jackal spirit because I believe in attaining Scriptural backing for what I hear in the Spirit.

Since the spirit world is more real than the natural—and since spiritual things often manifest as natural things—I decided first to seek understanding on what a jackal is. What I discovered intrigued me: a jackal is a mix of a wolf and dog. Jackals are nocturnal opportunistic omnivores and predators. Although they are expert hunters, scavenging jackals often eat leftovers from what larger animals kill. Their howl pierces the air.

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“When it comes to hunting, jackals also work together. Several pairs, for instance, may take turns tiring out and dragging down a gazelle,” according to PBS. “And many jackals may band together to scare a cheetah away from its kill, so they can feed on the scraps. To coordinate such activities, jackals have a large vocabulary of calls that they use to communicate. Yips, growls, hisses and howls all have a place in the jackal language, each sound designed to warn away strangers or welcome friends.”

Understanding Jackal’s Motives

Are you getting the picture of how this spirit works? Let me break it down for you. A dog in Scripture is a symbol of the religious spirit (Phil. 3:2). A wolf is a symbol of a false prophet (Matt. 7:15). The Bible offers us clear warnings of both these evil doers, and the jackal has characteristics of each.

Mythology gives us a hint into the spirit realm—since mythology is essentially describing spirits that were worshipped or feared in ancient days. Myths feature jackals as sorcerers (false prophets). The Egyptian god Anubis is among its most ancient. This jackal-headed god is a spirit of the underworld who acts as a guide to the dead. This is clearly demonic.

Merriam-Webster also defines “jackal” as “a person who performs dishonest or base deeds as the follower or accomplice of another.” That certainly speaks to the false prophet aspect of this spirit. We see jackal mentioned 15 times in Scripture and it’s almost never good.

In his distress, Job called himself a “brother of jackals and a companion of owls” (Job 30:29). Psalm 44:19 speaks of being crushed in the place of jackal and covered with the shadow of death while Psalm 63:10 speaks to those who fall by the sword being a portion for jackals. The habitation of jackals is mentioned several times and it’s not a place you want to live. It speaks of desert places and destruction.

A jackal spirit, then, will usually attack at night and is associated with the spirit of death. It’s a mutt spirit, in a sense, as it’s a wolf mixed with a dog or a wolf mixed with a fox. A jackal spirit sets out to deceive (false prophet), operates in the realm of witchcraft (sorcery), and works to steal your liberty (religious spirit). The jackal spirit wants to bring you into desert places, destruction and ultimately death. It works to wear you out with its nocturnal attacks, fearful voices and howling imaginations.

Overcoming the Jackal Spirit

Ultimately, you overcome the jackal spirit like you do any other spirit. You submit yourself to God, resist the devil and he will flee (James 4:7). In this case, you do that by pleading the blood of Jesus over your life, taking authority over jackal’s operations, including witchcraft, and claiming Psalm 91.

You must be careful not to give heed to lying voices attacking your mind, not to isolate yourself in a wilderness place while you are under jackal’s attack, and to constantly remember who you are in Christ. Beware the jackal may come against you after an onslaught of other spirits that have left you wounded or left you for dead as the jackal is a scavenger spirit that comes in after the main attack.

Pray this prayer to help overcome the jackal spirit: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for Your protection. I repent for any open doors in my life that allowed the jackal spirit in. I break the powers of every nocturnal spirit; I bind every false prophetic voice trying to speak into my life; and I command witchcraft to cease and desist its operations, in the name of Jesus. I thank you, Lord, that I am free from the jaws of the jackal. I know who I am in Christ and He is in me. I submit myself to You and resist every manifestation and attack of jackal, in the name of Christ. {eoa}

“A spirit of offense is rising and running rampant through the church. Those who are easily offended are candidates for the Great Falling Away. Those who cultivate and maintain an unoffendable heart will escape many of the assignments the enemy will launch in the days to come.”

I’ve shared this prophetic word with you twice now. I first heard it in December 2015 but since many in the body of Christ are still taking the bait of Satan, I sounded the alarm again last week. This destructive spirit of offense is destroying destinies—but it can ultimately send you to hell if you don’t break free. I preached on this at Awakening House of Prayer on Sunday and many rushed the altar in tears. Others came slowly one by one in what was a powerful altar call.

In Christ’s Matthew 24 discourse on the end-times, He warned us against deception, false christs and not getting into fear as the signs of the times manifested. He warned us of persecution and martyrdom. He warned us of false prophets rising. And He told us those who endure to the end shall be saved. He also said this:

“And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matt. 24:10-12, NIV). We’re seeing this now.

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A Satanic End-Times Strategy

Clearly, an uptick in offense is one of the signs of the end-times. Offense leads to betrayal and hate and lawlessness. John the apostle taught us that anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them (1 John 3:15). Offense sets you up for deception from false prophets and theologies.

If you are going to get offended with your brothers and sisters now, you’ll certainly be offended at Jesus in the end times when things don’t unfold the way you thought. Judas was offended with the Lord and betrayed Him and committed suicide. Taking Satan’s bait of offense is a form of spiritual suicide, like a cancer that spreads slowly until it overtakes you.

The word offense in the Bible comes from the Greek word skandalon, which is the name of the part of the trap you set the bait on to lure the animal. Vine’s Dictionary says offense is a hindrance or a stumbling block. Offense causes us to stumble in our walk with God. We need to guard our hearts from offense with all diligence for out of it flows the issues of life (Prov. 4:23).

In his book The Bait of Satan, John Bevere writes:

“A pure heart is like pure gold—soft, tender, and pliable. Hebrews 3:13 states that hearts are hardened through the deceitfulness of sin! If we do not deal with an offense, it will produce more fruit of sin, such as bitterness, anger, and resentment. This added substance hardens our hearts just as alloys harden gold. This reduces or removes tenderness, creating a loss of sensitivity. We are hindered in our ability to hear God’s voice. Our accuracy to see is darkened. This is a perfect setting for deception.”

Dealing With Offense in Our Hearts

It’s impossible that offenses won’t come (Luke 17:1) yet Paul said, “I always strive to have a clear conscience toward God and toward men.” It is possible to reject the bait of offenses that come your way if you are not one in the last days that falls into the “lovers of themselves” category (2 Tim. 3:2).

We can’t walk in the glory of God and offense at the same time. Proverbs 19:11 tells us, “The discretion of a man defers his anger, and it is his glory to pass over a transgression” (MEV). We can’t get prayer answers and walk in unforgiveness at the same time (Mark 11:22-26; Matthew 6:9-15). We can’t walk in offense and expect not to enter into resentment, unforgiveness, bitterness and hatred.

“A common excuse for self-preservation through disobedience is offense. There is a false sense of self-protection in harboring an offense. It keeps you from seeing your own character flaws because the blame is deferred to another,” Bevere writes. “You never have to face your role, your immaturity, or your sin because you see only the faults of the offender. Therefore, God’s attempt to develop character in you by this opposition is now abandoned. The offended person will avoid the source of the offense and eventually flee, becoming a spiritual vagabond.”

Dealing with offense in our hearts requires repentance—a change of thinking. We need to crucify our flesh, ask God for the grace of humility, stop being selfish and determine not to be offended. We need to allow the Lord to heal any past hurts, wounds, rejection or other issues that drive us toward offense. We need to stop using the Word of God to justify our right to be offended so we’ll stop fleeing relationships and churches and repeating the same cycle.

Walking in Humility

By the same token, we need to walk in humility with those who are offended with us—justifiably or unjustifiably—knowing that offense could ultimately send them to hell. Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to walk in humility with someone who refuses to meet or talk with you. But you should give it several good attempts bathed in intercession before you give up. Jesus said:

“You have heard that it was said by the ancients, ‘You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever murders shall be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be in danger of the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be in danger of hell fire.

Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go on your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matt. 5:21-24).

Always allow the Holy Spirit to lead you. Your brother may not reconcile but if you’ve gone to them three times and taken others, you’ve done all you can do. Beloved, guard your heart from offense in this hour and be careful to avoid offending others as much as possible. Walk humbly and circumspectly before the Lord. The days are evil.

Less than a year ago I sounded the alarm about a destructive spirit that’s rising fast. It’s especially deceptive because the one who falls into its snare cannot see it.

That not-so-subtle spirit is offense. I’ve been witnessing believers getting offended over slight corrections, unreturned phone calls and even the way certain people say “Holy Spirit.” I’ve heard about believers getting offended over new relationships forming, being asked to sit out travel trips, or not being invited into a back room meeting.

There’s an actual spirit rising that’s causing these unreasonable offenses. It’s Satan’s plot to divide believers in an hour of church history when it’s more vital than perhaps ever before that we unite on our common beliefs.

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Offense is dangerous because “a brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, and their contentions are like the bars of a castle” (Prov. 18:19). But love is not touchy or easily provoked (see 1 Cor. 13:5-6). We know that, “good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense” (Prov. 19:11). And the Preacher offers some really good advice: “Do not give heed to everything people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. Your heart knows that many times you have spoken a curse against others” (Eccl. 7:21-22).

Running Rampant in the Church

When I asked the Lord about this, He explained what is going on:

“A spirit of offense is rising and running rampant through the church. Those who are easily offended are candidates for the Great Falling Away. Those who cultivate and maintain an unoffendable heart will escape many of the assignments the enemy will launch in the days to come.

“For My people must band together in this hour and refuse to allow petty arguments and soulish imaginations to separate them. This is the time to press into community and relationship and reject the demonic notions and wisdom the enemy is pouring out.

“The love of many is waxing cold. Brother is turning against brother and sister against sister—in My body. You must come to the unity of the faith in order to accomplish what I’ve called you to do in this hour. The time is upon you. The opportunity is before you. Lay aside the resentment, bitterness and unforgiveness and, as far as it depends upon you, seek peace with all men.

“Humble yourselves even among those who you feel are your enemies and I will work to bring reconciliation that sets the scene for unity from which the anointing flows. You need My anointing to combat the antichrist spirits rising in this hour.

“Many of My people are wrestling in their flesh, engaging in works of the flesh, and otherwise letting the flesh lead in battle—and they are battling flesh instead of the spirits influencing the flesh. This is the result of offense. Forgive, let go, embrace your brothers and sisters despite their flaws and sins. I have.”

16 Ways to Discern an Offended Heart

I’ve discovered there are tell-tale signs of an offended heart—and the ultimate root of offense is pride. However, we may not recognize those signs in our life or the lives of others because they are often subtle or we are already blinded to it.

Listen to Jennifer’s podcast: Are You Offended?

1. Big complainers. We all complain from time to time but someone with an offended heart complains more than most. They complain about what people do or say to them—or don’t do or say to them. They complain about the way others behave or what they receive. They complain about something most of the time.

2. Condemning critics. Beyond complaining about behaviors, people with an offended heart grow critical of the actual person. As this advances, the offended heart criticizes their targets for things they didn’t even do or say based on their own twisted perceptions of reality.

3. Attention-seekers. People with an offended heart want your attention. They believe a lie that tells them they can demand your attention with evil reports about others. This, of course, elevates them to a position of importance in their own mind. Remember, offense is rooted in pride.

4. Insecurity abounds. People with an offended heart have a measure of insecurity, which is often connected to pride. Insecure people speak ill of others behind their backs, again to elevate themselves. They don’t feel safe or secure in who they are, so they have to attack others to make them feel comfortable in their own skin.

5. Victim-hood rises. People with an offended heart usually have a string of sad stories about how people have wronged them. They may have been genuinely hurt and wounded, but now they see everything through the lens of victimhood whether they are being treated unfairly or not.

6. Pity parties frequent. People with an offended heart want your pity, which is connected with victimhood. They hope you will take up their offense and give them special treatment because of the injustice they’ve endured. Beware of taking up another person’s offense. It’s dangerous.

7. Playing the blame game. People with an offended heart blame other people for their emotions, situations and circumstances. They don’t take responsibility for their own feelings but instead point fingers. Blame is the guard to change.

8. Trigger-happy. People with an offended heart are easily triggered into a new offense. They are hyper-sensitive to anything that looks or sound offensive and are vulnerable to tapping into imaginary offenses the devil orchestrates to keep them in bondage.

9. Operate in presumption. People with an offended heart operate in presumption instead of truth. They automatically believe the worst instead of believing the best.

10. Strife-spreaders. People with an offended heart won’t go to the person who offended them but will tell everybody else what someone did to them. This is dangerous according to Matthew 18, but it’s especially dangerous when it’s based in false perceptions. Sowing discord among brethren is an abomination to the Lord (Prov. 6:19).

11. Negative Nancys. People with an offended heart have an overall negative bent to them. They are quick to speak, quick to judge and slow to see the good in people or circumstances. They only believe the best of those who haven’t offended them … yet.

12. Fleeing spirit. People with an offended heart will not respond to your requests for reconciliation. They will avoid you, ignore you and otherwise refuse to engage in a conversation that could bring clarity and freedom.

13. Manipulating and controlling. People with an offended heart will begin manipulating situations to set people up for a fall. If you offend them, they will work to get others to rise up against you.

14. Quick to anger. People with an offended heart are quick to anger. It’s unreasonable anger.

15. Narcissistic tendencies. People with an offended heart cannot be confronted with facts. You can’t reason with them because the spirit of offense is unreasonable.

16. Unforgiving, resentful and bitter. People with an offended heart have a root of bitterness and resentment is evident in their conversation. They have ought in their soul and refuse to let go of the bait of Satan.

How do you deal with this? We’ll look at some solutions in the next article in this series. {eoa}

Prophetic words bring warfare, but that’s not the only reason people receive legitimate would-be life-changing prophecies that don’t come to pass. Although I believe strongly in waging war with prophetic words, you also have to be careful to understand what the Lord is actually saying to war accurately.

Beyond this, you need a certain maturity to walk out the word by faith. You need the spiritual strength to stand against the tribulation and persecution that will surely come against a potentially life-changing prophecy. And you need to keep your mind focused on God’s plans despite the barrage of cares and worries the devil brings to your mind.

At the end of the day, it really does boil down to this: There is a war over the prophetic word over your life. Sometimes that war comes from the wicked one. Sometimes that war comes from our own carnal nature that wars against the Spirit (Gal. 5:17). Either way—and whether in Scripture or via prophecy judged accurate—we must fight the good fight of faith so we can walk in the fullness of God’s promises.

Prophetic Insight From a Familiar Parable

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus explains some spiritual truth about the Word of God. But it can also apply to prophecies that come straight from His heart.

“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one who received seed beside the path” (Matt. 13:19-20). It’s important you understand exactly what God is saying prophetically. Many people miss it on the interpretation or application, especially in the dream realm. Of course, some prophecies are hard to misinterpret, especially ones about having babies or operating in some spiritual gift.

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“But he who received the seed on rocky ground is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, eventually he falls away” (Matt. 13: 21). Immature Christians need help walking out a prophetic word. Even when a mature Christian is hit with tribulation and persecution over a life-changing prophecy, they need strong friends to encourage them to keep standing. Don’t try to walk it out alone.

“He also who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful” (Matt. 13:22). The enemy works often with distractions. He doesn’t care if you chase a good thing, as long as it’s not the God thing. We need to be careful to diligently focus on the prophecy or we will find ourselves focused on everything else but the promise.

Finally, in verse 23, Jesus said, “But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit. Some produce a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.” This is what we want. We want a heart that is open to what God says, understands His kingdom purpose and presses through the warfare to see the promise come to pass.

Where Do You Go From Here?

Although a prophetic word is not on par with Scripture, a prophecy that’s been judged true can be used as a sword in the spiritual realm to do battle against the enemy’s assignment. Continue to declare the prophetic word over your life. Remember, the enemy doesn’t really care about you. He hates you, yes, but ultimately he just doesn’t want the prophetic word to come to pass because, when it does, God’s will comes to the Earth.

If you are in a season of waiting and warring, hold on. Keep in mind it was at least 15 years between David’s prophetic anointing and David’s kingship. And it was about 13 years in between Joseph’s dream and his promotion to Egypt’s prime minister.

Chances are, it won’t take that long for you to see the first fruits of life-changing prophetic words spoken over your life. But even if it does, don’t give in to the enemy’s strategies. Ultimately, this is the Lord’s battle. Declare the prophetic word over your life and keep fighting the good fight of faith.

After I got saved, I received only two instructions: “Read the book of John and go to a Pentecostal church.” Unfortunately, a charismatic false prophet led the only one I could find.

Despite the marvelous worship experience, I knew something was wrong as soon as the “prophet” started hawking for cash with false gimmicks that deceived desperate believers. I went running out the door clutching my purse tightly in both hands, but I didn’t throw out the baby with the proverbial bathwater. I didn’t reject all prophetic ministry because of one false prophet, or the false prophets I’ve encountered since.

Shortly after I moved to Alabama, my wilderness place, I was drawn to charismatic teachers like Joyce Meyer. I actually got baptized in the Spirit at one of her conferences. Soon, I plugged into a Word of Faith church, but to my dismay, I saw excesses there also.

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Although I enjoyed Papa Hagin’s balanced teaching, many have since perverted his principles. He actually rebuked those who took his teachings to extra-biblical extremes shortly before he died. Unfortunately, many didn’t heed the fatherly warning. Still, I didn’t reject all Word of Faith teaching based on the harassing hype I witnessed at a local church.

When the Lord moved me back to South Florida, an apostolic church awaited me. It was the early days of the apostolic reformation. The prophetic ministry was not yet fully embraced, much less apostles. The atmosphere was not only militant, it was controlling. Much like in the days of the Shepherding Movement, members had to ask permission to go on vacation, get married or even stay home sick. I eventually left that abusive church, but I didn’t disregard the legitimate apostolic truths I learned there.

Why I am taking you down memory lane? I’m trying to make a point. Many years ago, the Holy Spirit spoke expressly to my heart about the varied “camps” in the body of Christ. He told me many rivers are flowing, and as long as they flow from Jesus, I can fish in the stream. Will error emerge in some of those streams as they flow further away from the revelation that birthed them? Indeed, that is often the case. Sadly, there’s no avoiding that reality.

Perhaps now more than ever, we need discernment. But error and excess in the church are nothing new. Paul dealt with it frequently, from the use of spiritual gifts to wrong end-times theologies to Gnosticism—a heretical movement in the early church that teaches salvation is attained through special knowledge rather than faith in Christ alone. Paul corrected these errors and excesses, but he did not command people to stop practicing the gifts or looking for the return of the Lord.

When we reject entire moves of God because they don’t line up with the traditions we’ve been taught or because a true manifestation of the Spirit offends our heart, we’re missing out on blessings. Although we should be vigilant and prayerful, I can assure you, if you stay in the Word and walk in the Spirit, you will not fall into deception. In fact, if you stay in the Word and walk in the Spirit, you may find yourself embracing some of the truths you once rejected.

You’ve heard it said, “Eat the hay and spit out the sticks.” I believe there is plenty of hay that would nourish our spirits if we weren’t so opposed to exercising our spiritual senses to discern the sticks. Admittedly, I’ve seen practices that make me uncomfortable going on in many legitimate movements. In some cases, the Holy Spirit has shown me I’m being religious. Other times, he showed there was error in the camp. I respond appropriately.

Like the authentic Word of Faith movement, the Lord showed me grave error doesn’t start with the godly one who introduced the revelation. Error is introduced when people who don’t really have a genuine revelation try to propagate a truth they don’t fully grasp or when hucksters leverage truth to deceive. Parroting someone else’s revelation can be dangerous; hearing the revelation, studying it and praying through it can bring you into new facets of that revelation that are healthy rather than heretical.

I’m eating all the hay I can gather, testing revelations against the Word with the help of the Spirit and enjoying the many streams that make a great river of revival. I’m convinced some of the greatest opponents to the next move of God will be those from the last move of God. As for me, I’m ready to embrace it fully—whatever the Lord wants to do.

When Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, He gave gifts to men. Ephesians 4:11 tells us He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and some teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of service.

One of the primary mandates of a New Testament prophet is to equip the saints to hear from God and to prophesy accurately. Every believer has the capacity to hear from God. Jesus said His sheep know His voice (John 10:27). But many believers do not discern the voice of the Lord, which is one reason there is an unhealthy dependence on prophets.

Indeed, many treat prophets like psychics—or at least cheap gumball machines that take money for prophecies. Many believers, by contrast, put unhealthy pressure on prophetic people to “gimme a word” or get sucked into pay-for-prophecy scams on the internet.

But that brings me to the questions in the headline of my article: Are Schools of the Prophets Legit? You can’t make somebody a prophet, so why all the schools of prophets? This is something that I did not tackle in my book, The Making of a Prophet. So I am tackling it now.

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Are Schools of the Prophets Legit?

The concept of a school of the prophets is certainly legitimate. Samuel launched the school of the prophets in Old Testament days. Some translations say “company of prophets” or “sons of prophets.” In 1 Samuel 19:18-24, we see Saul running into one of Samuel’s companies prophesying. Samuel was standing over them. Suddenly, the Spirit of God came upon the men with Saul and they started prophesying. Then Saul started prophesying.

Although it appears these companies or sons were young prophets, Easton’s Bible Dictionary gives us more insight into the schools of prophets. Seen also with Elijah and Elisha in 1 and 2 Kings, Easton‘s tells us the schools of the prophets were “instituted for the purpose of training young men for the prophetical and priestly offices.”

But the schools of the prophets didn’t make someone a prophet. Sure, there were prophets among them. There were also priests who did not prophesy. Think of the Old Testament schools of the prophets as seminaries, of sorts, where those sensed God’s call to service would band together for training.

Again, you can’t make yourself into a prophet. But reputable schools of prophets can help you discern the voice of God, discover ways He may be speaking with you, and equip you in the realm of dreams, visions and spiritual warfare. Schools of prophets can teach you how to wage war with a prophetic word, wage war with the devil and wage war against your flesh. These schools can help you develop your prophetic voice, build accuracy and operate with safeguards that protect your prophetic credibility.  

No, not all schools of the prophets you find on the internet are legitimate. Some of these schools are run by con artists who just want a paycheck. These are the same ones who offer prophecies online for a love donation or a specific dollar amount. I assure you, these are empty words at best.

Check out Jennifer LeClaire’s School of the Prophets.

Great Deception in Prophetic Ministry

About six months ago, I spoke with two different men of God about the state of prophetic ministry. I was so grieved to hear they were seeing many of the things I have been witnessing. When I got off the second call, I felt the Lord calling me to prayer. In my mind, I was on a deadline for the print magazine and didn’t have time.

I knelt down over my bed anyway and prayed. When I did, travail came upon me. For about an hour and a half, I groaned, cried and shook. I prayed in the Spirit. I cried out the Lord. He showed me the state of some camps in the prophetic ministry, how they were doing the bidding of Jezebel and Baal, and how much worse things could get in the next five years if there is not a course correction. I don’t believe most false prophets start out as false prophets.

I’ve waited. I’ve processed. And I’m committed to doing whatever small part I can to help raise up true prophets with balance, humility and accuracy in this hour. That’s why I just launched a School of the Prophets that people can sit in live in South Florida or watch online at any time. I don’t think I can solve the problem, but I hope to be part of the solution.{eoa}

Check out Jennifer LeClaire’s School of the Prophets.

Prophecy is a vital ministry in the body of Christ. Every believer can prophesy and some do, but many struggle to discern the voice of the Lord. Many others do not understand simple protocols for prophetic ministry because they have not been rightly trained, despite the Ephesians 4:11 mandate for five-fold prophets to equip the saints for the work for the ministry.

Recently, we launched prophecy rooms at Awakening House of Prayer. Prophecy rooms are a safe place where experienced prophetic ministers can share a word of the Lord to people seeking edification, exhortation and comfort. Our goal with this is two-fold: to train up prophetic people with accountability and to reach out to our community, giving them an alternative to the psychic shops that plague our region.

Listen to Jennifer’s podcast for more detail on prophetic protocols.

We have prophetic ministry guidelines because there is a biblical precedent for them. Paul outlined the definition and use of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12-14. In part one of this series on prophetic protocols for exercising the simple gift of prophecy, we’ll look at 10 protocols that will help guide you as you grow in this critical gift.

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1. Expect to hear from God: As you cultivate a discerning spirit—which includes discerning the Spirit of the Lord—you will grow in the gift of prophecy. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice” (John 10:27). You can hear the voice of the Lord. Some people come to me and say, “Well, Jennifer, the devil is telling me I can’t hear from God.” That baffles me. They are hearing into the spiritual realm and they can’t hear from God? I always tell them, “Just change the channel.”

2. Do not prophesy to someone one on one: There are times the Lord may have you do this, but in a church setting or a prophecy room setting, you don’t want to be a “parking lot prophet.” That is, you don’t want to pull someone off in the corner or prophesy one on one, especially to someone who is not part of your church community. This could lead to people twisting your words and it also leaves you without any true accountability. Prophecy should not be exercised in the dark. Even if you have a serious word for someone, another leader should be present.

Check out Jennifer LeClaire’s School of the Prophets.

3. Always record the prophetic word: In our prophecy room setting, we record the prophetic utterances for the same reason listed above. Some people hear what they want to hear no matter what we say and will declare you prophesied something at which you never even hinted. A secondary reason is so we can provide the participant with a copy in case they didn’t bring a recorder. We want people to be able to judge, meditate and war with accurate prophesies. If you give someone a prophetic word in writing, be sure to make a copy for your own files.

4. Do not showboat, get goofy or start talking in Elizabethan English: The Lord doesn’t talk to me in Elizabethan English. We don’t need to get religious to deliver a word from the Spirit. We don’t need to get loud for the sake of getting loud, to cry for the sake of seeming spiritual, to shake, rattle or roll. I am not against any manifestation of the Holy Spirit but the truth is the Holy Spirit exalts Jesus and the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10).

5. Don’t add to or take away from the prophecy: You wouldn’t add or take away from the written Word of God, right? In the same way, you don’t want to add or take away from prophetic words. Just say what you hear, nothing more and nothing less.

6. Be aware of your facial expressions and gestures: Just as you must be careful about adding or taking away from a prophecy with words, you need to also be careful about your facial expressions and gestures, especially when prophesying as a team. Don’t give a sour face when your ministry team partner is giving a prophecy. Don’t seem disinterested or otherwise emotional. Keep a straight face or smile. Stay engaged.

7. Don’t compare your flow with anyone else’s: God moves differently through different people and not everyone in a session needs to deliver a word to each person (2 Cor. 10:12).

8. In the case of a strongly bad reaction from someone in the hot seat, remain calm and peaceable and handle the situation with diplomacy: If you are delivering a personal prophecy and the person rebukes you, cries or displays some other surprising reaction, don’t get upset, defensive or otherwise disturbed. Maintain a cool spirit at all times.

9. Commit yourself to prophetic accuracy. Don’t feel pressure to prophesy. One reason some people miss it is because of that prophetic pressure.

10. Stay accountable. Admit if you are wrong. Stay humble and teachable. Receive correction so you can develop your prophetic gifting. {eoa}

Discernment is a vital gift in an age when false apostles, deceitful workers, demonic angels of light, false signs and wonders, false prophets, false teachers, false christs, false revivalists and other falsities are rising in the church.

Some believers have the gift of discerning of spirits but every believer can develop a discerning spirit. Indeed, we need to hunger for discernment in this hour because signs and wonders will mark the next great move of God but the enemy will come in—as the Bible warns in 2 Corinthians 11:13-14, 2 Peter 2:1-3, Matthew 24:24 and other places—with deceptions and counterfeit anointings at the same time.

Even people who walk closely with God and hear His voice accurately can massively miss it. The Gibeonites tricked Joshua into making a covenant with them and he ended up having to go to war to defend them. The Bible says he “did not ask counsel of the Lord” (Joshua 9:14). A young prophet didn’t discern an old prophet lying to him and paid for it with his life (1 Kings 13:1-24). Even Samuel, a prophet whose words never fell to the ground, missed it by relying on his natural eyes. He thought surely Eliab was God’s choice to replace Saul (1 Sam. 16:6-13).

We need discernment in the spiritual realm but we also need discernment to navigate the many decisions in our life. We need to know what the will of the Lord is. Discernment is not a feeling. It’s a knowing. If you have a feeling, don’t act until the feeling is a knowing. Your emotions will betray your discernment. You need to see with your spirit and not your soul. So how do we get discernment? Here are five ways.

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1. Ask for discernment. Like wisdom, discernment flows out of a fear of the Lord and you can ask for it. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without criticism, and it will be given to him.” You could put “discernment” in that verse and it would still ring true.

Matthew 7:7-8 promises, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” And remember Solomon, who asked for “an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and bad” (1 Kings 3:9).

God wants you to have discernment. He wants you to be wise regarding the manifestation of spiritual gifts and decisions about your life. If you need discernment, ask for it. But don’t just ask for it in the moment you need it. Ask for it regularly.

2. Seek godly counsel. Remember, our emotions can betray us. Seek counsel from those who are more experienced in life or more discerning than you. Personally, I always seek counsel from various perspectives when I face a problem or need to make an important decision. I hear the voice of the Lord in good counsel.

Proverbs 11:14 tells us, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” And Proverbs 15:22 says, “Without counsel, purposes are disappointed, but in the multitude of counselors they are established.”

You can sharpen your own skills by listening to good counsel.

3. Stay in the Word. The Word of God gives us God’s perspective on all matters of life. The book of Proverbs, in particular, is an excellent tool for strengthening your discernment. When we need discernment, we should pray and ask the Lord—then go to His Word. Judge your discernment against the Word of God.

Hebrews 4:12 tells us, “For the word of God is alive, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intents of the heart.” And Romans 12:2 warns, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

If you know the Word—and you know the character of God by studying His Word—you will cultivate discernment. Anything that does not line up with God’s Word does not come from God because the Spirit and the Word agree (1 John 5:8).

4. Exercise discernment. In a biblical warning of apostasy, Hebrews 5:11-14 says, “Concerning this we have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become hard of hearing. For though by now you should be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God and have come to need milk rather than solid food. Everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a baby. But solid food belongs to those who are mature, for those who through practice have powers of discernment that are trained to distinguish good from evil.”

We need to be open-minded but, as it’s been said, we don’t need to be so open-minded that our brains fall out. When you meet new people, use discernment. The Bible says to know people by their fruits (Matt. 7:16).

5. Don’t go by what you see with your natural eyes. Remember, Joshua and Samuel both went by what they saw or heard. Paul, by contrast, didn’t let what he saw or heard move him. When the damsel with the spirit of divination followed Paul and Silas around declaring, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation” (Acts 16:16), Paul waited to discern what was happening.

On the surface, she spoke facts. But the Bible says the girl did this for many days. Paul was greatly troubled in his spirit—he discerned something was wrong. Finally, he turned to the spirit and told it to come out in the name of Jesus. Paul illustrated what John 7:24 admonishes us to do: “Do not judge according to appearance, but practice righteous judgment.” {eoa}

I’ll always remember the night I stepped into a Florida Panhandle church in the midst of full-blown revival. Rick Curry invited me to check out what was known in 2014 as the Gulf Stream Revival.

Being a journalist by trade, I stood back and watched as revivalist Damon Thompson declared everyone who needed healing should run a circle around the church. After one lady passed me a second time, the Holy Spirit spoke these attention-getting words to my heart, “I’ve called you to be a participant in revival, not just an observer of it.”

With that, I started running around the church with the rest of them. That night awakened in me a newfound hunger for transforming revival. Not long after that night, I had a dream in which Dutch Sheets shared advice with me about the next step in my journey—and weeks later, I heard Dutch’s appeal-to-heaven message for the first time.

There’s been no stopping me since. You cannot tell me God is not going to bring a Third Great Awakening to this nation. You cannot convince me the Earth will not be filled with an awareness of God’s glory just as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14). You cannot sway my faith in the prophetic promise the Holy Spirit gave me about transforming revival when He woke me up after midnight in 2007.

I’ve been contending for this revival in every way, shape and form I can find for several years now—not nearly as long as many others but with everything in me. I’ve met plenty of hungry believers along the way who are also waging war with the prophecies over their cities, states and nations. Recently, though, my 2014 experience came full circle.

It was rainy and cold in Virginia Beach. We were at Cape Henry on the Atlantic shore of Virginia—named in 1607 in honor of Henry Frederick, the prince of Wales—and home to one of the greatest revivals in history some 300 years later.

Cape Henry goes down in American history as the site of the first landfall of Frederick, son of King James I of England, during his expedition from Great Britain to North America. When they arrived, the British colonists erected a wooden cross and gave thanks for a safe landing.

King James devoted pieces of the land for the intent of spreading Christianity in his First Charter of Virginia, which reads: “We greatly commending, and graciously accepting of, their Desires for the Furtherance of so noble a Work, which may, by Providence of Almighty God, hereafter tend to the Glory of his Divine Majesty, in propagating of Christian Religion to such People, as yet live in Darkness and miserable Ignorance … .”

Our visit to Cape Henry on April 29 on a prayer assignment was more than coincidental. It was a divine appointment. April 29 was the same date Frederick and his crew landed at Cape Henry and a nation was born. That date in 1607 was also the eighth day of Passover, and at sunset April 29, 2016, the eighth day of Passover began.

Curry was standing alone, considering the history. He decided to Periscope and make an appeal to heaven right there. Suddenly, he realized he was not alone. Three ladies toting flags as part of an intercessory prayer assignment were standing behind him. One of them interrupted him with a message they said was from the Lord: “The Lord would say to you, ‘The appeal has been heard in the court of heaven, and the time for awakening has come!'”

“I was speechless,” Curry says. “They asked me if that meant anything to me. We talked for a while, and it was such a wonderful and amazing encounter—totally unexpected. They said they had read two books on appeal to heaven—The Next Great Move of God by Jennifer LeClaire and Appeal to Heaven by Dutch Sheets—and had heard the dream. They had no idea I was the one who had the dream when they approached me.”

Curry is referring to a dream he shared in my book about seeing the generations come together in an auditorium. In the dream, Curry saw Sheets waving a flag with an evergreen tree on the front with writing across the top he could not make out. That was the appeal to heaven flag.

“Tell everyone you know,” Curry says. “Things are about to change dramatically! The nation is ready for a move of the Spirit sweeping millions into the kingdom of God! We are inspired by hundreds, so encouraged by thousands, but many, many more are turning their hearts to the Father!”

Faith comes by hearing. That’s the Scripture that inspired the Charisma Podcast Network, which just surpassed the 1 million download mark.

Launched less than a year ago by visionary and Charisma Media publisher Dr. Steve Greene, CPN features a variety of shows, including news, leadership, inspiring stories, women’s topics and more. All told, we’ve developed 11 unique shows for this growing network as readers keep coming back asking for more.

“I believe in the power of the pen, but the Holy Spirit showed me the power of the spoken word. Podcasting allows Charisma Media to reach hungry Christians who enjoy listening to Spirit-inspired content in the car, at home or anywhere else,” says Greene, who has worked in TV station management at major stations and in marketing capabilities with Fortune 500 members. “I knew our audiences—and new audiences—would appreciate this mobile audio platform and that our advertisers hoping to reach this target market would flock to it.”

Although I have tremendous confidence in Dr. Greene, I was surprised at the rapid rise of my own show, Walking in the Spirit. No matter where I travel ministering around the country, people tell me they are avid listeners. I’ve even received testimonies from people around the world sharing how this simple podcast has impacted their lives.

Here’s just one of many. This comes from Sharon Miller in Texas.

“I just wanted to let you know that I listened to your podcast for the first time this week. What the Holy Spirit had to say set me free from a situation that I have been going through for six months now,” she writes. “I prayed about it and prayed about it until I told God that I didn’t know what to pray anymore. What Holy Spirit said got my mind off my situation and back on enjoying God. It just set me free. Praise God!”

Of course, we have shows to meet a variety of listening interests. Dr. Greene’s At Work With God podcast is a great way to start your day as you set out to do God’s will in the marketplace and demonstrate a spirit of excellence. The Charisma News Podcast presents the news in a story-telling mode ala NPR—but with a spiritual perspective. And C-Pop offers a look at popular culture through the eyes of two of my favorite Millennials.

Clearly, Christians are hungry for content that feeds their spirit and encourages their soul. I have to admit, I did not see the potential Dr. Greene saw and I’m grateful that he pioneered this platform at Charisma Media. Most podcast networks never reach the 1 million download mark—in fact, studies show most podcasts fail—yet by the grace of God and with the support of our loyal readers we did hit 1 million downloads in less than a year.

CPN has also provided a strategic opportunity for advertisers who want to reach a hungry audience of Christian listeners. Subscribers who find us today often go back and listen to a slew of past podcasts, multiplying the ROI of the advertising investment. Truly, it’s a win-win-win.

Faith comes by hearing—and the Lord is using podcasts to reach new audiences with relevant, inspiring content. Consider the overall statistics in the podcasting market. According to Edison Research:

•       Podcasting listening grew 23% between 2015 and 2016.
•       21% of Americans ages 12 and up have listened to a podcast in the past month, up from 17% in 2015.
•       Only 13% of the USA listens to Spotify monthly, and 21% of the country uses Twitter.
•       Monthly podcast listenership has increased 75% since 2013.
•       64% of podcasts are being listened to on a smartphone or tablet.
•       Weekly podcast listeners consume five shows per week on average.

In a soundbite world where people are on the go, podcasting clearly fills a void—and the Charisma Podcast Network is filling that void well in the Christian market. If you haven’t listened to our podcasts, you can subscribe via iTunes, Android Play or visit our website at .