The 3:30 AM caller said one of my flock had sustained a heart attack and was in critical condition. I tore down to the hospital, but it was quite obvious Rachel was dead. I thought of asking the doctor why they had called me out at that hour when she was so plainly gone; I could have blessed the body after the sun rose as well as before. But instead I observed protocol. I asked politely what the doctor wanted me to do. “I want you to raise her from the dead.”
I know God can do anything, but my faith was not hot at that moment. Fortunately my commitment to obedience was stronger. The instant the doctor spoke I heard in my head, “Pray reverse.” I told the doctor what I was hearing and we began to pray. Two hours went by before Rachel began to breathe. In a few more moments she opened her eyes and was soon fully conscious. Later tests showed no damage whatever to her heart. The Lord had reversed her injuries.
I believe with all my heart that had I failed to follow protocol – the common courtesy of asking the person in charge what he wanted me to do before doing anything – the result would have been very different. The prophetic instruction of what to pray followed immediately the practice of that protocol.
Jesus is so committed to protocol that He washes the disciples’ feet before feeding them with His own hands on the night He knew they would all desert Him to the torture and death of the Cross. Paul shows respect for the high priest who has just ordered him struck across the face. Even Moses never appears before Pharoah without an appointment. Our God – and His faithful servants – practice warfare by honor. He is determined to honor people into the Kingdom. He expects His people to practice honor as ambassadors of reconciliation made in His image. Prophecy dons power when we do.
God never speaks – even a hard word – without the intention to bless. Yet some prophetic types – and some self-appointed prophets – sometimes imagine that because they speak truth they are entitled to an abusive or insensitive manner. I know one man who is very gifted in words of knowledge – supernatural revelations of personal information about people. One day he entered a local business and began telling people about themselves in front of others and without seeking permission to do so. He so frightened and offended the staff that it took months of gentle healing conversation from my wife before they would even hear from another Christian on any topic. Reality is that truth absent honor and love may be fact but it is not really truth.
“But sometimes we have to confront, don’t we?” This is true, whether we are addressing personal relationships or the critical issues facing our churches, state, and nation. But there is a world of difference between I-told-you-so and I-need-to-tell-you-something. It is the difference between approaching, for example, traditional marriage versus marriage alternatives with an attitude of us-versus-them and showing the genuine love and concern for all parties – including the gays and their lobbyists – that resulted in turning a pending (according to all the polls) loss for California’s Proposition 8 into a victory. I remember the time I was in a debate during the campaign on National Public Radio and was approached after the broadcast by several people who said they had decided to vote for the proposition after hearing the presence of love and the absence of hate in my presentation.
Readers are aware of my conviction that Barack Obama is the most corrupt president in American history. Yet I pray for him daily, and for an encounter with the living God for all leaders, beginning with me. I hope that shows should I ever meet him.
Protocol – when it precedes – empowers prophecy. I make periodic pilgrimage to the Little Bighorn Battlefield. Although the land is a national park, it is still the proper possession of the Crow People. When I go onto the land to pray for healing and reconciliation between our peoples I always obtain the blessing of the Crow elders first. As a result I have been escorted onto the battlefield by these elders and have prophesied that when their free-grazing buffalo herd reaches this land there can be authentic peace. The herd had drifted to within a couple of miles of the site at my last check-in. The elders believe the prophecy; they and I can hardly wait to see what will happen when the herd arrives. Protocol precedes authentic prophecy.
James A. Wilson is the author of Living As Ambassadors of Relationships and The Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local bookstores or by e-mailing him at
praynorthstate@charter.net
