Session 2 of 9
Learning to tune in to the many frequencies God uses.
God speaks to us in many different ways. Like analogue and digital waves are always in the air, God always wants to talk with us — we just have to tune in. FM, AM, analogue TV, digital TV — none is more important than the other. Getting the message, understanding it, and obeying it — these are what matter. While AM radio might have gone out of fashion, don’t long so much for HD digital that you ignore your God-given AM frequency. There are areas that can only be reached, and messages that can only be sent, by AM.
Don’t limit or avoid certain channels because of worldly counterfeits. Submit all your senses to God and He will fill them. God just asks that we are available and in submission to Him and the leadership of the local church — His church, His Bride, something He treasures. Our value is in the body, not in individualism.
Depending on how God speaks to you, revelation is usually the easy part. Interpretation, application and timing are where it most often gets lost in translation — and we will return to those in “How and When to Prophesy.”
Audible voice. This is rare. Most people, including gifted and anointed prophets, never hear God speak audibly — yet many sit waiting for it.
Still small voice. This is how God most often speaks. “And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.” (1 Kings 19:12) We often need to quieten our spirit and the noise of the world before we can hear Him. Journaling slows the mind — writing down our prayers can lead to receiving a Psalm or a love letter back from God. Other disciplines like fasting also help to bring our body into submission, allowing us to be still before God. Then we are often more receptive to impressions, thoughts and whispers.
Conscious awareness and impressions. There are times we simply get a feeling — that we should not go somewhere, or that we should phone or message someone. As a parent can give a child a look and they know exactly what to do or not do, so God can give us a look that we feel tangibly. This does not always have to be negative — it can also be an approving or encouraging nudge, a feeling to carry on. Physical sensations can sit here too — pain or warmth not previously there, a fragrance, wind, oil or heat on hands or feet. We are not to chase the sensations. We are to chase the intimate voice of God.
Angels and messengers. God does send angels — and there appear to be different kinds for different purposes. The important thing is never to look to the angels — always to the God who sent them.
Trances. Acts 10:10–11 records Peter falling into a trance and seeing the heavens opened. This is sometimes viewed sceptically because of a perceived worldly association with trances. But we are called to seek Jesus and glorify Him — not any manifestation of His work. How you receive should never be the focus, but rather what you receive and how faithful you are with it. It does not make the revelation more powerful or significant. Some things might simply be better conveyed in a trance.
Visions, pictures and impressions. Visions are as if you were there — more literal, requiring less interpretation. Pictures and impressions need more work to interpret and apply.
Transportation. Paul writes of a man “caught up to the third heaven — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.” (2 Corinthians 12:2–4) Rare, but real. As with every channel, the point is not the experience but the One who sent it.
Through creation. Sometimes God speaks broadly — a general revelation of how vast and kind He is — and sometimes pointedly, through what is in front of you: a tree, a sunrise, an animal, the river. “The heavens declare the glory of God.” (Psalm 19:1) Be willing to be spoken to outdoors.
Through circumstances. God shapes character and gives direction through the seasons we are in. A closed door, an unexpected delay, a sudden provision — these are not interruptions to the journey, they are often part of the message.
Through people’s thoughts (discernment). In Luke 11:17 Jesus knew what they were thinking, and we are called to do what we have seen Jesus do. This is closely linked to the gift of discernment, and is invaluable in pastoral conversation, prayer ministry and intercession.
Seeing into the spiritual realm. Some believers are given the ability to see in the spirit as clearly as they see in the natural — what is happening, in real time, in the unseen realm. Elisha prayed exactly this for his servant: “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” (2 Kings 6:17). Like every channel above, it is a gift to steward humbly, never to perform with.
God speaks through dreams more often than most of us realise. Joseph received the call of his life in a dream (Genesis 37), interpreted dreams that saved a nation (Genesis 40–41). Daniel both received and interpreted dreams that shaped empires. Job 33:14–16 says God speaks “in a dream, in a vision of the night… then he opens the ears of men.”
Dreams are usually symbolic, not literal. Ask God which it is before you respond. Interpretation belongs to God — “Do not interpretations belong to God?” (Genesis 40:8). Don’t reach first for a dream dictionary. Reach first for the Author.
Recurring symbols often have biblical roots. Water often speaks of the Spirit. Lions can speak of Christ (Lion of Judah) or the enemy — the posture usually tells you which. Gardens speak of intimacy. Mountains often represent kingdoms or callings. Houses often represent a life or a ministry.
Pay attention to what is repeated. Pharaoh dreamed twice because “the thing is fixed by God.” (Genesis 41:32). When God says something twice, take it seriously. When He says it three times, prepare.
Write them down. If we can’t be bothered to capture them, we are telling God we don’t really value them. Date it. Patterns emerge over months and years that you would never see otherwise.
Scripture. The Bible is the primary, authoritative way God speaks, and the foundation against which everything else must be tested. Even prophecy must be tested against Scripture.
Based primarily on the revelation described above, the gift of prophecy normally manifests in one or more of the following ways:
This plan follows Session 2 — the many ways God communicates, and learning to tune in. Each day pairs scriptures cited in the teaching with complementary passages that deepen the same theme.
From the session referenced in the teaching · Suggested added to deepen the theme
Quieting the world to hear God’s whisper — and the voice already speaking through what He has made.
God speaking in the night, and through the season we are walking through.
Symbolism, repetition, and the Spirit revealing what is hidden — including what is in another’s thoughts.
Angels, transportation, sight in the spirit, and the prophetic act — with eyes on the Sender.
Testing everything against the authoritative voice.
Read the passage unhurried. Then sit quietly, let the noise of the world settle, and journal anything that comes — a word, a picture, an impression — and date it. Over weeks and months, patterns emerge that you would never see otherwise. Test everything you receive against Scripture.
Each scripture link opens in a new tab — so you can read the passage and return here without losing your place in the session.
“Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.”— 1 Thessalonians 5:20–21