40 lessons in the prophetic

I learned forty lessons about how God speaks to us and works in our lives through the way He led me to my wife. Finding her was my prophetic school!

It all started when I was eighteen and read in the Sermon on the Mount,
 

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6:33)

If I sought the Kingdom of God first, He would add everything I needed. To me, “all these things” included my future wife.

1.    A word from the Word

Every prophetic promise you hear will fit into the Bible. It will never be in contradiction to the Word.

After that, I had to endure two years of silence about my future wife, until Henrik Rantanen, our youth minister prophesied to me.

“God will give you a partner to pull the yoke with you,” he said.

2.    Prophecies remind you of God’s promises

God uses prophecy to remind you of His promises. Much of the prophetic ministry is about reminding people about His promises—at the time when they really need encouragement.

The same night I was filled with the Holy Spirit when Ogo Chime, a Nigerian gospel artist, came to pray for me.

3.    God uses prophetic symbolism

The only Nigerian I knew at the time prayed for me straight after I heard the prophetic word about my wife. This was an act of prophetic symbolism, as my wife is a British-born Nigerian.

I still hadn’t met her but God was telling me that my faith wouldn’t be in vain.

Another two years passed.Then I was in prayer with my friend Mika Rotkus who would later on be my best man. He saw a vision about my wedding day. “I can see liquid chocolate being poured into a cup,” he said. “It will solidify slowly. It isn’t ready yet. I can see flowers. It will be sunny on your wedding day.”

4.    God explains His way through visions

This was the first time I had more detail, although I had no way of understanding it. The symbolic vision explained the reason for the waiting—she wasn’t ready yet. God could have equally shown that I wasn’t ready either but liquid chocolate made a beautiful connection to the skin colour of my wife.

5.    You will often misinterpret a vision

For a while the alarm bells started ringing when I saw chocolate in the proximity of a pretty woman! Each time when I prayed about these women I sensed no approval from God.

I have learnt that you will hardly ever fully comprehend a dream or vision about future straight away.

Another two years passed.

6.    You will wait

The trouble with prophecies is that they involve a lot of waiting. This should be self-evident but somehow we tend to forget that. Because the vision or the word feels so powerful when we receive it we expect it to come to pass quickly. In fact, the revelation has to be powerful to sustain us through long time of waiting.

In spring 1994 a conviction began to rise in me about travelling to London. It didn’t come with any specific instructions but I thought that I could have a holiday before returning to university after finishing my summer job. I prayed over this and the conviction grew only stronger.

7.    Pray before acting on promptings

God’s presence amplifies His words. When you take them into His presence they will gain strength in your heart. Words from other sources will begin to fade away.

In Judges 6 Gideon asks God for a sign to prove that He would save Israel. He puts out some wool on the ground. If the dew wet the wool but left the ground dry, that would be a sign from God. It happens. Then Gideon asks for the ground to be wet but for the wool to stay dry. This also happens.

The sign I asked was that a friend would want to travel with me. One agreed straight away.

8.    It is permissible to ask for a sign

The sign shouldn’t be some outrageous miracle such as dividing the Thames but a removal of an obstruction on the way so that you can take the required action. I don’t like going on holiday alone, and thought that if a friend came with me, at least we would have fun.

Another friend heard that I’d be going to London, and recommended visiting Kensington Temple.

9.    God often guides your steps without telling you

Had my friend not told me about Kensington Temple I would have never met my wife. Yet, I had no idea that it was God speaking through her. If God wants you to go somewhere, He will take you there, but He might not tell you that He is guiding you somewhere specific. This makes your life an adventure!

Soon after that the Holy Spirit spoke to me when I was in prayer. “Soon you will meet your wife in a church,” He said. “She will take a seat next to you. You don’t need to go looking for her. I will give her to you.”

10.    God rewards faith

God rewards those who put their trust in His Word. I had put my trust in a Bible verse. Many Christians don’t receive what is promised to them according to the Word, as they don’t persevere in waiting.

11.    God will give you details when needed

God had never told me about the way I would meet my wife— until now. Now, the time of fulfilment was near, and He wanted to help me recognise her by telling how we would meet.

A few weeks before I went to London I met a girl I liked a lot in town. She asked me to come to church that evening. That sounded uncharacteristic of her, as she was extremely shy.

Would this be the time of fulfilment? Would she take a seat next to me? I thought.

I didn’t give her any promises but made it to the church— only to discover that she wasn’t there. I still don’t know what kept her, but she had seemed very intent on meeting me that night. I concluded that she wasn’t the right girl.

12.    There can be false fulfilments

Had she turned up I would have asked her out, and I would have probably not met my wife, or at least I wouldn’t have been in the right frame of mind when I met her. I am not saying that she was sent to me by the enemy, but later on, I have realised that often the enemy can try to manufacture a false fulfilment to a prophetic word.

In late August 1994 we landed at Stansted Airport near London. We made it to the hotel late at night and to Kensington Temple for Sunday 9am service.

I could feel a strong presence of God there. When I sat down near the front I had a bizarre feeling that this would one day be my home church.

13.    God will guide you with His presence

During the long walk from Egypt to the Promised Land God sent a cloud and a pillar of fire to guide Israel. In a similar way God often guides us through His presence. Because of God’s presence I was eager to come back when I heard that there would be services every night.

14.    Revivals launch people into their destiny

I wasn’t aware that I had caught an offshoot of the Toronto Blessing, a revival movement that began in January 1994 at the Toronto Airport Vineyard church. The church leaders had just come back from Toronto where the revival was in full bloom. Many Christians have criticised the Toronto Blessing but the fact is that many were released into their destiny because of that revival.

The real impact of a revival isn’t visible during it but long after. I came back on Thursday evening and took a seat in the balcony. A charismatic chaos unfolded below me, as people were falling on the floor under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

My friend found the atmosphere distasteful and left.

15.    God controls even the tiniest of detail

God doesn’t micromanage your life but He can control the tiniest of detail when He needs to. Had my friend not left my wife would have never taken a seat next to me, as it would not have been free!
A young minister stood on stage. He looked up, to my direction. Shortly after, he appeared in front of me.

“You have a pure and undivided heart,” he said. Then he returned on the stage.

This former minister is today an atheist.

16.    Skin-deep touch from God is quickly forgotten

The young minister had just come back from Toronto. Clearly, he was under the influence of the Holy Spirit. But it isn’t enough to be touched by God—you also need to let Him transform your heart.

Revivals are God’s invitations to seek Him but unless you do, you often turn out spiritually worse afterwards.

There were now two vacant seats next to me, the only ones free on the balcony. A beautiful African woman approached me and asked for the seats. I told her that they were free.

Strangely, I felt that I could see straight into her heart and that I knew her intimately.

17.    Prophets can see into people’s heart

What I saw then has proved completely accurate. Prophets can easily discern people’s spiritual state and identity. If God lets them, they will see deep into people’s hearts.

She sat down with a young man. “Do you speak German?” she asked.
“A few words,” I said.

“My friend has just become a Christian. He hardly speaks English. Can you explain to him what’s going on?” She pointed at the people falling on the floor.

I took the young man’s German Bible and opened it in Revelation  1  where  John  falls  like  dead  at  the  feet  of  the resurrected Jesus. “This often happens when Jesus turns up,” I explained. He went down to experience the touch of the Holy Spirit.

“My name is Daniella,” the African woman said. We spoke briefly and exchanged addresses. She promised to send me the church magazine.

At the Coliseum in Rome with the whole family.

18.    You often fail to recognise the moment of fulfilment

I had just met my wife, exactly the way God had told me, and yet somehow I had failed to recognise the moment. I was blindfolded by the fact that I was a tourist in London, and would soon go back home. I simply didn’t expect God to give me an answer in London. I came back to the church the following night and sat in the balcony. Senior Minister Colin Dye preached. He invited the church’s ministry team to come forward.

“There is a young Finnish man here,” he said, and looked around. “He needs to be here.” l waited for a minute but no one got up.Then I did. Colin invited me to the front and prophesied over me as if I were a member of the ministry team.

19.    Prophets tell you your destiny

Has it ever happened to you that you visit some church and the minister calls you out from the large crowd and invites you prophetically into his ministry team? It had never happened to me before, so I was quite puzzled by that afterwards. But all Colin did was to declare God’s way for me. I would join the church staff five and half years later.

We flew back to Finland the next evening. I was still in the plane when the Holy Spirit spoke to me. “I want you to write to the African woman you met,” He said.

20.    God often reveals His plan one step at a time

I had no idea about what God was up to. He didn’t tell me that she would be my wife. All He asked to do was to write to her. 

I did, and every time I penned her a letter a strong anointing of the Spirit flowed through me.

21.    Anointing will guide you

If you follow the flow of the Holy Spirit, it will guide you. Often when I talk to someone a strong anointing begins to flow through me. I let that anointing guide my speaking and although I might not be given exact words it will always have an impact. Later, my wife told me how these letters had lifted her spirit always when she needed it most.

In early November 1994 the Holy Spirit finally revealed to me that the African woman I had met at Kensington Temple would be my wife. “Daniella will be your wife,” He said when I was in prayer.
I was stunned, as I had met her only once.

22.    God wants you to follow His plan

God often asks us to do things that seem irrational when He wants us to let go of our plans and the limitations of our mind. Our reason is a rather flawed and limiting tool, unlike God’s.

I spent the next month mostly in prayer and came to the conclusion that I was either going mad or God had spoken to me.

23.    Prayer will test prophecy

Seeking God in prayer over a period of time is the best way to test prophecy.You will still need faith but you will be filled with conviction rather than confusion.

“Send her roses,” the Holy Spirit said after I had become convinced that was God speaking to me. I ignored that for a few days, but after a while, every time I went to pray I could hear the loud megaphone of the Holy Spirit blasting, “Send her roses!”

This became unbearable. Christmas was near so I ordered ten red roses delivered to her for Christmas.

24.    God makes His instructions clear

If you learn to hear God you will never miss your destiny. I spent Christmas at home with the whole family. Three days before Christmas Eve the Holy Spirit spoke to me again.

“I want you to call her on Christmas Eve. Tell her what I have told you,” He said.

25.    Prophecy demands faith action

Most personal prophecies demand a leap of faith. I called her ten minutes to midnight. It was the most nerve-racking call I had ever made.

“Thank you for the roses!” she exclaimed when she heard my voice. Then she told me what else had taken place.

She had received the roses only few hours before my phone call but her friend who was staying with her over Christmas had seen a dream the night before. In the dream, she had seen Daniella receiving a delivery of red roses. She had told my wife that just before she had actually received the delivery.

26.    God speaks through dreams

God often speaks through prophetic dreams when He wants to get your attention.

In this case, He asked me to send her red roses and showed another Christian a dream about it.

“But that’s not all,” she said. “Someone just came by two hours ago. He prophesied about my husband and how he looks like. I don’t know anyone else who fits that description but you.”

27.    God works to fulfil His plan but doesn’t tell you how

God wants you to put your trust in Him. That’s why He often reveals to you what you must do but not what He will do. Only through obeying Him you will discover how He will fulfil His word.

28.    You aren’t the only prophet in town

I had just seen a mature prophet at work. Elijah thought that he was the last prophet standing but God had seven thousand more.

29.    God leaves nothing to chance

God had orchestrated every detail of that Christmas Eve, and even my hyperactive imagination couldn’t have made up this sequence of events. We were both amazed at what God had done. She flew to Finland in February and met my parents. I bought a simple engagement ring from a jewellery shop on the way back to the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.

I went to London the following summer. One  evening when we were at her flat she got a phone call. It was Roland Harding, the same prophet who had prophesied to her about her husband. He came to see us and prophesied over my life for fifteen minutes. The main message was that I had been called to be a prophet for the nations and that many of my ‘friends’ would mock and ridicule me. As I listened to him I sensed that it would take at least fifteen years for his prophecy to be fulfilled.

30.    God uses prophecy to get you through hardship

After the prophecy I have gone through many hardships and I would have never made it without personal promises from God.

31.    Visions often take a long time of preparation

Nineteen years later the fulfilment of Roland’s prophecy is slowly unfolding.

Around a month earlier the Holy Spirit had spoken to me in Finland. I had been in prayer when, suddenly, God had embraced me with His presence.

“Do you want to go to London?” He asked.

“Of course,” I responded. “All I want to do is Your will.” I began to weep, uncontrollably, but didn’t know why. “Why am I weeping?” I asked the Holy Spirit.

“You aren’t weeping. I am weeping for the pain you will go through,” He said.

32.    Your call will break your heart

I didn’t grasp what He meant then but I understand it now. Your heart will go through deep pain, as God shapes it, and the enemy tries to destroy His work.

When I went back to Finland I met a woman on the street. She knew I was getting married. “Don’t marry her,” she said. “Interracial marriages don’t work. Besides, God spoke to me and said that you should marry me.”

“God hasn’t told me that,” I said.

33.    False prophets will come

Every time a prophetic movement emerges, the enemy will raise false prophets. They will deceive some but the main goal of the enemy is to stop the Church from wanting the gift.

I proposed to Daniella in summer 1995 in London, and she agreed but we didn’t set a wedding date. “You will get married before your next birthday,” the Holy Spirit told me soon after I got back to Finland. That sounded unrealistic, especially as it was early September and my birthday would be in two months. Also, I had no money. I told my parents that we would be getting married. Dad took out his diary and looked for suitable dates. “11th November sounds good,” he said. That was five days before my birthday. “We’ll pay for it,” he added.

34.    God uses other people to fulfil His word

Dad had no idea that God had already set the date but he knew I lacked the money. There have been many situations in my life when I have run out of resources, and doing what God has asked me to do has seemed impossible. But God doesn’t rely on your resources, and it is His pleasure to use other people to resource you.

Our wedding day was sunny. It was freezing cold but it was sunny! And as it was Remembrance Day it means I never get to forget my wedding day.

35.    God speaks with precision

Always listen to God carefully, and never add to what He says. My friend had prophesied that the wedding day would be sunny but not that it would be warm.

Our wedding day

36.    God sees your life in the best possible light

God’s positivity and optimism can be annoying. I felt the cold but He saw the sunshine! On the other hand, He rarely points at your sin, as Jesus has dealt with that.

After the wedding we left to Spain for our honeymoon. Our honeymoon was paid by the Lighthouse Community Fellowship, a Kensington Temple satellite church. One night as I walked on a Spanish beach I stopped to pray. As I looked at the mainland behind me I had a strange feeling that I was at the edge of a great revival that would one day touch the whole continent.

37.    Prophetic themes often emerge over time

The Holy Spirit would not talk about this for years, but from that moment on I have not believed a prophetic word about Europe unless it included a coming revival. Much later, God would speak about this in more detail.

I went to see The Bodyguard in 1992, two years before I met my wife. It is a romantic thriller starring Kevin Costner as a bodyguard who is hired to look after a black singer played by Whitney Houston. They fall in love.

The film impacted me greatly, and at the time I felt that God was trying to speak to me through it.
Now I know that He was simply preparing my heart for an interracial love story.

38.    God speaks in unexpected ways

God often uses movies to speak to people, as they have similar grammar to dreams and visions. You should be open to the possibility that God might use unexpected channels to convey His message. In Numbers 22 God stopped Balaam through a speaking donkey!

God once reprimanded me through a tweet by Ricky Gervais, an atheist comedian.

On our wedding day a friend showed me a postcard I had sent him from London over a year earlier, just days before I had met my wife. I had completely forgotten sending it. I had scribbled on the card: “There are so many beautiful women in this city that it will take a miracle to find the right one.”

39.    You can prophesy unwittingly

I had unwittingly foretold what would take place. Often prophets prophesy without fully realising it.This can also cause problems as people around you can expect your every remark to be a prophecy.

40.    Your call will be tested

You could think that after our return to London I would have stepped straight into some powerful ministry. Far from it! The next four years would be the hardest in my life. I had left behind a media career and landed in London with a few pounds in my pocket and a large student debt. I looked for a job for months, wandering along the streets of London, until I finally got a part-time job as a stockroom assistant in a clothing retail store, and even that job I got only as my wife knew the manager.

It would take another four years before I would join the Kensington Temple staff, and my media studies seemed like a gigantic waste of time.

This is an extract from the book Five Movements: Winning the Battle for Your Prophetic Gift by Marko Joensuu.

You can connect with Marko on Twitter @markojoensuu and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mpjoensuu/ or by visiting markojoensuu.com.