We tend to think of IMPRESSIONS as the lowest form of prophetic revelation, but that does not mean they are not important and the source of important revelation. Impressions are usually knowing something without knowing how you know it. These can be gentle or strong, but they are still ambiguous, rarely clear, or specific.
For example, when you are next to a person, you might feel sorrow. You can begin to sense that the person is feeling this but not know why. In such a case, you can ask the Lord to show you more or get more specific, but He may have already showed you all that you need. Remember, the Lord does not usually care that people are impressed with our prophetic abilities as much as He wants His people ministered to. Just a little compassion and understanding may be all this person needs to snap out of what is bothering them.
Those who seek to become more sensitive in picking up these impressions can be powerfully used by God. We may think that almost everyone can pick up this kind of signal from others or from situations, and this may be true. When the apostle wrote “you may all prophesy” (see I Corinthians 14:31), he seemed to be implying that prophetic sensitivity is available to anyone. I am not saying that it is; however, I have at times thought that this is a gift that God gave to all people, but that only some develop it and those do it to different degrees. This is different from the office of a prophet, who has a specific commission and mandate from the Lord and gets specific messages.
I also think that those who care enough to develop this sensitivity, and who use it out of love for others, are often given more by God. Even so, one of the things that may inhibit us from receiving more or higher levels of revelation, may be the tendency to say “thus saith the Lord” to things that we only have a general sense about. Even this term, “thus saith the Lord,” was only used in Old Testament times because every idol or false god had prophets who supposedly spoke for it, and so one speaking for Jehovah had to distinguish who they were speaking for. Hopefully, this is not needed in our church circles, but it might be if we are ministering on the streets.
Even when I was a young Christian, I felt that using this term, “thus saith the Lord,” was too often used more to embellish pronouncements or feelings that people had. It is a serious thing to say we are delivering a message from the Lord. We should not be that bold without having received the message on such a high level that we have no doubt that it was from Him. You cannot have that kind of assurance with anything that you receive just by an impression.
Impressions can be very real and from the Lord, but they are also on a level that can easily be influenced by our own feelings, assumptions, or presumptions. Therefore, I think anything received on this level should be prefaced with “I think,” “I feel” or “I’m sensing,” rather than “thus saith the Lord.”
Think about it. If you were a king, would you let people represent you who added their own feelings or thoughts to a situation and said that it was from you? If I were a king and found out that anyone was doing this, I would be hesitant to trust them with important messages or assignments. This could be why many never grow in prophetic authority beyond this.
Integrity is critical with the prophetic. There is nothing more valuable than a message from God, and we need to treat it as such. Do not add to it, and do not take away from it. We especially do not want to add our own opinion to it. If we can be trusted with impressions, then we will likely be given more. However, on any level, a major stumbling block with prophetic people is to start feeling that because the Lord used us to give a message, it must be because we think just like He does about things, and therefore our opinion is the same as His. This is a terrible and potentially devastating arrogance.
If we have an impression, let us share it as such, being general, entreatable, and correctable. Don’t be surprised or discouraged if you feel something strongly and it turns out to be wrong. Just resolve that you are going to learn from the experience. Start practicing. Try to pick up things with people or situations, and test them. It is just as important to know when you are not picking up anything. If you get a strong impression, you can probably share it with a bit more confidence, but it is still an impression, not a specific revelation.
You cannot make any journey without taking the first step. Becoming sensitive to impressions and learning how to distinguish them from our own feelings is the first step in growing in prophetic gifts. Determine that you want a solid foundation for your calling and gifts, and do not despise small beginnings, but resolve to do the best that you can as a steward of anything you’re entrusted with.
