Growing In The Apostolic

Growing in the Prophetic
The credibility of Bob Jones’s prophetic ministry in the eyes of the thousand
people who participated in the twenty-one-day fast was on the line.
August 23 had finally come. At noon that day, I talked to one of the intercessors
and said that it didn’t look like rain was coming that day. He replied,
“You better hope it rains, or you’ll have to leave town.” I was definitely feeling
the pressure.
Our church gathered the evening of August 23 to cry out for rain. Just
as the church service was preparing to begin, there came a downpour of
rain. Everyone was shouting and praising God. God had supernaturally
confirmed the validity of the twenty-one-day solemn assembly of prayer and
fasting (May 7–28). We now knew that the spiritual drought over America
was sure to break and revival would come on God’s appointed day. We were
all exuberant.
In a more personal way, we had no idea we were also laboring in prayer
for the future birthing of the IHOP Missions Base, which would not start for
another sixteen years.
I want to note that the drought continued the next day and lasted another
five weeks—three months in all, as prophesied, with the exception of the
notable rain on August 23 that interrupted it. In a one-hundred-year period,
it was one of the driest summers on record in Kansas City.
Convincing Power, Irrefutable Truth
The purpose of the outpouring of the Spirit, the increase of the prophetic
ministry, and, finally, the signs and wonders in nature is to awaken the
church to passionate Christianity and to bring many people to salvation.
The Joel 2 prophecy quoted by Peter makes this point by saying, “It shall
come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved”
(Acts 2:21).
Calling on the name of the Lord refers to unbelievers calling on His name
for salvation, but it also includes believers wholeheartedly calling on the
name of Jesus in their passion for God and in persistent intercession. Thus,
the confirmation of prophetic words by acts of God in nature is meant to
help us stay consistent in our faith and prayer.
Supernatural confirmation by acts of God in nature strengthens our faith
as it provides irrefutable proof of the specific direction that God is speaking
18