Creativity and Spiritual Warfare

One day, God told the prophet Jeremiah to take a little trip down to the house of a local potter, saying, "I'll give you a message there." Upon his arrival, Jeremiah watched as the potter's clay started to fall apart on the wheel. So the potter took that same clay and formed a new pot. That's when God spoke to Jeremiah about what He was about to do for the nation of Israel (Jeremiah 18).

It struck me how God used the process of creativity to speak prophetically. It wasn't the finished product that had prophetic significance; it was the process. As you engage in the creative process--no matter your medium--listen for the Lord to speak to you!

Then there was the prophet Ezekiel. Take a look at what God had him do:

Ezekiel 4:1-3—"Now, son of man, take a clay tablet, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it. Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it. Then take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel" (NIV).

In Ezekiel's case, God gave him specific instructions about what to draw; and then he was instructed to build a model around the tablet to demonstrate what would happen to Israel.

So now we've got two different cases. With Jeremiah, he was observing the process of creativity, not knowing what it was that the Lord wanted to speak. And in Ezekiel's case, he heard the word of the Lord first, and carried out obedient creativity as a prophetic act. In each case, God used design and media to bring a prophetic word to His people.

Why should we think that God is any different today? Especially in an era where creativity is so valued, why wouldn't we expect God to speak prophetically through creativity? I am convinced that God wants to use His people in creative ways to advance His kingdom; and prophetic revelation is just one of those ways.

Looking back on my life, I remembered a case when God used me in a similar way. I don't share this to boast in my own works, but to bring glory to God and give an example of what is possible today.

About seven years ago, the Holy Spirit led me to pray for an older woman in my church and specified that her husband was an alcoholic. During my time of prayer, the Holy Spirit showed me a specific shape, sort of like an "L." As I drew the shape on a piece of paper, He started to prompt me of several places to put "X's," which I did. Then I felt like the Lord was saying to draw circles surrounding the shape to represent the angels He was sending to change the situation (not knowing how many to draw, I actually started with a ring of circles and then thought, Why not fill up the rest of the paper!). I did everything as instructed, and continued to pray for this woman and her husband.

The next Sunday at church, the woman came up to me while I was playing piano after the sermon. We didn't even really know each other at the time, but she said, "I felt like the Holy Spirit was leading me to have you pray for my family."

"Alcoholism," I said calmly.

Stunned, she asked, "How did you know?"

I shared with her how the Lord had already been leading me to pray for her. I flipped over some sheet music and drew the shape just like before. "Does this shape mean anything to you?"

The woman looked quizzically at it, and didn't recognize it at all. I was about to dismiss it as having been my imagination, but then she called her daughter over to the piano and asked her if the shape meant anything to her.

"Yeah," said the daughter, "That's Dad's room in the basement."

Then I started drawing the X's. "What's here?" I asked with each X. First was his bed, then his television, then the refrigerator where he kept his liquor. Then I put three X's in a small cluster, just as I had in the first drawing, and asked, "What's here?"

"That," she answered, "is the chair where Dad drinks all the time."

To make a long story short, a team of us went over to this family's house to pray while the husband wasn't home. Within a matter of a couple weeks, the woman's husband decided to give up his years of drunkenness and leave the basement to sleep once again in the room with his wife. The last I heard, his family is still praying for his salvation; but they're all in a lot better shape because of God's intervention so far!

God can use your creativity as a means of conveying a prophetic message! I wouldn't try to rank myself alongside Jeremiah and Ezekiel; but if I'm any indication, it's not out of the question for God to speak to and through people with media today! In Jeremiah's case, the prophetic word came as he observed the process of creativity that was carried out by someone else (someone who, I might add, probably didn't have a clue that God was speaking through them!). In Ezekiel's case, God gave him specific instructions about what to do and what it would mean prophetically. And in my case, I just had a hunch that the shape I kept seeing in my imagination might mean something, so I drew it and God revealed more with time.

As you pray and seek the Lord in the coming days, don't shrug off images that might pop into your mind. Instead, ask the Lord if they might mean anything. If you feel a confirmation in your heart that the image does mean something, ask Him what you're supposed to do in response. Maybe He's just guiding your prayer. Maybe He'll want you to write it down for later. Maybe He'll give you a specific interpretation right away. And maybe He'll have you exercise your creativity. You might build a model like Ezekiel, draw a picture like me, write a song, carve a sculpture, play an instrument, write a letter, or even develop a web site. After all, that's how this web site came into being!

Let's expect God to speak prophetically to you and through you as you carry out the creativity that He has placed within you!

Labels: creativity, drawing, God's voice, graphic design, obedience, pottery, prophecy, prophetic revelation, spiritual warfare, visions and dreams, web design

# posted by Art Thomas @ 5:01 PM