ADVICE
Pat Answers Your Questions About God's
Guidance
By Pat Robertson
The 700 Club
CBN.com - Question: Is it possible to receive a specific answer to a
prayer directly from the Scriptures? Many times I've asked the Lord
for answers to questions in my heart or problems in my life, and I've
been led to the Bible. A friend of mine said this isn't true, and
I shouldn't hear God audibly for my answers. What are your thoughts?'
Pat Robertson: I receive a word from the Lord that way all
the time. I was reading in the writings of John Wesley, he said, quote,
"We sought counsel from the oracles of God." That's the way they sought
them. Sure, the Lord speaks to you out of the Scriptures. Specific
things just leap out of the page and come to life. I had a couple
of them this morning, so thank you very much. So tell your friend
that he or she doesn't quite know what he's talking about.
Lisa Ryan: I think the Bible is a reliable source of the voice
of God.
Pat Robertson: Well, the thing of it is that you can't force
the Bible to say, `Judas hanged himself; go thou and do likewise.'
You know, that's the big joke. But God will bring something to your
heart. The Holy Spirit will quicken it to you. He will also speak
in the inner man if you're sensitive to him, but it's nice to have
objective confirmation.
Question: `How can you tell if the little voice that you hear
inside your head is God, or just your own thoughts and ideas?'
Pat: You read Hebrews and it says, `Those who by reason of
use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil' (Hebrews
5:14). There is no substitute for working and practicing and practicing
the presence of God. And when you do that after a while, you know
what's God and what isn't. But our voice is very deceiving. The voice
of Satan is very deceiving, so you have to be careful in this. But
God will speak to his children. He says, `You'll hear a voice in your
ear when you turn to the right or left saying, this is the way. Walk
you in it.' But as I say, objective confirmation, circumstances and
so forth, along with that sure does help. But God will speak to his
people.
Question: Pat, ever since I was young, I've had prophetic
dreams. Things that I've dreamed have come to pass sometimes within
days. Do you think I could have the gift of prophecy?
Pat: Prophecy in the Bible is not prophetic dreams. The gift
or the manifestation of prophecy is for exhortation, edification and
comfort. It is an exhorting type of thing. The word of wisdom is something
where God opens the future and lets you see into it. Normally it's
a word of the Holy Spirit who speaks to you. I mean, I've had that
happen to me where the Lord has said such and such is going to happen
and lo and behold, it happens.
But God does speak to people in dreams. Look at Joseph. He had dreams
and they made fun of him. His family made fun of him. Behold the dreamer.
And then he became an interpreter of the dreams, and the next thing
you know, he was in charge of all of Egypt under Pharaoh. So there's
a long history of God speaking to people in dreams. Nebuchadnezzar
had a dream and brought it to Daniel. God gave him an interpretation
of the dream. The Lord laid out for him the things that are going
to happen.
So God, who knows everything, who knows the end from the beginning,
can indeed reveal that to people. That is not the, quote, "gift of
prophecy." It is a revelation from God at a particular point of time.
Now you could say that's the word of wisdom, but God speaks in visions,
God speaks in dreams, God speaks in a still, small voice, he speaks
from the Bible, and he speaks from circumstances.
And so I don't know what to say except in a sense, if that's you,
enjoy it, be humble with it, but be careful that you don't get yourself
into some psychic thing that will take you away from the Lord. As
long as it's God-centered, you take it as a gift from him and rejoice.
But usually so many of those dreams, though, it's some, you know,
black hand floating through space and then somebody dies and it's
always something eerie. But if this is the case, the fact that God
shows you something in advance, that's Him. It's His prerogative.
Question: `Does God consider it a sin to pray for money? If
someone really needs it desperately, is it o.k. to pray for it and
not feel bad about it?'
Pat: You better believe it's o.k. You're looking at somebody
who has prayed desperately. I tell you, there was one time I was in
a situation that -- I mean, it wasn't just bad, I mean, it was desperate.
I was hiking in a mountain and I just said, `God, I've got to have
it.' I mean, there's not any fooling around, I've got to have it.
And God answered my prayer.
I don't think there's anything wrong with praying for money. It's
the question of what are you going to do with it? You know, there
are people that have desperate needs. They have to eat. They have
to have shelter. They have to pay their bills. There are problems
that arise. But I don't see anything wrong with that. But obviously
God isn't some great slot machine in the sky where you pull a lever
and put in a prayer and out comes three bell fruits and you hit the
jackpot. I mean, it doesn't work that way. But God gives to his children.
Jesus said, `Ask and you shall receive. Hitherto, you've asked nothing
in my name. Ask and you shall receive that your joy might be full.'
I was reading today in the 81st Psalm. It said, `Open your mouth wide
and I will fill it.' But he said, `Israel will have none of me.' So
if we're walking before the Lord, we're His child.
As a matter of fact, I have an example. Some years ago I was in relatively
strained circumstances and I gave some money to CBN. And I was driving
along in my car to another city and God spoke to me. He said, `Ask
me for something.' And I said, `Lord, I think I've got everything
I need.' He said, `Ask me for something.' I said, `O.K., Lord. Give
me $1,000.' And that was it. And lo and behold, here comes $1,000.
And then my daughter needed to have orthodontic work done on her teeth,
it cost $1,000, but He'd already asked me to ask for it and then He
supplied the need before I needed it.
Terry Meeuwsen: He wants us to know that he's there.
Pat Robertson: That he's there. He's a provider. That's Jehovah-Jireh,
the Lord, your provider. Yes.
Question: `My husband works out of town for long periods of
time. While he's gone, I receive and pay all of the family bills.
Last month when the phone bill came in, there were several 900 numbers
listed. They were billed from his hotel room to our home phone. I
mentioned them to him and he admitted he had called the sex phone
line. He said it was better than going out and cheating on me while
he was out of town. How should I handle his reasoning on this subject?'
Pat: Telll him it's flawed. It really is a serious thing that
people are on the road for a while and they have an active marriage
and maybe they're in their 30s or what have you, and every hotel room
has got all of these X-rated movies, the blue channel, or whatever
they call it. The availability of prostitutes is extraordinary. There
are bars around with women who are easy pick-ups and not to mention
what's on the Internet. Now there is this so-called phone sex stuff
of some kid on the other end of the phone breathing into the receiver.
The truth is, we've got to keep our minds on Jesus and we can't let
the basic nature take over, and this kind of thing leads to fantasy
and it's the equivalent of adultery.
Jesus was talking about it, and he said even if you look after a
woman, to lust after her, you have committed adultery. It isn't a
question about the physical act. It's a question of what you do with
your mind. So this man says, `Well, I'm not cheating on you, but I've
got some kid on the other end of the phone and I'm going through all
these motions with her.' It's the same thing. It is a mental, and
in a sense spiritual act of adultery because the greatest sex organ
that anybody has, ladies and gentlemen, is your mind. And so he's
exercising his mind and who knows what is happening with the rest
of him? But that is not a good substitute. I'm sorry.
The other alternative for this one is if it's at all possible, either
get him to get another job or see if maybe you can't accompany him
on some of those trips, because being out there alone week after week
after week is not a good situation for anybody. But they need to be
reading the Bible, they need to be getting together with Christian
fellowships, they need to get their minds on other things, and if
they start focusing on this particular thing, it will take them over
and it's going to damage your relationship.
Terry Meeuwsen: I think women feel very used in situations
like that.
Pat Robertson: Well, of course, because who are you now having
a relationship with? Me or that girl who's on the phone?
Lisa Ryan: And the Bible says if you've sinned in your mind,
you've sinned. You don't have to follow through on the act.
Pat Robertson: There's no question about it.
PatRobertson.com
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