Word of Knowledge

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"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the same Spirit."  

I Corinthians 12:7-11

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The scripture goes on to list the gift of working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues. A believer may have a particular gift which may edify that believer, but the scripture says that the purpose of the gifts is for the profit of all. For example: If a person ministers in the gift of healing, the person that is healed is the one who

will receive the benefit.

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The word of knowledge opens many doors in ministry. When I minister to someone I always pray

for that person ahead of time if possible and I ask the Lord if there is something I need to know about the person or the impending ministry. I then get quiet and listen for instructions.

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Sometimes I get a distinct verbal word from the Lord, not audible, but non-the-less informational. Many times I hear a name like Brenda or Patsy and

then during the ministry I simply ask, 'do you know a Brenda or do you know a Patsy?' Then they

answer yes and it turns out to be the key to the ministry. The word of knowledge causes them to

know that God knows all about them because there is no way I could know.

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Most times I see a visual in my spirit, for example: On one occasion while praying for a woman I see a small girl about the age of 8 or 9 and she is standing looking up and I can tell that she is hearing something. During the ministry I tell her the vision and I ask her, does this make sense to you and through many tears I find out that when she was 9 she heard an adult say something that had shaped her entire life in a negative way.

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On another occasion I see a court room and the person we were to minister to was on trial and I

see the case being presented, he was the defendant , he had taken the position of the

prosecuting attorney, he was his own lawyer, and he had judged himself guilty and he had

determined the sentence and the sentence was death so he was ready to commit suicide. Before

he came I prepared a computer printout showing the court room and where the enemy had lied to

him and the power of God came upon him and he literally propelled out of a chair and across a coffee table FREE!

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I was asked to minister to a young boy. I knew nothing about him, he lived a couple of hours

away. I asked the Lord what I should know about him and the Lord said 'ask him about his knife'! I have to admit I rebelled for a while and finally I agreed to ask him. When he came I couldn't get

him to really say anything, so after taking a deep breath I say 'do you have a knife?' Bam! Everything changed, it is a long story however God changed his life and his testimony changed many other people.

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The gift of the word of knowledge is a common gift among believers, however many do not know they have it. The words of knowledge occur during the course of a normal day and we dismiss them. But we see something in the Spirit or we hear something and later that day there it is happening right in front of us exactly how we had received it earlier.

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Most times by praying for someone I do not know and have little or no information about, it amazes me that what I hear and write down is exactly what is going on with the person coming for ministry.

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God is GOOD!

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Just ask The Lord 'Is there something I need to know?'. Then walk with the Lord and just watch

and listen. If He gives you something just obey when the opportunity presents itself. I usually do

not say the Lord showed me or told me, I just ask 'does this make sense to you?'. Sometimes I miss it, but most times it is life changing.

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Dr. Travis Arterbury, December 2019