I just took a vacation to go home to be with my family in North Carolina. I wanted to share some things I learned. It seems like this whole trip has taught me some things-as any good trip does. I came home for three weeks. God had given me a color over each week. This in addition to the normal infrastructure of my week: Sunday do things which are genuinely restful like taking a long walk and caring for your body; watching movies and playing with friends. Monday has become a day and evening of prayer for me. I usually don't eat much - fruit and celery (that sort of thing) so I can feed my spirit man more. This prayer "burden" has extended now into Tuesdays, where I am usually able to write up insights and revelations and send them out to friends. I am able to be strongly in the gift of prophecy it seems on Tuesdays also, but usually for writing.

Then I enter the "regular" week, and the realm of personal guidance. Here, after praying that God rule over every area of me, I use my own thinking and feelings to do things which make sense. I am beginning to learn that personal guidance comes by us giving our days to Him, but then using our natural thinking and feeling to plan activities which make sense - always of course being open to fresh revelation. Since I move in the prophetic quite a bit, it has confused me in the past what to do on days when I am not getting direct revelation from God. But personal guidance and prophecy are not the same thing - as I learned again these past three weeks.

The enemy attacked me with great confusion on my "regular" work days, and I was falsely led to go places that were in my opinion not God's best idea. This occurs when I let my guidance be dictated by those inner voices which enter in the exact same space as the prophetic voice does. It is confusing, because, while yesterday it was God in that space you were hearing, today it may be the enemy. So you need to know that when you are not under prayer or prophecy it is important to do your own thinking, and let God lead you from your normal thinking and feeling. We do not stay in "revelation mode" all week. And we need "normal days" so that we will be strong when the burden returns to minister.

I am just now learning all this and it has been humbling. The idea that we hear God all the time in that "prophetic way" is false. None of us could live in that all the time. God guides us through who he made us, and then at certain times lets us move in His Prophetic gift which I do indeed have and have developed by using it.

I have missed out on many things in my personal life by not understanding how all this works. But now I see - thank you Lord! May I not get caught again in such confusions. The enemy is tricky and clever - and it is easy for prophetic people to get misled in their personal lives. One must keep the standard of scriptures and really lean on the rest of The Body for personal counsel. We really need one another - especially in this intensifying season! May God give you his Wisdom as you grow in His Gifts and in your personal lives.

Hope this helps out some. Shalom, derek

PS Also in personal guidance this last word helps-shalom. If it is of God you usually have an inner peace about it. The Fruits of the Spirit should accompany The Gifts of The Spirit!