“I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” Galatians 1:11-12 (NIV)

When Paul first received the revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it required him to change his life. He went from persecuting the church on a large scale to promoting Jesus Christ on a scale that few in history have ever done. Paul had to minister to the very people that he was persecuting!

Revelation from God often makes us act in ways that we cannot imagine ourselves doing. God does this to get us out of our comfort zone so that we will rely on him and not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). While revelation is something that we cannot force or make happen on our own, how do we receive it?

While we cannot force revelation, we can put ourselves in a mindset where we can better receive revelation when it comes. I think that God is trying to talk to us a lot more than we recognize. First of all, simply be aware that we can receive revelation. We have to realize and accept that God still speaks to us today, but that he speaks to each of us in a unique way. How He speaks to us matches who He made us to be. You may receive a deep conviction from God, hear Him in your thoughts, or have God speak through a life experience. For example, God often spoke to the prophet Jeremiah through a personal experience (see Jeremiah 13:1-14 as an example).

Secondly, we seek God. In Jeremiah 33:3, God says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Jesus said in Luke 11:9-10, “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” If we seek God, He will speak to us. It may not be in the way that he speaks to others, but it will be in a way where we cannot deny that He is trying to get our attention.

Third, be prepared to move when the revelation manifests. When God made humans, He made us out of dust. That means we are made out of matter and we can change. God never changes. Revelation is how an unchangeable God beckons changeable man to further pursue His unchangeable nature. It is a calling to intimacy

God also made us with the desire for Him. When we stay in a stagnant situation spiritually, we begin to lose restraint because God made us with the capacity to change. Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.” Revelation is God’s way of speaking to mankind to show us His will. Revelation is given by God so that we can flow in the supernatural.