Graham Cooke: Developing Your Prophetic Gifting
Graham Cooke, Developing Your Prophetic Gifting (Chosen Books, 2003), 284 pages, ISBN 9780800793265.
I operate well in the gift of prophecy and interpreting tongues. I thus enjoy reading the thoughts of others who, too, share this realm. My first experience with prophecy was back in the late 60’s when the Philadelphia Gospel Temple was in its heyday. The Temple sponsored a Labor Day convention each year, and the Saturday afternoon session featured the visiting pastors, the Temple pastors and several members of the Temple board who laid their hands on various candidates and spoke what they perceived as the mind of God over each of those who had sought this experience. I wanted that experience.
The seekers always outnumbered the places available so it took several years for me to work my way up on the list. When my turn finally came, I was dismayed when the voice of God came through Johnny Green, a member of the Temple board, and not through one of those mighty visiting preachers. I wrote down what I remembered Green saying shortly after he spoke. It was something like “You (me) will be like a well re-dug and a dam overtopped with flood waters for out of you will flow rivers of living water, you will touch thousands for Christ and your marriage will be an example to many.”
Nothing much happened to change my life’s direction for ten years, then my wife divorced me, I was relieved of my church teaching duties and I soon moved 2,500 miles to California in 1979 to start over. It seemed at that time that John Green’s prophetic words were merely some nice thoughts uttered among many others one Saturday afternoon long ago. And then after several years in California, they all came true. Amazing and astonishing.
I never heard of Graham Cooke until his book appeared on a list of potential book reviews. Even then his name meant nothing to me until I began to read his book on one of the airplane rides I seem to constantly take. Graham Cooke’s writing was fascinating and compelling as he unfolded his experiences and knowledge about the gifting and calling of a prophet. I ended up with 22 pages of notes in my journal, and then I used those notes in the session on Prophecy in my class at Pacific Rim Bible College. Next year I will add his book to the texts for the class.
The class session on prophecy is always fascinating as I teach my students how to prophesy by doing so over almost every one in the class. After I work my way through this, I invite the students to try their wings and see if they too can fly. Often the class ends with a season of protracted tarrying and tears, students everywhere on the floor all over the class room. In no other class of mine is the power of God so evident.
Category: Pneuma Review, Spirit, Spring 2004
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