One amazing aspect of the prophetic gift is being able to sense what’s going on around us. We can feel things about other people, and we can even sense what’s going on in places.
Have you ever driven through a town and found yourself feeling a certain way? “Whoa—what’s going on here? This is a great place!”
Or maybe you felt something very different: “This place feels so HEAVY. I feel sad and tired right now, and I don’t know why.”
The prophetic capacity to sense things is a blessing from God, but if we don’t realize what’s happening with our gift—or how to deal with what we’re sensing—these burdens can become weights that push us toward exhaustion. If you’re prophetic at all, learn to understand how the gift of burden bearing works, so you can use it the way God intended and experience the glorious freedom He has for you as His child.
The Bible talks about burden bearing in Galatians 6:2 (NASB):
Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
What can burden bearing look like in an everyday setting?
Let’s say I’m talking with a friend, and I begin to sense that she feels a certain way. Maybe she’s frustrated with something or going through a hard time.
In these moments, something is happening in the spiritual realm. Her loving heavenly Father is lifting a small portion of her burden off of her and giving it to me to carry. That is, I become aware of it as I start to feel some of what she’s feeling. For prophetic people, this can happen all the time! At the grocery store, at the park, at a concert—anywhere.
Burden bearing is a gift from God. But how could feeling someone else’s “stuff” be a good thing?
But unfortunately, that’s where many prophetic people stop. We’re holding someone else’s burden, and it starts to weigh us down. And down. And down.
We don’t realize we need to take a very important, very necessary next step.
In Romans 11:36 the apostle Paul writes about the pattern or cycle found in all spiritual matters:
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
All things are FROM Him, go THROUGH Him, and RETURN to Him. Everything we experience with the prophetic gifting needs to go through this divine cycle.
Many of us sense the burden, take it in our arms, and never think to give it back to God. We don’t even know we need to do this! So burden after burden after burden loads up inside us—to the point where we just can’t take it anymore.
“Don’t make me be around people! I don’t want to be around anyone!”
As a prophetic person, you don’t have to be weighed down by the burdens all around you. The moment you realize what’s happening, you get to give the burden back to God.
“Lord, I pray for my sister. I pray for my brother. I release this burden back to You.”
In a certain light, the need to feel defines us as prophetic people. Knowing this, the enemy tries to “hook” us into carrying burden after burden—when the way of God is Romans 11:36: from Him, through Him, to Him.
The next time you start to feel the weight of someone else’s burden, pray for that person and lift them up. Then give the burden back to God and let it go.
Want to learn more?!
If you feel you've related to this article, please consider enrolling in the Elijah House School of Heart Healing. We find that many of our students are prophetic and/or burden bearers, and when these gifts are channeled in a healthy way, it can be extremely powerful in helping others get set free. Our school has a twofold purpose: to help our students heal, so they can in turn help heal others. To the glory of God! Click this link to learn more.
25 comments
This blog blessed me so much Thank You So very Much!
Blessings!
Thank you Jesus for this contact. I am so blessed by this blog. God bless the writer in Jesus name .
This was such a blessing. Thank you for confirming my gift even more. It’s something else to understand this gift. Blessings.
I have a burden for even people I don’t know,I may meet somebody and the way she or he is talking I the holy spirit whisper somethings. I just say God remember her and that’s gone.i need to know how I should pray.secondly I get troubled how I can share some congregation concern which are prophetic but I don’t know how the leader will take it.sometimes I share but I feel an offense when I realise he never took it as a prayer item.
This is wonderful information. I as well am able to sense at times ones dislike towards me, ect.
Today I had such ( or the lord did)a heavy burdren, that the tears came at end of a shift at work, at a thrift shop. A customerhad asked for a specific clothing after I pointed where to go and explained, then startedpraying, for her healing, I knew it was drugs, becausei was once that way.I had to get far away because the tears were coming pretty strong, deeply sad for this person.nd I had to take deep breaths while praying.It Broke my heart( or The lords heart seeing I didn’t know her, but this has happened before.Then I get home and wonder should I had said Jesus loves you ect..I jave done this before or gave tract about the lord and have had others at times in past either accuse im judging, and more, which is opposite whats happening. Now I want to learn how to give it back to God. Yes I get drained specific places, or a person, as I have probable drained others at a time too. Also recently I happened coincidentally have been listening to a pastor that believes healing through Christ, and I do as well.Absolutely. Thank you and hearing others, i am very nervous to use it in the wong way, say the wrong thing, or in the wrong way, wrong time as I have, before, and I want to completly understand how to learn to not carry it bit give it to the lordOnly, 🙏