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, they 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 has truly blessed me and helped me spiritually in my walk of ministry. God bless you Amen
This article and several comments resonated with me!
I know Holy Spirit is our greatest mentor~He leads us into all truth! But I do pray for mentors and alignment w others.
Re comments:
There are times I also have to lay down (and just weep) bc it’s so heavy, sometimes feels like I am dying (even spiritually) and other times so weak, etc!
I agree, the gift of discernment and hearing God’s voice is vitally #1 with this gift.
I also pray for Jesus to take it as I try best to cast all burdens upon Him, sometimes it also doesn’t lift + affects others around me
For me:
*Lately, deeper revelation re: the cup of His suffering
*crying out for help and the Lord does brings revelation
*praying for maturity w this gift; now reading bks and many say it takes time to learn how to fully cast it upon Him
*the more I’m in the Word, I get washed-able to rise above at times
*the spiritual burden has been the toughest, bc I also see, discern, feel, and it’s not always for 1 person, it’s often for diff church bodies, teams, regions, states/places I travel etc
*sometimes it’s so “terrible” I cannot be around certain ppl, very defiling w certain evil spirits = I prob need deeper healing in those area; sometimes it takes wks to recover
*I pray for divine understanding w application
*I now pray apostolic prayers regularly & the Word
*I fully surrender day and night, all senses, spirit soul and body to Christ Jesus, Yeshua; apply blood, and armor
*I use to only discern the good and glory!
Praying for balance and deeper revelation for all of us, in Jesus Name!
I had the burden bearing most of my life. Not until I read this article that I realized it was a gift from my Heavenly Father. I took on others burdens until I was both physically and mentally overwhelmed. It affected my health. When I read that I should give to God, it made perfect spitual sense since that is what the Cross is all about. God has entrusted us with this gift, so we must obey by doing it His way. Thank you for the others who shared. I could write about all the times when this has happened in this aspect of the gift but suffice to say, you must give it back to God.
I carry severe headaches/ oppression.
I am a warrior.
I see and do deliverance.
I go to the courts if heaven.
I am seasoned.
Yet
I carry pain and stress…
Disabling pain..
I am much blessed with the message burden bearing and i desire that god to allocate us to be burden bearers of our families, friends, countries, leaders, men of god and etc…,,,,,,lets purpose in our hearts to be those people saying,,,, this burden is too heavy for you lets hold hands together and carry it to someone who is greater than our thinking or whose greater than us…anyway am much blessed with the teachings.