Ask Patricia page 1

Like a lot of ministries, we often are asked questions about our teachings. We really appreciate when believers come to us to share their hearts, and give us a chance to share ours. A healthy back-and-forth of questions allows for beliefs to be clarified and misconceptions to be cleared up. To that end, we've created the “Ask Patricia” section of the XP website. Here, Patricia responds to some of the more common, and sometimes controversial, questions we receive.

We'll continue to answer questions as they come in, so be sure to check back often. Bless you!


	Q	When you pray in tongues, does it have to be out loud? Do you actually have to speak? Or can you pray in tongues within your spirit?
	A	Yes, we can pray silently and God will hear and know what we are praying because He knows all that goes on in our hearts and minds (Acts 15:8). The Word also tells us that while man looks to the outside, God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). God knows what goes on inside of us. He knows our thoughts. He knows our desires (before we even ask according to Matthew 6:8). And He will hear our prayers whether we pray them out loud, or pray them silently in our hearts. Having said that, I will add that while we do not have to pray in tongues out loud to be heard by God I have found that praying in tongues out loud does help keep me focused. When I try to pray silently I often find that my mind wanders. Especially when I am contending for something in the spirit, I find it is easier to violently pray in tongues out loud ... But no, it is not necessary to pray out loud to be heard by God.


	Q	I was raised Catholic. My question is about the sign of the cross that they make before and after praying. I enjoy meals with my family and don't make the “sign of the cross” anymore. I know someday I will be asked why. I have been wanting to hear your wisdom and biblical reference as to why Christians do not make the “sign of the cross,” so that I have a Godly answer in love.
	A	Anything done for the purpose of religious ritual rather than true faith is always fruitless. If the sign of the cross is a religious gesture that means nothing to the person doing it, or if it is a gesture that is meant to produce the result of getting God's attention or approval, then it is not of faith. The scripture says that "anything not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). God looks at the heart while man looks to outward appearances (1 Samuel 16:7). If your heart is performing the gesture as a result of honor for the finished work of the cross that gave you your eternal covenant with God, then it might be a fruitful action. It then releases faith and worship. It is not performed to produce favor with God but rather to show respect. In this case, it is an expression of thanskgiving and worship, which He adores.


	Q	We have heard from people we trust that you and friends of your ministry (Todd Bentley was mentioned) believe that people can obtain the anointing of the saints that have passed on by attempting to communicate with them (the dead) and by laying on their graves and so forth. Is this really true?
	A	I believe that your friends are referring to the visitation of the Great Cloud of Witnesses. In Matthew 17, Moses and Elijah (who were both dead and gone to glory) appeared in the sight of Jesus, Peter, James, and John. The scripture says that Moses and Elijah both spoke and that all present could see and hear them. The big question would be, why would Jesus have interaction with those who were dead and allow his three disciples to listen in and participate in this event if it was a sin? Jesus never sinned. Perhaps it is because those who are in heaven are not "dead,” after all Jesus said that those who believed in Him would never die. Patricia has personally never spoken to anyone in the Great Cloud of Witnesses and she does not believe that we are to call for them or initiate a conversation with them. She has, however had a visionary encounter on two occasions which involved the Great Cloud of Witnesses. Hebrews 12:1 says they "surround us.” She is not sure what Todd believes about the Great Cloud of Witnesses releasing mantles or empowerment. Patricia has come to no conclusions on that subject herself and she definitely has not laid on anyone's grave. Although, in the Bible when a man was laid on Elisha's dead bones, he came alive due to contact. It is one of those mysteries in the scriptures. Patricia currently does not teach on the Great Cloud of Witnesses as the subject raised too much controversy and concern a few years ago, so she has put a seal on it, although we know of many other ministries (Bob Jones, Rick Joyner, Paul Keith Davies, etc) who do make mention of this subject.


	Q	I recently heard you at a conference mention how much you like Starbucks coffee. Did you know that the Starbucks logo has a mythological creature called a “siren” on it? I am curious what you think about Christians who bring things into their homes with demonic logos, are they opening their door for evil sprits to enter their homes?
	A	When I prayed into this situation, what came to me was the exhortation in the Word to pray blessing over our food. I am not sure if you are aware of this, but most American imported foods and clothing are made in Asia, where in most cases the workers dedicate their days work including the food and the garments they make to the company's idol (often Buddha or other figures that they sacrifice to each day). Most of your tea brands for example, are produced and packaged in Asia ... almost every single piece of clothing you wear and every imported food item has been sacrificed to an idol. For this reason, I bless my clothes, food, furniture etc. The proclaimed blessing of the Lord breaks any curse as the prayer of thanks and blessing puts it inside of God's covering. His power of light expels the darkness. Although we definitely do not want to bringing idols into the home to worship, I believe the scripture means items that we deliberately worship. An example would be the daily newspaper. Inside the newspapers are horoscopes, yet most of us have stacks of newspapers in our home. We are not idolizing the horoscopes and agreeing with them, but we enjoy the paper. However, if we open the paper each day and submit our hearts and minds to the content of the horoscopes, that is very different. For me, I find that Starbucks makes one of the best coffees I have ever tasted (this is my personal preference). Most coffee companies use cursed beans if the beans grow in fields where people dedicate their work to false idols. It would be hard to find a non-cursed coffee bean these days. The other thought would be the god of Materialism. Most of the marketing of brands go through a marketing expert who is very much like a psychologist in order to grab attention and manipulate the consumer. This type of activity does not come from the true God but from the god of Materialism. So dear friend, we are in the world … BUT we are not of the world. We are separated unto God and everything we partake of, we dedicate to Him for blessing. We worship only Jesus. We serve only Jesus. But, I believe, we can also drink blessed coffee (smile). I think Romans 14 can help us here. Hope this helps!


	Q	I understand that gold dust and the gemstones in meetings are a manifestation of the Lord, but what is the purpose? What does it mean? Why is He doing this?
	A	Many times in meetings or in devotional times, signs and wonders will manifest such as gold dust, gemstones, diamond glitter, oil, feathers, manna and many other things. In the Bibles these would be referred to as signs and wonders (see Acts 2:17-19). The purpose of a sign is to point you in a direction. The signs of the Lord direct our focus to Him. A wonder is something that causes us to stand in awe of God. His wonders produce amazement which in turn creates expressions of worship and adoration. Signs and wonders are part of heavens language, much like the parables of Christ in the scripture. The Lord often hides His truth inside of packaging that makes no sense to the natural intellect. This type of divine communication is meant to call you into His presence ... into a place of inquiry. Often when we encounter things we do not understand, we go into our mind or intellect (self) to search for the answers. When God uses the language of signs, however, the mind cannot grasp or understand this language. It can only be understood by drawing close to Him and waiting for His counsel. In 1 Corinthians 2:13-15, Paul explains that the natural man cannot comprehend the things of the Spirit as they must be spiritually appraised or discerned. What, then, is God trying to say to us through the manifestation of gold, gems and other things? Our key is to go to Him and inquire. One sign and wonder can carry a variety of different messages in the same way as one scripture verse has layers of revelation within it. One scripture verse can minister different aspects of truth to various seekers and all of them could be accurate. God is after our hearts in all of this. He is calling us to intimacy. He is calling us deeper into His heart. "Come, draw close to me and you will hear my whisper -- come, draw close to me and I will disclose to you My mysteries. In Mark 4, Jesus had been sharing Kingdom truths in parables that the natural man could not understand. His disciples came to Him privately after and asked Him to help them understand what was perplexing to them. His reply was this, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries, but to those outside, I speak in parables." (v 11). To those who drew close to Him in the private place of inquiry, the interpretation of the mystery is given. With the manifestation of the gold dust or diamond glitter or feathers or oil, you too will receive the communication of the Lord when you draw close. There are many things that the Lord might want to speak to you in regards to these manifestations. God will unfold His heart as you seek Him. We know that He likes gold. He had all the holy of holies overlaid with it. He has golden streets in heaven, and He called for vessels of silver and gold in His temple. Heaven is also the home of sapphires and other gems. The rainbow over the throne is like an emerald in appearance. We cannot say that the Lord is only speaking one thing in a manifestation whenever it appears. One time a Jewish man received a gold tooth in a meeting. He began to weep profusely. In the Holocaust, his people had been stripped of their gold teeth. To him God was saying that restoration was coming to all that was lost. In the mid 1990s we had a great outpouring of the gold in our meetings when Todd Bentley was ministering with us. We felt God was saying that He was opening the heavens and the church would begin to see manifestations of heaven in the earth to confirm the answer to our prayer that we have been praying for 2,000 years: "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.” To others, it was a sign of the transference of wealth in their lives. And to others the Lord spoke to them out of the latter glory of the house being greater than the former (Haggai 1,2). Which one is the right interpretation? They are all right. God speaks many things in many ways. The important thing is that we allow these signs and wonders to cause us to draw near to Him. For me, whenever I see a manifestation of the Lord's presence or evidence of His supernatural Kingdom, it brings me great joy! The "child" in me rises up. Jesus taught in Matthew 18, that unless we come like little children we cannot enter the Kingdom. Signs and wonders stir up and call forth that beautiful childlike nature as we get excited about what our Heavenly Daddy is revealing to us. In summary then, signs and wonders are given to: 1. Produce a focus on the Lord. 2. Draw the believer to His heart to receive counsel and to build relationship. 3. Create a response of worship and awe in His presence. 4. Invite believers to receive the revelation and interpretation of the mysteries of the Kingdom. 5. Bring joy to our hearts. 6. Call forth and stir up the childlike nature in us so we can experience the Kingdom.

Are medical intuitives operating in the power of the devil? Is this New Age garbage that actually works and helps people but comes from satan? Or can a practicing medical intuitive be from God?

I am not familiar with the term "medical intuitive", but I think I may be
able to share a little bit that can help you in all of this.

In a nutshell it is all about SOURCE. God is the creator. Not the devil. So
there is nothing that the devil has created, only things that he has
perverted and twisted. There is nothing that the new agers or the witches
or anyone involved in the occult are doing that there is not a PURE version
of sourced in Jesus Christ. Any activity in the spirit realm outside of
Jesus Christ (and the leading of the Holy Spirit) is witchcraft and it is
dangerous and harmful to be a part of... because it is sourced in darkness
(remember even satan himself can masquerade as an angel of light but the
source is still darkness and ultimately leads to death and destruction).

So as far as medical intuitives go... If they are working healing from a
spiritual perspective and their source is outside of Jesus Christ (i.e.,
they don¹t believe in their hearts and confess with their mouths that Jesus
Christ is God, that He died on the cross for our sins, and that He rose
three days later to ascend to the right hand of the Father and sent the Holy
Spirit back to us to lead us into all truth in regards to things of the
spirit) then I would be very wary.

Jesus heals today. He paid for all our iniquities and all our infirmities.
And He has given His disciples authority over all sickness and disease. We
see Jesus perform healing miracles in most all of our meetings, often
through our hands... But we know the source of that healing is Jesus Christ
and the finished work of the cross.

So if there is a "medical intuitive" who is sourced in Jesus and is seeing
The Lord¹s healing miracles that set people free from disease and glorify
the name of Jesus Christ while bearing fruit for the Kingdom of Heaven ...
Cool! The church may not be familiar with the term "medical intuitive", but
that is not the issue. The issue is what is the source of the healing power
the medical intuitive is operating in.

	Q	I am a pastor and I have a question for you as a fellow leader. How are we as God-fearing pastors suppose to relate to gay pastors. I recently found out that one of the pastors in our ministerium is a lesbian. I know that God loves the sinner and hates the sin and we are to love one another, but she is in a place of authority and causing her congregation to think that this is okay with God. 1 Cor 6:9 9 tells us: "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." We aren't even suppose to have anything to do with darkness from those that are brothers in the Lord. How do you think that this should be handled?
	A	God is love and it is vital that we love and not judge (John 3:16,17). But God is also truth and righteousness and never compromises His Word and neither should we. We must keep our heart's convictions but reach out to love, understand and believe for a release of revelation concerning the truth to enter the person. Pray for "wisdom from above" which is "easily entreated"(James 3). I asked Caleb Brundidge for his input as he has come out of a homosexual lifestyle. This is his response: It is always about love. This pastor is still a hurting person. I would get to know the person, find out where she is hurting, build relationship. From that place of trust you can offer healing from past wounds, and try to help meet the unmet love need as a friend, fellow Christian, and conduit of God's love. The question is how do we relate? We relate with God's love. Remember the woman at the well (John 4).

	Q	I have a question about the idea of prophetic evangelism. While I am all for reaching the lost with words of knowledge, how do we reconcile this with what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 14:22 about NOT giving prophecy to non-believers?
	A	Great question! Let’s look at two scriptures. First, the one you brought up (1 Corinthians 14:22). And also, 1 Corinthians 1:24-25: “Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.” - 1 Cor 14:22 (KJV) “But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: And thus the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.” -1Cor 1:24-25 (KJV) It is my belief that the scriptures clearly state that when we prophesy it brings about amazing effects upon unbelievers to a point of calling them to worship. BUT... in verse 14:22 it says that prophesying "serveth" or ministers to the believer and not the unbeliever. Prophesy creates faith in those who hear and that changes and impacts a life. If a person hears a prophetic utterance and does not believe it, then it makes no impact on them… they do not believe ... because prophecy serves those who believe. When you believe a prophetic word, it "serves you.” It births faith. Therefore prophecy is for the believer... it produces faith and causes one to believe. Tongues, on the other hand, does not produce faith in an unbeliever. It is simply a sign, or something that works to "shock and awe" the unbeliever. Prophecy creates faith, and therefore will only serve those who believe -- even those who are not yet born again. With the example of the woman at the well, we find Jesus releasing prophetic revelation (word of knowledge) that instantly produced faith that she acted on. She "believed," and acted on it... coming to recognize Jesus as the Messiah!

	Q	But the verse in 1 Corinthians. 14 you quote which says that prophecy is "not for unbelievers,” and the verses you cite in 1 Corinthians 1:24-25 are speaking about the context of a gathering of believers. What about going out to the streets to prophesy over unbelievers?
	A	I think there is lots of encouragement in the Bible to utilize the gifts of the Spirit as we go to proclaim the gospel. The Bible tells us that “...these signs shall follow.” This is after the "preaching" (speaking on behalf of God) of the gospel of the Kingdom. Prophesying is one dimension of preaching. Also, in Acts 2 the Lord tells us that His “Spirit shall be poured out upon all flesh." Not just flesh in the church. ALL flesh. Everywhere. This is in the context of prophecy, dreams, visions, sign, and wonders. Also remember that John the Baptist wasn't prophesying in a church or temple. He prophesied in the wilderness (in public). Peter was in prison when he prophesied to the jailer: " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, you and your house." Paul prophesied on the ship when in the midst of the storm he told them not to be afraid as no life would be lost but the ship would be destroyed.

	Q	Can a believer lose their salvation through sin?
	A	I believe that our salvation is a result of our faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. Christ did everything to secure our relationship with the Father. Our walk in the Lord is not about our works but about His -- His work of sacrifice as He fulfilled all the law, the Messianic prophecies, as He became sin on our behalf and fully paid the penalty for all our sin nature and sinful acts. This is His true work of grace, completed for all people and for all time. We connect into Christ by faith and not by works. When we accept Christ into our lives we receive the gift of eternal life and enter covenant with God (the covenant cut between God and man) - not because we deserve it but because He accomplished it. He represented us in an eternal unbreakable covenant between Jesus/God and Jesus/Man. This is mercy. Do I believe that once a person receives Christ they are forever secure and cannot fall from grace? - No I do not believe this. If a person loses their faith in the sacrifice then there is no connection for them to eternal life for He is eternal life. This is the sin that leads to death (eternal separation from God). Do I believe that a person can lose the gift of eternal life by committing an act of immorality, deception, or lawlessness? No, I do not believe this UNLESS the hardening of their heart through sin leads them to "the sin that leads to death" as stated above. Do I believe that God is just and that there will be rewards and judgment for the deeds done in the flesh either good or evil? - Yes. This has nothing to do however with our worthiness to receive His gift of eternal life (that is by faith) and neither is it a thermometer for how much God loves us...His love is unconditional. It is, however the fruit/consequence of free choice.