Why Do You Need Revelation?

by Karen Roberts

Some people believe that the only revelation we need is the written word of God. They believe that the days of receiving any other type of revelation from God ended once the apostles died. Others believe strongly in receiving revelation from God in their spirits through spending time praying and listening to hear the Spirit of God. Some of these ones don’t spend much time reading the written word of God, for they feel they are tuned in to hear the Spirit of God.

However, the real key is that we need both kinds of revelation. We need to take in the written word of God while seeking for the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts and bring revelation of how that word applies to us. We need daily revelation to know what God is showing us.


Ephesians 1:17-18 contains part of a prayer that Paul prayed for followers of Jesus. He prays, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened;….” (NKJ version)

Paul clearly wanted Christians to be tuned into God to the extent that they would be receiving revelation from Him. You may ask, “What is revelation?” It is seeing or understanding something that you wouldn’t see or understand without it being revealed. We need knowledge of the Word of God, but we also need revelation from the Holy Spirit so that we understand The Word and really know it down in our hearts. Head knowledge is not enough.

For instance, we can read all about the love of God, but we need revelation from the Holy Spirit so that we can personally experience His love on a daily basis. We may have emotional barriers built up inside us from past hurts, and our past might keep us from really experiencing His love. But as revelation comes, those barriers can be broken down and we can know His love in such a real way that we run to our Daddy in heaven and rest in Him securely.

We may also know from Scriptures that God is good. But it may be hard for us to really trust in His goodness when the circumstances of life get difficult. However, when we have revelation, we can truly trust Him and praise Him through the storms of life, believing that He is working everything together for our good

We know from Scripture that we should share our faith with others, to influence them to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior. But we need revelation from the Holy Spirit to show us how to relate Jesus to each individual. There is no set pattern that works in the same way for each person. Through revelation, we will know how to show God’s love, what to do, and what to say, so that the Holy Spirit can use us to bring others to Christ.

When we meet together to worship, we need God to speak to us. One person might prophesy; one might have a teaching on something in the Word; another might have a word of knowledge or encouragement that will speak to the hearts of certain people; another might have an exhortation; someone else might have a prayer; another might have a testimony of how God worked in his or her life. As different ones share their revelations, we all receive ministry from one another.

Revelation from God brings breakthrough! Freedom from sin, physical healing, new levels of worship, emotional healing, a sense of God’s direction, release from worry – all these are examples of breakthroughs that can come when we receive revelation from God. Let’s pray Paul’s prayer for ourselves, for our family members, for our friends, and for those with whom we worship.

“Lord, give us Your Spirit of revelation and understanding, and knowledge of Jesus, that our eyes of understanding will be enlightened by You.”