Prophetic Word: The Birth Pains Have Begun!
Editor’s Note: This is part 1 of a two-part series. Stay tuned for part 2!
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles” (Ps. 34:17).
It started with a scream, a cry that rang out as I was praying early one morning last week. On the morning of May 29, 2019, at 7:24 a.m., I heard a cry ring out. The cry sounded like someone in desperation, and it shook me to my core. I searched the house to see where the noise resounded from. (I had only been home for about 36 hours from a trip to Singapore. While in Singapore, I had felt stirred that the Lord was about to do something unprecedented.) After searching, I realized my family was still asleep, so I went back to my prayer room. I looked up 7:24 and found Matthew 7:24, “Whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock.”
The Lord then spoke to me:
“The cry that you heard is that of birth pains. The birth pains have begun! The water has broken. The bride is in labor. Call forth the midwives to grab the towels and the water. The time has come for deliverers to arrive. Prepare for the sons and daughters to come forth. These will be those who will usher in the greatest harvest the world has ever seen. Tell my midwives their time has come. The birth of the newborn shall come quickly. They must come from their places of normality and be prepared to hold the hand of those that are ushering in this harvest. They will be the protectors of the innocent, the propagators of new life and guardians of the sacred trust called ‘delivery.’ For without the midwives, we will not see the revelation of all that is to come. Open the door, for the midwives have arrived!”
God was giving me a prophetic word for this hour. I had better understand why I heard the cry, as I would later learn on this very same day Illinois would pass the most lenient abortion legislation seen yet. Illinois has been added to the list of states discounting—and in effect, eliminating—the life of a child in the womb. The Illinois House legislature passed the new law on May 29. Known as the “Reproductive Health Act,” this new law is more extreme than the New York law that passed earlier this year. It allows abortions to be performed at any time during the pregnancy, literally allowing an abortion to take place right before birth.
We must hear the cries of the unborn. It is time to protect the innocent! It is time for the midwives to arise!
Let me share with you about the midwife. The Bible says, in Exodus 1:20-21, “Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. So it happened that because the midwives feared God, He gave them families.”
But what is a midwife, and what was God speaking to me in “calling for the midwives”? A midwife is defined as one who brings to birth, a woman who helps women in childbirth. A midwife has often been an older relative or friend of the family. Part of her duties, as described in Ezekiel 16:4, are cutting the umbilical cord, washing the baby with water, rubbing it with salt and wrapping it in swaddling clothes. The key role of the midwife was to protect the child and mother, to provide encouragement and expertise in the aspect of birthing, to create an environment conducive to birthing and to be the one who ensures safe passage for the new child. They were given the joy of naming the child. The midwife also has two jobs: 1. Dress the child and 2. Whisper to the child (which means provides mouth-to-mouth resuscitation).
There is a special anointing that has been lost to the church. This special anointing is called the ministry of the midwife. This anointing is what has helped to usher in the revivals of the past. It does not bring with it fanfare and popularity. You will not gain followers on social media or even gain access to the elite green rooms. In fact, if this anointing is done right, you will most likely not even be seen, but oh, how heaven will speak of you! In the day and age of celebrity-driven Christianity that makes the arrival of the called look more like a movie premiere, taking selfies on a red carpet that is stained by the martyrs’ blood, those who once stood for truth and holiness in generations past. We must hold onto the words of Christ in Matthew 24:8-9: “All these are the beginning of birth pains. ‘Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.'”
I must warn you that many will read this and dismiss it as a message that does not apply to them and choose to stay silent. They will read and dismiss it as charismatic hype best left to a small prayer gathering of only the most zealous deemed to not have a life outside. I ask that you read and listen closely, for Satan desires to abort all that is birthed of the Spirit. He will stop short of nothing except total annihilation of what God desires to do. Satan has his ear to the wind, listening for the faintest whisper of hope arising from lips of the saints so that he can interfere, demolish and disrupt the agenda of heaven. Today, we declare that what God will do will be unprecedented. The tectonic plates have shifted.
Agitation is a sign that the birth is upon us! It says in Romans 8:19-21 (TPT), “The entire universe is standing on tiptoe, yearning to see the unveiling of God’s glorious sons and daughters! For against its will the universe itself has had to endure the empty futility resulting from the consequences of human sin. But now, with eager expectation, all creation longs for freedom from its slavery to decay and to experience with us the wonderful freedom coming to God’s children.”
I realize that many hearing this message are increasingly agitated. You feel a yearning for more. You are unhappy with your present lot in life. You know that you were created for more, but the more seems so far away. In the distance you hear a knock at the door. This of course is God’s way of awakening the bride. God suddenly arouses you from your normal. He waits until you are close to nodding off and the knock comes on the door. Song of Solomon 5:2 (TPT), says, “After this I let my devotion slumber, but my heart for him stayed awake. I had a dream. I dreamed of my beloved; he was coming to me in the darkness of night. The melody of the man I love awakened me. I heard his knock at my heart’s door as he pleaded with me: Arise, my love. Open your heart, my darling, deeper still to me. Will you receive me this dark night?”
The knock you hear at the door of your heart is that of a wounded Savior desperately trying to find a bride that is awakened to His presence and ready for Him to be the head of the house. The cry I heard was not just a cry of the birthing that is coming, but also the midnight cry. Matthew 25:6 says, “But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!'”
Watch evangelist Pat Schatzline preach this powerful new prophetic word on “The Ministry of the Midwife” by clicking here. {eoa}
Pat Schatzline is a leading international evangelist and author. He and his wife, Karen, co-founded Remnant Ministries International. Their latest book is Rebuilding the Altar.
