Then again the Lord used this gift to convince Nathanael that He was the Son of God (John 1:49) and the Samaritan woman that He was Messiah, thus bringing the men of her city to a like faith (John 4:29, 39). Our Lord also was shown what was in the minds of His enemies and was thus enabled to deal with them (Mark 2:6-8). So, too, he knew from the beginning who it was that should betray Him, and so was forearmed against the shock when it came.

On the other hand, through lack of seeking counsel from God and so receiving a Word of Knowledge from him, Joshua saddled Israel with the Gibeonites for hundreds of years against God's will (Joshua 9:14), and a rebellious Isaac was deceived by a lying Jacob (Genesis 27).

In our own day this gift has been widely distributed to Evangelists such as Wigglesworth, Branham, Valdez, Nunn, Barratt and Williams and a host of others, to convince those who hear that God is indeed in the midst, and thus quicken their faith for salvation and healing. It is indeed most arresting to hear, for instance, Branham asking people if they will believe for healing if God will show him what is the matter with them and how it arose! So powerful is this gift that some who have never seen it in operation have not been afraid to accuse those who have it of trickery! But honest hearts believe and receive their healing. Branham has frequently been shown the exact situation which he would find when he arrived to pray for a sick person. Betty Baxter and her mother were told by the Lord the very day and hour at which he would heal her; and Valdez when in England, was shown what a pastor who came in late was thinking about the meeting.