"You are My witnesses, declares the Lord,
And My servant whom I have chosen..."
Isaiah 43:10
In witnessing seeing comes first. But how do we see what the Father is doing?
"Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants, the prophets."
Amos 3:7
"And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?"
Genesis 18:17
If you have been called by God to be His witness, and IF you are watching Him closely, listening carefully to His word, leaping to believe what He tells you and letting His words penetrate until you abide in them and they abide in you: then He will not hide from you what He is doing. He will show you what He is binding in heaven and loosing on earth that you may follow His lead in His appointed time.
And what about telling, sharing the revelation? To the idea of telling, we usually react in one of two ways: We hope He won't ask us to tell (fear, pride) or we can't wait to tell (vanity). The important thing to remember is that if God does not provide the opportunity to witness about Him and give us His words to speak, we will be spreading death both in ourselves and in the one to whom we speak. Being God's witness, both seeing and telling, is only possible through the Holy Spirit. He does it all.
"The Prayer of a Man Called To Be a Witness:
O Lord, I have heard Thy voice and am afraid. You have called me to an awesome task in a grave and perilous hour. You are about to shake all nations and the earth and also heaven, that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. O Lord, my Lord, you have stooped to honor me to be Thy servant. No man takes this honor upon himself save he that is called of God...
My God, I shall not waste time deploring my weakness nor my unfitted-ness for the work. The responsibility is not mine, but Thine. You have said, I knew you -- I ordained you -- I sanctified you, and You have also said, 'You shall go to all that I shall send you, and whatsoever I command you, you shall speak'. Who am I to argue with You or to call into question Thy sovereign choice -- the decision is not mine but Thine. Thy will, not mine be done.
Well do I know, Thou God of the prophets and the apostles, that as long as I honor Thee, You will honor me. Help me therefore to take this solemn vow to honor Thee in all my future life and labors, whether by gain or by loss, by life or by death, and then to keep that vow unbroken while I live.
It is time, O God, for You to work, for the enemy has entered into Thy pastures and the sheep are torn and scattered. And false shepherds abound who deny the danger and laugh at the perils which surround Thy flock. The sheep are deceived by these hirelings and follow them with touching loyalty while the world closes in to kill and destroy. I beseech Thee, give me sharp eyes to detect the presence of the enemy; give me understanding to see and courage to report what I see faithfully. Make my voice so like Thine own that even the sick sheep will recognize it and follow Thee.
Lord Jesus, I come to You for spiritual preparation. Lay Thy hand upon me. Anoint me with the oil of the New Testament prophet ...Heal my soul of carnal ambitions and deliver me from the itch for publicity. Save me from bondage to things. Let me not waste my days puttering around the house. Lay Thy terror upon me, O God, and drive me to the place of prayer where I may wrestle with principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness of this world. Deliver me from overeating and late sleeping. Teach me self-discipline that I may be a good soldier of Jesus Christ...
And now, O Lord of heaven and earth, I consecrate my remaining days to Thee; let them be many or few, as You will. Let me stand before the great or minister to the poor and lowly; that choice is not mine, and I would not influence it if I could. I am Thy servant to do Thy will, and that will is sweeter to me than position or riches or fame and I choose it above all things on earth or in heaven.
Though I am chosen of Thee and honored by a high and holy calling, let me never forget that I am a man of dust and ashes, a man with all the natural faults and passions that plague the race of men. I pray Thee, therefore, my Lord and redeemer, save me from myself and from all the injuries I may do myself while trying to be a blessing to others. Fill me with Thy power by the Holy Spirit, and I will go in Thy strength and tell of Thy righteousness. I will spread abroad the message of redeeming love while my normal powers endure.
Then, dear Lord, when I am old and weary and too tired to go on, have a place ready for me above, and make me to be numbered with Thy saints in glory everlasting. AMEN."
AW Tozer