Mary Hudson talks about how she got into the prophetic ministry, drawing closer to God, and how she takes criticism about her daughter, singer Katy Perry.
Mary Hudson giving a word of encouragement to CHC. PHOTO: Michael Chan
Saved in Las Vegas in the late ‘70s when she was a radio news director, Mary Hudson nee Perry and her husband, Keith Hudson started a church. At a conference some years later, they felt the leading of God to go into prophetic ministering for the rest of their lives. In November, she visited City Harvest Church for the first time.
What was it like for you when you first started out in the prophetic ministry?
I would stand in front of somebody and something about them would be so obvious to me, I would get impressions from the Lord. I was very shy at that time, but you build up your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost (Jude 1:20) and when you pray in the Spirit (Acts 19), it opens the gateway to the prophetic.
So as we prayed and interceded for each other at church, God would give me impressions as I stood in front of somebody. And because it was so obvious to me, a lot of times I didn’t open my mouth. Later on, I found out that nobody else knew this, and that the Lord was downloading this to me, and I needed to start ministering to that person. Because when you’re out on the streets, and God shows you somebody that’s lost or unsaved, and you start talking to them about it, it shocks them, and they realize there’s this supernatural “Guy” out there Who knows their business and Who loves them.
How do we become more sensitive to the voice and presence of God?
Spend more time with Him.
The Bible says in the book of Daniel that the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do mighty exploits. And also in Isaiah 43: “they shall rise up on wings of eagles.” But when you’re waiting upon the Lord, you’re not waiting for the Lord to do something in your situation, because that’s in the Old Testament. We live in the New Testament age, and the Lord has done everything that He was going to do. He sent Jesus to be your Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Jireh, to be everything for you. So what you have to do is to receive it by faith, and walk in it by the grace and favor of God.
So, when you wait on somebody, think about what a waiter does—he comes, takes your orders, fills up your glass and brings your plate of food. He’s watching you, attentive to your needs. That’s how you are to be attentive to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you in the Word—a verse, a phrase that jumps out at you.
I liken it to a neon sign that is blinking at you—“call that person”, “do this thing”, “make that contract”, “write that book”—God’s trying to talk to you every single time you open His Word. It’s the mouthpiece of God. That’s what a rhema word is, that’s what a smart bomb is. One smart bomb will take out what a hundred dumb bombs tries to take out in a place like Iraq.
So, read the Word, pray in the Spirit, listen to worship music. Sometimes, I’m at the office and we come across a naughty problem, and I’ll go to the restroom and take the handicapped cubicle, raise my hands and pray and worship Him: “Father I worship You, I thank You, Lord that You have the answer, I thank You for downloading to us the answer right now.” And He does, every time!
In Luke 17:6, Jesus says, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”
PHOTO: Shutterstock
Talk to us about having faith as big as a mustard seed—how can we pray with more faith?
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). So you gotta get in His presence more, wait on Him, wait for Him to speak to your heart. Pastor Bill Johnson of Bethel Church, Redding, says that he just keeps reading the New Testament till God speaks to him, chapters and chapters, until he gets to the “a-ha” moment: “I have mined the gold nugget!” So you hear something from the Lord.
I have a journal that I write in every day—a word, or a phrase—when I am really focusing on something, I want to hear something directly and God says, “look here” or “look there”. Just the other day, God answered me right away, it was so clear.
So when you pray for a situation or a person, it’s not up to you to work it out, the Holy Spirit works it out for you, but He needs your voice on earth. Your voice is your address in the Spirit.
How do you describe your relationship with God?
Oh, it’s great! I’m always learning more about Him, I mean, we’re gonna learn for eternity. I was reading a book the other day, it was by a minister from Colorado, it changed my thinking. The Holy Spirit wants to tweak you, change you every single day from your stinkin’ thinkin’. Like this issue I had when my daughter sang that song (“I Kissed A Girl”). I could have stayed depressed but instead I took the verse from Psalms 113:9 and reminded myself, a barren woman should be a joyful mother. The joy of the Lord is my strength. And God sits in the heavens and laughs. The Lord holds them in derision, because He knows the end result. He knows He wins the battle, and we have to know it, too.
How do you handle criticism about what Katy sings—in fact, how does any parent handle criticism, be it from others or from themselves—when their child seems to veer off the right path?
You know, when a child is over 21, that’s when your real ministry of intercession begins! Because they’re now adults, and they make their own choices. A friend of mine—a pastor’s wife—has a wonderful ministry she calls “Fasting Friday” for her kids, based on the twin power tools of prayer and fasting. She has groups of people pray and fast from 8am to 5pm. She had a son who served the Lord with them but all a sudden started doing drugs—methamphetamine. They thought his brain had turned to dust and he didn’t have any power left in his life, but she started fasting every Friday, and she saw him come back to the Lord, and he’s now the associate pastor of the church. And his brain was not destroyed.
