Christians, particularly those who hold to mystical beliefs (at present, commonly associated with Pentecostal revivalism), believe strongly in the idea of an immanent God - that God is present and deals intimately with the individual as they live their life. The experience of this immanence is varied, but is usually subjective. Thus an individual Christian has access to God's guidance whenever they come into his presence and pray. Naturally, some times are more immediate and clearer than others - having an experience during a Church Worship service is more likely than having an experience while cutting one's toenails. What this shows is that the context for the experience is important - that when a Christian is focused upon God and serving Him, then God will be close to the Christian and act to guide.
But what separates Words of Knowledge from other times of immanence is that words of knowledge rarely occur during times of worship and extreme emotional arousal. In fact, most words of knowledge are delivered in times where a person is going about their everyday life.
Here is a common example: A man is walking down the street, and walks up to a woman he has never met and names a problem in her life, such as psychological problems, secret addictions, recent deaths, or illness. Unlike contemporary prophets and fortune tellers such as Nostradamus and Ms. Cleo, most words of knowledge contain precise detail, such as a name, the part of the body that is sick, or a problem few people know about. Thus, the probability of coincidence is virtually eliminated. The person who is approached is often left scared and frightened, because a person he has never met has just approached, told her intimate details about her , and left as quickly as he came.
At the time of the incident, neither of the recipients of the message was aroused or taking place in an act that would make them more likely to think illogically, such as intense worship, prayer or toenail cutting. This argument is often used to criticize glossolalia since it most often occurs in such settings.
The belief that God can reveal His will directly through a subjective experience is validated by selected stories in the Bible. Biblical figures such as King David, Samuel, the Prophet Isaiah, the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul, all show that God is both willing and able to speak to people clearly and unambiguously.
The receipt of a Word of Knowledge therefore, is no different to what has occurred before both throughout the stories in the Bible and the experience of the Church since Pentecost.
