The three parts of prophecy are Revelation, Interpretation, and Application. In order to be effective when we have a word for someone else, or we receive a prophetic word, we need to understand these three aspects of prophecy.
1. REVELATION
What is God saying? The person who delivers the prophetic word is responsible for the revelation of the word. It may come as a dream, a vision, through nature, or many other ways.
2. INTERPRETATION
What does the revelation mean? Prophetic people need to realize that just because they received the revelation does not mean that they also have the interpretation. We often get into trouble when we try to interpret a prophetic revelation without first receiving God’s direction and clarity.
3. APPLICATION
What should we do with the prophetic word once we know what it means? We should always involve wise leaders in our lives when we receive directional prophetic words. They should help us to devise a plan to actually apply the prophetic word to our life and walk it out.
Some time ago several of us traveled to a conference where they were training people how to prophesy. With about 70 people in the room, we were all prophesying to a woman in the front of the room. We completed the ten prophecies allowed in the prophetic exercise, and then began to judge the words given to the woman. Suddenly, a man in the back of the room stood to his feet and said, “You have a yellow shirt on!”
Immediately the woman fell to the ground, crying hysterically. The man continued to prophesy, saying things like, “The sun is yellow…the moon is yellow,” and so on. When the woman finally regained her composure, the leader of the class asked her what the word meant to her.
She explained, “I have a son who is autistic and I told the Lord today, ‘If You are going to heal my son, have someone tell me that I have on a yellow shirt….’”
The man who delivered this prophetic word stepped out of bounds and tried to give the woman an interpretation of the color yellow. Although the Holy Spirit used the word powerfully in the woman’s life, the entire prophetic word was simply, “you have a yellow shirt on”.
When God stops speaking, we should too! People who are prophesying often feel pressure to give an interpretation for every prophecy they have, particularly when the prophetic word seems ambiguous or even silly. It is astounding what some people think their prophetic words mean! The preceding is a profound example of a powerful prophetic word that was misinterpreted by the person who delivered it. Remember, we don’t have to be profound to be powerful.
Why is it important for us to only share what we believe the Holy Spirit is telling us—and not give interpretations unless we are first given clear direction by the Lord? Tell me in the comments below.
