Have you ever received a prophetic word that changes your life? Maybe it’s been directly from God as you’ve learned how He speaks to you, or maybe it came from a friend or pastor. If you’re reading this and you know the kind of word I’m talking about, did you know that you have the same authority to access the gift of prophecy and see people’s lives changed in front of you? Just think about it: What would happen if we all really believed that we can all prophesy and started stepping out in the prophetic as a part of our everyday lives?
THE POWER OF PROPHECY
The Father’s heart is to reconcile all humankind to Himself: people, communities, and entire nations. The prophetic ministry empowers us to participate in the ministry of reconciliation that has been assigned to all Christians in 2 Corinthians 5. You see the price that Jesus paid on the Cross determined the value of the people He purchased. Think about that. God must think we’re really valuable if He has His Son endure so much pain and even death for us. It doesn’t take a prophetic gift to see the sin in sinners or the junk in the lives of Christians. It does require the eyes of God, though, to see broken people like Simon (Simon means “broken reed”) and in the midst of their brokenness, call them Peter (Peter means “rock”). True prophetic ministry is looking for gold in the midst of the dirt in people’s lives and recognizing the value that God has innately placed in each of us.
The gift of prophecy is not simply patting people on the back, telling them nice things about themselves, and pretending that there is nothing negative in their lives. Instead, prophetic words are so supernaturally powerful that they can actually unearth the gold in the hearts of people that is hidden under the dirt of their lives. This often displaces their confusion and delivers them from guilt, shame, and sin. Prophecy confronts false mindsets and sinful thought patterns, which awakens new realities in the lives of people. This often initiates the process of rethinking how they live, love, and behave.
THE PROPHETIC CAN BE SIMPLE
Remember, we don’t have to be profound to be powerful.
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. We completed the ten prophecies allowed in the prophetic exercise. 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”.
HOW TO GROW YOUR PROPHETIC GIFT
The biggest piece of advice I can give to people in growing their gift is taking a step in faith. It’s always scary to start something new, but I believe the more you do something, the easier it will get. You can keep this low stakes by simply asking God questions about what He’s wanting to say to the people around you. The next time you go to eat out at a restaurant, ask God questions about your server. Try, “What’s one of Your favorite things about them? What do You love about them? What are You doing in their life in this season? Are they uniquely gifted in something?” and then encourage the socks off of them! Follow Holy Spirit’s promptings to love on people and I bet you’ll be encouraged by the ways He so badly wants to speak to His children! Today I want to encourage you step out and take a risk to prophesy and encourage someone, and then tell me about it in the comments! I’d also love to hear ways that you’ve grown in the prophetic, or awesome testimonies about how you’ve seen this gift change people’s lives!
