Have you ever been burned by prophetic ministry? Maybe it was by a specific word that just felt “off” that you didn’t know how to let go of, or perhaps it was from a word you’ve been holding onto for so long that’s past its expiration date. You see the prophetic is powerful, and like anything that carries weight, it should be honed, studied, and grown in with wisdom. Many people ask me to give them advice on prophetic ministry and today I’d love to share some of that with you.
I’ve seen so much growth in the body of Christ in recent years with teaching people how to hear from God and how to prophesy. I’ve seen prophetic communities develop all around the world! I think it’s so important that as we grow, we keep ourselves anchored in biblical truth regarding what prophecy is and what it isn’t. For today’s Flashback Friday, I want to share 5 things that I wish I could teach every person regarding prophetic ministry. Check it out:
In a nutshell:
Not every encouraging word is a prophetic word. Prophecy is supposed to be encouraging, exhortation and comforting (see 1 Corinthians 1:3). However not all encouraging words are prophecies, just like every apostle should be a father or mother, but not every father or mother should be an apostle. It’s important for us to not stretch the Bible for it to mean something it doesn’t say. It’s good for you to be encouraging even if it’s not a prophecy, but let’s not make everything that is encouraging a prophecy.- Words of knowledge are not the same as prophetic words. Sometimes we see people and know their profession. That’s a word of knowledge – information you got by the Spirit that is currently true. That is good but it’s not a prophecy.
- The value you place on the prophetic word determines the power you’ll receive from it. Part of the reason why people don’t receive grace to change is because they misunderstand what prophetic ministry is. The Bible says if you receive prophetic ministry in the name of prophetic ministry then you receive its reward (Matthew 10:41). So, if you have very little faith in the word, then don’t be surprised if it doesn’t come to pass. An example of this is Moses and the people who did not go into the Promised Land. Millions heard the prophetic word about the Promised Land, but only two families got to go in. It wasn’t a bad word but faith that made the difference. What can we learn? Unbelief will kill a prophecy and keep the purposes of God from coming true in your life. Also—It’s important that before you begin prophetic ministry that you explain what prophetic ministry is. People need to know how to steward and put their faith behind it.
- Don’t make the prophetic word fit whatever your morning prayer was. For example, if you’re praying for your spouse and someone gives you a word about community or companionship in your life, it’s easy to interpret that as God bringing you your spouse, instead of as God bringing you friends, even if that’s not what the word is. The Lord often sends us prophetic words from other people about things we typically never pray for—the things that He’s been trying to talk to us about for years that we’re not open to hearing…often about a thing we’ve never wanted to do, or a place we’ve never wanted to go.
- The greater the level of prophetic ministry, the greater the level of prophetic judgment should be. When you give a prophetic declaration I’d really rather that you don’t say, “Thus sayeth the Lord,” because the Bible doesn’t give us the privilege of always being right when prophesying. In prophetic cultures, you’ll likely get some words that aren’t accurate (this is a part of growing). If you say, “Thus sayeth the Lord” it removes the element of prophetic judgment. The word, not the person giving it, should be examined in a prophetic culture. If you feel invalidated because a prophetic word you gave is judged, then you need to deal with some self-esteem issues. The truth is, if you don’t have checks and balances in your prophetic culture then you’ll be empowering people to manipulate with the prophetic (meaning they require that everyone else sees their words as true always), which will lead to your congregation getting bitter and burned out on prophecies. But the Bible says not to despise prophetic utterances (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21), so let’s be teachable and humble with our prophetic words.
ACCOUNTABILITY LEADS TO CLARITY!
How are you developing the prophetic culture in your community? It’s so important that you raise up ministers of the prophetic who operate in maturity and love, never partnering with manipulation. I want to encourage you to be a catalyst for stewardship of the prophetic in your community, and as you learn to judge prophetic words and allow Holy Spirit to guide you as you filter what He’s saying, you’ll have greater clarity and revelation. And that clarity will empower you to place value on the right prophetic words, accelerating you into the power the word carries! What’s one step that you can take towards that today? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
