Let me start this post by saying that I believe God uses the gift of prophecy today. Now let me also say I have a big problem with most of the so-called prophets and prophecies being espoused today. I'm not a fan of the way this gift is being used. The gift of prophecy should be used to encourage, correct, or edify—but most often it’s used to manipulate, control, or simply tell people what they want to hear.
I am amazed at the number of people who have prophetic words, dreams, and visions from the Lord. I am not saying God doesn’t use prophetic dreams, words, or visions, because He still does. However, some of these people seem to get a new revelatory word, vision, or dream every single day. This post while saying that I do believe in the gift of prophecy and that God uses it today. This post is about navigating these waters properly and biblically.
Is the Gift of Prophecy Being Used or Abused?
As we think about this gift of prophecy, the first question to consider is: are we using the gift or abusing it? Prophecy simply does two things: it foretells and it forthtells.
Prophecy can be used to foretell something that is going to happen, speaking into the future. Prophecy can also be used to forthtell, which means declaring what God is saying in or about a particular situation. Most of the time, even in the Bible, prophecy is used to forthtell. Let’s look at some issues with how prophecy is used today.
Prophecy Is Treated as the Main Thing, but the Main Thing is the Word
I have seen, heard, and been in churches where they treat the prophetic word on the same or even higher level than God’s written word. If there is a prophetic word given in the service, then God has spoken, and we don’t even need to open our Bibles today. When this happens, people’s confidence shifts from God’s written word to the word of the prophet. This is dangerous and is not a sustainable way for anyone to grow in their faith, because the prophet becomes the cornerstone of their growth and maturity. This is not God’s design for the church.
The most consistent way God speaks is through His written Word, the Bible. When you read the Word, you discover how God thinks about a situation, and it will guide you through your life. Prophecy can come alongside the Word and should be in alignment with the Word, but it was never meant to replace the Word.
As believers, you must develop and trust your own relationship with the Lord through studying the Word, through worship, and through prayer. This is where you fine-tune your heart to hear God’s voice. When you do this, you will know what God is saying to your heart, and if you receive a prophetic word, it should confirm what God is already saying to you.
2 Timothy 3:14-17 NIV [14] But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, [15] and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. [16] All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, [17] so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Three Types of Prophets
Most of the time these prophecies were not based on Scripture, but on the person’s personal revelation or their personal desires and wishes. On the other extreme, if they claimed they were based on Scripture, it was usually taken badly out of context. The bigger problem here is that many people listen to these words, take them to heart, and then proceed to make decisions for their lives based on these words. The sad part is even if what they say doesn’t happen, no one seems to care about that, or hold them accountable, and they just keep listening to prophecy after prophecy.
I am amazed at the number of people who have prophetic words, dreams, and visions from the Lord. I am not saying God doesn’t use prophetic dreams, words, or visions, because He still does. However, some of these people seem to get a new revelatory word, vision, or dream every single day. This post while saying that I do believe in the gift of prophecy and that God uses it today. This post is about navigating these waters properly and biblically.
Is the Gift of Prophecy Being Used or Abused?
As we think about this gift of prophecy, the first question to consider is: are we using the gift or abusing it? Prophecy simply does two things: it foretells and it forthtells.
Prophecy can be used to foretell something that is going to happen, speaking into the future. Prophecy can also be used to forthtell, which means declaring what God is saying in or about a particular situation. Most of the time, even in the Bible, prophecy is used to forthtell. Let’s look at some issues with how prophecy is used today.
Prophecy Is Treated as the Main Thing, but the Main Thing is the Word
I have seen, heard, and been in churches where they treat the prophetic word on the same or even higher level than God’s written word. If there is a prophetic word given in the service, then God has spoken, and we don’t even need to open our Bibles today. When this happens, people’s confidence shifts from God’s written word to the word of the prophet. This is dangerous and is not a sustainable way for anyone to grow in their faith, because the prophet becomes the cornerstone of their growth and maturity. This is not God’s design for the church.
The most consistent way God speaks is through His written Word, the Bible. When you read the Word, you discover how God thinks about a situation, and it will guide you through your life. Prophecy can come alongside the Word and should be in alignment with the Word, but it was never meant to replace the Word.
As believers, you must develop and trust your own relationship with the Lord through studying the Word, through worship, and through prayer. This is where you fine-tune your heart to hear God’s voice. When you do this, you will know what God is saying to your heart, and if you receive a prophetic word, it should confirm what God is already saying to you.
2 Timothy 3:14-17 NIV [14] But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, [15] and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. [16] All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, [17] so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Three Types of Prophets
- Nationalistic prophets: These are the ones who prophesy what God is going to do in the nation. You can find many prophecies about what is going to happen here in America. These types are nothing more than political prophets. The thing that I found interesting in listening to them was their prophetic words always seemed to align with their political affiliations. Many times, they would even mention political candidates by name in their prophecies. If you listen closely, what I observed was the prophecies for those who aligned with their party were always good, but the prophecies for those who did not align with their party were always bad.
- Narcissistic prophets: These are ones who receive special revelations from God that only they receive. These can be about all kinds of things. For example, the right time of day to pray to receive your breakthrough, special numbers you need for your life, or the way to pray to release the spirit of delay over your life. Perhaps the best one was a prophetic word on how to make the prophetic words come to pass in your life.
- Materialistic prophets: These are the words that always seem to be declaring God is about to give you some material blessing. Your business is coming, your breakthrough is coming, God is about to birth something in you. You are about to get that house, that car, that job, that promotion – it is always tied to something material.
Most of the time these prophecies were not based on Scripture, but on the person’s personal revelation or their personal desires and wishes. On the other extreme, if they claimed they were based on Scripture, it was usually taken badly out of context. The bigger problem here is that many people listen to these words, take them to heart, and then proceed to make decisions for their lives based on these words. The sad part is even if what they say doesn’t happen, no one seems to care about that, or hold them accountable, and they just keep listening to prophecy after prophecy.
What Do You Do with These Prophetic Words?
What should you do if you hear a prophetic word or if you get a prophetic word spoken over your life? Here are three things to do:
1. Don’t despise them or run from them but test them.
You must test every prophecy that someone utters. Many times, the reason why people respond to these prophetic words is because they align with what the people listening to them want. If you are blinded by that, then instead of testing the word, you will just accept it because it fits your desires. You should avoid this and test every prophecy according to the Word of God, the will of God, and the character of God.
1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 NIV [19] Do not quench the Spirit. [20] Do not treat prophecies with contempt [21] but test them all; hold on to what is good, [22] reject every kind of evil. (emphasis mine)
2. Don’t let that be the only basis for your decision.
When God is speaking prophetically, especially if it is a personal prophecy, that prophecy should confirm what God is already speaking in your heart. Also, the final word or decision about what you are going to do should not be at the instruction or at the end of a prophetic word, unless it is confirming what God has already spoken to you. If it is not, don’t make any decision, especially a life-changing one, until you have more information from the Lord. This will take you back to the Word, back to prayer, back to worship, and seeking counsel from godly leadership and people in your life.
Proverbs 15:22 NIV Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
3. Don’t think you have to make the prophecy come to pass.
You might hear someone tell you things you must do for you to bring this prophetic word to pass. The only thing that you have to do for a prophetic word to come to pass in your life is to live in obedience to what God has said in His Word. If you obey God, He will bring to pass everything He wants to accomplish in your life. If a prophetic word is from God and He has declared what He is going to do in your life, then it is up to Him to make it happen, not you. Focus on obeying what God has said in His Word, and He will do the rest.
Philippians 1:4-6 NIV [4] In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy [5] because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, [6] being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (emphasis mine)
Final Thought
One last thing. You don’t need to seek out prophecies and you don’t need to go looking for someone to speak a prophetic word over your life. What you need to do is seek after Jesus, and if you need to hear a prophetic word, He will bring it to you. So, chase Jesus and let the prophetic word find you, but don’t chase the prophetic word. You can always find someone that claims to be a prophet and who claims to have a prophetic word for you,, but there is no guarantee that it is what God is saying to you at this moment. Don’t despise or dismiss it but test it.
What should you do if you hear a prophetic word or if you get a prophetic word spoken over your life? Here are three things to do:
1. Don’t despise them or run from them but test them.
You must test every prophecy that someone utters. Many times, the reason why people respond to these prophetic words is because they align with what the people listening to them want. If you are blinded by that, then instead of testing the word, you will just accept it because it fits your desires. You should avoid this and test every prophecy according to the Word of God, the will of God, and the character of God.
1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 NIV [19] Do not quench the Spirit. [20] Do not treat prophecies with contempt [21] but test them all; hold on to what is good, [22] reject every kind of evil. (emphasis mine)
2. Don’t let that be the only basis for your decision.
When God is speaking prophetically, especially if it is a personal prophecy, that prophecy should confirm what God is already speaking in your heart. Also, the final word or decision about what you are going to do should not be at the instruction or at the end of a prophetic word, unless it is confirming what God has already spoken to you. If it is not, don’t make any decision, especially a life-changing one, until you have more information from the Lord. This will take you back to the Word, back to prayer, back to worship, and seeking counsel from godly leadership and people in your life.
Proverbs 15:22 NIV Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
3. Don’t think you have to make the prophecy come to pass.
You might hear someone tell you things you must do for you to bring this prophetic word to pass. The only thing that you have to do for a prophetic word to come to pass in your life is to live in obedience to what God has said in His Word. If you obey God, He will bring to pass everything He wants to accomplish in your life. If a prophetic word is from God and He has declared what He is going to do in your life, then it is up to Him to make it happen, not you. Focus on obeying what God has said in His Word, and He will do the rest.
Philippians 1:4-6 NIV [4] In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy [5] because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, [6] being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (emphasis mine)
Final Thought
One last thing. You don’t need to seek out prophecies and you don’t need to go looking for someone to speak a prophetic word over your life. What you need to do is seek after Jesus, and if you need to hear a prophetic word, He will bring it to you. So, chase Jesus and let the prophetic word find you, but don’t chase the prophetic word. You can always find someone that claims to be a prophet and who claims to have a prophetic word for you,, but there is no guarantee that it is what God is saying to you at this moment. Don’t despise or dismiss it but test it.
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