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Hi, my name is Dean Smith and in this podcast, I want to give three pieces advice to those with the gift of prophecy.
A few weeks ago, I was sharing in a small home group about the nine spiritual gifts that Paul referred to in 1 Corinthians 12. This included such gifts as prophecy, healing, faith, words of knowledge and wisdom, gift of tongues, interpretation of tongues, working of miracles, and discerning of spirits.
Paul tells us that every believer has at least one of the spiritual gifts listed in this passage as he writes, “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
There were 17 people in attendance at this meeting so all things being equal and presuming the gifts were distributed evenly, based on simple math, at least two people in that meeting should have the gift of prophecy (1.88 to be exact).
But I suspect it was actually higher, because in many cases a person receives multiple gifts. I have seen people who function with the gift of prophecy also working with a word of Knowledge as they seem to be almost related gifts. Paul also said that anyone with the gift of tongues should pray to receive the gift of interpretation in 1 Corinthians 14:13. So in this instance Paul says we should pursue multiple gifts.
If multiple gifts are the norm, the number of people with the gift of prophecy in that group is probably even higher. What I am saying is that more people probably have the gift of prophecy in our local church than what we experience now.
As charismatic Christians, we believe that the Holy Spirit can give a person a word from God that is intended for an individual or to a church or group of believers. This is what we refer to as the gift of prophecy.
But as we begin to move in this gifting we face one major problem.
In 2020, two researchers from the Center for Neuroscience Studies at Queen’s University in Canada determined through a study of 184 participants that people have on average of 6,200 thoughts passing through their brain in a single day. This works out to 6.5 thoughts per minute, based on people being awake 16 hours a day.
So with that many thoughts passing through our mind how do we distinguish when the Holy Spirit is speaking to us from our own thoughts.
Now, the Holy Spirit will differentiate His voice from our own thoughts, but it takes time and practice for people to be able to consistently discern this.
I realize there are many people out there with a stronger prophetic gifting than myself and obviously more experience, but I want to provide three basic guidelines to help people who are starting to function in the gift of prophecy.
First avoid prophesying in areas where you have strong emotional attachments
I believe having a strong emotional attachment to a person or a particular issue has the potential to be one of the biggest factors leading to a false prophecy.
Several years back, my wife and I attended a church pastored by one of the few full-blown prophets that I have met in my walk with God. His prophetic words were so specific and so accurate, he was either a complete fraud (passing off information he knows about you as prophecy) or he was a legitimate prophet.
While we were at his church, he had weekly sessions every Friday night where he trained people in the gift of prophecy. During these sessions, he had one cardinal rule, wives could not prophesy over their husbands and husbands could not prophesy over their wives.
This is because when you have a strong emotional attachment to an individual it is very difficult to separate your own personal feelings from a true word from God.
But this rule can apply to multiple areas other than just family.
We often have strong emotional attachments about our favorite sport’s team. You can wish or want something so much and so badly that you can confuse that with a true word from the Holy Spirit.
Politics is another area that you should avoid. Again for the same reason, you can have strong feelings, good and bad, about a particular politician or a particular political party.
If you have a favorite Biblical pet peeve, it is probably wise to avoid prophesying in this area as well.
Avoid prophetic words in any area that you have strong feelings.
Only seasoned prophets can separate their personal feelings from a true prophetic word and based on all the false prophecies related to Donald Trump’s failed reelection in 2020, I would say even more seasoned prophets can find it difficult.
Secondly, stay in your prophetic lane
When we look at the prophetic gifting there are three basic levels. We have the spirit of prophecy, which when that is present everyone can prophesy, even a reprobate like King Saul. When the spirit of prophecy lifts, then that ability to prophesy does as well.
The second level is the gift of prophecy which the Holy Spirit hands out to individual believers. This gift is more permanent, and is what we are addressing in this podcast.
The third level is the office of Prophet who have a higher level of anointing and authority. This is ministry or office in the church. You can’t self appoint yourself to the office of the prophet. It is a ministry that is recognized by other members in the body of Christ.
Now if you have the gift of prophecy, Paul gives us some very clear guidelines in his teaching on the gifts in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 through chapter 14:
Yes I included the great love chapter in 1 Corinthians 13 as part of the gift teaching. You see, 1 Corinthians 13 was not intended to be read at weddings, though there is nothing wrong with that.
Because it is found smack in the middle of Paul’s discussion on the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 and 1 Corinthians 14, it means that the great love chapter is intended to as the guiding force for the spiritual gifts.
When Paul says love does not envy, he is really saying that we are not to envy others if they have a stronger prophetic anointing, or to boast when we do. If you read chapter 13, in light of the spiritual gifts, it delivers a whole different perspective.
Then with that chapter, chapter 13, as the back drop, in 1 Corinthians 14:3, Paul gives us some very specific directions on the gift of prophecy.
He writes, “But the one who prophesies speaks to people for edification, exhortation, and consolation.” (1 Corinthians 14:3 NASV).
The Greek word for Edification refers to constructing a building and in the this context means to build a person up spiritually, to strengthen them in their faith.
The Greek word for exhortation speaks of persuasion, and speaks of encouraging people into moving forward in their faith.
The Greek word for consolation refers to comforting a person, helping them deal with the difficulties in life.
With this verse as our guide for the gift of prophecy, it means that you are not to give negative and judgmental words or prophetic words that expose people’s sin.
So why did Paul do this?
I think the answer if very simple. Paul knew that someone functioning in the gift of prophecy will make mistakes. But if we follow this guideline, and only give edifying, exhorting and consoling words, the damage will be limited.
But what about those prophets who judged and condemned people, like the prophet Nathan who exposed King David’s sin with Bathsheba and Isaiah who railed against kings and nations.
We need to realize that these type of words are reserved solely for the office of the prophet and is not intended for those with the gift of prophecy.
So what happens if you believe that God gave you a negative word. If the Holy Spirit did give you that, and that is a big if, then God is leading you to pray about it. You should not give it as a prophetic word or share it with anyone else.
But then you say, well all I get is negative words, then it’s possible that something else may be at play here. You may have root of bitterness, that is contaminating your spiritual gift.
The writer of Hebrews talks about a root of bitterness inside a person, which springs up causing trouble and defiling many in Hebrews 12:15. This root of bitterness can defile your prophetic gift. If you are getting a lot of negative words, it may be a sign that you have people in your life, including your parents, that you need to forgive.
If you have the gift of prophecy, then you need to stay in your prophetic lane.
Thirdly, beware prophesying based on previous knowledge
The gift of prophecy differs from psychics, fortune tellers and others who use vague, probing statements to obtain information they can use to make canny guesses about someone.
If you have a gift of prophecy, you want to discern the unique thing that the Holy Spirit wants to say to a particular person or church body.
One of the most difficult challenges that I face is giving a word to some one I personally know. Because, it is a struggle to discern the Holy Spirit’s voice from the previous knowledge and even advice I have given that particular individual.
I remember years ago, my wife and I were praying for a woman who was having marital problems. While I would like to believe that all our counseling is God ordained, truthfully it isn’t and it would be wrong to try passing off my counsel as a prophetic word.
As we were praying for this woman I had all these thoughts passing through my mind that I had previously said to her, so I waited and waited. Finally, I received something so totally unrelated to what we had discussed in that past, that I was finally able to share.
And to large extent prophesying something based on previous knowledge can be a waste of time. A friend of mine who functions in prophecy was invited to a church in Colorado to give prophetic ministry to the congregation.
He had never been there before and knew no one other than the pastor and his wife.
During the service, he ended giving a word to a couple about how they lived in a log cabin on the side of the mountain, and that Satan was attacking them and trying to batter down their doors. But then he said that God was going to hold them up with Eagle’s wings and protect them.
As soon as he finished that word, the people in the congregation started clapping and shouting Amen. Later, he found out that this couple actually lived in a log cabin up in the mountain and that they had a deliverance ministry, called Eagle’s Wings, where they helped people deal with deep spiritual, often demonic, issues and of course as a result experienced personal demonic attacks.
This word revealed that God sovereignly saw them and was with them.
Now the pastor of that church could have given that exact same word, with the same Holy Spirit anointing, but it would have lost much of its impact, because everyone including the couple would have thought that it was based on what the pastor already knew.
To be effective with the gift of prophecy, we need to get a fresh word from God and if you are just starting out, avoid prophesying in areas of previous knowledge.
When I asked my friend who ministered to that couple in Colorado what the best advice he would give to those who have the gift of prophecy. He said be patient. Wait on the Holy Spirit as you are ministering. You don’t have to give the first thing that pops into your mind and if you are not sure, say nothing.
So these are just some basic guideline when it comes to moving in the gift of prophecy. Our goal in prophecy is to discern the Voice of Jesus, and these are some of the traps that can lead to mistakes.
I hope this helps.
Thanks for joining me on this podcast, and I will catch you again.
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