Timing is important.
You do not have to give an insight the moment you get it.
It may be for you alone. It may need to be treasured in your heart, awaiting confirmation (Luke 2:19, 51). It may be to direct your prayers rather than be shared. It may be for another group at another time. It may need to be held for years! It can certainly be held until an appropriate time in the meeting.
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 14.32: “The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.”
You do not have to give a prophecy the moment you think you have one! Some revelations from God are NOT for sharing at all. Always give a prophecy in a group situation where it will be weighed. If your word is purely an encouragement for an individual, then go ahead and share it.
If, however, there is any directional element, however small that may be, you must only share it with the person in the presence of at least one other person — and ideally a mature Christian.
Do not prophesy weddings, babies, or careers. It is not the prophet’s role to appoint people as pastors in the church through a public prophecy or to announce new staff members for the church. So do not do it.
Yes, in Acts 13.2 there is prophetic inspiration to send off Barnabas and Saul — but notice how non-specific the word is. There is very little direction or detail in the prophecy. That is how it should be. It is clearly a word to confirm what Barnabas and Saul have already been talking about.
It is not wise to tell a woman she will get pregnant, or to tell any unmarried person that they will be married by such-and-such a date, or to tell two people that they are to marry.
I recall pastoring a woman who had married a man on the strength of a prophecy. The marriage had subsequently fallen apart. The whole situation was crazy. Nobody should tell two people they are destined to marry (although you may discern that and pray for it in private).
Nobody should receive a husband or wife by prophecy
This point is really a warning about giving predictive prophecies. Most of the revelations given by Old Testament prophets were NOT predictive – instead they are best understood as covenant reinforcement. They spoke words to remind people about the promises and warnings God had already spoken in the Pentateuch, or in previous prophecies. For example, when we read in 1 Kings 17.1 how Elijah tells Ahab that there will be a drought, Elijah was not innovating a completely novel prediction. Rather, he invoked the curses for disobedience announced in Deuteronomy 28, especially in verses 23-24, and has sensed before God that this particular curse is going to befall Israel at this exact time. There is a predictive element, but it is derived entirely from meditation upon the covenant.
When Old Testament prophets did give predictive prophecies, they were often accompanied by explicit or implied conditions that must be met or else the prediction would not come to pass. Almost always, predictions of judgment can be averted by repentance – as the Book of Jonah demonstrates so powerfully.
In general, I think those who are giving prophecies today should avoid making specific predictions – and be equally careful about announcing conditions that must be met to release the fulfilment of the prediction. I cannot say this should never happen… but I believe this level of prophetic ministry would largely be exercised by people who have developed a mature and proven prophetic gift.
And I would not expect prophets today to be predicting judgment to fall on any specific person or place in a specific timescale other than at the Final Judgment. And nobody should be predicting when final judgment will happen.
Speak clearly, naturally and briefly. It is a sin not to do so. Stand up, speak up and shut up.
Paul’s directions in 1 Cor. 14.29-33 are apt.
I have been in meetings where a dozen or more prophecies are shared and pretty soon I cannot remember what was shared at the start and I am left confused. No clear trumpet call has been heard. It is wise, therefore, to limit to just two or three prophecies being shared, then weighed. The meeting host should pray earnestly to discern what the import of the revelations is, and then name those to the gathered company. That way we can all leave the gathering with a clear sense what God said.
Speak humbly. Do not preface your word with, ‘thus saith the Lord’, or any other claim that makes it hard for people to weigh what you have said.
It is not up to the prophet to decide whether their word is truly from God.
Old Testament prophets were a different category of prophet. They could and should have used the phrase, ‘thus saith the LORD.’ That is not a claim we New Testament prophets can make.
Leave corrective and directional words to experienced and mature brothers and sisters.
The main use of prophecy is to edify, encourage and comfort — to point people to Christ. Make love your aim.
If you do receive a revelation that is harsh or judgmental – refer to my caution (c) above.
If you receive a word which gives direction or a new emphasis, then write it down, and submit it prayerfully to the church’s recognised leadership team for evaluation.
Deciding the application of directional words is probably not your role unless you are part of the leadership team.
The Bible shows that churches are normally led by a group of leaders in mutual accountability — not by prophets.
So give the directional words to the leadership and then do not carry the content of your prophecy as a personal hobby horse. A prophecy does not belong to anyone — and certainly not to the prophet who shared it.
Always test prophecy. (1 Thess.5:21).
Test what you think God may be saying to you. Test what you hear others prophesy. Ask yourself:
* Does it line up with Scripture? 2 Tim.3:16-17; 1 Cor.14:37-38.
* Does it exalt Jesus Christ? John 16:14; 1 Cor.12:3; 1 John 4:1-2; Rev.19:10.
* Does it line up with reality? Deut.18:20-22.
* Is the character of the ‘prophet’ Christ-like? 2 Pet.2:1-2; Matt.7:15-20; 1 Cor.13:2; etc..
* Do the church’s leaders receive it? Acts 20:28-30.
Prophecy should always be a confirmation of what you already know God is saying to you.
Nobody should act on a directional prophecy given them by another person that does not align with their sense of call that has been nurtured in them over their history with God over time.
For example, in Acts 21:4 we read that people told Paul ‘through the Spirit’ not to go to Jerusalem. However, Paul was clearly under a deep sense of personal conviction that God was calling him to go up to Jerusalem so Paul was not disturbed by those words. Paul felt free to ignore their prophecies. We are also free to ignore people’s prophecies to us unless they align with the other means of guidance that God uses in our lives.
- What if you mess up?
That’s OK. ‘We prophesy in part’ (1 Cor.13:9). We are imperfect channels.
Our own motives and thinking can cloud or add to God’s communication to us. Let’s be patient with one another. Let’s be teachable and ready for feedback from leaders.
Maturity only comes from taking risks and occasionally failing.
Of course these should be sensible risks. I like to say that we have a ‘have-a-go’ culture — but not an ‘anything-goes’ culture.
While it’s true that the church should weigh prophecies to determine how much of a prophecy is from God, that weighing starts with the prophet themselves. Before you open your mouth allow that word from heaven to stew fully and to be thoroughly cooked. Serve raw chicken and you’ll make people ill. Undercooked prophecy makes churches sick.
Ask for feedback. If you are not willing to receive feedback, then do not venture to prophesy.
You will learn from your mistakes by truly embracing the feedback you receive. Ask the Lord to forgive and cleanse you if necessary. Then get up and go again. ‘Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again.’ (Prov.24:16).
Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt.
Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. 1 Thess.5:19-22. NIV