Spiritual Gifts
Week 06: Prophecy
”If stars only came out once every thousand years… no one would sleep that night… Instead the stars come out every night, and we watch television.” — Paul Hawken
Familiarity to our supernatural world causes us to lose our wonder. We’ve become too enamored by technology and pop culture to ever notice we’re surrounded by a scandalous miracle. We find ourselves living in a universe of divine beauty and power. We find ourselves living in the presence of a present and powerful God. And yet, we don’t ever really notice.
How crazy is it to think that the God of the universe surrounds you and even fills you as you read this sentence? The one who made you and who made the stars animates your very existence (Col. 1:17). Why is it that it is so easy to forget this?
How would your life change if you began to live with an awareness of God’s presence in your every moment? What would happen if you lived every moment of each day with an awareness of the Holy Spirit with you? Did you know that this is what the Apostle Paul was inviting you into when he said, “Let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25)? Keeping in step with the Spirit is to live with an awareness of God’s presence and a willingness to do whatever and go wherever he leads you.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning once said, “Earth's crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God, but only he who sees takes off his shoes; the rest sit round and pluck blackberries.” What if she’s right? What if earth is crammed with heaven and common bushes are afire with God’s presence? What if God is a present, active, speaking God?
In Browning’s poem, she’s referring to the story of Moses hearing the voice of God from a burning bush (Exod. 3). Did you notice that she said, “But only he who sees takes off his shoes”? In Exodus 3:3, we read, “So Moses thought, ‘I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.’” I would assume that as a shepherd in the desert of Midian, Moses would have seen other bushes burning from time to time. He could have written this moment off as just another common bush. But he didn’t. He went over to see. And as a result, he heard the voice of God.
In my experience, this is often what prophecy is like. A thought will come into your mind, and you can easily write it off as just another thought. Or you can step out and see if that thought is from God.
Wait, are you saying God speaks through our thoughts? Does that mean I can prophesy? How do I know if the thought is from God or if it’s just me? I thought prophecy was reserved for the John-the-Baptist-type people who live out in the wilderness and hear from God. Don’t I need to be a prophet to prophesy?
Let me explain. To prophesy is simply to hear God for others. In our Hearing God’s Voice practice, we talked about how all Christians hear God’s voice. The key is to learn to recognize his voice (Jn. 10:27). In Acts 2:16-18 we read, “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.”
On the day of Pentecost, there was a major shift. God’s Spirit wasn’t limited to a special few. God’s Spirit was poured out on all those who follow Jesus. And one of the major results is prophecy — hearing God for others. Now, this doesn’t mean that all possess the gift of prophecy but that all can operate in the gifts of prophecy. (1 Cor. 12:11, 29).
Okay, so I can hear God for others. Great! But where do I start? How do I even do that?
A few weeks ago, I was in San Francisco with Ben for a small conference. Ben and I are really good friends, but we’re different in so many ways. Ben is good at sports… I’m not. Ben knows quite a bit about pop culture… I don’t. Ben has good taste in music—and well, I have no clue. Let’s just say we’re completely different.
So when we travel together, I go to bed very early, and Ben stays up. This also means that I wake up at a very inconvenient time for Ben as I stumble around in the dark making pour-over coffee. And yes, I travel with vacuum-sealed beans, a grinder, and the whole setup. It’s a bit of a thing. Imagine traveling with me through a TSA check! Yikes!
So, one morning, after I made coffee in our dark hotel room, I sat and read my Bible. Afterward, I sat in silence and invited the Holy Spirit to speak to me. As I sat there, the only thing that came to mind was a picture of a cafe with two women sitting on either side of the room. I actually assumed this was just an ordinary thought or that I had just daydreamed for a moment. It didn’t seem dramatic or significant, so I shrugged it off and forgot about it.
Later that same day, we were at the conference, and people were going forward for prayer. There was this one guy I met the day before that I noticed hadn’t been prayed for yet. And I felt the Holy Spirit tug on my heart to go pray for him. So I went over, placed my hand on his shoulder, and prayed, “Come, Holy Spirit”. When I prayed, the image of the cafe came back into my mind. It felt super random. But he told me the day before that he works part-time at a cafe, so I thought it might be a safe bet to share.
So, I asked him if this picture meant anything to him. And to my surprise, he began to cry. He told me that he was praying for two women he works with at the cafe to come to know and follow Jesus. God was using what I had written off just hours before as a random thought to speak to this guy in a specific and powerful way.
How many times have I written off a prompt of the Holy Spirit as just another random thought? How many times have I missed out on hearing God for others because the supernatural came in super natural packaging?
Here’s the important bit: You’ll only ever know if it’s God if you step out and share it.
And yes, you could get it wrong. Paul acknowledges that when he says that we prophesy in part (1 Cor. 13:9). We need to remember that God’s power is revealed in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). We don’t like the possibility of getting it wrong because it makes us humble, reliant, and weak. But that’s where God’s power is revealed — in weakness. You'll never grow in the prophetic unless you’re willing to step out and get it wrong.
I was nervous I'd seem weird when I shared that picture of those two women in the cafe. What if it was just a random thought? What if I got it wrong? What if it was just a result of too much coffee and too little sleep?
Often, a prophetic word doesn’t make sense until we share it. It seems pathetic, not prophetic. We don’t know if it’s from God until we step out. It would be easier if we just had certainty. But then, it wouldn’t require faith. John Wimber used to say, “Faith is spelled R-I-S-K.” And he’s right (although maybe not grammatically). Prophecy (hearing God for others) requires faith. You have to take a risk, step out, and share the word.
This is why Paul tells us to use discernment. He says, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good” (1 Thess. 5:19-20). We are to use discernment when hearing God for others (Prophecy). Paul first tells us not to overlook or dismiss prophecy — quenching the Spirit. Instead, we are to test prophecies. When we test a prophecy, we are told to hold onto what is good and reject what isn’t. Remember, we prophesy in part (1 Cor. 13:9).
Okay, so how do we know what is good and what isn’t? As I said before, sometimes you don’t know until you step out and share the word. This is why you should say, “I think the Lord may be saying…” or “I could be wrong, but I sense the Spirit…” or “I got this image that I think might be from the Holy Spirit…” We never say, “God told me…” Or “Thus saith the Lord,” or “God is saying to you”. Instead, we share humbly, realizing that we prophesy in part. And then we can follow up after we’re done sharing and say, “Does that make sense to you?” or “Does that resonate with you in any way?” In this case, the person receiving the word is discerning. They may even need to sit with the word for a bit, discern it with community, or see if it’s for a future moment.
But what about when you get a word, and you want to discern it? What if you’re not sure if you should share it? How do you discern a word you’re not sure is prophecy or not? How do you know if it’s God and not the veggie dog you had for lunch? Here is a good place to start. I learned this from Pete Greig. Ask yourself these three questions (Just remember A, B, C):
1. Is it Affirming? Will this word strengthen, encourage, and build this person up (1 Cor. 14:3)?
2. Is it Biblical? Is this word Biblical? A prophetic word will never contradict what the Bible teaches.
3. Is it Christlike? Does this word sound like Jesus? Does it reflect the character, mission, and message of Jesus?
If the answer to those three questions is yes, it might be something you may want to share. But the only way to know for sure is to step out and share the word. There comes a point, if we want to prophesy, where we have to step out and share the word and even risk getting it wrong. The worst that can happen if you get it wrong is that you have a short, awkward moment. But if you get it right the person gets blessed (1 Cor. 14:3)! I think the risk is worth it!
01 – Make space to hear from God. Set aside time each day to be alone with God. A great time is right after reading scripture. Make space in your calendar to hear God’s voice. You may want to use a journal to write down anything that comes to mind. It may also be helpful to try to hear God's voice as you go about your day — as you drive, at work, as you exercise, or whatever you find yourself doing.
02 – Discern the word. Take some time to discern what you hear. Not every thought we have is from God. Use the A, B, C method above to discern if the word is worth sharing.
03 – Step out and share it. The only way to grow in the prophetic, to hear God for others, and see people get blessed by prophecy is by stepping out and taking a risk. We’ve got to share the word. And remember, God gives the Spirit to those who obey (Acts. 5:32). Obedience is often the prerequisite to a greater sense of hearing. Step out and see what God does!
Recommended reading:Reframing the Prophetic by Christine Westhoff