Receiving and Activating Personal Words of Prophecy
Proverbs 4:7 “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all your getting get understanding. v8 Exalt her, and wisdom shall promote you and shall bring you to honor, when you embrace her”…
Before receiving and acting on a prophecy, it’s good to get some wisdom and gain some understanding and be prepared to receive it in a proper and biblical manner. Prophecy is a way that you can hear from the Lord himself about his love and concern for you and His will for your life.
Christians have the holy spirit, and they have the Bible, so some would ask, why would they need prophecy? Won’t the Lord tell them through his word what they need to know? We need to be confident that It is always the Lord’s heart to communicate with his Body, the Church. But prophecy should be the “default pattern” and not the standard for every Christian.
I don’t believe we are intended by God to become Prophecy Junkies and addicts! If you are not making enough money to make ends meet, you don’t need a prophet to tell you to cut back on your spending, sell some stuff, live more thrifty, or get a better job. That is simply the wise thing to do. Knowing and Obeying the written Word of God and using wisdom is the standard we are given for successful Christian living.
Hearing from the Lord for yourself, obeying Scripture, and using wisdom are always the first things you should do in your Christian walk and life.
Having more knowledge can still be more knowledge without wisdom. WELCOME TO THE 21ST CENTURY!!! The bible says in the last days knowledge would abound, our Phones ~ are Wireless, our Cooking ~is Fireless, our Cars ~ are Keyless, our Food ~is Fatless, our Tires ~ are Tubeless, our Tools ~ are Cordless…and we are flooded with knowledge without wisdom to make the best use of it….
Wisdom gets you a home not just a house, sleep not just a bed, time not just a clock, understanding not just knowledge, health not just medicine, love not just friends, respect not just position, life not just a living, security not just insurance, salvation not just religion, a relationship with Jesus not just a bible. But most of all wisdom gives us understanding that life in Jesus is the most priceless thing in the world, and the benefits are endless and it just keeps leaving me speechless!!!
The last thing I want to do today is to lessen the importance of prophecy to any individual, because the Bible says that we are to be eager to prophesy and to receive prophesy.
1 Corinthians 14:39 “Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. v40 However, let all things be done decently and in order”.
The Lord will speak through prophecy when a Christian is not hearing his voice because they are new in the faith, also in times when they may be having doubts about their life and spiritual walk, or perhaps they’re being too emotionally entangled with a situation to hear clearly. Then, there may be times when the person has received instruction by the Spirit but they’ve not believed it firmly enough to act on it. In fact, prophecy is mostly the confirmation of something a person has received from the Spirit, but need to fully put their faith in it.
The bible actually says the just shall live by faith and in Romans 14:23 …..”for whatsoever is not of faith is sin”.
When it was time for offering, one guy hurriedly pulled out one dollar from his wallet and dropped it in. As the usher started to move on, the person behind him tapped him on the shoulder and handed him a fifty dollar bill and pointed to the offering plate. How generous, the one dollar guy thought, then he looked around and complimented the man for being so generous. The man replied "don't mention it, that 50 fell out of your wallet.." It’s important to do it in faith!!!!
Receiving a word of prophecy can be a great blessing, but not if you aren’t ready for it, or you may feel like it’s being forced on you, or maybe you’re not comfortable with the person or persons giving the prophecy.
The manifestation of prophecy is primarily to build up a person in his Christian walk and help establish his relationship with God and the Lord Jesus. So, when you have the Desire and the faith—the prophetic word flows forth easily and it’s pulled out of the person giving the prophecy.
1 Corinthians 14:3 “But he that prophesies speaks unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
God is fixing the broken places in your life and bringing restoration. As He brings a personal word to someone, He brings with it the solution, the connection, the wisdom and the knowledge to make a way where there is no way, and make the impossible possible.
Our father God is very concerned about the quality of each Christian’s walk with Him. By revealing the secrets of a person’s heart, through a word of prophecy, it brings the person to the place that they will “…worship God, exclaiming, ‘God is truly among us!’” Often a prophecy will have details about a person’s life that, when it is revealed, it helps them believe that the Lord knows and understands them personally, and that He truly and intimately cares about what’s happening in their lives.
We talk about it, preach about it, and write about it, but the fact is that many Christians are in the same place Job was some 4,000 years ago: the best they can say is, “My ears have heard of you…” or as Gideon cried out, “Where is the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”……
In Job 38, when Job experienced God for himself, there was a profound change in his life. Like many others, he had heard about God for years, but never had a “personal encounter.” When he did, his life changed.
Personal Prophecy is God’s way of saying that He is not blind to your tears, never deaf to your prayers, and never silent to your pain. That He sees and hears, and will deliver you.
Folks testify that their lives were changed in important ways after they received a prophecy revealing to them that God really did know them and what they were going through in life, and they understood that He had been with them all the time, in the tough times and the good times.
However, not all prophecy comes with a warm, fuzzy feeling.
2 Corinthians 7:10 “For godly sorrow brings forth repentance unto salvation”. I have often found that when the Lord speaks a prophetic word, His truth pierces the heart and brings conviction so there can be changes in the person’s life that are positive and godly. God does not give prophecy to condemn us, or use it as a platform to expose something in our lives, but so we know that He loves us, and wants the best for us, and He’s giving us solid encouragement in a way that will help us in our spiritual walk. The prophetic message comes to help you make needed adjustments, it will build you up, exhort or remind you, and comfort your heart.
Evaluate, weigh in the scales of scripture and prove carefully what is spoken in a prophecy to you. There is always a chance that inaccuracies will enter into a prophecy, for any number of reasons. God makes no mistakes, but human flesh does.
The Word of God does tell us 1 Thessalonians 5:20 “Despise not prophesying. v21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good”. There are some basic ways that you can test to see if a prophecy is from the Lord.
A good way to remember them is what I call “the five Ws.” Word, Wisdom, Witness, Working it, Wrongness factor
The First, “W” is The Word of God. Revelation 19:10 “And I fell at his (the angel’s) feet to worship him. And he said unto me, see that do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of all those that have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God: for the testimony (mar-too'-ree-on…the record, the witness, the evidence, the Spirit, the word) of Jesus is the spirit (pnyoo'-mas…breath, unction, dynamic) of prophecy”.
The spirit of Prophecy will not contradict the written Word. God is not the author of confusion, and He will never confuse believers by saying one thing in His Word and another in prophecy. If you get a prophecy that blatantly contradicts the letter or spirit of the written Word of God, do not move forward in obeying it.
Just because someone added “thus saith the Lord” to something, if it’s contrary to the Word of God and you act on it, you can get yourself in a world of trouble…. Even the serpent was half right in the garden, but what they did was 100 % wrong.
The Next “W” is Wisdom. The Bible tells us to love God with all our minds, and He is the author of wisdom, which is to be a primary guide for *…..our lives. Wisdom is the combination of knowledge and experience correctly applied using the best means at the best time in the best way, to accomplish the best outcomes. The words “wise” and “wisdom” occur over 100 times in the Proverbs alone. God expects us to use wisdom to know right from wrong, good from evil, and error from truth. If you receive a prophecy directing you to do something you consider unwise or that is somehow suspicious to you, test it with wisdom before proceeding.
The Next “W” is Witness. All Christians have the gift of the holy spirit, and can hear from the Lord directly. If you receive a prophecy that is genuinely from the Lord, you should also have an inner witness that it is correct. If you don’t have that witness, it doesn’t mean that the prophecy is wrong, but it does mean that you should give it the “two or three witnesses” test, according to 2 Corinthians13:1.
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 13:3 “it is good that you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which in you is not a weakness, but a strength. v8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth”.
The Next “W” is Work it Out, or where the rubber meets the road test. The Lord will work hard to confirm a prophecy. If you receive a prophecy, and you do your part to see it come to pass, then you can legitimately expect it to come to pass, as you “work it out.” If you have walked in surrender, and submitted your spirit to God and it does not come to pass, then you have very good reason to think you received an erroneous word. But I believe if your heart is right, even if you acted on an erroneous word, and you acted in faith before God and not before man, you will still receive a serendipity that will be a wonderful and fulfilling blessing….
He said in Deuteronomy 28:3 that you will “Blessed in the city, blessed in the field. v4 Blessed in your body, in your possessions, v5 Blessed in your basket and your storehouse. v6 Blessed shall you be when thou come in, and when you go out. v8 The LORD shall command blessing upon you in all that you set your hand to….”
Morals have changed, Churches have changed, Society has changed, People have changed, but God's word will never change!
We need to be sure that when God brings a solution, we don’t get over into the flesh, and scripture calls it, “consuming it upon our lusts”. The bible also warns us that “having begun in the Spirit, we will not be perfected in the flesh….
I’m reminded of the elderly gentleman who had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He went for prayer that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%. The elderly gentleman stood up at his home group meeting a month later and shared that his hearing was perfect, to the surprise of all his family. The home group leader said, “Wow, praise God, Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again." The gentleman replied, "Oh, I haven't told my family until just this moment. I have just been sitting around and listening to their conversations. And I've changed my will three times already!"
If a word of prophecy directs you to do something that will have an important impact on your life that you are not sure is true or accurate, you should not act on it immediately. Put it on the “back burner” and pray about it. Ask the Lord to speak to you in ways that will confirm or disprove what you heard. For example, you might pray for a wide open door that is undeniably obvious, or you may pray to hear the same thing from another solid witness. When we get the word of the Lord and work it out, there is great blessing, and a sense of fulfillment in life.
The next “W” is the Wrongness factor……Words of Prophecy are not infallible. The written Word of God (the scripture) is “God-breathed”
That’s according to 2 Tim. 3:16. Every syllable and every quote, in the original text, is perfect. That’s not the case with the manifestation of personal prophecy. So, don’t fall into the trap of analyzing every syllable, symbol and preposition in your prophecy. Instead, ask, “What is the point of the message; what is the Lord saying?” As one prophet has said, “It is important to get the ‘take home’ message.” A great example of this is in the book of Acts, where Agabus, a seasoned prophet of God, gave Paul a word not to go to Jerusalem.
Acts 21:10 After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. V11 Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles. V12 When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.
Paul was so determined to go to Jerusalem that he ignored what the Lord spoke through prophecy. What happened when he got there, however, was not exactly what Agabus had said.
If you read the record in Acts 21:30-33, you will see that, instead of capturing Paul and binding him and handing him over to the Romans, the Jews were in the middle of beating him to death when the Romans broke in and saved him. However, thinking Paul to be some kind of criminal, the Romans arrested him. He spent the next two years in jail in Israel, and then was taken as a prisoner to Rome. Agabus’ prophecy was not fulfilled “letter perfect.” But there is no doubt that the point, the “take home message,” of the prophecy was correct. What the prophet was doing was giving Paul a time line…. Paul should not have gone to Jerusalem when he did, because he was rejected by the Jews and ended up in Roman chains.
When you receive a prophecy, don’t get hung up on the details and miss the bigger picture God is trying to show you. Remember to ask, “What is the point the Lord is making in this?”
Although you should be cautious of a prophecy you are not sure is accurate, always be cautious about totally rejecting prophecy from a prophet who has been tested and proved, even if it does not seem correct.
We all have blind spots….A prophecy that seems to go against what we are used to, and what we see at the moment, may seem “wrong” even when it is biblically correct. What you believe about it may not be the truth, even if you believe it very strongly. We never see the whole picture or have access to all the information….. our knowledge is at best, incomplete….and we are short sighted, we don’t know all the facts….
Dave, the bus driver, was in his bus when the biggest man he had ever seen got on. The giant looked at the driver and growled, 'Big Eric doesn't pay' , and took his seat. Dave was only an averaged sized man and he didn't really want to argue. This happened for several days. After a week, Dave was beginning to get a little angry. Everybody else paid, so why not the big man? So Dave went to the gym, started a course of body-building, and began to take steroids. He didn't want to be frightened of Big Eric any longer. 12 weeks later the driver was muscular and was feeling very fit. At the usual stop, Big Eric got on. 'Big Eric doesn't pay' , he barked; but this time Dave was prepared for him. He stood up, shaking slightly, and said between clenched teeth, 'Oh, yeah? And why doesn't Big Eric pay?' The giant answered, “Because Big Eric has a bus pass”!. Just like us Dave had too little information!!!!
If you hear something that contradicts what you have always believed or practiced, you may have a strong emotional reaction, As with so many other things in life, there is no formula that will tell you if the prophet is correct and your thoughts are wrong, or vice versa.
We have to rely on the written Word, wisdom, the counsel of others, and the Holy Spirit witness within.
There is a Time Line of Prophetic Fulfillment…. Prophecy can be about gifts and callings that have not yet manifested themselves in a person. Occasionally, a prophecy will address something that the Lord sees in the future, which the person receiving the prophecy is not yet aware of.
The prophecy of Samuel to David about being the king of Israel is a clear example (1 Sam. 16:13). There is no evidence that David had ever even thought about being king, especially in a culture where kingship followed family lines. Furthermore, it was approximately 15 years after Samuel anointed David king before he actually saw the prophecy fulfilled.
So if you receive a prophecy that does not come to pass in a short time, stop watching the time and don’t be too hasty to call it a false prophecy. To the Lord, an immediate thing promised, may mean within the next year….when God states He will do something, it may be within a 10 or 15 year window of time…..When you receive a prophecy, and especially if it involves something that will be fulfilled in the future, have patience and stay in faith that it will be fulfilled.
Stay excited about what He has promised…..Don’t lose your joy, keep praising Him in faith….Someone has said that Kansas is so flat that you can see your dog running away from you for two weeks…..that should be true of our joy…it levels the playing field so that our joy remains in the highs and the lows of life. Understand that He is bringing people, resources, and circumstances together so that fulfillment can happen. Don’t be too quick to give up on the Lord. Walk in patience and faithful expectation that what he has said will indeed come to pass in your life.
The Lord fully expects you and I to live an overcoming life. Because He’s given us His power to do it with. The new testament Prophetic word is guided by grace and compassion. The Old Testament prophets were condemning and harsh….. In this era of grace, Prophecy should bring conviction not condemnation…it should bring correction not criticism. The new testament prophetic word is for guidance, encouragement and making adjustments so that blessing and Godly reward can come.
Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”.
When you receive an accurate prophecy, pray and obey. Usually the fulfillment is a cooperative effort, which to a great measure, depends on our obedience and receiving the outcome by faith.
I like the rule that says….”Before you go to pray, believe...Before you go to speak, listen.. Before you go to spend, earn... Before you go to write, think... Before you go to quit, try...Before you go to die, really live”!!
With the Word of God, one size fits all…it’s the whole word for the whole man…but when it comes to personal prophecy, one size does not fit all…when it is a true word of prophecy it is a Rhema from God to a specific person in a specific time for a specific purpose. When correctly applied, it enables us to use the best means at the best time in the best way, to accomplish the best outcome.
Let me illustrate this….A man went into a drug store and asks the pharmacist if he can give him something for the hiccups. The pharmacist promptly reaches out and slaps the man's face."HEY, What in blazes did you do that for!?!" the man screams. "Well, you don't have the hiccups anymore do you?" The man says, "No I don't, you clown, But my wife out in the car still does!" (the solution did not match the situation, because there was no wisdom, and the solution came out of carnal intellect with no understanding)
When it is accurate, prophecy it is as valid as if Jesus were standing there talking to you. Because of that, when you ask for a prophecy, make sure that you have the proper attitude about it and you are ready to obey it.
As you prepare yourself to receive a prophecy, think about what your attitude would be if, instead of going to someone manifesting the spirit, you were going to be in the literal presence of the Lord Jesus and hear what he had to say to you.
He told Peter to walk on water and He wouldn’t have said it if Peter couldn’t do it! We want to honor the Lord by giving his word the attention it deserves. If someone comes to you and asks for information and then ignores what you said, you would seriously doubt their sincerity. The same is true of the Lord. We should test prophecies to be sure they are the words of the Lord, but if they are, then we need to give heed to them as if the Lord were speaking them.
1 Thessalonians 5:20 do not despise prophetic utterances. ( The word “despise” in verse 20 is ex-outh-eneo, which means to treat with scorn, to diminish in importance, and therefore to reject.) v21 But examine everything carefully; and hold fast to that which is good”…
Remember the scripture that says, Luke 12:48 “…From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded and from the one who has been entrusted with much, to that one, much more will be required”. When you are given a prophecy, you are given “much,” and the Lord anticipates your obedience in return.
We must do our part in order to have a prophecy come to pass. The disciples were told where to catch fish, but they had to cast the nets there to enjoy the great catch of fish that was the outcome of the prophecy. It is vital to realize that even accurate prophecies about the future do not usually come to pass automatically. We have to do something in order for them to be fulfilled.
We must pray, obey, and walk in godly wisdom. This is true for revelation we receive personally from the Lord and for prophecy spoken to us. When prophecies are not fulfilled quickly, discouragement, unbelief and disillusionment, can enter our heads and hearts, and we must continually reject them and, continue to move forward in faith.
Abraham is a great example to us because when God gave him the revelation he would have a child, Romans 4:20 “…he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God” . Abraham continued to have faith during the 30 years between the time he received the promise and when it was finally fulfilled by the birth of Isaac. Abraham’s experience, even though it’s extreme, is not unique.
David was a teenager when Samuel anointed him king, but 2 Sam. 5 tells us that it was not until he was 30 years old when all the tribes of Israel finally got together, and officially recognized his kingship, anointed him, and installed him as king. During those years between the promise and the fulfillment of his kingship, David was faithful to the promise of God, and he faithfully led the people God gave him at that time.
Prayer in faith is very important in seeing prophecies come to pass. Daniel is known for his deep prayer life. When he read the prophecy of Jeremiah in Daniel 9:2, that the desolation of Israel would be 70 years, his response was not, “Oh well, I’ll sit back, count the years, and the prophecy will automatically come to pass.” Daniel knew that a lot had to happen for the prophecy to be fulfilled, and that time was short. The Bible records one of the things he did:
Daniel 9:3 “So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes”. We pray and believe that what has been revealed will come to pass. We must refuse to be distracted in order for a specific prophecy to come to pass.
When God told the Israelites He would give them the Promised Land, they knew they had to fight battle after battle to have that prophecy come true.
2 Kings 9:1 When the prophet anointed Jehu king of Israel, Jehu knew he had a lot of work to do to be ready for that prophecy to come to pass, especially since there already was a king of Israel that he would have to replace. He got to work, and planned his strategy for success.
Focus on your walk, your calling, and your last instruction from the Lord. You have been given a great honor and privilege, and our obedience should be a great source of blessing, and inspiration, and all the challenges that come will shape us and mold us so that we will be prepared for the fulfillment as it comes.
The Lord wants us all to live at our full potential, and he stretches us in our faith and our walk. If you receive a prophecy that blesses you and excites you, wonderful! Walk out on what the Lord has revealed. If you receive a prophecy that reveals you have room to grow in your life, thank the Lord for his honesty, prepare yourself, and get on with the task of growing and maturing in your Christian life. Beware of compromise and Satan’s deadly trap, of fear, distractions and intimidation….
A guy asked a girl in a library; “Do you mind if I sit beside you”. The girl answered with a loud voice " ARE YOU KIDDING, ABSOLUTELY NOT, I DON’T WANT TO SPEND THE NIGHT WITH YOUUU!!!" All the students in the library started staring at the guy and he was embarrassed. After a couple of minutes, the girl walked quietly to the guy’s table and she told him “I study psychology and I know what men are thinking, I guess u felt embarrassed right?. I am so sorry, I took advantage of you, JUST to test a theory”. The guy with a loud voice said ”What!!! $300.00 JUST FOR ONE NIGHT, NO WAY, THAT’S TOO MUCH, OH NO!!! and all the people in the library looked at the girl in shock and the guy whispered in her ears “I’m studying law and I’m good at making anyone look suspicious!. Satan will always lay guilt and condemnation on you big time if you let him!!
If you have fallen down or feel weak in your walk, get up and get going. The Lord will be with you to love you, support you, and bless you, but you are the one who must get back up and move forward.
Proverbs 24:16 says, “for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again…”
It’s helpful to record all personal prophecies you may receive or have someone else do it for you. The primary reason for this is that we are not used to remembering all that is said to us, and we forget many details, especially over a period of time. The biggest lie I tell myself, is “I’ll remember that”……
Another reason you need to write it down, is that you may hear something that catches your attention and causes you to miss other things that are being said.
A third reason is that often we mishear what was actually said. Having a recording gives us the ability to go back and listen to what was said. Remember, a word or phrase may have several applications. Prophetic language is often figurative and uses analogies, similes, metaphors. Sometimes going back over what was said reveals things that were missed or misunderstood. It may be helpful to write the prophecies out so that they can be easily reviewed and prayed over. Many people keep a binder with prayer goals and prophecies to help them have a vision for their future and enable them to see more clearly when God works things out in their life.
Prophecy is partial, so we need to connect the dots in the ongoing unveiling of events, because you need to keep track of the many components that begin to fit together like an elaborate puzzle. Over time, a “prophetic picture” will develop from your prophecies and they will paint a bigger picture than you could see at any given moment of time.
Prophecy is a call from God on Heaven’s hot-line….God is giving instructions from headquarters, to keep us on track and on our calling….Circumstances may change, the seasons of your life may change, but your calling and ministry do not change from day to day.
For example, if you have evangelistic tendencies, then the Lord will be exhorting you to talk to people and work in some form of outreach at whatever stage of life you are in. If you tend to be pastoral, the Lord will be encouraging you to help the downcast and broken people around you no matter what you’re involved with in your life. If it’s teaching, then you will want to break information down into retainable and usable components.
Building a prophetic picture over time can help you recognize the overall will of the Lord for your life. Keep giving yourself to the main calling on your life….It is in giving yourself, that you give the greatest gift you can ever possibly offer…..
2 Peter1:10 Wherefore brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if you do these things, you shall never fall.
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, fully believe you will succeed in reaching your destiny, fulfill your calling, and come into heaven with many rewards waiting for you there as well as here!
Prayer….Lord Jesus, Thank You for the Holy Spirit that you have sent to be our Teacher, our Guide, our Comforter, and our Encourager. Lead us and guide us by Your light and truth as we walk in the light of Your revealed word of truth. When circumstances come that could shake us, lift our head through faith that we may walk in the joy of the Lord. We ask You to show us through the Holy Spirit any hindrances to receiving all that You offer to us. We choose to ask, seek, and knock on the door of Your promises, until we receive all that the You desire to bring to us. Shine through us in these dark days so that we may be a light to our world. We ask for revelation from the Holy Spirit in order that our eyes can see You as You really are and know You as we are known of You. We cast off the spirits of intolerance, anxiety, anger, betrayal, resentment, distraction, denial, rejection and unbelief, so that it is not our will but your will that is accomplished in our lives. We choose to seek first Your Kingdom, as the world is crumbling around us. Thank You for all your many gifts and Your grace, which gives us strength to persevere in love and obedience. Strengthen us as we stand fast on the Rock of Your truth and we choose to turn over to You all our failures and discouragements in life. Thank You Jesus that You give us your power, authority and dominion to go from zero to hero, as we choose to turn over to You all our dreams and ambitions. We speak and declare Your truth, which releases the anointing for success and prosperity. We can do all things through your finished work which overwhelms all lack, and insufficiency in us. May all power, glory and honor be Yours forever and ever. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
