Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. (I Thessalonians 5:19-21 NIV)
Last week I shared five practical guidelines on receiving a prophetic word. This week I want to share seven practical guidelines on giving a prophetic word. God intends for prophecy to be a great blessing to the church. Let's purpose to be involved in this important ministry in the appropriate way so that the church will be strong in the Lord.
Do your part to strengthen, encourage, and comfort the body of Christ.
- Will the word build up and encourage the recipient? In the body of Christ, our primary focus is to encourage and build up our brothers and sisters in Christ. Correction and rebuke should be left to leadership. Paul said, But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. (I Corinthians 14:4 NIV)
If you believe that God has given you a word of correction for another believer, then submit that word to your pastor or to one of the leaders in your church. Your focus should always be to strengthen, to encourage, and to comfort with any prophetic revelation given to you by the Holy Spirit.
- Don't circumvent the chain of spiritual authority. There is safety in submission to spiritual authority. It never hurts to submit your prophetic revelation to someone in spiritual authority. This is especially true when a man has a prophetic word for a child and especially for female. Men, if you think you have a prophetic word for a man's wife, then go to her husband and share with him what you sense God is saying. If you think you have a prophetic word for a child, or a teenager, go to that child's father with the revelation that you have. It is especially critical to use the proper chain of spiritual authority, if you receive any prophetic revelation for a young woman. Don't give the enemy an opportunity to misconstrue your motives.
Some might consider this guideline bondage. It is not bondage, but it is part of our freedom and safety in Christ Jesus. Paul said, But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. In addition, watch your attitude. You are not the only person through whom God can speak. I believe that God gave me prophetic revelation of encouragement for one particular young woman. Twice I contacted her father via e-mail to offer to share in a proper setting the revelation that I had. Both times this man chose to ignore my e-mail. Obviously, his lack of response was not an encouragement to me. It caused me to feel that either he thinks my motives were less than pure, or he has little confidence in me. I was tempted to be upset. In the end God gave me the grace to take the appropriate posture. Knowing that God is fully capable of sharing the same revelation with another believer, I prayed for her in the following way: "Lord, if she needs to hear anything that I believe that you have given me, please speak it to her either directly, or through someone else in the body of Christ who her parents respect." We MUST always walk in the love of God.
- Just because God gives you revelation regarding someone doesn't always mean you should share what you have seen or heard. Sometimes God will give us revelation regarding a person so we can intercede more effectively. Intercession is a vital ministry in the church. Be willing to pray and not to speak. God will use the believer to speak for him, who is willing to be quiet for him.
- Also, be sensitive to the Holy Spirit regarding the timing of delivering a prophetic word, and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit about how much is appropriate to share. Timing is critical in life. Sometimes I have waited for months before sharing some revelation. Let that word settle and grow in you until you have the peace of God that the time is right to share the word.
Recently, the Holy Spirit showed me some things regarding a person. As I prayed about the appropriate manner to share the revelation, I felt that it was too much to share. The person involved was not familiar with this type of ministry. I reached the point that I decided not to share anything at all. I want to be a blessing and not overwhelm someone with too much. But the Holy Spirit gave me wisdom. He used the analogy of a loaf of bread. He gave me a loaf of revelation regarding this person. If I delivered the whole loaf, this person would choke on it. It would have been too much. Rather, the Holy Spirit led me to slice a piece of bread from the loaf and share just part of what I had seen and heard. I did so, and it produced great blessing. Perhaps, in the future the Holy Spirit will open the door to share more, but for now, a slice was the appropriate portion.
- Don't be a spiritual voyeur. Don't press the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the weaknesses and sins of another. Remember, our job is to strengthen, encourage, and comfort. God is fully capable of revealing the sin of another, but that is for those who are in spiritual authority over a person. God will only reveal the sin of another at his discretion. We all need to deal with our weaknesses and sins while seeking to build up and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ.
- Be concise. Deliver the prophetic word with as few words as possible. Don't try to explain it. One Sunday morning a woman had a prophetic word for our church. The word was on target, and I believe it was a true word from God. But, she kept trying to explain the word, and by the time she finished, she dulled the impact of the word. Say what you have to say, and then be quiet.
- Be bold. When you know that you have a word from God, and the time is right and appropriate, deliver the word with boldness. Don't allow Satan to rob the church of what you have from God. True prophetic utterances bring great blessing to the church. We all prophesy by faith. (See Romans 12:6) Step out in faith and be willing to be a blessing. Deliver that word with boldness and in faith and leave the results to God.
Wayne L. Williams
wayne@fotwm.org
Wisdom From the Word
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