1 Corinthians 14:1-3 (NET) Pursue love and be eager for the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For the one speaking in a tongue does not speak to people but to God, for no one understands; he is speaking mysteries by the Spirit. But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouragement, and consolation.
Over the past few weeks I have been extremely encouraged in the gift of prophecy. God has been stirring my heart in this gift and I’ve had an unusual vision given to me while working in New York. This blog post is to encourage you to move forward in the admonishment that the Holy Spirit gives us through Paul in 1 Corinthians 14.
The gift of prophecy was given to strengthen, encourage, and edify the body of Christ. It is uniquely designed to speak into the moment to help the recipient stand strong, move forward in confidence, and receive vision and resolve to pursue.
Paul goes on to say in this chapter that he has a desire that we we would all prophesy, because of the power that’s released through this gift. 1 Corinthians 14:5 (NET) I wish you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may be strengthened. When this gift operates in its effectiveness, it uniquely provides strength to the church.
Is it possible that anyone can prophesy? I believe the answer is an absolute yes. Consider that the root of prophesying is listening to God. For a person to prophesy or speak according to God’s Spirit, he or she must first hear what the Spirit is saying. Who does God want to talk to? Only people who are designated as prophets? Only pastors? Only apostles? The scripture is emphatically clear that God’s desire is that all of His people hear his voice and communicate with Him. A person who is prophesying is combining listening skills with faith to declare what he or she has heard. I believe this is a skill that takes time to develop but is so worth pursuing because of the tremendous benefit given to the body of Christ.
With that said, I wanted to share a few stories of how God has been encouraging me in developing this gift and how God used this to encourage others in the body of Christ.
Two Sundays ago I was at a meeting where we were planning how we could minister to people coming to Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention. A group of us were practicing ministering in the prophetic gift. I was called on to prophesy over anyone in the group. I felt a little pressure since this was a new group of people and I didn’t really know anyone more than saying a casual hello. I prayed silently under my breath and asked God to speak to me. Immediately after I received a brief vision (mental picture) regarding an elderly gentleman sitting across from me. In this picture I saw this man as if he was in the prime of his youth, dark hair, and wind blowing across his face and hair. So I began relating to this man the vision I had received about him and told him that I was getting the impression of his youth being renewed. The wind represented the spirit of God moving over him and restoring him in many aspects of his person (emotions, health, and spiritual condition). And as I spoke this, I sensed that this was a work going on in his life right now.
As I spoke to this man, he began getting tears in his eyes. Later when I had finished speaking, he told the group that for the past 4 months God has been moving on him in unusual ways. He has been feeling an unusual amount of tenderness in his heart during this time and will often begin crying as he feels God’s spirit coming upon him. He looked at me and said “I can’t believe how accurate your word was to me...I’m amazed.” This man went away from this meeting with a renewed encouragement of what God was doing in his life and that he wasn't just getting "weird" by being so tender.
Later that night I received the beginning of a vision for a prophetic team leader but felt I should wait before speaking this to him. I prayed for more revelation regarding the brief vision I had received about this man. On the way to church the next Sunday, I began “seeing” more regarding this initial vision. It was unusual to me because the entire vision revolved around a medieval setting. The vision spoke of this man’s character, how he was being trained, and future purpose of his life. That day I got to share with the leader what I felt God gave me for him. I figured afterward that either this guy is going to think I’m totally off my rocker and I just blew my chance of having any relationship with this man or just maybe there might be something redemptive to what I shared. So I asked “Did any of this speak to you?” And to my surprise he said “totally.” He then related to me that if I had asked him to describe what God’s call was on his life and what goals he has, he would have related it to me using medieval pictures and language. He thinks that way all the time! Oh that was so cool.
A few weeks ago the Lord gave me a vision right before I went to bed one night. In this vision I saw Jesus standing on the water and he was looking at me sitting in a boat. In the vision Jesus reached out his hand to me, but he didn’t say anything. But as I looked in His eyes, I could hear a message coming from His heart. His eyes said, “Come walk on the water with Me”. I didn’t exactly know what He meant by this at the time, but I wrote it down and pondered its meaning. Just this week God showed me more about what He meant by this. I was reading a book by Steve Thompson called “You May All Prophesy” and in the book Steve relates that every time we prophesy its like stepping out of the boat and walking on the water! We don’t know if we’ll sink or walk; but if we keep our eyes on Jesus he’ll catch us and lead us.
So how about it? Want to walk on the water? The Lord's body needs to be encouraged and strengthened. It needs you and I operating in the gift of prophecy.
I believe God is calling many in this generation living to come walk on the water with Him. In the last days, your sons and your daughters shall prophesy... (Joel 2).
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