With that in view we need to begin developing a confidence in
‘hearing from God’ so that we can prophesy.
What I want to emphasize in this article are some helpful how-to’s of prophecy.
Prophecy
is simply speaking what God brings to mind. God will communicate a
small ‘fragment’ of information to us in order to bring encouragement
to someone else. That sounds easy enough—right? Well, on one hand it
really is that simple, but on the other hand, it doesn’t always feel
that easy when we actually step out in faith.
What
I have found to be the most difficult factor of prophecy is the issue
of confidence. We tend to have such difficulty in discerning if
what-has-come-to-mind is really from God or not. This is where we begin
to doubt and become fearful to prophesy. Many are afraid of making
mistakes by saying something that really wasn’t from God. Think about
it, when you give a word to someone, you are saying that it came from
God. Though that sounds scary, I want to encourage you to risk being
wrong in order to grow in your ability to hear from God.
When
we begin learning how to prophesy it is important to know how prophecy
works so we can do it in a healthy way that brings blessing to others
and glorifies God in the process. Let’s look at three critical aspects
of prophecy that are essential for us to better evaluate prophecy. The
first aspect is revelation, the second is interpretation, and the third
is application.
What is revelation?
Revelation
simply is something that God makes known to you by the Holy Spirit. The
source is God and how He chooses to give information may vary, but it
is nonetheless God revealing something to you about someone or
something. This comes from God, therefore it is perfect and pure. There
are many ways God will speak to you, however, here are some common ways
He does:
- the Word
- dreams
- pictures
- phrases or words in your mind; the most common way is through small impressions, little ‘gut-nudges’.
What is interpretation?
Interpretation
is where we enter the equation and interpret how and what God has
communicated to us. It’s where God’s pure revelation becomes filtered
through our mind and heart. We should ask three questions that clarify
revelation:
1. How did He speak?
2. What did He speak?
3. What does it mean?
This
is very important because interpretation is the first stage where error
can occur, and often does, in the prophetic process.
What is application?
Application
is discerning what we are to do with the revelation we received. This
is the second stage where possible error can occur also. We may have
discerned that God did speak to us and interpreted rightly, but that
doesn’t mean we know what to do with it. For instance, are we to pray
over the revelation or share the information? Or, if we are to share
it, when? Now or later? These kinds of questions are important for us
in order to be led by the Spirit in accuracy as much we can with
prophecy.
