- To prophesy is to foretell the future, to speak a
new message from God to the people/individual
- It is to be noted
that prophecy must be judged by the hearers and must not contradict what the
written (logos) word of God says or what you are sure God had told/revealed
(rhema) to you
- The place of time
also matters for prophecy. Do not be quick to dismiss it except you are certain
that it is against the word of God
- Prophecy is not to
replace the written word of God and should not stop you from praying to God
continuously for clarity and confirmation
- You do not need to
have a church title or be ordained before you desire to prophesy
- You need to be a
follower of Jesus Christ and His Word, and also spend time regularly to know
God, this can aid the gift of prophecy
- You can desire the
gift of prophecy. God gives this gift freely to His children as He wishes.
Thus, you do not need to pay for this special gift.
SIX BENEFITS WHY YOU SHOULD DESIRE THE GIFT OF PROPHECY
1) You will be helping
others to grow in the Lord by upholding and advising them concerning the
matters of God
"But one who prophesies, preaching the
messages of God, is helping others grow in the Lord, encouraging and comforting
them (1 Corinthians 14:3 TLB version, Living Bible)"
2) You will be helping the entire church or
group to grow in Godly wisdom, to be dedicated to God, in holiness and joy
"One who prophesies, preaching messages
from God, helps the entire church grow in holiness and joy (1 Corinthians 14:4b
TLB version, Living Bible)"
3) Other people will understand what you
are telling them, thus, they will be strengthened. You will also
understand what you are saying
"Now I wish that all of you spoke
in unknown tongues, but even more [I wish] that you would
prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater [and more useful] than the one who
speaks in tongues, unless he translates or explains [what he says],
so that the church may [b]be edified [instructed, improved, strengthened] - 1
Corinthians 14:5 Amplified Version]
4) You will be able to comfort others
Prophet Isaiah was instructed by God to speak comforting words to His
people in Jerusalem:
"Comfort, yes, comfort my people,” says your God. Speak tenderly to
Jerusalem and tell her that her sad days are gone. Her sins are pardoned, and I
have punished her in full for all her sins.” (Isaiah 40:1-2 TLB Version, Living
Bible)."
5) You will be able to learn about God's plan for individuals,
nations and church and it will help you to follow God's instructions
accordingly
Check out how God used Agabus to prophesy:
"During our stay of several days, a man named Agabus, who also had
the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea and visited us. He took Paul’s
belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, “The Holy Spirit
declares, ‘So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jews in Jerusalem
and turned over to the Romans.’” Hearing this, all of us—the local
believers and his travelling companions—begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.
(Acts 21:10-12 TLB Version, Living Bible)"
"During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to
Antioch, and one of them, named Agabus, stood up in one of the meetings to
predict by the Spirit that a great famine was coming upon the land of Israel.[c] (This
was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.) So the believers decided to
send relief to the Christians in Judea, each giving as much as he
could. This they did, consigning their gifts to Barnabas and Paul to take
to the elders of the church in Jerusalem. (Acts 11:27-29 TLB Version, Living
Bible)"
6) To convict others of their
wrongdoings
Check out how God used Prophet Nathan to convict David of his sin:
"1-2: So the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to tell David
this story:
“There were two men in a certain
city, one very rich, owning many flocks of sheep and herds of goats; 3 and
the other very poor, owning nothing but a little lamb he had managed to buy. It
was his children’s pet, and he fed it from his own plate and let it drink from
his own cup; he cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. 4 Recently
a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing a lamb from
his own flocks for food for the traveller, he took the poor man’s lamb and
roasted it and served it.”
5 David was furious. “I swear by the living God,” he
vowed, “any man who would do a thing like that should be put to death; 6 he
shall repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no
pity.”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are that rich man! The Lord
God of Israel says, ‘I made you king of Israel and saved you from the power of
Saul. 8 I gave you his palace and his wives and the kingdoms
of Israel and Judah; and if that had not been enough, I would have given you
much, much more. 9 Why, then, have you despised the laws of
God and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah and stolen his
wife.
10 Therefore murder shall be a constant threat in your family from this time on because you have insulted me by taking Uriah’s wife. 11 I vow that because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man, and he will go to bed with them in public view.[a]
12 You did it secretly, but I will do this to you openly, in the sight of all Israel.’”
10 Therefore murder shall be a constant threat in your family from this time on because you have insulted me by taking Uriah’s wife. 11 I vow that because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man, and he will go to bed with them in public view.[a]
12 You did it secretly, but I will do this to you openly, in the sight of all Israel.’”
13 “I have sinned against the Lord,” David confessed
to Nathan.
Then Nathan replied, “Yes, but the
Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin." (2 Samuel 12:1-14
TLB Version, Living Bible)”
Picture reference: http://www.enlivenpublishing.com
Picture reference: http://www.enlivenpublishing.com
