The Prophets Job

Some Christians say, “A prophet's job is to say what God says”. This is true, but it is only part of the truth. I would say, “A prophet's job is to say what God says in the right spirit”.

I have observed many occasions when a prophetic person has spoken a true word, but it was not heard. Sometimes the true word was not received because the listener’s heart was hard, but more often it was not heard, because the spirit of the prophet was not right.

I remember a woman who was really upset, because her pastor had not received a word that she and a friend had given to him. She could not understand why this had happened, because the word was true. Her word rung true to me too, but I could tell from the tone of her voice why she was not heard. She oozed frustration, hurt and bitterness.

The hard truth for prophets to understand is that being correct is not enough. A true word from God can be nullified by a wrong spirit. In the spiritual dimension, a true word spoken in the wrong spirit is exactly the same as a false word.

When God’s heart is “filled with pain” (Gen 6:6), he cannot be represented by just the truth. His truth must be spoken with a broken heart. Jeremiah was a powerful prophet, because he has lived the pain on God’s heart.

Most prophets put a lot of effort into hearing what God is saying, but few put the same degree of effort into keeping their spirit right, although the latter is actually the harder task.

A prophet can never just say, ”I spoke God’s truth, I have done my bit”. Every prophet should be asking, “Did I speak God’s word in God’s way.”