Right Attitude in Prophetic Ministry
Prophecy must be delivered in the right attitude. We must speak the truth in love. A wrong attitude nullifies the truth of the word. Many true prophecies have been made false, because they have been spoken in a harsh or critical attitude.
All prophets should note God’s response when he saw the sins of the people who lived during the time of Noah.
The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain (Gen 6:6).God’s heart was “filled with pain”. A prophet cannot represent God during a time of judgement unless his heart is filled with pain.
Some Christians say, “A prophet’s job is to say what God says”. This is correct, but it is only part of the truth. A prophet’s job is to say what God says in the right spirit. Many prophets have spoken a true word without it being 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 warped.
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 bitterness, hurt and frustration.
The hard truth for prophets to accept 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 wrongly 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. Jeremiah was a powerful prophet, because he felt the pain on God’s heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment