Prophets and Guidance

I have just updated this section of my teaching on the Prophetic Ministry.

Prophets bring the word of the Lord to the church. Christians can get so caught up in the events of the world that they do not see what God is doing. This is particularly true in tumultuous times, when it can be very hard to see the hand of God at work. Prophets will give direction and vision in these situations, so that God's people know what is happening, and what they should do. For example, the prophet Gad provided guidance to David and showed him how to avoid trouble.

Prophets can give direction to those who are seeking the will of God. Sometimes the prophetic word will be for the church as a whole or for the leadership of the church.

Personal prophecy must be treated with caution. The gift of prophecy is not usually directive, so it is dangerous to make life-changing decisions on the basis of a prophecy uttered by a person who has not been recognised as a prophet. Prophets will sometimes give direction, but generally this should come as a confirmation of something that God has already spoken to the person concerned. God wants to lead his people by his Spirit. He desires that every believer should learn to hear the Spirit's voice. A message from a prophet should normally come as a confirmation of something that the Spirit has already spoken.

Making important decisions on the basis of a word from another person is dangerous. It is wrong to be totally dependent on others for guidance. Many Christians have been led astray because they failed to get their own word from God.

Christian prophets do not tell people what to do, they confirm what God is saying. To go to a Christian prophet for direction and guidance is to violate the New Covenant which gives us direct access and approach to God through Christ by the Spirit (Graham Cooke - Developing Your Prophetic Gifting p.199).

The exception to this principle is when a follower of Jesus is so beaten down or defeated that they cannot hear what God is saying to them. They just cannot conceive that God might have something good planned for them. If a person has disqualified themself, a word from a prophet might be needed to break through the cloud of doubt that blinds them.

When the prophet speaks to people who have written themselves off, the word usually comes as a shock, but it will crack through into their heart and open their mind to what God is saying. As the word of the prophet sinks into the person's soul, they will be able to grab it for themselves.

The ideal is that we hear God's word and get confirmation from a prophet, but sometimes that does not work. In these situations, the prophetic word does not come as confirmation. It comes as an intrusion of the wisdom of God, when he has been unable to speak to the person. Later, they will get confirmation for themselves. This is not the ideal, but God sometimes has to give the revelation through a prophet first, as that is the only way that he can breakthrough.