Growing in the prophetic, I have come to learn that our Lord loves to share secrets, facts, and detailed stories with those who are in relationship with Him. Amos 3:7 (The Message Version) says, “The fact is, God, the Master, does nothing without first telling his prophets the whole story.” In the New International Version, Amos 3:7–8 says, “Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared—who will not fear? The Sovereign LORD has spoken—who can but prophesy?”
God will do nothing without revealing His plans to His holy prophets. Since we have the Holy Spirit, we must know the nature of God, who loves to talk to those who will listen and even speak through his chosen vessels as an oracle to share His plan, will, and purpose in the Earth. Daddy God holds the master plan and blueprint for your life; therefore you are the key to the doors of destiny.
DADDY GOD LOVES TO SPEAK TO HIS CHILDREN
Daddy God loves to communicate. Everything He did in times past was through His words. God wants to communicate to us and wants to communicate through us. You can prophesy! Note what I just said, that you can prophesy. I did not say you could not prophesy. Those who are anointed by the Holy Spirit and have the gift of prophecy resident in them can prophesy to edify, exhort, and comfort other believers.
In Numbers 12:6–8 (NKJV) the Lord says:
Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face, Even plainly, and not in dark sayings; And he sees the form of the LORD.
The Lord can speak in various ways. We see that God speaks to His prophets in a vision, dreams, and mouth to mouth, like He did with Moses. God can speak in dark sayings, in which case the prophet would have to wait on the Lord for specific instruction, direction, interpretation, clarity, and understanding.
The term dark sayings refers to the various times when God communicates in mysteries or parables. Remember in John 16:29 when the disciples where happy that Jesus was speaking plainly and was not using figures of speech. We all have used figures of speech when communicating with each other. The disciples said to Jesus, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech.” Moreover Psalm 78:2 (KJV) declares, “I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark saying of old.” This passage of Scripture reveals that God prophesied in dark sayings, parables, or figuratively.
There have been times when I have prophesied to people figuratively or in a dark saying. For example, I would say, “For son, know that you are going to be like a tree planted by the rivers of living water, and this is a season when you will give birth to that baby on the inside. You have been pregnant with this baby, but now your water will break and you will give birth.” This prophecy should not be taken literally in regard to the prophetic language or figure of speech used. This individual was a male and cannot get pregnant, nor is he a tree but a person, and there is no baby on the inside of him.
This prophecy may be accurate, and the word of the Lord should be taken seriously but with spiritual understanding. I told the man that he is going to be “like a tree planted by the rivers of living water” and that in this season he would give birth to a baby, which speaks of a spiritual baby. This is not a real baby but may be speaking of vision, something new or fresh—ideas, ministry, business, or whatever has been on his heart. When I stated that he has been pregnant, it doesn’t mean that he has a belly but that in his heart there is a something big or great that he is about to implement and walk out regarding the prophetic vision that is in him.
JESUS UTILIZED THE PROPHETIC ADVANTAGE TO EVANGELIZE
Jesus, as our role model, used wisdom when operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He often used the gift of words of knowledge, which is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We see this type of example with Jesus and the Samaritan woman in John 4:9 (NKJV). When she said to Jesus, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me since I am a Samaritan woman?” Jesus did not respond to her question, but rather He discerned her spirit and saw that here was a woman in need of refreshing and in need of to be revived by the living water that He could provide her. Therefore, Jesus said to her in verse 10 (NKJV), “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” He didn’t answer her initial question, nor did He disclose His heavenly identity as the Son of God, but He talked to her as a gentleman engaged in friendly evangelism with words of knowledge about her marital status, past, and current relationships, revealing what was going on in her life; therefore, she perceived Him as a prophet (John 4:17–18).
Jesus’ word of knowledge regarding the woman’s past and present caused her to receive the gift of the Spirit, which was really salvation. I will explain the difference between the gifts of the Spirit and the gift of the Spirit.
Jesus, figuratively speaking, called Himself the living water, and He is the living water. He used this type of prophetic language to cause her to think. She understood later, but He caught her attention by confirming through prophetic words what was on her mind, heart, and spirit at Jacob’s well. He used the prophetic to win her heart.
God wants to use you to prophesy. Sometimes prophets can prophesy things to a person, and others may be listening to the prophecy and do not understand what is being spoken, but the individual receiving the word will understand exactly what is being revealed. There are times where the person receiving the prophetic word may understand pieces of the word but does not understand the rest. Upon taking their prophecy home and listening to it or reading over it later, the understanding may come. The Bible says that now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture (1 Cor. 13:9)
I believe we were conceived out of the word of the Lord, so likewise we were born to prophesy. What am I saying? We were born to communicate and fellowship with God and each other. Could you imagine the world with people not communicating with each other? Could you imagine people walking around quiet and mute? This world would be pretty boring. I know how it feels not to speak to someone because of an issue or argument, and I know how it is not to be spoken to. Communication is imperative to understanding what is on the mind and heart of a person. Whether God speaks to you mouth to mouth or figuratively, you can prophesy by the gift of prophecy.
The keys to successful relationships, regardless of what level they are established on, are love and communication. Without proper communication, accountability, trust, transparency, and mutual respect, the relationship will fail. God loves us so much that He communicated that by sending His Son (His Word) to bring us back in right fellowship, relationship, accountability, and right standing with Him.
It is God’s heart for us to communicate with Him and to hear His voice in various ways when He chooses to speak to us. Like a loving Father, when He speaks to His spiritual offspring, He desires to have an intimate relationship with us. Any successful and loving relationship must by its very nature involve two-way communication. He is very much interested in what you are doing. The Lord is not an absentee Father or a seed donor, but He is your heavenly and loving Father. It’s His good pleasure to give you the kingdom as your inheritance. The Lord is not an Indian giver but a loving Father who loves to give good gifts to those who ask Him. The gifts of the Holy Spirit can be given to those who ask for them.
As I stated before in the previous chapter, if God used King Saul, Israel’s first king, to prophesy when he was introduced to the prophetic team coming down from the high place of worship, then a prophet and prophetic minister must be a worshiper and lover of his or her God. This prophetic team cultivated the prophetic atmosphere that allowed ordinary men, when connected to the prophetic stream, to became extraordinary and prophesy. The prophetic was released through worship to God and music, and the spirit of prophecy caused Saul to prophe
sy like the prophets. He wasn’t a prophet, but he could prophesy like the prophets.
Even though he was chosen king, there was a prophetic dimension of the Spirit of God that came on him to transform him into an oracle of the Lord. Therefore, it does not matter if you are not a prophet, but you can prophesy like the prophets. All are not called to be prophets, but all can prophesy in varying degrees (1 Cor. 12:7).
NOT ALL ARE PROPHETS, BUT ALL CAN PROPHESY!
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.
—1 CORINTHIANS 12:29–31, NKJV
We see that not all are called to the same specific office, nor does everyone possess the same gifts of the Holy Spirit. But all can desire the best or greater gifts, which is suitable and needed at the time to minister within the church. For example, prophecy would be more suitable over tongues to operate in because it needs no interpretation. In other words, prophecy would be the best gift to use in some cases because it brings edification to the corporate body, as compared to tongues that need interpretation. The gift of prophecy is a building gift.
Prophecy and other gifts, along with tongues, should be done in a more excellent way. We must operate in faith, love, and hope when operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Operating in these gifts should promote love and unity among believers, not division, confusion, dishonor, and pride. All may not be prophets, apostles, teachers, etc., but all have a part to play as His body and in His kingdom. I believe that if we have the Holy Spirit, which is the holy nature of God, then we can prophesy holy, inspired words of life as well. The Holy Spirit is an apostolic spirit, prophetic spirit, evangelistic spirit, pastoral (shepherding) spirit, and teaching spirit. A person does not have to walk in any of these ministry gifts given to the church to function in the Spirit and in different operations and administrations. God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:
wise counsel
clear understanding
simple trust
healing the sick
miraculous acts
proclamation
distinguishing between spirits
tongues
interpretation of tongues.
All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when. You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ.
—1 CORINTHIANS 12:4–12, THE MESSAGE
TEAMWORK AND SYNERGY IS KEY TO MINISTRY EFFECTIVENESS
It’s very clear that regardless of the different parts of the body, it is still one body working together and making sure that every joint does its part. We need each other to function and survive. The eyes are a part of the body, and the eyes cannot say to the feet, “We have no need of you,” because the feet are also a part of the body. Both function differently on the body, but they are members of the same body, regardless of each other’s function in the body of Christ. For example, if the feet are damaged, then the eyes are affected as well, because it’s a part of the body too. Without each part doing their part, the body is not completely whole and functioning as it was ordained and originally made to function by the Lord.
We are the body of Christ, and God has need of you in His body. Jesus is the Head of the church, called the body of Christ. God placed Him as Head of the church and set Him over all things concerning the church. Christ Jesus is concerned about His body in the earth, called His church. Every part in His body plays a major and key role. There are no big I and little you in the Kingdom of God. You are not insignificant but significant.
A Spirit-filled believer can prophesy in the body and not be called to be a prophet in the body of Christ per se. One can work miracles and not be an apostle, healing evangelist, or miracle worker per se. Offices and giftings of the Spirit work through each person differently. We are all one body, and it is the same Spirit and Lord working in and through us all. We have the Holy Spirit to give the expression of God in the earth to His people and through His people.
God has created us for a specific purpose with a unique calling and destiny. We have not been born to fill church pews and listen to sermons for the rest of our lives, but each of us collectively contributes in the advancing and expansion of the kingdom of God in our words and deeds. I come to encourage you that God passionately wants to speak through you, and you can do just that. Just believe, have faith, and prophesy.
IF GOD USED A DONKEY TO SPEAK, HE CAN USE YOU TO PROPHESY!
Interestingly, in the Bible God used a donkey to speak literally to Balaam, a rebellious prophet who compromised his prophetic ministry to give false predictions and became a people pleaser and not a pleaser of the Lord. Numbers 22:28 (NLT) says, “Then the LORD gave the donkey the ability to speak. ‘What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?’ it asked Balaam.” Balaam gave his own presumptuous words that came from his own mind and heart, which was coerced by the people and not given by God. He was labeled a false prophet.
We must understand that Balaam started out as a genuine prophet of God, but due to greed and power he became a false prophet. How many people do you know who are genuinely prophets, but during their life or ministry they became flakey, mystical, and presumptuous? Ultimately this can be caused by pride, erroneous teachings, poor belief systems, lack of accountability to godly authority, scandals, worldly fame, greed for money or power, perversion, immorality, rejection, unforgiveness, and bad character. All of these, just to name a few, can cause a person to be stigmatized as a false prophet. A false prophet does not mean that a person was not originally a true prophet of God at one time but only signifies that their character identifies the god or deity they worship. In other words, you know a person by the fruit that they bear.
We must understand that there were prophets who did not serve God, but they were prophets of their own god. How you know a prophet of God is that what they say comes to pass by the authenticity of their words. My point here is that if God can use an animal to speak to a lying prophet, then God can use you as well to speak for Him.
I always wanted to know why God needed to use a donkey to speak to someone who was called a prophet. Were there an abundance of false prophets during the time of Balaam? Was there a short supply of true, genuine prophets to use? I believe that God put that in the Bible to demonstrate His sovereignty in choosing who He desires to use to speak for Him. By any means necessary—God used Balaam’s transportation, the donkey—God was going to speak a word Balaam.
Could you imagine hearing your family pet speaking prophetically to you? Most people would think it was demonic or from Satan. Imagine yourself driving in your car as you are heading to do something that you know God isn’t pleased with or just in plain rebellion. You set out to do something in your own willpower, and suddenly your car breaks down. Most people would, again, blame it on Satan.
Or imagine instead maybe you are doing something for God and have become very zealous in your pursuit. You think you were doing God a favor or helping Him out, and then your car breaks down or something hinders you. Again, most Christians would blame it on the enemy, when in actually it can be the warning signs of the Lord prohibiting you from doing something unlawful or self-righteous.
Paul, like Balaam, on his high horse of pride, zeal, haughtin
ess, and religious indignation, was persecuting the church with all that zeal and religious self-righteousness; he thought he was doing the Lord a favor, but he was breaking the heart of God (Acts 9:3–8). Paul needed to be the donkey (humbled, meek, walking in humility and lowly of spirit) to see from the heart of Christ Jesus who he was persecuting.
I cannot imagine my pet turtle or dog speaking prophetically, but in the days of Balaam it happened. Luckily, we have been made in His image and according to His likeness, and I don’t have to be a donkey or cat for God to use me to speak for Him.
The Holy Spirit is a prophetic spirit; therefore, we should be prophetic by nature, discovering our own prophetic voice. In the next few chapters I will be sharing on what prophecy is, how to discern true prophets and false prophets, prophetic desire, activating in the prophetic, how to discover your own prophetic voice, spiritual gifts, supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit, and many more keys that will help you discover your gifts, thereby encouraging you to walk in a greater level of the prophetic and deeper understanding that you were born to prophesy by the Holy Spirit!
24 New Spirit-Filled Life Bible ©2002 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., the Holy Bible, New King James Version ©1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. In the reference section on page 1714 of the Greek definition “theopneustos,” which literally means “God-Breathed.” See also Blue Letter Bible, s.v. “theopneustos,” www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G2315 (accessed June 4, 2013); s.v. “emphysao,” www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G1720&t=KJV (accessed June 4, 2013). “God breathed” taken from James White, “God-Breathed; Breathed Out By God; Theopneustos,” Alpha &Omega Ministries Apologetics Blog, January 3, 2006, https://aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=1193 (accessed July 10, 2013).
25 Larry Randolph, Spirit Talk (Wilmington, NC: Morningstar Publications, 2005), 72.
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