These training points are for Prophets: People called by the Lord Jesus Christ to be His prophetic voice in the earth in our day. These are not points for people who want to learn how to hear the voice of God or flow in the gifts of prophecy. That is a part of training to be a Prophet but frankly, it is the easiest part.
Actually, the Scripture is clear that all sons and daughters of God will prophesy so, everybody in the Body of Christ should be hearing God and flowing in simple prophecy. (See Acts 2, quoting Joel 2.) Most prophetic teaching in the Church today is about the spiritual gifts of Prophecy in Romans 12 or 1 Corinthians 12. People flowing in these gifts can stand up in front of the church and give prophetic words to the church or to people in the prayer line. There is nothing wrong with that. But this is NOT the picture of a spiritually mature Prophet of God and that’s not what I am talking about in these Prophetic Training Points.
"i Appointed you as a Prophet to the nations." - Jeremiah 1:5
If you are the type of Prophet I am speaking about, you are already hearing God, seeing visions, dreaming dreams, and noticing God’s hand in everything you see, hear, experience and even the numbers of the time on the clock. Sometimes, it seems like you cannot turn the revelations off and then all of a sudden you stop hearing God for about five minutes and you freak out that you may have done something wrong. You see and are grieved by the wickedness and sin in this world but nobody seems to care or want to listen to you when all you are trying to do is save their soul from disaster. You have a burning inside your spirit which compels you to share the revelation God gives you with others and it often results in people looking at you like you have six heads on your shoulders and need to consult a psychiatrist.
You do not need a doctor. You are not a freak – you are a GIFT. According to Ephesians 4:7 and 4:11, Christ gave gifts to all of us for the building up of the Church. You are one of these gifts. It is not your revelations, or songs, or warnings, or prophetic words that are the gifts – the gift is YOU! You are called by God to give deep, personal prophecy to the people of God; to intercede and be a warrior for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven; to bring healing and deliverance which sets captives free; to declare God’s word to His people and to the nations; to see visions and dream dreams and interpret them for others; to be a watchman on the walls looking out for enemies and discerning the times; and even to raise up other prophets to be a voice of God in the earth so that the Bride of Christ can be made holy and spotless for Her King! Hallelujah
A Spokesman for the Lord
But before you start getting too excited about that, if you are truly called to be a Prophet for the Lord then, He is going to require the death to your flesh. Yes, you will go through a glorious phase of initial confirmation when you see, hear, dream dreams, and are in awe of all the many ways that God is speaking to you, guiding you in all things, and communicating through every circumstance you encounter. But sooner or later, the rubber will meet the road. Things will not go as smoothly as you want, your friends and family might turn on you, you get rejected for the 1,000th time and can’t take it anymore, bitterness and anger rise up in you when people don’t see as you see and do what you say, etc. etc. etc. This is when the real training begins.
Will you take up your cross and put to death the things which hinder your walk with the Lord? If you want to flow in a powerful prophetic anointing with deep revelation of what God is doing in people’s lives and in this world then you need to change. Yes you.
But you say, “I thought you said I am a gift.” Yes, you are. But that gift is also a bit of a mess right now and God wants to clean it up so that His word can be delivered through a vessel which has been cleansed, purified by fire, and has become useful for every good work. You need to take the plank out of your eye so you can be useful to God and helpful to others. You need to put your flesh to death and be renewed in your mind, your will, and your emotions to see things as God sees them and to speak the way that He speaks.
Jesus is our plum line and our example of New Covenant prophetic ministry. What He did and how He did it is what He calls His Prophets to do and even greater.
Discernment of Good & Evil
Unfortunately, this opens up another aspect of prophetic training. You see, other prophetic teaching in the Church today could be referred to as the direct descendants of the ministries of Balaam, Jezebel, prophets of Baal, or the divination and witchcraft we see throughout the Bible. It just may not be as easy to discern these accurately in our own times because it is done in the name of the Lord by people (well-meaning as they may be) claiming to “flow in the spirit” while attempting to manipulate outcomes according to their own desires or their own perceptions of God and His will. Lord have mercy. Actually, God has a lot to say about this in His Word and we will cover some of these things so that they can be avoided.
Being a prophet is not just about hearing God and speaking His word. It is not only about doing the right things in the right Spirit but also about not engaging in the wrong things or with wrong spirits. It is all about Jesus and becoming like Him in every way which includes relinquishing our own desires, demands, and agendas in order to live entirely for Him and His Kingdom and His glory.
The Journey to Prophetic Maturity
So… are you a Prophet? Are you ready to be equipped on the journey towards prophetic maturity? It will cost you everything you have and some things that you don’t even know you have to give yet. If you want to continue giving prophetic words to the prayer line at your church, there is nothing wrong with that. I don’t even blame you – it’s a good gig. But if you want to move in the power of God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit to release clear words from the Lord which have been purified seven times like silver and are unpolluted by flesh and wrong spirits then…
- You are the Gift - Hearing God (for yourself) - Death to Self - Prophetic Ministry (to others) - Prophetic Warfare - Eliminating Erroneous Practices - Testing the Prophetic Word
