“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.” 1 Corinthians 13:9
The Danger Lies Not In the Prophecies You Do Not Understand, Rather in the Ones That You Think You Do But Actually Don’t
One role of a prophet is to discern what God is saying to His people amount what He is doing in the earth. Comically, sometimes what they discern and release requires a good amount of discernment and interpretation as well. There have been many prophetic words that I’ve received or heard where both the prophet and myself scratch our heads not really having a clear picture in the moment of what it means. Those are times when we have to dig deeper and seek the Holy Spirit to illuminate the meaning to us. It’s common sense to do this when prophetic words don’t make sense. However the danger lies when we don’t default to this because the prophecy we hear or receive seems so clear and unmistakable that we feel we already know all we need to know about it.
For example, you could receive a prophetic word that seems to fit point for point the family situation that you are having to deal with right now. This can cause us to immediately and without thinking, apply it to the situation that it seems most logically lines up with it. However it could actually apply to a season that is yet to happen. Or it could not relate to your family situation at all but be fore someone else’s family situation that you will be able to help with. It is important to not take for granted our own natural ability to discern a prophetic word and avoid leaning on the illumination of the Holy Spirit to help us properly understand and apply it.
Prophets Can Fall For This Too
Prophets fall into this pitfall too. Sometimes when we receive revelation it can feel like we are strapped into a fully immersive experience. Things seem so clear, so charged, so alive that it feels like we are living the reality of the prophetic word in real time. This is amazing, however this can mislead a prophet into feeling that they know with absolute certainty what it is that God is saying.
We Are All Given a Piece, But Rarely the Whole
The key to help keep us safe from this pitfall and trap can be found in 1 Corinthians which was quoted at the beginning of this post. Our understanding of what God is saying even through prophecy is only partial. Our natural understanding and even our spiritual understanding is only a piece of the full pie of understanding what God is saying. In other words, no one person is going to have the entire interpretation. We must lean on the Holy Spirit to help us fully understand.
I feel this is very important to go over during this very charged season of corporate, national and worldwide prophetic words that are being released by prophets from all over the globe.
In a time where hundreds and thousands of prophetic words are being released every single month, it is important that we take the time to seek God and properly discern and interpret what He is saying personally through His prophets for ourselves.
We cannot farm out this important part of our prophetic life to others, even if they are prophets. The reason for this is that ultimately, we alone are responsible for how we walk out this prophetic word in our personal lives. The excuse, “well, prophet XYZ didn’t explain or interpret it the right way for me, that’s why I didn’t carry it out correctly” is not going to be valid when we account for how we steward the words of God.
Do not allow how specific a prophetic word appears to be, prevent you from discerning for yourself what God is saying in the midst of it and also how it is to apply to you. Again, prophets are not infallible and they only see in part, it’s up to us to lean on the Holy Spirit to illuminate our part of the pie to us.
Keys to Interpreting Corporate, Worldwide or National Prophetic Words
We will discuss keys for personal prophetic words in the future but I want to give you a few important questions you need to ask the Holy Spirit when you come across prophetic words on social media, email and on television that are meant to address large groups of people that you relate to. For example, there are a lot of prophecies that have and continue to go out regarding the election in the United States. Another example are those words that start out like, “I feel that the Body of Christ needs to…” or something along those lines.
These will help keep you from being overwhelmed by all these prophetic words, confused by them and also help you be able to understand how they are to apply to you personally. The key to hearing from God is your ability to step out and faith and hear Him. So when you ask God these questions, step out in faith and be ready to write down what He tells you even if it does not make sense initially. Take note of it, pray on it and watch God expand the answer in your spirit and into your understanding.
Question #1: Is this a prophetic word I should be paying attention to RIGHT now?
if the answer is no, then go ahead and file it away. Don’t let it take up any more current headspace.
if the answer is yes, then move on to question #2.
Question #2: What portions of this prophetic word are You highlighting for me to pay attention to?
often times there are only portions of this corporate word that God is applying to you
take what He highlights and separate them out from the rest of it. It’s not that the rest couldn’t apply later on, but we are trying focus on the first things first.
Question #3: How do these portions apply to me? What are you saying about these sections to me?
allow God to show you what He is saying personally to you out of these portions.
also, if the word is speaking about things that are to come to pass or take place, allow Him to speak to you about the timing of these things.
Question #4: What do you want me to do with this revelation?
our responsibility to act on what God is saying is very important. Equally important is that we act in the right way.
sometimes God shows us these things simply to pray about them. Other times there are specific actions that He wants us to take regarding them.
This will give convert a prophetic word into a tangible action plan for you. Now instead of having a mountain or prophetic words, you now have a Holy Spirit-inspired strategy on how to move forward.
Hopefully these four questions will help you be able to filter though the deluge of prophetic words that are out there and also spark a deeper dialogue with God. Sometimes we can get overloaded with all of the words coming into our lives that we find ourselves being pulled in a thousand different directions. My heart is that this will help you pierce through the overload and uncover the main core of what God is saying for you personally in the midst of these prophetic words.
A thousand prophetic words spoken is good, however one single prophetic word, paired with strategic, God-inspired action is often much more impactful. As we know in part and prophesy in part, we need to remember that our main focus should be doing our part. It is God that is going to be responsible to carry out the whole.
