Today’s Prophets

When most people think of a prophet, they think of men like Jeremiah, Isaiah or Daniel.  Men who made predictions about the future, and their predictions became true.  I think we can all agree that these men were prophets of God, but are all prophets like this?

Many old testament prophets are never named in scriptures.  1 Samuel 19:20  says: “And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.”

Notice there is a company of prophets.  Samuel was not the only prophet in his time.  There were many prophets.  Prophets are simply people who hear from God and tell the people what God is saying.  They hear from God about what to do, when to do it, who should be going where and any other thing which God wants shared with His people.  It is not necessarily predictions about the future, although that can happen.  It is not necessarily words for just Christians, but possibly for non-believers as well.

I believe that God speaks to us all, but most of the time we are not listening.  If someone hears from God, and speaks what God has said, does that make them a prophet?  There is a difference between prophesying and being in the office of a prophet.

My wife once had to remove a broken gooseneck pipe under the kitchen sink and install a new one.  She did some plumbing that day.  Did that make her a plumber?  No.  The same is true for a prophet.  He does not just prophecy what God gives him, prophecy is the ministry which God has called him to.  The key is God, not the man.  The man is nothing special.  He is simply a frail, imperfect human who God calls to listen carefully to God and tell others what he hears.

In today’s world, we need these men and women to help encourage and direct us as to what God's heart is for us.  Where should we be looking to start a ministry or church?  Who should we be talking to about the love of Jesus?  Where should we be giving our money? There are countless questions out there in the world which we need God’s wisdom for.

Warning about prophets.  Do not listen to a prophet and go with what they say without other witnesses as to the truth of what they say.

1.  The prophet must be promoting the Lord God, Jesus.
2. The prophecy must always align with scripture and never counter any Biblical revelations from God.
3. Do other known and respected prophets agree? 1 Corinthians 14:32 “And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.”

Prophets are for today.  We need to hear from God to guide us in our everyday lives.  God cares about every detail of your life and wants to help you down the path of His plan for you.  God gave us prophets to help guide us.  Lets listen to them.

Blogs on other ministries:
Apostles
Evangelist
Pastor
Teachers

This post is based upon the book "Viral Jesus" by Ross Rohde 

Photo Credit: The Voice by Fr. Stephen, MSC