Seven Ways To Respond To A Prophetic Word
Early on in my ministry, I received multiple prophetic words regarding my calling and assignment to plant churches. The first one I received was from my father-in-law. He began by quoting Isaiah 54:2-3. “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess the nations and settle in their desolate cities.”
He then declared that God was calling me to dream a bigger dream and that He had assigned me to the communities that surrounded me; the spiritually desolate towns in my region. I received the word, but honestly, I didn't know what to do with it. How could I know if it was correct and accurate? How exactly was I supposed to proceed with that word? What if I failed in attempting to do so? I had so many questions.
I believe that prophetic ministry is still valid for today. When properly applied, the words given to us can be transformative. When misapplied, the consequences can be disastrous. Here are seven ways to manage a prophetic word you have received:
TEST IT!
“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good…” 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22
There are two extremes that can be dangerous. One is to disregard the prophetic and to treat it with contempt. The other is to receive everything we hear as if it was from God, without proper testing. So, how do you test a word you have received? Here are a few questions to help with the discernment process:
Does this prophecy align with Scripture?
Is this a confirmation; something that I was already sensing from the Holy Spirit?
What do my pastors and spiritual leaders think about the word? Does it resonate with them?
Is there an aspect of it that feels correct? Is there a portion of it that does not?
We need to grab hold, in faith, of the prophetic words that pass the test, while rejecting the ones that do not.
PONDER IT!
When prophetic words were spoken over Jesus as a baby, Luke 2:19 tells us that “...Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Another translation tells us that she "thought about them often." What was spoken over Jesus' future was difficult to fully understand, so Mary meditated on these words and waited on God for a more complete understanding.
We, too, may not fully understand a prophetic word we receive. We need to pour over it, meditate on it and then allow the Holy Spirit to gradually illuminate it to us. We then look for additional words or Scriptures to confirm what we have heard and to bring further clarity.
PRAY IT!
Once we have tested the prophetic word, we activate it through prayer. Sometimes our prayers can sound like we are pleading with God, rather than approaching Him with confident assurance that He is working on our behalf. Since prophetic words are glimpses into the plans and purposes of God, I personally turn prophetic words that I receive into prayer declarations.
For instance, I started to pray declarations based on Isaiah 54. “God, I choose to enlarge my vision and prepare my capacity for the larger work that God has called me to do in Jesus’ name. I agree that God wants Allison Park Church to lengthen our reach and strengthen our strategy. We will do this by planting churches in the spiritually desolate regions in our city. We declare that God will use us to dispossess the powers of darkness in these communities. That which belonged to the kingdom of darkness, will now be saved and brought into the Kingdom of God. And our descendants will plant churches and settle in these desolate places.”
ACT ON IT!
Next, we must take some action steps. With the Isaiah 54 word from my father in law, I began to step out in faith:
I announced the vision to the church.
We made strategic plans in our board meeting.
We prepared our budget for what was to come.
We ran demographic studies about which cities in our surrounding area needed a church.
We approached one of our staff members about planting.
Our word to plant a church eventually became a goal to plant five churches in five years, but we had to start with the first one. It didn't all happen at once. It happened one step of obedience at a time.
INVEST IN IT!
Too often when people receive a word, they test it and pray about it but they never put themselves out there to give it their time, energy, and money. Alignment with a prophetic word often comes with a cost! We actually sow into the word by what we put into the process. Every risk we take, effort we make and every dollar we sow is like seed sown in an eventual harvest.
If the God of the universe has spoken a word over you, you show your faith by what you are willing to invest. Without action, the prophetic word can remain dormant. Your investment often activates the word.
REST IN IT!
Often, our first steps of faith are met with what seems like silence. Remember that God speaks to us prophetically to sustain our faith in the midst of seasons of silence and darkness when we are tempted to become weary and afraid. These are the times when we have to let our spirits rest in the fact that God will be faithful to do everything He has promised. He is not a man that He should lie. When He calls you, He does so not because you are capable on your own. He calls you because He wants to partner with you and use you to show His grace, power and glory!
CELEBRATE IT!
Finally, when we see the first small signs that God is bringing the word to pass, take the time to celebrate like crazy.
This was the instruction given by Zechariah 4:10: “Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel.” When only the foundation had been laid, God instructed the people to worship in faith like the full building had already been built.
Don’t wait until the total fulfillment of the word to begin to celebrate the early sign that God is at work in your life and ministry!