Is It Biblical to Demand a Prophet to Prophesy?
One of the most common complaints I hear in a person’s spiritual walk is that they don’t hear from God. They do hear from God; they just don’t recognize how easily they hear His voice. People often perceive the voice of the Lord as their own thoughts when it really is the Spirit of the Lord speaking to them (see my book Who is Speaking). Since we don’t recognize the voice of the Lord, we go looking for a word from a person. We are so desperate to hear from the Lord and get revelation and information for our life that we often seek out a prophet through a conference, internet or whatever means we can to connect with them.
I can’t even begin to count the number of phone calls, contact forms and emails I receive that demand a prophetic word. It isn’t a casual conversation or at an event where the Spirit of the Lord is present. It is people so desperate to hear from God that they put a demand on the prophet to perform and give them a word no matter where they are or what they are doing.
The Bible gives us a prime example of instructions for prophecy. “For no prophecy at any time was produced by the will of man, but holy men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Pet. 1:21). Prophets should only release the prophetic as moved or unctioned by the Holy Spirit. Prophecy that comes forth by the will of man can contain fleshly elements and false information. Have you ever stopped to consider when you put a demand on the prophet you might receive an inaccurate word? Prophets are still people and have emotional issues, spiritual strongholds and physical weaknesses. We truly don’t know their spiritual life and walk of a person unless we are living inside their soul experiencing what they do, and we know that is impossible.
The belief of putting a demand on the anointing can be dangerous. I believe that is why many people fall away from the Lord, and many pastors don’t embrace the prophetic. We put a demand on the anointing when the prophet isn’t in the anointing at that moment, we unknowingly receive a false prophetic word and then wonder why our prophetic words aren’t manifesting. The truth is we all have struggles, off days and days when we struggle spiritually. Often we put a prophet on a pedestal and think they are above all the petty things we experience and should be spot-on accurate at a moment’s notice, no matter what they are facing in their own lives.
Our first and foremost responsibility in receiving revelation and information is to go to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to give us direction and application for our lives. The Father, Son Jesus and Holy Spirit should be our first source. After we have read our Bibles, worshipped, prayed and still feel stuck, that is when we can consider seeking out wise counsel and prophetic direction. Notice I said “prophetic direction,” not a prophetic word. I mentor people internationally through K Development – Building Kingdom Strategies and Discipleship School. When people approach me and ask me for discernment, I usually receive the discernment from the Lord immediately upon them asking the question. However, I do not release it. Instead, I tell them to go and pray and seek the Lord. I invite them to come back to me after they have their answer from the Lord. I then use the prophetic revelation the Lord gave me when they originally asked the question as a confirmation to them or an instruction to press in more because there is more to the answer than they are receiving.
I ran from my prophetic calling for years. I had seen the prophetic used too many times as a sort of Christian fortunetelling. A prophet comes into town, and people will flock to an event to get a word. If we want the prophet to be pure in what they release, we need to be pure in what we are seeking. The prophetic must be cleaned up and brought to a place of purity and balance. The beautiful thing about Jesus dying on the cross is He left us a Helper, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and we can be in communication with Him anytime we want. It’s all we have to do is go to prayer, have faith and believe He speaks to us. Be empowered through great articles, devotions and declarations in Charisma Media’s “Life in the Spirit” series, which will propel you in your relationship and communication with the Holy Spirit. I’ve also written, Who Is Speaking ~ Discerning the Source Infiltrating your Thoughts with practical examples to test the source you hear from and whether it is the enemy, your flesh or God. {eoa}
Kathy DeGraw is a prophetic deliverance minister releasing the love and power of God, to ignite and activate people, release prophetic destinies and deliver people from the bondage of the enemy. She is the founder of Kathy DeGraw Ministries and Be Love Outreach. She is the author of several books, including Speak Out, Discerning and Destroying the Works of Satan, Identity Invasion, Who is Speaking? and Warfare Declarations. You can connect with Kathy on Facebook at facebook.com/kathydegraw or visit kathydegrawministries.org.
