PHINN

The gift of prophecy comes from the Holy Spirit, given at His discretion to any born-again and spirit-filled individual. The individual bestowed with this gift is usually one who is open and sensitive to the supernatural and, in particular, knows and acts upon the voice of God. This gift is one of the nine manifestations of the Holy Spirit, identified in 1 Corinthians 12, which may flow from a vessel for only a time or season; from a prophetic ministry, or the individual who occupies the office of the prophet.

Gaining insight

The Lord will always use a vessel that is honourable, one who seeks to focus on that which is good and upright, according to His principles and statutes, to aid His people in gaining insight and knowledge. However, "it is not by power or might but by His Spirit," that the giftings of the said Spirit are made evident.

In 1 Corinthians 14 v 12 & 26, Paul pointed out that "forasmuch as you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that you may excel to the edifying of the church. Let all things be done unto edifying." Edification is, however, not just for the believer or the church, but for the unbeliever likewise. The Lord gave the command to His disciples and is still commanding us today, "to go into all the nations, to preach the gospel, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," which suggests that all He represents, all that He does and continues to do, is for the sake of one and all.

When the gift of prophecy is newly discovered by a vessel chosen by God, considerable training, experience and development will be required, to move the individual in stages of the prophetic and ultimately, from the shallow end of basic prophecy. Nonetheless, it depends on the calling upon that life, and if prophetic ministry is within the Lord's preordained plan for such individual.

Once trained, disciplined and mentored and the use of the gift is profusely being coveted and used, and it is so preordained, then the individual is automatically 'pushed' in the direction of ministry rather than casually using the gift. It is at this point, according to Proverbs, that "a man's gift maketh room for him". It should therefore be noted that not all vessels who have been selected to give a word at a particular time, or have utilised the gift of prophecy, will be called to the prophetic ministry.

For the vessel who has been so selected by the Hand of the Lord, for the gift of prophecy to flow readily from a prophetic ministry, he/she must spend more time with the Creator, in meditation of the Word, prayer and fasting, speaking in tongues (heavenly language), and just waiting on God's timing and direction.

Divine revelation

Having a real intimate relationship with the Lord consistently is the base for divine revelation and the development of the gift. It is the accuracy and precision of the spoken word or the prophecy which makes a prophet a true man of God, "when all that he says, surely come to pass." (Ezekiel 33 v 33). When revelation comes, specifics are given to God's people founded upon general principles backed by Scriptures. In other words, the gift of prophecy being utilised at this level will supply fine detail to broad-brush strokes of the Scriptures, touching people's lives in a dynamic way.

Prophetic ministry, then, is concerned primarily with introducing God's perspective, releasing vision and calling and underpinning the enemy. It further puts attention on the majesty and supremacy of God. This vessel utilises more profoundly the Word of Wisdom and Word of Knowledge with the Gift of Prophecy, as against the vessel that is utilising the gift in one-off situations.