Prophetic Protocol

With his reply, my friend did not lie or violate God’s confidence. Instead, he responded as Jesus often did—by answering a question with a question.

From God’s perspective, everything has a proper time or cycle. Though God may reveal future events or the answer to a problem to a prophetic person, He may not release the person to share the information at that time. We must walk in the spirit of wisdom and discern the proper times and seasons.

God, who does know all, has granted to us as prophetic people a sliver of revelation. Therefore, we do not need to appear as prophetic know-it-alls. We do not always have to have “the” answer to a question or issue that is posed to us.

In fact, one sign of spiritual immaturity is attempting to answer everything that is asked of us. Remember, “even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive” (Prov. 17:28). Usually, it is insecurity and a need for recognition that cause a person with a prophetic gift to respond prematurely and with presumption.

Prophetic Tips

I’ve learned a few lessons in my last 20 years of prophetic ministry. Here are some tips to help you avoid mistakes:

* Don’t allow another person’s insistence and impatience to force you to produce revelation. If you do, you will be offering the person your soulish speculation or personal opinion.

* Don’t allow yourself to feel pressured into telling others everything you know about an issue. Be sensitive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. You must believe God will promote you and raise you up, if that is His purpose for you.

* Don’t spend time seeking God for an answer to another person’s dilemma unless he has spent more time in prayer concerning the issue than you have. Another person will value what you have to say only if he has exhausted his own strength.

* Don’t feel obligated to generate a prophetic answer for every question posed to you. You are not God. You know only as much as He tells you. Furthermore, you were not given a revelatory gift to be a “prophetic 7-Eleven convenience store.” We are all called to know God and to listen to His voice.

* Don’t be compelled to give a direct answer. In your dialogue with others, practice asking questions rather than making statements.

This exercise of restraint will develop your listening skills and cultivate the fruit of patience. It will also help foster humility in your soul. In this way, you will practice allowing your spirit to rule over your soul.

As time goes on, psychics and occult practitioners will become more visible. Increased instability in our country will create an increased demand to know what lies ahead. Consequently, people will look either to the occult or to God for answers.

We need to be careful not to look to prophetic individuals as non-Christians would look to psychics and astrologers. Remember, God is faithful to tell us what He wants us to know. We simply need to seek His face and listen to Him.

As the church, we need to listen to God individually and corporately. This is not to say we don’t need prophetic gifts. I am convinced there will come a day when the “prophets of God” will openly challenge the “prophets of Satan,” much as Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal (see 1 Kin. 18:1-40).

In fact, I believe the highest use of the prophetic gifts is outside the walls of the church. I am expecting prophetic evangelism to flourish in the near future as never before. When it does, God will pour out His power in unprecedented measure.

I look forward with you to that glorious day!

John Paul Jackson is the founder of Streams Ministries International, a prophetic teaching ministry headquartered in North Sutton, New Hampshire. A popular teacher and conference speaker, Jackson travels around the world teaching on the art of hearing God, on dreams and visions, and on the realm of the supernatural. He is the author of several books, including Moments With God Dream Journal and Unmasking the Jezebel Spirit, both from Streams Ministries.