GUIDELINES FOR PERSONAL PROPHECY
I. DEFINING PROPHETIC MINISTRY
"… For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”" (Revelation 19:10, NIV)
A. Prophecy is the testimony of Jesus (the thoughts on his heart) being communicated to us by the Holy Spirit.
B. Prophecy takes place when God communicates thoughts to our mind (revelation) and we share those thoughts with
others.
C. Most prophecy contains a mixture of our words with God’s words. The revelation that God gives us is always 100%
true, however, it is filtered through human communication and perspective, so that by the time it is given through us it
contains a percentage of our words as well as God’s. We can learn how to share prophetic words more clearly as we
mature in our gifting. A mature word will have a higher percentage of God’s words; a weak word will have a higher
percentage of our words.
II. LEVELS OF PROPHESYING
A. Simple Prophecy: Any believer can do this type of prophecy. Not all believers who prophesy are prophets
(I Corinthians 12:29), but all can prophesy. This session has mostly to do with training at this level of prophetic ministry.
Simple prophecy usually takes place one on one, in small group settings, or given individually during ministry times and
not in a public setting.
B. Prophetic Gifting/Ministry: One who has a prophetic gifting/ministry that is recognized for ministering in the church
regularly. The person will have dreams and visions regularly, and will often have encounters (angelic visitations, etc.), will
often prophetically get detailed information (names, dates, places, etc.), and sometimes be used in other areas of gifting
as well, such as healing and deliverance. The person regularly receives unusual amounts of revelation but is still being
trained in their gifting.
C. Office of Prophet: Only believers who function as Old Testament prophets are those who have the office of a
prophet. They have a regular flow of revelation, including open visions, predicting natural events, and sometimes having
words confirmed with supernatural signs. A prophet must have a proven ministry (not only in level of gifting, but in fruit,
character, and wisdom), which could take years, and must have a consistent track record of great accuracy before they
should be recognized by the church as a prophet. A prophet also must be under the authority of the church.
III. OLD TESTAMENT AND NEW TESTAMENT PROPHECY
A. Old Testament prophets prophesied by direct revelation. In the New Testament, we learn to prophesy by faith. Our
words have mixture, but we can grow and mature in our prophetic gift.
"We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in
proportion to his faith." (Romans 12:6, NIV)
B. In the Old Testament, prophets had to be 100% accurate, or be stoned to death. In the New Testament, since
prophecy works by the Holy Spirit within us communicating to our thoughts and then filtering through our mode of
communication, we are not demanded to have 100% accuracy. Instead, we are taught to judge prophetic words.
“Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said."
(1 Corinthians 14:29, NIV)
C. Only a few were considered prophets in the O/T, while in the N/T, many can prophesy because of the Holy Spirit
being poured out on us.
IV. THE PURPOSE OF PROPHECY
A. The purpose of New Testament prophecy is to edify and comfort believers, drawing them to Jesus. It should also
confirm what God has already spoken to one’s heart.
"But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort."
(1 Corinthians 14:3, NIV)
B. Prophecy is also meant to build up the Body of Christ and to equip the church into fullness.
"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be
pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built
up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining
to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-13, NIV)
C. A very common paradigm regarding the purpose of prophecy is that its primary purpose is to rebuke and correct
people and call them to repentance. This comes from the perception that the Old Testament prophets mostly spoke about
God’s judgment and anger, and the parts about God’s mercy, love, tenderness, and desire for restoration and fulfillment
of promises in O/T Scripture are forgotten. God has always and still desires mercy over judgment. His kindness leads to repentance,
thus His kindness revealed through edifying prophetic words will also lead to repentance. (I Corinthians 14:24)
V. OUR PARADIGM OF GOD’S HEART
A. The way we see God and the way we think He sees us affects how we see others. This will impact the way we prophesy.
We need to understand and know what God is really like and have a right paradigm of His emotions in
order for us to truly understand how He sees others.
"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." (1 John 4:8, NIV)
B. God is full of pleasure and is mostly glad, not mostly sad, angry or disappointed. We will give negative prophecy
if we mostly believe that God is disappointed in us. We must understand that God is a God who delights in us so that we
may prophesy accordingly to others.
"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with
his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”" (Zephaniah 3:17, NIV)
"… for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married. As a young man marries a maiden, so
will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you."
(Isaiah 62:4-5, NIV)
VI. CHARACTER
Gifting doesn’t equal character, and anointing doesn’t equal maturity. Just because someone is gifted doesn’t mean that
God is endorsing every area of their life or their ministry style. Character is much more important to the Lord than gifting.
“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own
fruit…." (Luke 6:43-44, NIV)
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23, NIV)
VII. THE PROCESS OF PROPHECY: REVELATION, INTERPRETATION, APPLICATION
"For we know in part and we prophesy in part," (1 Corinthians 13:9, NIV)
A. Revelation is the divine information you receive from the Lord. It comes in many ways, including impressions,
thoughts, feelings, dreams, visions, pictures, inner audible voice, etc.
B. Interpretation is gaining understanding of God’s perspective of the revelation. Interpretation comes from the Lord,
not from our own reasoning or ‘figuring out’. This is where many often miss it in giving a prophetic word. The revelation
might be correct, but their interpretation might be completely other than what God was really saying.
“Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”" (Genesis 40:8, NIV)
C. Application regards how to apply a prophetic word once it’s been interpreted. It’s what you do with it. Here are some questions
to ask: Who do we tell? How much of it do we tell? When do we tell it? Is it corporate or personal? Do we tell it
or is it meant for prayer? The point is to use wisdom in applying the word in a way which will bring about the most
effective edification.
VIII. DELIVERING A PROPHETIC WORD
We have guidelines for the prophecy teams to follow regarding how to give prophetic words in a way that is most edifying.
We want our words and our actions (the way we share) to be edifying. Keep in mind that we are speaking of simple
prophecy here, and that exceptions will follow those who have recognized prophetic ministries or have the office of a
prophet.
A. Positive, friendly prophecy is a vital component to edification. It’s not just our words, but our compassion,
gentleness and submission that are effective in prophetic ministry. We want those ministered to to feel drawn to the
Lord by how we share. Positive prophecy avoids pointing out anything negative (sin, past) and focuses instead on
building others up.
B. Dial down and be yourself. Prophecy doesn’t require hype. Be naturally supernatural. Give only what you got. It’s
tempting to embellish our words if we feel they will sound too simple. If we embellish our words or get into counseling, we
will end up being ‘soulish’ instead of being in line with what the Spirit’s doing.
C. We also have guidelines concerning things to avoid while doing prophetic ministry. This includes prophesying
about negative things (sin, the past, correcting, rebuking). Again, the prophetic is for “strengthening, encouragement,
and comfort”. This the measuring line for how to share prophetic words.
D. Another thing to avoid is predicting specific detailed information or giving specific direction (dates, time frames,
marriages, children, death, life, moving, jobs, etc., or basically, telling people what to do.) The reason why, as we said
before, is because of the mixture of accuracy in our prophetic words. Because of the way prophecy works, we can
‘miss it’ and give an incorrect prophecy because of our lack of discernment or maturity. You should never act on a
prophetic word; a word should only confirm what the Lord has already spoken to your own heart.
E. Because we can ‘miss it’, it is also wise to not use the words “thus saith the Lord”. It’s much easier and safer and
wiser to say you ‘sense’ or ‘feel’ something from the Lord and to give the word humbly than it is to bind someone to your
word by being overconfident that it was from the Lord.
IX. DEVELOPING YOUR GIFT
A. We can mature and grow in the prophetic as we learn by experience. Every time we prophesy, we are stepping
out in faith and taking a risk. Here we learn to differentiate between mistakes and sin. If we take a risk and miss it, it’s
only a mistake, not a wrongdoing. It only becomes wrongdoing if we are unwilling to be corrected and taught, as well as
to take responsibility for our mistakes. It’s best to learn from our mistakes so that we can grow in wisdom.
B. Practicing and training in the prophetic in a safe place (like a home group setting) is a great way to develop the
gift of prophecy, especially if you, as a leader, desire to embrace the prophetic in your church. Part of the responsibility
of pursuing the prophetic is the willingness to work with people who are still immature in the way they administrate their
gifting (to be patient with the teachable) and frank with the less teachable, and also to clean up any messes made while
pursuing growing in the prophetic.