Recently the Lord put it on my heart to sit down and write out the role of Biblical prophetic ministry in 25 bullet point statements. This task was a big thing to get my arms around but I enjoyed the study and I believe it will really bless you. To see the massive role meant to be played by the prophetic in the Church and the complete void of that ministry in a general sense gives me reason to pray! I pray the Lord would once again raise up powerful prophetic voices in this hour to herald the testimony of Jesus and rally the church to fresh holiness. For those of you who are prophetic, this will greatly empower you to the mission that we have been called to. For those of you that don’t really consider yourself “prophetic” this list will help you to understand better where prophetic people are coming from when they operate in this precious gift.
1. To testify of Jesus Christ- Rev. 19:10, 1 Cor. 12:3, 1 John 4:2 Everything in the prophetic MUST lift up the name of Jesus! Anything that distracts, hinders, or denies the glorious name of Jesus is false prophecy and the spirit of the anti-Christ.
2. To reveal the suffering of the Crucified Savior- Isaiah 53, Jn. 12:37-41, 1 Cor. 2:1-5, Gal. 6:17, Col. 1:24 Revelation of the glorious Cross will always be a marker of the prophetic. The suffering of Christ is paramount to the way of the prophetic.
3. To weep for those who are lost & backslidden- Jer. 9:1-2, Lk. 19:41-44 The prophetic will always grieve over the lost sheep of Israel (the church). God’s mandate on the prophet is primarily to the Church and its restoration to holiness and passion for Jesus.
4. To continually exalt God’s glory- Isa. 6, 11:9, Ezek. 1-3, Psalm 72:19, Hab. 2:14 The end game of all we are and accomplish is His glory. The prophetic will always point our attention to His ultimate glory.
5. To be a voice to God’s rebuttal- Isa. 37:21-35, Exo. 7, 1 Sam. 12:18-19 When Pharaoh or Sennacherib rose up in pride against the Lord the prophetic was there to voice God’s thunderous response.
6. To speak Biblical truth in midst of deception- Micaiah in 1 Kings 22, Jeremiah 28 stands against Hananiah. There is a real anointing on the prophetic to bring clear truth in the midst of many voices. In the end, the fruit of the true prophetic will shine forth.
7. To direct the king in crisis- Elisha 2 Kings 6 Even as Elisha directed the king of Israel in matters of military intelligence so the prophetic will give supernatural insight to civil and governmental issues.
8. To confront the king of wrong- 1 Kings 17-18, 2 Sam. 12 Elijah confronted Ahab and Nathan confronted David over his affair with Bathsheba. The prophetic refuses to stay silent with either public or private sin, even at the risk of death!
9. To receive patterns of architecture- Exo. 25-31, 1 Chron. 28:11, Ezek. 40-44 Many times the Lord will reveal actual plans for building through the prophetic down to every minute detail.
10. To test the hearts of man- Jeremiah 6:27, Psalm 26:2; 139:23 The prophetic always cuts right through the confusion and deception of the mind and gets to the bottom of where the heart stands before God.

Stay tuned for the final 15. Coming soon!

Ezek. 3:18 “If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths.”
What does it mean to be prophetic? What makes something have that extra edge that distinguishes it as prophetic? Why do we need the prophetic and not just the pastoral? These are questions for a great book someone should write ☺ but I have a few thoughts today I’d like to share.
To start with, what gives me or anyone the platform to speak about the prophetic from a place of authority? Very simple, when spiritual authority has observed that particular gift of God and grace in operation on an individual and authenticated it by publicly stating and affirming that gift. Even though all are encouraged to “desire special abilities, especially the gift of prophecy” by Paul in 1 Cor. 14:1, there is no doubt that certain individuals possess a supernatural gifting in this arena and even sometimes function in the office of a prophet.
What are some of the attributes of a prophetic person? Well, obviously, they must love Jesus with all their heart to be qualified to speak about Him. He must be far more than Savior, He must be Lord! The prophetic is about obedience, which requires submission, which requires brokenness, which inevitably requires suffering. This suffering will forge the prophetic gift into a powerful tool for proclaiming the heart of our Lord Jesus. Is everyone who suffers prophetic? No, but everyone who is prophetic will endure the joys of suffering in order to bring purity and clarity to the proclaimed word of the Lord.
From Job to Jeremiah and all through the Word of God the prophetic is associated with 2 indelible marks, suffering and warning. These two characteristics are undeniable and yet, many want to be prophetic without a true understanding of the “fellowship of His suffering.” On the other hand, many reject the prophetic because of the discomfort its warning brings. The moving of the prophetic can be very powerful and sometimes people will glamorize it, but in reality the road of the prophetic is probably the hardest road to travel in regards to ministry gifts and expressions.
What is it about the prophetic that stirs up so much controversy? When the hearts of man become exposed in the light of a holy God there will always be reactions of anger and disdain. This is not the only reaction that comes for many hear the prophetic word and cry out to God for whatever alignment may be needed, but sadly, many do not and will not. The job of the prophet is not to force people into response but to provide people with the warning. When the enemy comes, the watchman is responsible to sound the alarm and once he has done that he has done his duty. He can’t come off the watchtower to convince everyone the enemy is really coming!
This brings me to my final point for today. How does a prophetic person get on the watchtower and know what to sound and when to sound the alarm? By being a person of His Presence! By spending time with the Lord day and night in order to hear His heart and know His voice. Samuel was an illustration of this. Before he began to prophecy he would sleep next to the Ark. This picture shows us that saturating in His glorious presence is the only pathway to knowing His voice.
If you feel the Lord has put a prophetic gift and calling on your life I encourage you today to run toward it with all your might! The road will surely be hard but the fruit will be eternal. There is no better place to be in any calling than perfect obedience to the Master. What a privilege to speak the heart of our Lord Jesus!
Rev. 19:10 “…Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.”