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Why are people today so quick to prophesy over their family, friends, and church groups? At an alarming rate, Christians are encouraged to prophesy over those they pray for.
“Don’t worry,” they say. “In the beginning you might get it wrong, but you’ll get the hang of it soon enough.”
But I wonder – did Samuel ever get it wrong? Did Elijah have to practice before he became accurate? Did Jonah think it might be a good idea to be a prophet, and so he “signed up” one day? Or did these men hear directly from God Himself?
This is where things become tricky. No one other than the person claiming to hear from God truly knows whether what they are saying is from God or not. But as the saying goes, “the proof is in the pudding.”
If someone prophesied that something would happen in 2020, and it never happened, can they simply say they “heard wrong” or “misunderstood”? No! Scripture treats prophecy with far greater seriousness than that. A person either speaks on behalf of God, or they do not. If they got it wrong, that person is a false prophet. Simple as that.
God knows exactly what He wants to say. He is not confused about His own message.
With so much deception in the world today, this is worth thinking about carefully:
There are many people today serving in what is called “the office of a prophet.” There are also countless independent prophets online. Some belong to churches, while others operate entirely on their own. Even more concerning to me is the rise of prophetic schools, places where people are taught how to become prophets and how to prophesy. I do not believe God needs our help to train someone to speak on His behalf. We are mere humans. How can a human teach another human to prophecy?
So today, I realized what the problem is. It just clicked. Maybe you have noticed it too, or maybe you will realize this now…
Churches and training institutions are teaching people to prophesy as a way of encouraging others. The intention may be sincere, to uplift, strengthen, and comfort people. But somewhere along the way, encouragement and prophecy began to merge into the same thing.
People are taught to “just go for it.” Speak over someone while praying and trust that the Holy Spirit will guide your words. Can this happen? Of course! If God could speak through a donkey, He can most certainly speak through you. Is He unsure of what He would like to say? Never!
Many modern prophetic expressions sound like:
“I feel like the Lord is saying…”
“I sense that God may be showing me…”
“Maybe this means…”
Yet when we look at the prophets in Scripture, we see something very different. What they had to do or say, didn’t always make sense to them. Oftentimes, they didn’t even want to say what God told them to say. They carried the burden of God’s words with fear, trembling, and deep accountability.
Today, however, prophesying has become a popular thing. There is certainly no fear, trembling or accountability. It is simply casual prayer and declaration.
Someone shared a story of how they began praying and prophesying over a group of young children.
That wording caught my attention.
Why not simply pray a blessing over them? Why not pray Scripture over them? Why call it prophesy?
And this is the reason: the church today associates encouragement with prophecy.
The two are not the same thing!
Dear Church — please note — biblical prophecy may encourage, correct, warn, comfort, or call people to repentance, because we are encouraged to turn away from sin and draw near to God. Therefore, prophecy will always encourage, but encouragement is not always prophesy!
Did you catch that? Let me say that again…
Prophesy will always encourage, but encouragement is not always prophecy!
So let’s do away with this ridiculous notion of “just keep trying to prophesy, until you get it right.” Stop trying to copy cat God’s authenticity!
In Scripture, calling always preceded function. People did not simply decide, “I want to become a prophet.” Rather, God interrupted their lives. He chose them, burdened them, and sent them, often against their own will.
Certainly, we can teach on discernment, wisdom, humility, bible literacy and how to test spiritual impressions, although I personally believe discernment and wisdom comes from God.
I would argue that we cannot manufacture divine commissioning, prophetic authority and genuine revelation. Those things belong to God alone.
I am not saying there are no prophets today. God can speak however He chooses and through whomever He chooses.
Rather, I think the problem is all the self-proclaimed prophets in the world today, and those who believe all of us should prophesy any time we’d like.
When God speaks – let Him speak. When He is silent – don’t put words in His mouth!
That’s it.
Continue to encourage one another with prayers of blessing and praying scripture over each other’s lives. But we should also carefully consider the weight our words can carry when we call something “prophecy.” Even well-meaning words, if presented as divine direction, can influence people to make life-altering decisions that God may never have intended for them to make.
When someone prophesies over your life, you must test the word to determine whether it came from God or from man.
1 Thess 5:20-21 (NKJV): Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good.
People uproot their lives because of someone’s “prophetic word.” Someone may marry an abuser because of a “prophetic word.” Young people may redirect their careers, ministries, or futures based on a “prophetic word.” Others may even abandon their families, believing they are following the voice of God.
Keep in mind that some prophecies can only be tested over time. Not every word is for the present moment. So, if you casually prophesy over a teenager or young person that they will become a highly successful businessman, and many years later nothing comes of it, it can negatively impact their faith.
That is why this matters so deeply. Encouragement is powerful and necessary — but we must be careful not to attach God’s authority to our own assumptions, impressions, emotions, or desires.
I hope this helps someone today!
