May of us have experienced disappointments with those who give prophecies. We know that Scripture gives high honor to prophecy. When someone prophesies this means they are speaking words from God. This reflects God’s desire to communicate with his children and give them encouragement and instruction (1 Cor. 14:31). God values prophecy and instructs us to “be eager to prophesy” (1 Cor. 14:39 ESV).
In practice it is common to find many problems with the exercise of the gift of prophecy. The one receiving the prophecy often adds their own interpretation when they express it which damages what God is trying to say. Also, in their zeal to be supportive of prophecy many leaders do not apply the principles of discernment which leads to “prophets” giving advice about others’ futures which ends up taking people down wrong roads.
When it comes to giving advice for the future or predicting specific future events it is rare to find someone whose prophecies are consistently correct. My observations of nationally-known prophetic leaders has not been encouraging. Leaders develop a reputation for predicting the future even though only some of the their predictions come true, and many if not all of the ones that came “true” were so vague that it was inevitable that could eventually claim that they made an accurate prediction. The predictions of prophets should be carefully recorded then examined as to their accuracy, but this kind of accountability is practically never applied. In my experience it is the quiet unassuming prophecy for an individual life that is more likely to be a helpful word from God.
“The lack of accountability and discernment by leaders often results in more damage than blessing for the people of God. People change the plans for their life based on someone’s prophecy even though there is no substantial evidence that that person is reliable.”
The lack of accountability and discernment by leaders often results in more damage than blessing for the people of God. People change the plans for their life based on someone’s prophecy even though there is no substantial evidence that that person is reliable. Congregations get caught up in pursuing predictive prophecy and lose their focus on becoming like Christ. Instead, if there is no consistent verification of specific predictions from someone they should not be given the reputation of being a reliable predictor or guide for the future. If you receive a prophecy about your future from someone remember to hold it lightly and understand that they could be wrong. Also, the higher the impact of the prophecy the more important it is that there be one or more objective confirmations of the prophecy along the way.
Accountability and discernment are necessary in order for a congregation to exercise any of the spiritual gifts in a godly way. This is usually an unpleasant task for a pastor and so it is often avoided. Instead, pastors must be determined to please God first instead of people and do the right thing. God gave them the responsibility to protect his flock and this must come first by applying accountability and discernment to those who are exercising spiritual gifts. After someone speaks a prophecy “let the others pass judgment” (1 Cor. 14:29 NASB). The Greek word for “judgment” in this verse is diakrino which also means discernment. The reason discernment is required is that it is easy for people to make mistakes. Sometimes one innocently confuses their own thoughts or desires for God’s. Sometimes false prophets will give prophecies. Sometimes Satan influences prophecies through deception.
The key to edifying prophecy is to establish an atmosphere where it is okay to be wrong and people are not shamed when others judge their prophecy to be off base. Prophets must be willing to accept the fact that they can be mistaken and accept a negative judgment from their pastor. This atmosphere is grounded in humility and a desire to please God first. Then discernment can be carefully and rationally applied.
Prophecy can be a very helpful gift for believers and I have personally benefited from prophecies. People should be given space to develop their prophetic gift. We just need to remember to pursue honesty before God above all else.
