Prophetic Words

[Click here to read Prophetic Words I’ve shared]

I love all the revelatory ways of God. He is so multicolored and multidimensional in how He communicates with us to reveal His nature and His will. There is something about a prophetic or revelatory word that connects with our innermost being and has the ability to move us forward in greater confidence and a greater degree of faith. Because it is deep calling unto deep. Spirit breathing life upon our spirit. Words from heaven that open our eyes and empower us to see on earth as it already is in heaven.

God wants to make Himself known to us. He wants to reveal Himself, His nature. He wants us to know what He is actively doing, and what He desires for our lives, for our children’s lives, for the generations to come, and for the world around us. But the challenge is that many times we don’t know how to hear what He is saying or perceive what He is doing. But the truth is that we all have been given the ability to know Him intimately this way. We must simply learn to exercise our spiritual senses (Hebrews 5:12-14) so that we become more in tune with His voice, with His presence, and with His ways. The more we grow in our relationship with Him, the more we come to recognize Him and can spot His activity.

So what is a prophetic word? Prophecies can be both – predictive or foretelling in nature – revealing something not yet known about the future. But they can also be interpretive, translating and/or revealing the will, the nature and/or the counsel of God for the now. This is why I often like to refer to the prophetic as the revelatory realm. Because simply put, it is God revealing something that He has known all along, but that He is making visible and known to us for the first time.

How does the prophetic operate? There are many prophetic voices in the body of Christ and many ways in which the prophetic is actualized today. In no particular order, there are first those who have been commissioned as Prophets (See Ephesians 4:7-16). These men and women have been given as gifts by Jesus Christ to the Church to nurture, equip, build up and serve His body. Secondly, in addition to the Prophets, the Word of God also says that all believers can prophesy (1 Corinthians 14:31). This is a New Testament byproduct of God’s children being filled with His Holy Spirit. It is the believer, enabled and empowered by the Holy Spirit (somewhat spontaneously) to operate in the gift of prophecy (1 Corinthians 12:7-11) to speak what heaven is saying. Again, this can be to reveal something for the moment or something regarding the future. Thirdly, there is a prophetic gift given to some that is often referred to as one of the “creation gifts” (Romans 12:3-8). Meaning God the Father specifically wired certain people and enabled them to view all of life with ongoing prophetic insight. This is more of an inherent tendency that characterizes the person overall.

So, as you can see, whether it comes from enablement of the Father, through one of the creation gifts, or whether it comes through commission by the Son, through one of the ascension gifts, or whether it comes through empowerment of the Holy Spirit, through the gifts of the Spirit, the prophetic is a gift – and it is a very normal byproduct of being in relationship with God. It is not given as a medal of accomplishment, spiritual hierarchy or favoritism. It is God-given enablement used to serve one another to the glory of God.

Jesus Himself said “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15 NKJV) One of the marks of true friendship is open communication. And God wants to communicate with us, through us and to us and to do this, He often uses His people to give greater voice to what He wants to say and/or do.

This is why, from time to time, I share prophetic words on my blog. I do so very carefully and prayerfully, and only release those which I feel God specifically directing me to share. When I do so, obviously I’m not implying that this is all that God is doing in the moment. It is simply the portion He has chosen to reveal to me and has asked me to be a mouthpiece for. 2 Corinthians 13:1 reminds us that every word is established at the mouth of two or three witnesses. This allows us to weigh the word(s) out and also allows for confirmation of something we may already be feeling a stir towards in our heart. It is no surprise to hear one prophetic voice say almost the exact same thing another prophetic voice (miles and miles away) has also said. This is how God operates. So when that happens, pay attention! Any word should also be well grounded in His word. So you’ll notice that I do take the time to include any and all of the Scriptures God reveals to me as I’m getting them.

So with all this being said, I ask that as you read the prophetic words I have made available on my site, that you prayerfully consider them. Weigh them out to what the Spirit is saying. (“Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us…?” Luke 24:32) Test them to ensure they line up with His Word (1 John 4:1) and sense if they bare witness in your heart. But also know that not all words are for all people at all times. We are all at different places.

I hope you are blessed by what God has given me to share. And I pray that the Lord give you grace upon grace to hear His voice, and faith upon faith to believe Him for the impossible.

-Linda G Riddle

[Click here to read Prophetic Words]