Whenever we use the word prophecy, people automatically think of predicting the future. That is only partly true. The biggest part of prophecy is forth telling, declaring Gods will, what is in Gods heart and mind for His people.
Though I do believe there are times in praying for others, there can be words brought forth for people, direction, comfort, guidance, or words of wisdom. There has been an unhealthy preoccupation in certain quarters in pursuing these special revelations.
The scriptures are prophetic in nature, and they are perfectly prophetic in a complete and an infallible sense. If you want to hear God speak, read the scriptures, if you want to find out what the will of the Lord is, read the scriptures. It is there you will find Gods thoughts on specific issues.
Seeking and receiving special words from people, isn’t infallible, and it is far more likely to produce error and lead us astray, than if we rely on Gods word. This is why it amazes me that we seem in many places to have traded in the infallible for the fallible!
It amazes me how much we have neglected and disregarded the word of God. We think we know better than the scriptures, and have gone on a futile quest for special revelations. The scriptures tell us everything we need to know about God, they give us the most accurate and most complete revelation of who God is and what God has said. We have been ripped of by trading them in for these so called prophetic words, when all the time what we need to hear from God is already in the scriptures.
If we read the scriptures, we would receive wisdom from God, on how we are to conduct ourselves in the household of God. In Corinthians, for example we are given guidance on how we are to exercise our spiritual gifts, the correct use of the gift of tongues in a public setting, and the right motivation.
By ignoring what the scriptures say on these subjects, we have really hurt ourselves, by allowing the misuse and abuse of spiritual gifts. Reading the scriptures will correct us from excesses, as we begin to follow the pattern of scripture itself in these things. If we believe that the scriptures are the voice of God to us, we should heed their warnings, follow their guidelines as if they were God Himself speaking audibly to us!
We need to lay aside all these other distractions, these deceptions, and return again to scripture, submitting ourselves to their authority, as if we were submitting to God Himself! Receiving the scriptures as Gods word will give us the authority and clearness we need to change things that aren’t right, it will give us guidelines as to what is right and what is wrong. Seeking to obey scripture will give us the confidence that what we are doing is what God wants, and what contradicts it needs to be cast aside!
May the Lord help us to return back to the scriptures! and to find in them the authority, the clarity, and the directions we so desperately need!