Stewarding Prophetic Words
- Esther J Ponnudorai
- Jun 20, 2024
- 12 min read
What is Prophecy according to the Bible?
Revelation 19:9-10, ESV | “...For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
The gift of prophecy is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is the love language of God. When we prophesy over someone, that person should feel loved by God. The true spirit of prophecy always shows itself in bearing witness to Jesus. Prophecy at it’s very heart is designed to unfold the beauty and loveliness of our Lord and Saviour Jesus. As we keep sharing the testimonies of what Jesus has done in our lives, we keep creating atmospheres that are pregnant with possibilities for God to do it again!
The Purpose of Prophecy
The Apostle Paul teaches us the main purpose of the gift of prophecy in 1 Corinthians 14:3, “But when someone prophesies, he speaks 1) to encourage people, 2) to build them up, and 3) to bring them comfort.” A word of prophecy will encourage someone, not discourage them. A word of prophecy will build someone up not tear him or her down. A word of prophecy will comfort and strengthen, not weaken someone. Paul continued to teach that a true word of prophecy builds up everyone who hears the word.
When God speaks a prophetic word over a person, church, community or nation, He is looking for something – a response from us. He is looking for our belief (see Luke 1:45 | And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”), trust, faith and co-operation in order for that word to come to pass. He is looking for us to steward well the word He gives us. There are some prophetic words that are sovereign and will happen no matter what, like those in relation to Jesus coming back, but most prophetic words involve our cooperation.
How do we treat a prophetic word?
Each prophetic word must be weighed and acted on according to God’s instructions and timetable. Prophetic words speak to our potential; they are dependent on us cooperating with God to become that person and fulfil that destiny. Christine Gear said, “Seldom are we given something big (fully formed) – it is delivered as a seed of possibility that we are to make great, while we transform into the person who can steward its greatness.”
I used to mistakenly believe that a prophetic word from God will automatically happen, that I don’t have to do anything but sit back and wait for it to be handed to me in its fullness. Isaiah 55:11 says, “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” From reading that I thought that God will make it happen on His own without any involvement from me. However-any prophetic word is an invitation to move forward in cooperation with God toward our prophetic destiny.
One aspect of working with God is that we must stand in agreement with Him about our destiny, then we must practise it in the Spirit until it opens up to us in the natural – dream it, see it, decree it, inhabit it and cooperate with God in following the strategies He shows us as we walk into it.
1 Timothy 4:14-15, ESV “Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them,[c] so that all may see your progress.”
God says, “This is who you are – what I can get you to see is who I can get you to become. Act and think in the way that person would act and think. Begin to think from completeness not lack, from the place of your destiny, not your now.”
What do we do with a prophetic word when we are given one?
Did you know that nobody else is going to guard, savour and protect our prophetic words for us? That’s right, what we receive from a word is very much up to us. Imagine how many words never come to fruition because we simply never take part in them, step into them or at the very least, remember them. In this instant-world we live in, it’s easy to hear a word and interpret it for right now. Then, when we don’t see it play out we often just forget it.
This may be a sobering thought but it’s so important to recognize that even if we get a word that makes no sense to us now, it doesn’t mean it’s not from God or not valuable. Remember that the value we place on the word determines the power we’ll receive from it! Think about longevity when it comes to the prophetic.
Weigh it up before God. We have as much power in this situation as the person prophesying. Scripture tells us to test /weigh prophecy. Use our discernment and our knowledge of scripture to weigh the word – is it from God or not?
Believe it and embrace it. If it is from God then receive it, wholeheartedly embrace it. Believe that God would never call us to something we are not capable of achieving with His help.
Don’t put it on the shelf – Sometimes we may not understand the prophetic word we’ve been given, and the temptation is to “put it on the shelf.” Instead ask God about it, ask Him to clarify it and give us understanding. Ponder on it, carry it in our heart until it becomes clear, ask the person who prophesied, or a leader, if they can give us any insight which will bring clarity. At the same time understand that some things may take time for clarity to form around them, and it may not be until we look back that you see how things fitted together.
Write it out. It is too easy to forget what is said, or to only remember the bits we particularly liked, if we don’t have a written record of it. This is also important when we need to war with it to see it established.
Look for identity statements – either direct or indirect/implied. These are the things God says about you in the prophetic word e.g. direct – “You are my much loved child”; “You are strong and courageous”. Indirect or implied – “I see a picture of the Lord forging steel in your backbone” – implies God will make you into a strong being. Out of these make an identity declaration that you can read, re-read, and declare over yourself, such as – “I am much loved by my Father in Heaven, I am strong and courageous.”
Look for any conditions that God is setting e.g. “As you spend time with Me I will show Myself to you and reveal to you My heart; prepare yourself, dig into My Word and I will reveal My mysteries to you” etc. Determine to give yourself to these things that God is asking of you.
Look for any promises without conditions e.g. “I will reveal myself to you; I will set you on high” etc. If any of these are ambiguous ask the Lord what He means e.g. What does He mean by “I will set you on high”? Is that a position of leadership, or a position indicating good sight? Write them into a declaration of God’s intent, and promise, to speak over your life.
Look for gift or calling indicators – “I am calling you; You will pray for the sick and they will be healed; you will preach to many”; etc With this one you need to ask some questions of yourself and of God:
Ask the Lord – What needs to change in my character and habits to be a person who can walk in and sustain this call? Stocktake our life. Look at our life honestly. What are the hidden things that need to be changed in order for us to become the person in that prophetic word?
What training do I need, if any? What do I need to learn, or begin to practise, in order to steward this call well?
Look for time indicators – look to see if there are any time indicators contained in the prophetic word. What does God want to do now, and what is a promise for the future? Believe that the future God has promised you will come to pass. Ask the Lord what needs to happen in the immediate and what you need to do to prepare for the future promise. How long our future stays out there in front of us can depend on some things – how we work on our character, how we cooperate with what the Lord asks us to do. Take hold of your future and, by your obedience and cooperation with the Lord, draw it to you. Be prepared to pray into, and war with, the words God speaks over us (1 Tim 1:18, 19, ESV “This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience.”) How do you war with a word? Verse 19 tells us part of that – holding faith; stand firm in believing the word God gave us, believing it, declaring it over ourself and cooperating with God in the character work and development of the gifts He has given us. Through those things we war with, to bring us to a place where we become someone who can walk in, and sustain, the promise. Recognise, and push back, the powers of darkness that would seek to tell you it could never happen, that God couldn’t use us. Watch out for well meaning people who will try to make you see sense (squash the dream). Don’t allow them to talk us out of our destiny.
Submit the word to a trusted mentor or leader. Ask them to pray into it with you. Ask them what things they see in your life that would stop you from fulfilling this word. (Character changes). Ask them to pray with you and be open and willing to make all the changes necessary to prevent delay.
Be accountable. Show up and accomplish the things we have agreed to do. Make yourself accountable to others. People who are not accountable generally end up in deception.
Deal with any unbelief, doubt and fears regarding the word, or God’s fulfilling of it, as they will paralyze you and possibly delay fulfilment of the word. Unbelief is most often rooted in lies that we’ve believed about the nature and character of God, or about ourselves. Ask yourself why you don’t believe that this could happen. What lies do you believe about God, yourself, or the Church?
Speak the word over yourself frequently. Job 22:28 “You shall decree a thing and it will be established for you.” Pray prophetically over our life. Pray and thank God as if it was already reality in your life; this prepares the way for God to act (thanksgiving for things not yet received, Psalm 50:23). Confession changes the dynamics around our life. Confession marks in the spirit realm, as well as in the natural, where we stand. Confession begins to shape and change our behaviour. Confession releases a motivational drive to live up to our beliefs.
See yourself doing it. Use your God given imagination. Paul tells Timothy in 1 Tim 4:12-15 to meditate on the things that God has said over him by prophecy. That word meditate means to frame pictures in your mind or imagination. Your imagination is your God-given vision centre. Part of the reason it was given was so that you could dream with God! It is a vitally important part of your spiritual life. It is for dreaming dreams, for seeing into the future, into the potential that God has placed within you, bringing it into the now by your confession and your obedience.
Embrace the Holy Spirit’s training process. A prophetic word is God revealing His desired outcome and plan for you in a certain area. That means from the time that word is given to its fulfilment – everything in between is now designed to test us and train us to become the person that God saw when He spoke over us (see Psalm 105:19 about Joseph’s word).
Take steps to get training, if needed. Ask the Lord what training we need to look at doing – is it to learn a language, learn a trade, learn about customs of a country etc? Also realise that He might allow your training to happen through things that you wouldn’t automatically gravitate to – He may make use of adverse life circumstances which teach us things that we will need for the future.
Faithfully do what is already before you. He who is faithful in little will be given much. What about if you’re asked to do something by a leader that you think doesn’t fit in to your plans? Do it with a good heart. We don’t always know exactly what God is going to do through a situation. Your humble obedience will work much in your life. This might just be a part of God’s training plan for you.
Know that God’s timing is accurate in our life. It’s been a while and our prophetic word hasn’t come to pass yet, be patient! God knows better than we do when it is the right time to release us. Let the peace of God rule your heart and mind. Phil 4:6,7. You can depend on God. He cares for you. 1 Pet 5:7.
Begin to pray into that future now. Pray for those you will minister to, pray for those who will work alongside you, pray for the provision needed for the vision to come to pass. Pray for God to work in your life.
How much do we value the prophetic words of God?
What we choose to dwell on tells us what we value the most. It’s what we treasure. And if we are
dwelling on things, people, or anything inferior to Jesus, it becomes misplaced worship. We will attract
more of what we value. When we value the voice of the Lord, either through the pages of scripture,
the message preached, or the prophet, we value what God is saying. As we think and meditate on the
words received, it should ultimately draw us closer to Jesus.
We all want to prosper and be successful (prosperity of the soul, prosperity of family life, prosperity of relationships, prosperity in our finances, prosperity in employment, prosperity in health, and success in our workplace—all of these things fall under the category of prosperity) and both of those outcomes are contingent upon our response to those in the body God has equipped to bring us exactly what we need. The prosperity/success of God in our life makes us capable, to be effective in service in any environment He puts us into, whether it’s the giving of money, laying hands on the sick, giving a prophetic word, living an example of victory in family life, work life, etc.
We must trust the leaders that God has placed over us to bring us exactly what we need. Pay attention to the advice and directions given, and then carry them out. Don't only do what's convenient, comfortable and pleasant. Follow through with everything. God is speaking through His prophets to give us a word and guide us to where we need to be. We were all born to succeed and prosper, but it is connected to how we value the words God has spoken to us. Remember, what we think about it is what we value. What we value affects what we worship.
Have we been properly stewarding our prophetic words from the Lord? If not, how can we start to do things differently from today?
The Importance of Intimacy with God
When I initially reunited with Dr. Premla, I was absolutely stuck and had just gotten out of a difficult time that had caused me to mistrust any of God's promises for my life. My poor decisions resulted in negative repercussions, leading me into a desert season with God. As she encouraged and prophesied over me, I was comforted and encouraged once again and things around me started to move forward in my life. However, there was one issue: I was not provoked to act on the words I had heard. I didn’t know how to value, treasure and steward these words correctly and diligently. I anticipated everything to fall into place as time passed, without my having to change anything or do anything differently. By this I mean, my relationship with God was not where it needed to be. I was in a very dry place and needed to be deeply connected again. God never left but I did. No one could do it for me. I had to do it for myself. I lacked the desire to properly pray, worship, or spend intimate, real
time with Him. It was hard to get out of that slump, state of hopelessness, etc but I kept showing up and in time I started to notice my heart come alive again. I started to remember what it felt like to be caught up in the presence of God and I longed to camp there more and more. I started to hope again and look forward to what was ahead. Slowly but surely my heart was finding its way back to the Lord again and it was the safest place to be. I was falling in love all over again and remembering my first love.
God’s dreams for us are more than we could ever hope or dream. He wants to see us live a life that is full of rich experience, fulfilment and joy in service. And in all that He longs for us to be the blessing to others that we were created to be, releasing the love and power of the Kingdom of Heaven wherever we go. Choose to embrace all that God has for us; embrace the pioneering spirit that is within us and step out and become all God intends for us to be.
Prayer
Gracious heavenly Father, we thank You for making known to us not only Your words but also Your wisdom about what to do with Your words. Our desire is to walk in accurate application. If we are to succeed in our walk with You, we will need an abundance of Your great grace. Help us to keep our heart motivation pure so that we can discern Your timing, present Your word appropriately, and grow into fruitful prophetic maturity. We are grateful beyond words for the call You have given each one of us to receive Your word from others. Help us to grow in properly stewarding prophecy. Our joy is in You and we pray in Jesus’ holy name. Amen.
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