When it comes to the gift of prophecy It’s important to understand how it is described in the scripture. If you understand how it can function you can understand if it is happening to you personally and once you see it, you can also see it in others. Oftentimes, unintentionally, God's people dismiss these slight impressions and inner pictures and sensations within their hearts thinking it's just them. If we are renovated in the spirit of our minds, renewed in God's word, and bathed in His daily available presence there are moments in which God's Holy Spirit can speak to us & through us!
If you have Jesus in your heart you have His Holy Spirit. His Spirit is a free gift. He is personal and is eager to freely give you what He desires you to receive.
1 Corinthians 2:9-12 says, "But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God."
Notice what the scriptures declare, "God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. God's spirit searches out the deep things of God. His Spirit is constantly attentive to reveal the depths of the scriptures & the person of Christ in our lives. As we enter into true communion with His Spirit, he begins to unveil the Word and his presence. As we begin to enter into greater fellowship with the Spirit of God he may begin to show us specific things in relation to his will and plan for our lives and for others. This reality is prophetic in itself because He is speaking to our hearts by His Spirit.
The Spirit of God reveals things to our spirit. This is where God ministers to us. The inward man recreated in the image of God. How does God manifest prophecy in our lives? The answer is simply by looking at how He spoke in times past in the scriptures. The scriptures should always be our source of final authority and it is important to understand that he will never EVER contradict the written word. The spoken word, the utterance of God will never be a contradiction of His written word.
The Hebrew Words for Prophecy
The Hebrew word for prophecy has many meanings three specific ones that we can look at are, Navi, Nataph, & Chozeh.
Navi - Navi means to bubble forth, to be stirred. Prophecy can come in a manner in which a person led of God's Spirit can sense a bubbling forth or a stirring in their spirits. Often times when this occurs, God can speak through this inward stirring.
Nataph - Nataph means a distilling, dripping & dropping. Prophecy can come to a child of God in a form of this manner, a holy inward drop can suddenly come to a person a "word" or revelation from above. Often times this can occur in moments of worship. As worship begins to rise, the Spirit of God can move in a prophetic condensation in which prophecy can drop within a person. This is the nataph form prophecy.
Chozeh - Chozeh is another word for prophecy which means, "to see" This can often manifest by an inward or outward vision or still-shot or dream. It is to see what God is communicating.
When it comes to prophecy we should not put the gift in a box. Prophecy can come to us in so many forms a bubbling forth or stirring in the heart, a holy distillation of spirit that drops revelation, or inward and outward visions and dreams.
How to develop Prophecy in your life
We can and should desire to grow in spiritual gifts. There are ways in which we can cultivate the gifts he desires for us to have. Gifts should never be sought at the expense of The Giver. We must seek him above all things and desire them second. The scriptures say, "Pursue Love and Desire to prophesy" (1 Cor 14:1) Pursue God for God is love.
Be intimate with the Spirit, love Him, and make it about Him ( 1 Cor 2:9-12)
Be willing to step out and have others who are trusted that can discern and weigh what you're saying and be open for correction if needed. Be humble (1 Cor 14: 29)
Prophetic Pitfalls
A few words of wisdom. Don’t be haughty be open to receiving correction
Only speak what you see and hear don’t over-interpret what’s going on if you're not clear. Don’t expect the prophetic flow to be the same it can manifest differently in each season or flow differently.
The gift must flow from the right spirit ( a spirit of love edification, exhortation, and comfort to men) sometimes people deliver words in the wrong spirit and that can cause issues.
Learn to be quiet when God is quiet, don’t keep going if the grace lifts in the moment
FINALLY, SENSITIVITY IS ONLY GAINED IN PRAYER NEVER FORGET THAT
FOR A FULL TEACHING ON THAT EXACT SUBJECT CHECK OUT THE VIDEO BELOW!