Got Questions Ministries is leery of prophetic words and personal prophecy in general. While God certainly can give someone insight into another's life, that is not the usual way He communicates with His people. The completed Bible tells us how we should live our lives. While believers can offer one another perspective and discernment, and exhortation/encouragement is a spiritual gift (Romans 12:8), we believe that a direct prophecy from God is a very rare occurrence. For more information, please see our article on personal prophecy.
Got Questions Ministries is unable to interpret personal prophecy. One reason is that the act of giving a prophetic word is greatly abused and misunderstood in modern Christian culture. Further, we have no way of knowing the integrity or the intent of the person "prophesying." As with many things in the Christian life, we recommend that the recipient of a supposed prophetic word start with 1 John 4:1, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." From there, James 1:5 will give the guidance believers need: "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." And always bear in mind that, if the prophecy in any way goes against God's Word, it should be dismissed completely.
Recommended Resources: The Wonderful Spirit-Filled Life by Charles Stanley and Logos Bible Software.
Posted with permission: http://www.gotquestions.org/propheti...#ixzz2sN90Mqp9
Is the personal prophecy concept biblical?
There are some within the Christian faith, predominantly in Charismatic/Pentecostal churches, who view/practice the gift of prophecy as giving personal advice with a “thus says the Lord” presentation. Sadly, those who practice personal prophecy in this manner are often not any different than those who portray themselves as psychics. In fact, there are prophetic hotlines as “Christian” alternatives to psychic hotlines. Some in the personal prophecy movement advertise with statements such as “come get your prophetic reading,” again, very similar to the terminology psychics employ. This understanding and practice of the gift of prophecy is completely unbiblical.
Biblically speaking, the gift of prophecy is the Spirit-empowered ability to declare revelation from God (Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28). Prophecy sometimes, but not always, involves proclaiming revelation from God in regards to the future. In both the Old and New Testaments, God used prophets and/or the gift of prophecy to reveal truth to people. Prophecy is proclaiming the truth of God, it is special revelation, truth that cannot be discerned by any other means. Through a prophet, God would reveal truth that the people needed to know, and sometimes, that truth would be recorded in written form. This, ultimately, resulted in the Bible, the Word of God, the ultimate special revelation from God.
The completion of the Bible impacts the nature of the gift of prophecy. The Bible contains all the revelation we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). The Bible is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). As a result, the gift of prophecy transitioned from primarily being a declaration of new revelation from God, to primarily (or exclusively) being a declaration of what God has already revealed, as recorded in His Word.
This is not to say that God would never give one person a message to deliver to another person. God can, will, and does use people in whatever ways He sees fit. But, the fact that the Word of God is perfect and complete means that we are to rely on it for guidance. We are not to rely on prophets, prophetic hotlines, and prophetic readings. God’s Word contains the truth we need to know. God’s Word presents the wisdom we need to know to properly apply His truth. Beyond that, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide, comfort, and teach us (John 14:16, 26). Using the concept of personal prophecy to gain influence over people and making them dependent on “prophetic guidance,” is a blatant distortion of the biblical gift of prophecy. Any time people trust the fallible words of men instead of the infallible Word of God, it is a travesty.
Posted with permission:
http://www.gotquestions.org/personal...#ixzz2sN9vsoQ5
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