“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.” – 1 John 4:1
I’ve been in church and in Christian circles my whole life, but I’ve never had anyone prophesy over me until I went public about our infertility.
These “prophecies” usually come in different forms. We had several people say we were going to have a baby “very soon.” How soon is soon? Beats me! During my first IVF, one acquaintance said she had a dream from God that we’d get pregnant with that cycle. We did, but it was a chemical pregnancy. Does that count as a fulfilled prophecy?
I do believe that God gives people insight into future events through other people or dreams. There certainly are many Biblical examples of that happening, and I know that many of my infertility-sisters have experienced prophecies being spoken over them. But I admit I’ve personally been very uncomfortable with the idea of it happening to me, because I also know that there are false prophecies.
How do we discern if a message or word from someone else is truly from God?
I’ve been attending a weekly Bible study and the lesson this week was on how to identify a true prophecy. I found it to be tremendously helpful. Here’s what I learned:
Since prophecies happen outside of Scripture, they are always incomplete. (1 Corinthians 13:9)
In other words, if someone claims to have a step-by-step vision or a complete picture of what’s going to happen, it is not legitimate. Prophecies always leave room for the mystery of God.
All prophecies must stand up to the test of Scripture. (Acts 17:11, Matthew 7:15)
If a prophecy goes against anything written in Scripture, it cannot be from God. The vision and its messenger must acknowledge Christ’s deity. So if someone claims they know all the details about how you’ll build your family, but they don’t believe Jesus is who Scripture says He is– then the prophecy is not legitimate.
Consider the Messenger
If these the message or prophecy pass the two tests- consider the person who spoke it. Do they show evidence of Christ in their life? Obviously, no one is perfect, but to the best of your knowledge are they seeking to grow in their relationship with Christ?
Finally, PRAY for discernment about the message you’ve received.
Ask God to help you discern whether or not it was truly from Him.
As you pray today, ask God to help you discern whether the messages, words, or prophecies you’ve received (or will receive) from others are truly from him.
Note: I am not a theologian. I don’t claim to understand all the doctrines of prophecy or know exactly how discernment works. I believe there is always going to be an aspect of mystery to God. We cannot fully understand how God works or what His plans are. I merely seek to share some of the teaching I’ve been blessed to receive recently, and to encourage you to view prophecies with a critical eye. Do not let this blog post be the only thing you know about prophecy. I highly encourage you to study this on your own, pray about it, and talk to your pastor! Rick Warren has a wonderful sermon on recognizing God’s voice that you might want to check out, too. (The link will open in iTunes).
************
Read all 31 days here
************
31 Days of Prayer is available as an a Kindle eBook, a PDF eBook, and as a printed workbook. All options come with all 31 devotionals plus additional prayer journal pages that are exclusive to the book. Each journal page includes journaling prompts and more Scripture for further study. You’ll also receive access to more content that isn’t available on the blog- like booklists, playlists, Scripture memorization cards, and computer wallpaper downloads. You can purchase the workbook and Kindle book from Amazon, and the printable PDF is available here.
First image courtesy of Lightstock. Second image courtesy of UnSplash.
Connect with me on {Facebook} | {Pinterest} | {Twitter}| {Instagram}
Leave a Reply