I spent many years in Charismatic non-denominational church and have felt very disturbed at the things they teach about the gift of prophecy and how to operate in this gift.
Many people feel that it is *ok* for a person to prophesy untrue things to another person because when a person is young and inexperienced then they should be shown mercy. Although I agree that we should forgive those who step out in "faith" and give an inaccurate word, we are doing them a disservice by not confronting them (gentley) about the fact that they are speaking things to another person that is not from God's heart.
The other day a person asked me advice about this subject and said they felt that young prophetic people should be trained in the gifting and guided by spiritual mentors to perfect this gift. That sounds great but the only problem is that it isn't biblical!
What the scripture does say is that the only thing we can "work" on if we have this gift is our faith. As Paul said, "we will prophesy according to our measure of faith". And also I think about Samuel the prophet. He was a young boy never taught by any man and yet the Lord never let any of his words hit the ground (fail to come to pass). Prophesy is a GIFT. Either you have it or you don't.
This gift is so encouraging and powerful if a person really hears from God, but can be hurtful and damaging if a person tries to speak things from God they didn't really hear.
Thoughts?!
Thanks for reading
~DoveEyes
Many people feel that it is *ok* for a person to prophesy untrue things to another person because when a person is young and inexperienced then they should be shown mercy. Although I agree that we should forgive those who step out in "faith" and give an inaccurate word, we are doing them a disservice by not confronting them (gentley) about the fact that they are speaking things to another person that is not from God's heart.
The other day a person asked me advice about this subject and said they felt that young prophetic people should be trained in the gifting and guided by spiritual mentors to perfect this gift. That sounds great but the only problem is that it isn't biblical!
What the scripture does say is that the only thing we can "work" on if we have this gift is our faith. As Paul said, "we will prophesy according to our measure of faith". And also I think about Samuel the prophet. He was a young boy never taught by any man and yet the Lord never let any of his words hit the ground (fail to come to pass). Prophesy is a GIFT. Either you have it or you don't.
This gift is so encouraging and powerful if a person really hears from God, but can be hurtful and damaging if a person tries to speak things from God they didn't really hear.
Thoughts?!
Thanks for reading
~DoveEyes