By Sidharth Mohandas

As we continue to study the spiritual gifts, I want you to know that each gift is a facet of Christ Himself. Therefore, the elimination of any one of the gifts would be equivalent to putting a veil over of a particular facet of Christ. Today, we will deal with one such facet — the manifestation of prophecy.

Many people see prophecy as a gift to foresee and foretell the future. While the gift of prophecy does include this ability, a prophet is much more than a person with this ability. The Hebrew word for prophet, “navi” comes from the term “niv sefatayim”, meaning “fruit of the lips” which implies that the major role of a prophet was forth-telling what was on Abba’s heart at a given point of time.

A person who has the prophetic gift is one who is, first of all, a listener — one who shares heart to heart with God in prayerful intimacy. He hears and speaks the words that emanate from His very Presence.

I will share with you one incident from my life to explain to you how this gift is unique and different from just preaching or teaching God’s Word. A number of years back I used to fellowship with a group that was totally indifferent to the gifts of the Spirit. I had tried speaking to them about the benefits of the gifts a number of times, but they had totally closed their minds to it. However, around 2-3 years later we had gathered together for a time of fellowship,  there was this new teacher who had come to share the Word with us. He didn’t know any of us, nor did we know him. While teaching the Word, this man started operating in the gift of knowledge. The group was totally amazed.

Just then, the man stopped and said “Someone has received a word from the Lord”. I had received a message from Abba, but I remained quiet. However, he continued, “Someone has received a word from the Lord. Please deliver it”. He didn’t seem to budge. Just then my mouth flung open and the message came forth. It was as though someone was pouring those words in to me.  The end result? Not only did the group become open to the manifestations of the Spirit, but God started manifesting His Presence through them. Glory to God!

Now notice, my friends, a person who has the gift of prophecy may not necessarily be a person in the office of prophecy. Like for example, I operate in the gift of prophecy, but that is not my primary gifting, nor my ministry. A person who has the office of prophecy is one who continually flows in the ministry of the prophetic. Such is a person who is specifically referred to as a Prophet in Scriptures (Ephesians 2:20; Ephesians 4:11; Acts 21:10)

What is the specific role of this manifestation? As Scripture says, it is for edification or building up (Gk: Oikodome), exhortation or admonishment (Gk: Paraklesis), and comfort or console (Gk: Paramuthia). (1 Corinthians 14:3)

In the upcoming article, I will be sharing with you what our response to prophecies should be.