Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
–1 Corinthians 14:1
I sometimes hear Christians saying that the gift of prophecy isn’t as important as many of the other spiritual gifts. But if we take the apostle Paul’s advice here, prophecy should be the gift we want the most!
So often, people think of a prophet as someone who can simply tell the future. But really the word ‘prophesy’ means to tell forth, to preach God’s Word. It doesn’t have so much to do with prediction as it does with proclamation.
You see, the gift of prophecy is the ability to take the truth from the Bible and speak it forth so that lives are changed. A prophet reviews the past, may share a word about the future, but fundamentally sheds light on the present.
Now, the gift of prophecy is not just for the professional or the ordained “clergy.” As a matter of fact, we’re all ministers of the Gospel and are all given different gifts. We’re a kingdom of priests, meaning there’s no distinction between the clergy and the laity when it comes to the spiritual gifts.
Prophesying, telling forth the Word of God, is for everyone who has this spiritual gift. So if you have the gift of prophecy, make it your chief objective in life to proclaim God’s Word every day!
IF GOD HAS GIFTED YOU WITH PROPHECY, USE IT TO BRING OTHERS TO HIM BY PROCLAIMING THE GOOD NEWS!
