Has someone given you a personal prophecy, or interpreted a dream that you have had? Here are some tests that you can put a prophetic word (or dream interpretation) through, to check whether or not it is from God.
In 1 Thess 5:20-21, the Bible says, ‘Do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good.’
A personal prophetic word, or prophetic dream, has the potential to be a great blessing to you. It can help encourage, strengthen, and grow you (1 Cor 14:3), reveal to you that God has you personally in His heart, and remind you that He has a great purpose for your life. When someone shares information about you and your hopes and dreams that only God would know, it is a miracle. You encounter Jesus!
We need to remember, however, that a prophecy should be weighed up carefully (1 Cor 14:29).
7 Tests to Help Weigh Up a Prophecy or Dream Interpretation
Here are some tests that you can apply to a prophecy, or part of a prophecy, to check whether or not it is from God. Note, these principles also apply to dream interpretation when it is given to you by another person:
1. The Character Test
Does the prophetic word or interpretation reflect the character of Jesus? Does it sound like something God would say to you?
He is loving and redemptive (that means He has a good outcome for your life, He has a purpose, He wants to bring you closer to Him). This is true even when a prophecy contains a warning.
A prophetic word given through the Holy Spirit should exhibit the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23).
2. The Bible Test
Does the prophetic word line up with the principles God has laid out in the Bible? A prophecy should never go against what the Bible says—for example, a prophecy that you should leave your spouse, cause disunity in the church, or commit sin would not agree with scripture!
3. The Heart Check Test
1 John 2:20 says, ‘But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.’
Does the prophecy or message sit well with your spirit, or does it make you feel uncomfortable and give you a warning ‘check’ in response? You don’t have to receive a prophecy if it makes you feel uncomfortable.
4. The Confirmation Test
A personal prophecy should confirm what God has already spoken to you, or be consistent with the way He has wired you. If the prophecy does not immediately bring confirmation, it may over time, so feel free to shelve it.
Do not make a sudden change of direction in response to a personal prophecy. If you feel led to make a change in response to a prophetic message brought through another person, remember that God never pressures you. The following test will be helpful:
5. The Leadership Test
Ask, would my church leadership be comfortable with this word? Submitting a prophecy, along with your response to it, to a leader in the church is a wise way to check prophetic guidance. Having another opinion from someone who is mature in their Christian walk and who also knows you can be helpful.
6. The Time Test
Hab 2:3 says, ‘For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false.’
You won’t know whether some prophecies are from God until you have given them time to be fulfilled. If you are unsure about a prophetic word, it is OK to shelve a prophecy, put it aside, and review it at a later date.
7. The Prophet Test
Do you know the person prophesying, and are they known to the leaders of your church or recognized in the wider church for their gift? Don’t accept a personal prophecy from just anyone. Jesus said that some people would prophesy in His name but not actually know Him (Matt 7:22-23). He also said to watch out for false prophets (Matt 7:15-16) and that you could tell by their fruit, i.e. their character and what their lives are producing.
If the person who is giving you the prophecy is unknown to you or your church leaders, is not submitted to leadership, or whose life does not reflect the character of Christ, do not receive the prophetic word outright.
A word given by someone who has a prophetic gift but is living an ungodly lifestyle may be partly right, which can be very confusing. If this is the case, the prophecy may contain something that is ‘off.’ It is a bit like emails that come with attachments that contain a virus. The message in the email may be right and good, but when you open it, something that is bad for your computer is also downloaded with the message. So we need to take care WHO we are receiving prophetic input from.
A prophecy that is contaminated by an issue that is out of order in the person prophesying can pull you off the track God has for you unless you put it through the above checks.
- This is a reminder not to be impressed with an external show of natural charisma or even giftedness, but also to watch for character and integrity.
One time I was listening as a prophetic team brought a prophecy to a young woman at a training session. One of the young guys in the team seemed to have a powerful prophetic gift. However at one part of the ‘prophecy’ he came out with a message that had a suggestive innuendo about the girl’s physical appearance. Although the rest of the prophecy sounded good, I felt that it was probable he had a sin issue, that was coming through in his prophecy.
Another thing to be wary of is prophecy that is flattering or that attracts you to the person prophesying rather than drawing you closer to Jesus. When it comes to personal prophecy, it is OK to ‘eat the meat and spit out the bones.’ Exercise wisdom and discernment.
Read more on How To Make The Most Of Your Personal Prophecy
Related Posts:
4 Types Of Dreams And Their Meanings
What To When You Have a Prophetic Dream
Prophetic Dream: 11 Tips to Discover the Meaning of Your Dream
© Helen Calder Enliven Blog – Prophetic Teaching
Enliven Ministries
A part of the David McCracken Ministries family
Helen Calder is a prophetic minister and writer, and founder of Enliven Ministries. Helen has a unique gift of equipping in prophetic ministry and prayer. She is known for Enliven Blog (est. 2009), an online resource that reaches thousands of people globally.
A great insight about the level of accuracy not always being an indication of being a true prophet. Thank you for sharing your story. :-)
God bless you.
Helen,
Somebody at church told me a dream they had about me – she spoke it in front of the whole congregation. She said that in her dream, she saw me in car accident and i was cut up in pieces by it and my funeral was closed casket. She also told me that she heard “infidel”…pretty much calling me an infidel right there…and then she said: “You are losing your faith. Stir up your faith.” And it’s true that i had some struggles with my faith, but i am a child of God who loves the Lord… And what she said did NOT help AT ALL to stir up my faith, but in fact weakened my faith SO MUCH that i was on the verge of losing my faith… BECAUSE OF her words!!! She kept repeating “infidel” and “closed casket” … Oh. It hurt me. It messed me up for a whole month… i went thru hell emotionally which affected me physically in this that i barely was eating… it’s too much to go into detail of the torment i went thru… i am still getting out of this mess and confusion that her dream and her words caused… when yesterday that same person who told me the dream texted me and told me that this was an add-on to the dream she told me previously… and she tells me this after a whole month!!! She said the accident she saw was on a highway i take when i go visit my parents…which is 3 hours drive from where i live… So she told me to pray before i go see them… Then in only 40 minutes after she told me to just pray before i go, she texted me back and said: “God said don’t go back to your parents” and she told me to read Matthew 18:8… What bothers me so greatly is that God has never told me that… and i believe words like that should be a confirmation of something God has already told us… Honestly, it is insane to me to be afraid to drive to my parents’ place… The way she says it, it’s like: “Don’t go see your parents never again”… which is absurd to me… i am just greatly troubled and i saw your article as i was searching on prophetic words… There is a whole lot to my story, but i am just scratching the surface… i would really really really appreciate you commenting on it though when you read this… Please… Thank you greatly…
Hi there, I am so sorry to hear of this situation.
There are quite a few problems with this as a ‘prophecy’ or ‘prophetic dream interpretation.’
A prophecy should fall under the category of ‘edification, encouragement or comfort (1Cor 14:3)
A prophecy should bear good fruit in your life
It should confirm what you have in your heart
It should be appropriate to Father’s loving nature (He wants the best for you)
It should be consistent with what the Bible says, and Biblical values (such as family relationships!)
It should be weighed up by leadership
See the info about a personal prophecy here:
http://enlivenpublishing.com/blog/2012/04/10/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-personal-prophecy/
To be honest, given the information you have provided, this person is out of order, and the ‘word’ a curse, that can easily be broken through prayer. The person may mean well, but clearly has a misconception about dream interpretation. (See my articles about types of dreams and their meanings) You do not need to receive this word and the power of fear it brought will be broken in Jesus’ Name. If you read through the comments on this post above this, you will see some thoughts about how to be cared for and healed when something like this has taken place.
I have written another article about prophetic warnings which specifically applies to this too. You can find it here:
http://enlivenpublishing.com/blog/2012/07/03/prophetic-warnings-what-should-we-do-with-them/
Know that your Father loves you, and loves your family, and has the very best for you.
Le mencionare algo acerca de mi ascendencia cristiana:Naci en un hogar catolico,despues de llevar una vida nada agradable al Señor alguien me hablo de Jesucristo,le acepte como mi Salvador y Señor…Fui apacentado en una congregacion cristiana por algunos años,ingrese al seminario para despues ser ordenado como pastor.Ministre en esta denominacion algunos años,despues renuncie debido a la nesecidad de educar a mis hijos…Aqui comienza lo mejor.Empece a ministrar casa por casa el evangelio de Jesucristo,de ese trabajo surgio una Congregacion cristiana,la cual crecia pero algo me decia que no estaba yo haciendo bien…tenia gran inquietud por ello,en este tiempo de angustia espiritual,conoci a un misionero de singapur
y me empezo a hablar acerca de las congregaciones de su pais las cuales eran congregaciones grandes de quince a veinte mil miembros.En cierta ocasion supo de un congreso apostolico y profetico en el norte de mi pais,quiero decirle que yo no veia nada bien a los carismatcos o pentecostales,debi
do a la formacion religiosa que tuve…a regañadientes asisti con mi esposa a dicho congreso.Fue todo un acontecimeinto para mi,sucedieron cosas extrañas ,un dia que miembros del Panel hicieron una invitacion para orar por los pastores de diferentes paices,pidieron que pasaran al frente,eramos como unos cuatro mil…pero mientras avanzabamos hacia la plataforma,me empezaron a temblar las piernas,y sentia que me caia,tuve que apoyarme en el brazo de mi esposa,quiero decirle que manifeste este problema a mi esposa,quien me dijo:CAMINA!!!…al llegar a la plataforma,y los profetas y apostoles pusieron sus manos sobre de mi…!senti un fuerte golpe en la nuca!,jamas perdi el conocimiento…me llevaron a un lugar en donde lloraba sin parar…yo pensaba que me estaba volviendo loco.El congreso duro cinco dias,esto que acabo de relatar fue un viernes,de regreso a mi ciudad,en el trayecto empece a llorar,pero un llorar que no podia ser controlado,a pesar de que el autobus iva lleno…Asi paso hasta llegar a mi ciudad,despues me vino un deseo de orar
muy fuerte y me levanataba a las tres am,para terminar a las 11 am.Yo no conocia nada de esto,de lo apostolico y profetico.Pedia a Dios que me relacionara con alguien que en
tendiera algo de lo apostolico y profetico,,,es aqui en donde empieza mi situacion,a pesar de mi oracion no habia respuesta del Señor…Pero una mañana,algo empezo a suceder en mi corazon…empece a escuchar una voz que me decia que no era necesario que alguien me enseñara,que lo
iria aprendiendo poco a poco.Tiempo despues tuve contacto con un profeta de USA,este varon de Dios fue una bendicion a
mi vida…Cuando oro por mi,dijo:El Señor dice que tu eres un apostol,con un llamado profetico a las naciones…lo que escuchaba no entendia mucho de ello…agrego algo mas este
profeta:El Señor te da Dones de Sanidades y Milagros.Quiero
decir tambien que mucho de ello empezaron a suceder en la
congregacion,de unos veinte hermanos llego en poco tiempo
a unos 200 miembros,habia sanidades y milagros.Poco tiem
po despues cai emfermo,cuando le escribo apenas estoy sa
liendo de este estado de efermedad,el cual duro casi nueve a
ños.La iglesia fue atendida por uno de mis hijos,hasta este
momento…El profeta me decia tu Ministerio no se ha terminado,el Señor dice que volveras al Ministerio y seras para El testimonio ante muchas naciones…Quiero decirle que
me he mantenido en mucha oracion,en fe,obediencia y sobre
todo en mucha paciencia…es aqui en donde en ocasiones me quiebro.Lo que me ha sostenido en fe,es el oir acerca de
lo que el Señor hara conmigo para este tiempo,para esta ge
neracion y situacion que el mundo vive.TODO LO DE LA PRO
FECIA DICHA POR ESTE PROFET ALEMAN FUE GRABADA Y
CON FRECUENCIA LA ESCUCHO Y ME ANIMO…y asi es como me he sostenido….AHORA BUSCO SU CONSEJO QUE
MAS DEBO HACER.Gracias por leer este comentario.
Dear Jose Ramos, thank you for leaving your story, which I was able to read translated to English.
May you continue to be blessed and led by God in your ministry and experience much fruitfulness in the years ahead.
Please email me anything on the prophetic and prayer. Amen. Thanks for the great work!
Hi Annita, it’s great to hear of your interest in prophetic and prayer ministry! The best way to receive the emails is to sign up using the subscribe option at the top right of the page.
Please I write to request you to be sending me materials that can grow my prophetic ministry
Hi Cephas, did you sign up to receive the emails using the ‘subscribe’ button? That way you receive regular prophetic articles and the free eBook.