‘Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight.’ (1 Timothy 1:18)
The Apostle Paul considered personal prophecies given to his disciple Timothy significant:
- Personal prophecies helped Timothy focus his life and ministry according to the call of God
- The Apostle Paul kept the prophetic words in mind when it came to his leadership of Timothy and instruction to him
5 Ways to Make the Most of your Personal Prophecy
A personal prophecy can be a means of great encouragement and motivation. [1]
If you have received a personal prophecy, here are some ideas to help you benefit from it:
1. Record your Prophetic Word
Write out your personal prophecy. (Hab 2:2) If possible, keep an audio copy of prophecies that you have received. Sometimes an impartation takes place through the verbal delivery of a word that cannot be communicated in writing.
If a word was not recorded in audio format, immediately write out as much of it as you can remember, so that you can weigh it up, pray about it and review it.
2. Weigh up your Prophecy
‘Do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good.’ (1 Thess 5:19-21)
The Bible exhorts us to weigh up prophetic words. (see also 1 Cor 14:29) [2]
Some filters you can use include:
- Is it in accordance with what the Bible says?
- Do you have an inner witness that the prophetic word is from God?
- Does it line up with the nature of God? In particular, with the nature of the Father as expressed through Jesus?
- Will responding to the prophecy bear good fruit—the fruit of the Spirit in your life?
- If the prophetic word concerns your destiny, does it line up with the way God has created and wired you?
Make sure that you include a process of accountability to Christian leadership in relation to your prophetic word. This is especially important if you are considering a change of direction in response to a word you have been given.
This also enables your leadership to nurture the gift and call of God upon your life, as Paul did with Timothy.
3. Pray about your Prophetic Word
Always take time to pray about any personal prophecy that you receive. Seek confirmation that the word is from God, and ask Him for further insights related to the message, its timing and any action you should take. Remember that fulfilment of your prophecy will be conditional upon you staying on track in your relationship with God.
Later on, you may also be led to pray about the fulfillment of your personal prophecy. [3]
4. Allow the Prophecy to Enlarge your Vision
A prophecy may be used of God to stretch our perspective concerning ourselves; who we are, Who He is, and what we are capable of doing with the enablement of His Holy Spirit.
A personal prophecy may speak into your identity and destiny. The Father is communicating His perspective about your life. And that may be beyond what you have perceived about yourself up to this time.
A personal prophecy is an invitation from the Father to see ourselves as He sees us.
The question is, will we accept that invitation?
5. Store your Prophetic Word for Future Reference
‘Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false.” (Hab 2:2-3)
You may immediately recognise that your prophecy is timely and relevant.
However sometimes the exact meaning of a prophetic word is a mystery at the time we receive it.
This does not mean that it is not of value. In fact, it may be of tremendous significance for a later date.
Consider taking a long term view of any prophetic word you receive, even if you believe it does relate to a current situation.
Sometimes a personal prophecy is like a puzzle piece—you are not sure how or where it fits in the picture until more pieces have been put into place.
And then when you do see the fulfillment of the prophecy, you are blown away. You realise that God knew the whole picture of your life before you had even been born. [4]
‘All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts,God! How vast is the sum of them!’ (Ps 139:16-17)
Notes:
[1] For Biblical examples of personal prophecy and a biblical basis for bringing personal prophetic words, see my article:
Is Personal Prophecy Biblical?
[2] For more information about weighing up prophetic words, see
How Do I Know If A Personal Prophecy Or Dream Interpretation Is From God?
[3] See the following post:
Is It Time To Birth Your Prophetic Word In Prayer?
[4] If unfulfilment of a prophecy you have received in the past is causing you discouragement, see Dealing With Prophetic Disappointment
See the updated version of this post here: 7 Things You Can Do With Your Personal Prophecy
© 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.
Hi Andrea, I understand the sense of confusion.
As a prophetic ministry, we have a guideline that we never prophesy concerning relationships – and the reason is that it can create the type of problem you describe.
You mention that the prophecy came from someone who does ‘not have a covering with a church and she proclaims to everybody that she is a prophetess.’ I would urge you not to receive a prophetic word from her, or anyone else in that position. The fruit will not be good. (Confusion is not a fruit of a word from God)
It can get difficult when there is an element of truth or true revelation or what seems to be knowledge, and even harder when it relates to something that is a heart’s desire. But I urge you to release this word – if God is in a relationship for you, He will bring it to pass without needing to push at doors with ‘prophetic words.’ He is gracious, He is so faithful. He loves you.
This is probably not what you would like to hear, but releasing this word will bring you into freedom (take another look through the article I have mentioned above).
Dear Helen,
Thank you for replying so quic kly regarding my prophecy. However, I stumped regarding MY seeing this man in the spirit with my eyes closed in color. This never ever happened to me and my who being spoke and said, “you will know”!. That’s when I approached him the next day to only get a “no” that he wasn’t thinkig of me at all. Was this from God or from the enemy?! Because of my great desire, my friends thought from the enemy.
I have read your message on the link above and it was very good. I still do have the above questions. Could you help me with this please?! Thank you!
Andrea
Hi there! Thank you for your comments and questions. I am currently on a ministry trip and expect to be able to reply when I get back on Thurs 6th March.
I look so-o-o-o forward to hearing back from you on March 6th. I’ve been troubled about my word and it has stirred me into a tizzy. I praise God I came across you ministry website. May your ministry trip be safe and blessed.
Thank you again for all that you’re doing to help me.
Sincerely,
Andrea
Welcome back Helen from your ministry trip. I hope it was fruitful and blessed.
I shared with you above that I “saw” this same fella in the spirit only to hear him the next day say in the natural (on the phone) that he wasn’t interested in me. I’m stumped with my vision and the prophetic word from a well meaning friend. Was my one second vision of him with my eyes closed and my friends prophetic word false and from the enemy? I’m so confused.
Thank you for praying and helping me with this.
Sincerely,
Andrea
Hi Andrea, my role on the blog is not to provide individual advice or counsel, but to share teaching that can help equip and empower my readers.
Some last thoughts that may help:
– just because a revelation received has actual knowledge in it, does not mean that it is from God (Acts 16:17)
– a revelation received in a supernatural encounter is not necessarily from God either (2 Cor 11:14)
– we determine whether or not a revelation (prophetic insight) is from God by taking it through the process of weighing it up
– all prophetic revelation (including personal guidance) is subject to being weighed up by those who are in spiritual oversight (1 Cor 14:29 1 Thess 5:19-22)
– it takes time for us to grow in the area of discerning what is from God, and is not something that happens automatically. (Heb 5:14)
– The greatest wisdom is not to rely on our own desires or take our prophetic ability for granted, but to trust the church oversight and leadership God has provided us with in this process. (Eph 4)
This article has some keys to being set free when a prophetic word has brought confusion: http://enlivenpublishing.com/blog/2011/08/23/dealing-with-prophetic-disappointment/
I pray you come to a place of peace, Andrea.
Hi Andrea – did you see the points I wrote above on 5th March?
Unfortunately I can’t give direct advice to you, but as I mentioned above, just because there is an element of knowledge or even supernatural about an insight, does not mean it is from God. True test is, is it confirmed by oversight and does it come to pass and bear good fruit. Hope this helps – sorry I can’t give any more time to this conversation… blessings, Helen
Thank you Helen for commenting and I recently read your comments after your return. I did not see them prior to my e–mail to you. I’m sorry.
Yes,… I see where the enemy CAN deceive me with supernatural manefestations when I desire something so-o badly. That’s where the confusion comes in. I’m finding out that God is not responsible in a vision to SHOW ME “HIS” chosen mate for me,…only to fulfill His promises of giving me the desires of my heart.
I will continue to keep my eyes on Jesus and live out my life living, loving and serving Him. I must not be anxious of “who” it is but let Him direct my life. My mate will “find me” says the word of God.
Thank you for your comments and your wonderful website. I praise God I found it and I thank you for all the information about prophecy. I will read and re-read it and meditate on all the scriptures.
God’s blessings to you and your ministry!
Sincerely,
Andrea
Hi Andrea, my heart lifted when I read your response. I pray you are greatly encouraged, filled and blessed – and have a sense of great freedom in this area of the prophetic. You can trust the One who loves you beyond measure!
SALUDOS,LAS COSAS SE HAN IDO ACLARANDO,NO SOLO RESPECCTO A NUESTRO LLAMADO,SINO TAMBIEN AL TIEMPO EN EL CUAL LAS PROFECIAS SE HAN DE CUMPLIR …NO HEMOS PERDIDO LA IDENTIDAD DE AQUELLO DE LO QUE DIOS QUIERE HACER CON NOSOTROS A SU DEBIDO TIEMPO,Y ES EN ESTE PERIODO EN DONDE AL PRINCIPIO TUVE DIFICULTADES PARA ACEPTAR ALGUNAS COSAS QUE LA MISMA PROFECIA PERSONAL PEDIA: FE ,PARA ESPERAR EL TIEMPO,OBEDIENCIA PARA HACER CAMBIOS ACERCA DE HECHOS Y HABITOS EN MI VIDA.Y QUE EL LLAMDO TENDRIA SU TIEMPO DE INCIO CUANDO SUCEDIERAN ALGUNAS COSAS QUE TODAVIA SIGO ESPERANDO…PERO AL MISMO TIEMPO YO TENGO QUE HACER MI PARTE EN ESTE PERIODO DE ESPERA…PUES EL SEÑOR NECESITA DE MI COLABORACION PARA HACER LO QUE ME HA DICHO…MIENTRAS TANTO,YA HAGO LO QUE A MI ME CORRESPONDE…TRATO DE REUNIR CADA PIEZA DE LAS PROFECIAS PERSONALES QUE ME HAN DADO,Y ME HE DADO CUANTA QUE ES NECESARIO MI PARTICIPACION …HACE UNA SEMANA QUE ESTOY PONIENDO EN PRACTICA LO QUE SE ME RECOMIENDA EN LA PALABRA PROFETICA PERSONAL…SUS CONSEJOS HAN SIDO ATINADOS,RESPECTO A LA IDENTIDAD…gracias por su valiosa ayuda,sigo orando por su Ministerio y por su familia. !saludos!
Great to hear from you Jose and thank you especially for your prayers.
This article has some similar information and may be helpful too. http://enlivenpublishing.com/blog/2012/09/25/personal-prophecies-about-future-events/
May you be richly blessed in your pursuit of God and growth in your ministry and calling. :-)
Dear Sister Helen,
I was a backslider who returned back to Jesus two months ago.
I was struggling with guilt and condemnation and fear of death because of my sins…and kept praying that god speak to me and show me His purpose for my life.
One day the pastor in my church called me out to give me a word of prophecy. He didn’t know anything about me or what I was going through. I was thinking that he was going to prophecy that god was going to heal/protect me and save me from death. Instead he prophesied that God was going to use me mightily to preach God’s word and win the nation for Christ. When he said this I immediately felt I was not worthy, I have little faith. But I told god if it is your will Lord use me.
A week later I went for prayer meeting at a different place, and a guest pastor was there. And he was prophesying and praying for everyone there. In my heart I was just praying Lord speak to me help me with my situation, help me to trust you.
When the pastor began to pray for me, he prophesied that I have been crying out to the Lord and the said that God is going to use me, to be a strong pillar. That god is going to raise you up to be a leader and that the church needs leaders and god is going to use me starting from bible study. Then said that there is a spirit of Guilt and Condemnation and he prayed for me and in Jesus name it was broken. Also that the devil has been trying to kill me many times since birth but the Lord wants me to know that he has protected me.
All these things that were prophesied reaffirmed the 1st prophecy, gave me assurance that God is with me and that he is protecting me.
Despite receiving such prophesy, I slowly started to have doubts and fears , not as worse as before but they were still there. I felt I had no joy. But I realized that what God needed from me was to simply TRUST HIM COMPLETELY. And that’s not easy but each day as I put my trust in the Lord it is becoming easier.
Sorry for the very lengthy comment….do share with me your thoughts on the prophecies I received.
Thank you and God Bless you.
Justin
Hi Justin, that sounds like exciting prophetic confirmation of what God is doing in your life and what He is calling you to. He loves you so much that He doesn’t want you to be struggling with condemnation and fear, but to live with joy and purpose. The prophesies are an opportunity to line up your life with, and believe, what God says about you.
Just a couple of things:
Firstly, whilst the prophecies confirm each other, you also need to personally have a sense that you are called of God, so I encourage you to pray about it, hear from Him, and get the confirmation deep in your heart. Only then will you find the courage to do whatever it takes to move on with God. (Remembering, prophecy is conditional on you living your life God’s way)
Secondly, with a call to leadership on your life, it is vital that you find a safe person, preferably a mentor/leader in or known to your church, that you can share and journey with. It’s only as sin is brought into the light that it’s power over us is broken. A safe person will not put condemnation on you, but help you journey with God and know His grace, as well as deal with anything that you need to – and very importantly, provide accountability for you. See Eph 5:8-16, James 5:16.