Being so rooted in the whole counsel of God …
I’ve been wondering how this comes across. I have tried to ensure that it doesn’t come across as legalistic, and I have also tried to avoid passive legalism, but the heart of the issue is important—so please hear my heart as you read.
There’s a moment in Jeremiah 23 when the Lord speaks of prophets who run without being sent, who speak visions from their own minds rather than from His mouth. And then there’s that line—“Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29, ESV).
This is the tension—the prophetic gift is real. It is needed. We are in desperate need of the authentic prophetic voice in our midst—not at all meaning some of the gimmicks from recent years and varied quarters that can cross the seas.
Prophecy builds up the church; it strengthens, encourages, and comforts (1 Corinthians 14:3), but it is also weighty, meaningful—profound. It’s not the imaginations of the mind. To speak on behalf of the Living God is no light thing. The Word of the Lord is fire, a hammer, and if that fire has not first burned in us—if that hammer has not first shattered our own presumption—then we risk speaking from imagination rather than revelation.
Revelation is best understood as ‘revealing’—where God discloses, uncovers, and makes known that which He wishes to communicate at a given moment – and solely at His initiative and discretion . It’s not light, take-it-or-leave-it stuff!
Two sides of gift…
For those receiving a prophetic word, it is essential to recognise that prophetic people cannot manufacture words or revelation from their own will or intention. It is not a latent ability or a gift they can perform at will.
Let’s say someone comes up to you and says, “God told me to tell you…”—and, just for a moment, you wonder whether this is actually true. After all, it’s important. Trust is important. We need to be assured that this person has genuinely sat in the presence of the Lord, that the fire has refined them first, and that the words they bring carry the weight of Scripture.
If a prophetic word is not tested, it cannot be trusted.
The challenge when you receive a prophetic word is how can we test a prophetic word if we ourselves do not know the Word? No legalism is intended here, but if we have not immersed ourselves in the drama, the challenges, the deep and unshakable truths of Genesis to Revelation, then how will we know whether the voice we think we are hearing aligns with the One who spoke the world into being? Let’s not settle for surface-level engagement with the Word. We need more than scattered verses—we need to immerse ourselves in the full counsel of God.
For those who sense a prophetic call on their lives, let Scripture be your foundation. Before we seek to speak, we must learn to listen.
It’s difficult to reconcile a prophetic calling with a neglect of the Scriptures—it doesn’t align. Actually, it can’t. Before we share what we think God is saying, we must sit with, reflect on, and consider what He has already said.
This is not about legalism; it is about reverence and due diligence for those being ministered to. It’s about being so rooted in the whole counsel of God that when He speaks, we can actually recognise His voice. How can we declare, “I sense God is saying…” when we have not soaked ourselves in what the Lord has already said?
Scripture as the Plumb Line
The prophet Amos spoke of a plumb line—a measuring tool by which God would judge His people (Amos 7:7-8). The Word is our plumb line. It aligns. It measures. It exposes. If the words we speak do not stand up to the scrutiny of Scripture—not just in content, but in tone, in spirit, in emphasis—then we must have the courage to be silent rather than to speak falsely.
Silence is okay. Sometimes God is speaking in the silence—searching the heart, revealing agenda or intention.
A true prophetic person is not in a hurry; they weigh their words, sit with them, and hold them up to the light of Scripture, to the character of Christ, and to the wisdom of the body of believers.
Jesus, of course, gives us direction—Jesus, the Prophet greater than Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15), who only spoke what He heard the Father saying (John 12:49), whose words did not fall to the ground, who fulfilled rather than abolished, and who was Himself the Word made flesh (John 1:14). He is our great example.
If we would prophesy rightly, we must always look to Him—not a mere glance over our shoulder, but a full-on gaze, captivated by Him—and then ask ourselves: Is this word in line with the nature of Christ? Does it exalt Him? Does it reflect His mercy, His truth, His holiness? Because if it does not, then it is not prophetic—it might still be useful as a general encouragement. And encouragement is always welcome.
Honour the Word
Prophetic people apprentice themselves to the Scriptures, letting His Word dwell in them richly (Colossians 3:16), testing everything (1 Thessalonians 5:21), and allowing the fire to burn in them before they speak it over others.
Ultimately, this means we do not rush. We do not assume. We do not take lightly the privilege of being messengers of God’s heart. And it means that when we do speak, we do so with humility, with courage, and with the deep assurance that what we say has been measured by the unshakable truth of Scripture.
The truth is, the world does not need more opinions masquerading as prophecy. Rather, it needs a people who have been with Jesus, who know His voice, who honour His Word, and who speak with the kind of weight that can only come from having first been changed and transformed by the truth they proclaim.