Stewarding Prophetic Words
Kathy DeGraw
Your Destiny May Not Appear as You Think
Your destiny awaits…and it may not appear as you think. I was lying prostrate before the Lord the other night when I began to receive revelation from the Him on prophetic words.
The Lord was revealing to me that there are deeper understandings of our prophetic words, precisely the ways which they will manifest, that we are not discerning. Many of us are taking our prophetic words literally, instead of praying into them and exploring the option that they could manifest differently than how we think.
One example the Lord gave me is when people receive prophetic words that say they are going to be in missions, impact nations and have multicultural ministries. We usually assume when we hear those types of words that we are going to travel the world to different nations to preach and minister. People get anxious when they receive these words but don’t see the manifestation of them. They can get discouraged and give up on waiting for the prophecy to come to pass.
How to Steward Your Prophetic Words
When receiving a prophetic word, we should pray into it, discern it and ask the Holy Spirit for instruction and direction regarding the word. For example, impacting nations could come in the form of internet ministry.
There is a possibility some people will never physically travel, but that they will impact nations through media, books, TV shows and social media. When we receive a prophetic word, it appears as though our minds always lean toward in a direction of large-scale growth. We think in terms of worldwide ministry or the building of a multimillion-dollar ministry. We usually don’t stop to think of the different avenues God could use to manifest that word. Instead, we get mad because the word doesn’t manifest as quickly as we would like, or we give up on waiting for the word in our impatience.
As I continued to seek the Lord in this moment, I could see words that were misinterpreted. Where people thought there had been delay, this was not the case. There was a lack of understanding at the depth of the word. People receive a word and usually don’t go any further with it. When we receive a word, we should ask for the interpretation.
The Bible tells us that we “know in part and we prophesy in part” (1 Cor. 13:9). The person receiving the prophecy has a responsibility to deliver the word. Our part is to ask for revelation and application.
The Lord continued to reveal that one wrong interpretation can lead us in a different direction. We can be working toward one goal when His will can bring a different ending to our story. When we receive a word, we need to take time to allow the Holy Spirit to give us deep insights and direction into it. We can’t take it at face value. We must go deeper into discerning and dissecting every part of the word that was released over our life.
Seeking the Holy Spirit for the application of the word will truly bring forth transformation. I encourage you to take your current words and spend time in prayer, removing the distractions, and realize God’s will for your life.