I received a prophetic word. Now what?
In the midst of life’s ups and downs, a prophetic word can encourage, uplift and yet at the same time leave us with many more questions. We find ourselves wanting to know what exactly are the steps to fulfill the promise of our prophetic words. The prophet always sees the end of the word, he or she doesn’t always see the journey that will get you there. Prophetic words don’t magically happen without a little work from each of us to fulfill that promise.
So the question is, how do we get from here to there? That is where faith along with action comes in. James 2:26 says, “ For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” We can want and believe with all our hearts that what God has spoken over us is true but we have to take some sort of action in order to bring this word to life. Here are 4 steps to help along your journey of bringing your word to life.
1.Prayer
- If you have your prophetic word saved electronically or even written down, your first step should be to begin listening to it several times and begin to declare that word over yourself.
For example, if the word says you are to be a missionary to Europe, your prayer and declaration should be “God is opening the doors for the plans he has for me, I will step out and be His voice to the people of Europe.” As you begin to pray over this, the faith inside of you will begin to grow stronger. It will be one of your passions and your dreams.
2. Fasting
- Prayer and fasting go hand in hand. In Matthew 17 (NASB) Jesus says that if you have the faith of a mustard seed you can move mountains. However, he also states that certain things do not go out or occur without prayer and fasting. Fasting is an action we take before God, where we begin to ask him for a bit more clarity. He sees the sacrifice we are making because he sees our heart. If our heart is to do His will for our lives, He will begin to work those things into motion. As we begin to fast, the clarity comes because we now fully trust that He will work everything out for us.
3. Seek Godly Council
- It’s important to surround ourselves with people who also want to see the fulfillment of Gods’ promise over us. It can be your pastor, your spiritual father or mother, your bible study group, whoever you trust that will begin praying for you and this promise. God can use people around us to give us clarity and to help us grow.
4. Timing
-Timing can be a very interesting matter. We often hear the word “soon”. Soon you will receive your miracle. Soon your prayers will be answered and so on. Soon doesn’t always mean tomorrow or the next day (but we can’t put God in a box. He can do whatever He wants, whenever He wants.) but it could mean whenever you have positioned yourself to see the fulfillment of your word. A question we must ask ourselves is, how badly do you want it? Often, timing is really a question of hunger. The word of God must consume every piece of you; that you’re willing to go any distance, willing to be stretched so fiercely because you understand that your prophetic word will happen in accordance to Gods’ timing.
The four steps that we have given you are just a small guide to help encourage you and your purpose. These steps have worked in many different situations in the past and our prayer is that you too begin to see the fruit of your labor. Gods’ plans for our lives are even greater than we can think or imagine. He’s asking each of us to come along this journey with Him to discover His heart and in doing so we can find our purpose.
Gods’ blessings on you,
John Harke Team
