Prophecy may be the most misunderstood gift in the church. Some Christians believe it ended when the Bible was finished. Others treat it as a style: a certain tone of voice, a certain kind of music, a few people waving flags. And in recent years, public exposure of abuse in some prophetic ministries has left many believers wary of the whole subject.
Yet Paul wrote to an ordinary, messy church, “Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:5). He did not expect the Corinthians to write Scripture. He expected them to hear from God. So what is prophecy, how do you test it, and how does a believer grow in it?
Why Prophecy Is Hard to Define
Any time we reduce the prophetic to something neat and definable, we get it wrong. Look across the whole Bible and almost no two instances of prophecy look the same.
Sometimes God speaks directly to and through a person. “Then the LORD said to Samuel” (1 Samuel 3:11). Balaam was hired to curse Israel, but “the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth” (Numbers 23:5), and he blessed them instead.
Sometimes a person is so in tune with God’s character that they can speak for Him faithfully. Daniel counseled King Nebuchadnezzar, “break off your sins by practicing righteousness” (Daniel 4:27). Jeremiah wrote to the exiles in Babylon to build houses, plant gardens and “seek the welfare of the city” (Jeremiah 29:7).
Sometimes God backs the declaration of a prophet. Elisha pronounced judgment on Gehazi for taking payment from Naaman, and it came to pass (2 Kings 5:20-27). Peter told Sapphira what was about to happen to her, and it did (Acts 5:1-11).
More Than One Item on a List
Many believers learned the spiritual gifts as a list of nine from 1 Corinthians 12:8-10: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues and interpretation. But Paul is not giving an exhaustive catalog. He is making a point about the variety of the Spirit’s work in the body, and the list is illustrative.
Notice how many items on that list overlap with the prophetic. A word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, faith and discerning of spirits all involve receiving something from God that you could not know on your own. Prophecy is not a narrow slot. It is a broad category of the Spirit’s work.
How to Test Prophecy
Prophecy may not be easily defined, but it can be easily discerned. Scripture commands it: “Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21).
The first and best test is simple: How helpful is it? Paul describes the purpose of prophecy plainly: “the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” (1 Corinthians 14:3). A word that no one can verify, that has nothing to do with the person receiving it, or that floats so far into the future that it changes nothing today, fails that test.
### Most prophecy is about the present
We tend to think of prophecy as prediction. But most prophecy in Scripture speaks to the moment. Prophets like Nathan, Elijah and Elisha addressed what was happening in their day. Even the writing prophets, who do speak about the future, devote much of their work to their own generation, and their predictions usually carry instruction for the present. In the New Testament, prophecy as Paul describes it in 1 Corinthians 14 is overwhelmingly about building up the church now.
### Allow a margin of error
“The spirits of prophets are subject to prophets” (1 Corinthians 14:32). Every prophetic word passes through a human being, and like a coffee filter, that person subtly shapes what comes through.
Scripture shows this honestly. When David wanted to build a temple, the prophet Nathan told him to go ahead. “But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan” (2 Samuel 7:4), and Nathan returned with a correction. Agabus foretold that Paul would be bound in Jerusalem (Acts 21:10-11). Paul was indeed bound, though the details did not unfold exactly as Agabus described.
None of this means anything goes. It means we weigh what is said, hold on to what is good, and do not throw out the prophetic because a human vessel is imperfect.
Is Prophecy for Every Believer?
There is a real tension here. Paul says, “I want you all... to prophesy,” and in the same letter asks, “Are all prophets?” (1 Corinthians 12:29), expecting the answer no. Rather than rushing to resolve that tension, it helps to see three levels of prophecy:
1. Canon-level prophecy. The prophecy of Moses, Isaiah and the apostles that became Scripture. This level is closed. No one adds to the Bible, and every other prophetic word is tested by it. 2. Institutional prophecy. Some believers serve in the role of a prophet, speaking to the church at large and to the culture. This is rare. 3. Individual prophecy. Every believer can hear from God for themselves and for the people in their sphere of life. This is what Paul longs for the whole church to experience.
There is a difference between someone who is a bass player and someone who can play the bass. Not everyone is a prophet. But every believer can hear from God.
The Key to Unlocking the Prophetic
Many people assume prophetic gifting comes from a dramatic altar moment: someone lays hands on you, and now you can prophesy. But hearing from God is not reserved for a spiritual elite, and anyone who makes it sound mysterious and out of reach deserves caution. Paul warned about people who “make much of you, but for no good purpose” (Galatians 4:17).
The key is familiarity with the most prophetic thing there is: the Word of God. Scripture is “sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12), and Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit “will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). The prophets of Israel were steeped in the Law of Moses, and much of what they spoke flowed straight from what God had already revealed. The same is true for us. The more you know the Bible, the more readily you can recognize when a thought is from the Lord and when it is from you.
You cannot read the Bible again and again without it leaking out of you.
Get Alone with God
Finally, the prophetic grows in the secret place. Jesus withdrew to pray. Elijah met God alone. Prophecy is not unlocked in a moment of hype but in a life of consistent, quiet time with God and His Word, day after day.
At Citylight Church, we believe the Holy Spirit still speaks, and that every believer can learn to hear His voice. Open your Bible, get alone with God, and expect Him to speak.