Why I Wrote The Heart of the Prophetic

If you’ve been reading The Voice magazine for any length of time, then you’ve discerned that I’m just plain passionate about the prophetic ministry. Prophets are vital to the Body of Christ.

Over the years in my capacity of editor of The Voice I have had the opportunity to mingle with many leaders in prophetic ministry for whom I have the utmost respect. However, I’ve also seen disturbing goings on in prophetic ministry that have stirred my spirit to pen articles regarding character issues and spirits that muck up the prophetic river. As God began to aggressively restore prophetic ministry in the 1980s it seems wolves in sheep’s clothing got a head start on true prophetic gifts the Lord has given the Church (Ephesians 4:11).

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Exposing False Prophets
While disclosing the false, I have also sought to edify true prophets who are stowed away in caves by the forces of religion and to comfort prophets who seem stuck in desert places with a bold word of the Lord that few will accept. I strongly believe for each visible prophet who is misrepresenting the prophetic ministry there are thousands of others who are functioning in the unadulterated ministry of prophet without the glam and glory. We may not know their names, but they are making an impact for Jesus. Thank God for them.

Finally, my essays often seek to exhort prophets and intercessors to look deep within their own souls for worldly fragments that skew their perspective of themselves, their brothers and sisters in Christ, and the Lord Himself. The seasoned British prophet Graham Cooke once said that a person could only prophesy in line with their revelation of who Jesus is. If our perception of Jesus is inaccurate, incomplete or immature, then our prophetic utterances will reflect as much. If our revelation of Jesus is as a judgmental God waiting to whack us upside the head at the mere hint of a mistake, then our prophecies will be filtered through this fear. Just as any believer, prophets and intercessors must know who they are in Christ and who Christ is in them. But prophets and intercessors must also be willing to look at those areas of their lives that are anything but Christ-like and crucify character flaws daily while resisting the spirits that try to creep in to pervert. The more accurate our perception of Jesus and the more Christ-like we are, the more accurate our prophetic utterances will be.

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Although there are many wonderful books on how to hear from God – and we need every one of them so that the saints can get equipped to know the voice and will of God for themselves – there are far too few materials that offer keys to flowing more accurately. What’s more, there is far too little talk in the Body of Christ about the character of Christ, or even the character of the prophets who foretold His coming. Elijah wasn’t perfect. He entertained Jezebel’s fearful threats. But he also received the Lord’s correction and completed his ministry with integrity. Isaiah didn’t come to the Lord with a perfect heart. He confessed the sinfulness of his mouth and withstood the fire of the Lord to cleanse him from unrighteousness. As New Testament prophets and intercessors, the Lord does not demand perfection. But he does demand a pliable heart that is as sensitive to His correction as it is to His unction to prophesy at the main event.

Helping True Prophets Flow
My goal with this book is to help prophets and intercessors speak forth what says the Lord with greater boldness – boldness that has its roots in confidence that we are hearing accurately; boldness that comes from a conviction that the Lord’s will must be communicated to the Church in these last days; and boldness with a clean heart that will not compromise God’s voice even in the face of the greatest temptation.

Listen, we must not allow the extremes, errors and excesses to scare us away from prophets or prophetic ministry. Likewise, we must not tolerate the underlying issues that lead to these extremes, errors and excesses. And we must not be ignorant to snares of the devil that pervert the voice of God and hijack prophetic ministry. There is enormous opposition to prophetic ministry and plenty of potholes on the supernatural highway to your destiny. Indeed, the spirits of Jezebel and Baal have already infiltrated some segments of prophetic ministry and false prophetic cults have risen with a vengeance. Their utterances begin with “thus saith the Lord” but the curses and judgments are by no means coming from His Spirit. This must not be so. God needs prophets and intercessors who are willing to count the cost, purify their hearts and take a stand for Him.

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In their classic book, “The Elijah Task: A Call to Prophets and Intercessors,”1 John and Paula Sandford discuss much-needed topics such as the restoration of prophetic ministry, the call of the prophet, the discipline and training of a prophet, and the proper discharge of the prophet’s duty. The prophetic duo makes clear in their text that prophets and intercessors must let the Holy Spirit shine light into the deepest recesses of their hearts:

When God shows a prophet some hidden forgotten sin, it is to save him from the effects of that sin. We, however, usually object violently and try to suppress the sight. We hate to look at our sin because we think it disqualifies us (which only shows how much we are still relying on ourselves and not in Christ). ‘All things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light’ (Ephesians 5:13). We should be glad to see our sin, for that will mean healing, but ‘men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil’ (John 3:19).

Yielding to the Holy Spirit
Let us be willing to allow the Holy Spirit entrance into every corner of our souls to reveal sinful attitudes, tendencies and character flaws that could open the door to the enemy. Let us not take a haughty position and say we have no sin, lest we be deceived before we ever get started. Let us have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus, who humbled Himself (Philippians 2:5) and let us learn obedience from the things we suffer (Hebrews 5:8). I assure you the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us (Romans 8:18).

This book may infuriate some, but that is not my intention. It’s inevitable that the truth will anger some, but it will also set many others free to be all that God has called them to be. It will protect them from the little foxes. In the wake of dam disasters that have killed precious lives and flooded cities, engineers often discovered a small leak in the concrete that, if repaired, could have averted tragedy. My goal is to help you discover those little leaks so the Holy Ghost can help you plug them.

Purpose of the Prophetic
God has a purpose for prophetic ministry and He needs His prophets willing to walk worthy of the vocation (Ephesians 4:1). Will you accept the challenge to come to new levels of accuracy in the prophetic? With it comes a dare to examine yourself, empty yourself, and fill yourself with the Spirit of God. Like John the Baptist, we must decrease that Jesus might increase (John 3:30). I pray what I have written on the pages that make up this book will serve as a prophetic wake up call to all of us and, in some small way, contribute to the complete restoration of vital prophetic ministry in purity and humility. He that has ears let him hear (Matthew 11:15).

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