Why and How Prophets get attention…

I watched a speaker in the last month fire off about prophesy.

I think it went a little like this,

…

“People want to be prophets…Oh yeah well read Isaiah and Jeremiah and get back to me….No really!?

People want to be prophets…Oh yeah because they want all the attention … So read Isaiah and Jeremiah and see if you want to become a prophet! Ha!”

I nodded along for a bit… and then … wait what?

Who got to choose this?

Who , other than some false prophets, woke up one morning and decided to be a prophet?

The road of coming to that thing called “prophet” is a lonely road where you stumble about trying to figure out how and why you know things others don’t… all the while only getting slammed if you get one thing wrong, and then sometimes getting equally slammed when you were right.  Then when you finally get some legs under you…there is the realization that you may not want to know these things… and many sort of self destruct trying to be like everyone else.  Then if you are lucky to be mentored or  get your hands on a book or piece it together with Him…. you live a life of seeing the trains coming down the track in peoples lives and wanting to save everyone from their self…until you realize you can’t…and you can just pray.

And who but the 1% of 1% are getting “attention” for it?  A few of them I know, and many scurry country from country with a mix of fear and Strength… all compelled by a Creator and not for “attention”…which could get them killed.

Most of the prophet’s work (and I am using a wide umbrella there) is done one on one.  You go to people and talk right to them.  But more often than not you are left with prayer, alone with you and your God.  If you are really lucky you get another prophet to confirm or deny what you are Hearing… and you can pass each other notes to pray about. That is like “prophet gold”… again very little “attention ” in that.

That prophets do what they do out of  a choice “to get attention” would be like saying to a pastor that they became a pastor to get the attention of Sunday morning.  We all know that behind the scenes  (good) pastors are spending time with God trying to hear and all the other time in hospital rooms and broken marriages and at weddings and all the while trying to find time to devote to their family.  To say something like that about pastors would be ignorant and disrespectful…and stupid.

I thought it was an incredibly silencing comment.  As many places in the Word that He encourages prophets to seek out their gift, I imagine there were many prophets in that room who heard it.  Probably many of the people with prophetic giftings don’t even know they have it because most churches don’t have much set up for that gifting.  Worship members have practice and well, you can play an instrument or sing …or not, so that is that.  Teachers are considered pretty harmless and helpful and thus encouraged…we have Sunday School and Discipleship classes for them.  But the prophets are left to figure it out for themselves… and if they speak out of turn… it’s shut down.

Worshipers are allowed to play bad sets or have off weeks after already having the opportunity to practice with other musicians…

Teachers could get it wrong and they get to teach next week…

A pastor can stumble over his sermon and generally is right back up front next week…

but a prophet…. ( oh bully ask me how I know)

and I don’t mean to criticize that one speaker I watched… besides I could have the quote off and I don’t know what he intended with that comment… but it doesn’t change the fact that I believe this mindset  may be a pretty common misconception.  I also believe this misconception is prevalent enough that many who believe they have prophetic abilities sit quietly and choose to ignore their gift because the church does not encourage it….and in fact often thinks it a clanging bell. Or worse does things to discourage  it.

In my lifetime I have had the great honor to walk with the great prophets of our time as you have seen here at Aseedinspired… I have had the opportunity to be validated and encouraged by the best in the world… that helps….so when I hear speakers go on about how prophets do it for the attention… I can just listen and not be offended or insulted…. because those type of speakers don’t get it.  They don’t get how the only attention the prophet wants … the only attention a prophet craves is His.

~

(from Bible Gateway)