What are Prophetic Words?

First off, prophetic words are God speaking to an individual about something He has done, is already doing, or is going to do relating to a person or a group of people. The purpose of prophetic words is to communicate God's heart and intentions to people and to trigger growth individually and in the world.

Before Christ came, the only people who could hear God's voice were the prophets of the Old Testament (they were essentially intermediaries between God and man). These individuals were extremely rare; as such, only a select few ever heard from the prophets (and therefore God) in their lifetime. We see many examples of words being fulfilled in the Old Testament through kings, peoples, and nations, but it was rare to have a personal connection with God due to sin.

Through Jesus, God provided access to purity from sin through His sacrifice and a helper He calls the Holy Spirit. Now, through the Spirit, every believer can hear God for themselves and have a relationship with God in a way even the prophets couldn't. Before the fall of Eden, mankind walked among God, but now, He lives in us and through us. Prophetic words are a part of that new life, but they take a different role than the Old Testament... they are meant to confirm, realign, and initiate God's word to people who already have access to His voice. 

But what does that look like? And how can you take part in it? 

Below are 8 tips for giving prophetic words.

1. Access His Voice

The journey of Hearing God for yourself begins in your private life by getting to know God on a deeper level. Have you ever seen two people having a conversation across the room just by making eye contact? It is because they know each other so well that it doesn't even take words.

When it comes to hearing God's voice, you can get to know Him through worship (which can take many forms), prayer (contending and conversating with God), and community (fellow believers in your church, city, and household). (insert verse)

2. Find a Trigger

Sometimes, God will drop the whole word on you when you are open to hearing Him, but oftentimes, it takes actively pursuing the word. When giving prophetic words, you can often start 'trigger', which is just a point of relation to speak off of. Examples include: an image, song lyric, name meaning, or any of your senses. Take that trigger and ask what God is saying about it in relation to the person or situation. For example, you can get an image of an ocean, and the word on that can be "In this next season, God is taking you into deeper levels of identity. He is going to reveal hidden talents in you like treasure in the ocean. He will help you develop these talents and provide insights about your purpose. 

3. Ask for Approval

For obvious reasons, giving prophetic words should be taken very seriously. Sometimes when you sense something, you're not supposed to share it.

First, ask God if the word should be delivered to the person. Sometimes hearing something from God is to make you aware of a situation or give insight into something, not necessarily to move it. When giving prophetic words in a church, one should ask leadership for permission to release words. Honor is an important part of the Kingdom and submitting yourself to healthy authority gives access to their guidance about the prophetic.

4. Be Intentional on Delivery

You can hear the right thing from God, but how you deliver it is just as important.

Say you discern that someone has a substance addiction. Going up to them and saying, "God told me you are addicted to drugs and wants you to change" poorly communicates God's heart and is dishonoring to the person, especially if the word is given in public. You could instead say, "God sees you are struggling with an addiction, and He wants to walk you through a healing journey that will bring you freedom from it." This communicates that God isn't looking down on them, but wants to help them be free, and it doesn't 'air dirty laundry' in a dishonoring way. Again, the point is to initiate God's work in people's lives, not to condemn them or give yourself glory. 

Ask yourself: is it edifying, uplifting, and encouraging?

5. Take Responsibility for Your Words

This cannot be stressed enough: you must take responsibility for what you say on behalf of God. In the Old Testament, prophets were literally stoned to death if they gave an incorrect word. Thankfully, we live under a new covenant of grace, but it is important to understand that giving a prophetic word can alter people's lives.

If you have a 'big word' like someone is going to have a child, or they are going to get a promotion, make sure you are willing to walk the word out with them, especially if it relates to a growth process. Check-in on the person, encourage them. This is what it means to steward your prophetic gifts. It's like the parable of the servants with the talents, the servant who poorly stewarded the wealth his master gave him lost his position and livelihood while those who stwearded it were given far more abundance. I have personally seen the effect of this in many people's lives.

6. Practice Prophesy in Healthy Spiritual Relationships

Having a church community and friends on your spiritual journey is vital. They can help you walk out words in your life and are a healthy place to practice giving and receiving prophetic words. My home church in New Braunfels, TX- Legacy, does prophetic training where we teach principles of prophetic responsibility, how to deliver words, and triggers to hear God's voice. The leader of this ministry, Cindy Hatcher, coaches us as we go. Many of the people who take the training are new to the prophetic, but the best way to learn is to practice and be refined by a healthy leader. 

7. Know You Receive in Pieces

1 Corinthians 13:9-10 states, "For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears." Proverbs 25:2 says, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings." Only God knows and understands everything, part of prophesy is the revealing of mysteries, but we only get a piece of the whole picture. That is why being in fellowship with other believers is important, everyone brings a piece to the table.

Know that it is not on you to provide every answer. At the end of the day, it is God's wisdom paired with man's willingness that moves mountains. 

8. Take Part in Prophetic Expression

One way to develop your prophetic gifts is to practice creative expression with the prophetic. Essentially, it's getting comfortable with 'getting in the flow' of the prophetic. Examples like prophetic drawing, dancing, and singing can help you get out of your head and open to hearing the Spirit speak and move in you. We are made in the Creator's image so we are made to create; getting in the prophetic flow is pairing your creativity with His divine inspiration.