Worship Prophecy

i've been a part of many circles in my life where prophecy was and is common.

i believe in prophecy. i have been prophesied over and have prophesied over others. this is why i feel i'm qualified to mention 2 things about prophecy.

prophecy presents both a value and a challenge. i'm not talking about the content of a prophecy necessarily, but what that actual event of being prophesied over does. it gives a value and a challenge.

first of value. the value in a personal prophecy is that it tells you something. good, bad...it tells you something directly from God. its awesome. even when the "word" is challenging, it is so cool because you feel like you've been given a picture of what will or could be. it lets you know that God has a plan and your life isn't a series of mistakes, but a progression toward what God has for you. whether it is a statement of something good that will be fulfilled in your life or if it is a warning of what to change, you leave that moment knowing that God is aware of you and loves you and wanted you to know something.

the challenge is what to do with the prophecy. often in the wake of a positive prophecy the action can be to go to sleep. what i mean is...you are told something great God wants to do, so you think it will just "happen" and while in some cases that may be legitimate, in most cases, i would think, there is still action and path-walking to do on our part to get to where it is God has spoken to you about.

when i was a kid i was told time and time and time again that God had great things for me, that God would use me in great ways. I have been told i would be singing in front of crowds of thousands, that i would...you get the idea.

the challenge for me was i thought it should just happen.

for the longest time i was so frustrated with the churches and environments i was in and their lack of growth. but i was completely blind to my own lack of growth.

like a son waiting for an inheritance, i thought it should just be planted in my hand immediately and there wasn't any need for me to move my own heart.

what i have found is that a "good word" can lull us to sleep like a mother's soothing words to their child at bedtime. and like the child falls asleep and begins to dream, we are "dreaming" if we think that God doesn't at the same time desire that we be active in our development.

we can begin worshiping the prophecy instead of The One source of Truth.

like those given "talents" in the gospels, we are expected to work with what we have. and what we have is not only a "word" for the future, but the gifts, talents, and abilities God has given us to help in moving toward the accomplishment of what God has told us.