Want To Be A Prophet? Learn To Shut Up!
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Sometimes I get the impression that people think serving in prophetic ministry means you talk a lot. The opposite is actually true. If you want to be reliable in prophetic ministry, I believe the #2 thing you can do (right after learning to hear God) is learning to shut up.
(By the way, if you like this post, you may also enjoy reading why I made some people mad when I wrote it, here.) 🙂
Here’s why you should learn to shut up if you want to be a prophet:
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1. God will tell you people’s secrets.
If you operate in prophetic ministry–which requires a deep, strong prayer life–God will call you to pray for people and He will tell you why.
That means you’ll know things about other people:
- through discernment of spirits–the ability the Holy Spirit gives to discern what spirit someone is walking in or being influenced by; and
- through words of knowledge–when random facts come to you out of the blue because the Holy Spirit whispers them in your ear.
If God tells you someone’s secrets, you can be sure it’s not for you to go tell people about. A better option is to tell nobody about it, and pray about it first. If God wants you to bring it up to the person, He’ll tell you so – and He’ll give you opportunity to talk to the person with good results.
Until then, shut up.
2. People will tell you their own secrets.
It’s the freakiest thing, but people talk to people who hear God. The reason could vary from person to person:
- Maybe they do it because they know you will stand beside them in prayer.
- Maybe they need an encouraging word, and they know you’ll be able to hear what the Father is saying.
- Maybe they just need to vent, and they feel you’re safe.
- Maybe they can sense the Father’s love in you, and they know you won’t condemn them.
I hope all four of these reasons are true for every person in prophetic ministry. At any rate, people will definitely talk to you. So how should you handle that?
- Honor their trust and keep their confidence.
- Protect them where possible (unless they are doing something illegal, like abusing a child; in which case go to the police, of course).
- Speak truth to them, but only as much truth as the Father releases you to speak. You’ll probably have plenty that you could say from your own flesh or opinions, but don’t do it. If the Father doesn’t tell you to say a particular thing, it’s because the person is not prepared to hear it.
When people tell you their secrets, you need to know how to shut up because you can’t share their secrets with others AND you can’t dump all your opinions and thoughts on them. Move slowly. Remember to walk in love and honor what they can handle.
Related: It’s Time To Ask the Tough Questions
3. God will tell you His own secrets!
Amos 3:7 tells us:
Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.”
God will give you glimpses of what He wants to do in the future. He doesn’t do it so you can talk about it all over the place. Sometimes it’s not time to release a secret like that. More often, God just needs you to pray.
Prayer might be the biggest reason God will tell you His secrets. So, when He gives you a dream, vision, word of knowledge or prophecy about something that He wants to do, start praying like crazy. Find Scriptures that support it and start speaking those into the situation. If you will do so, you’ll be a spiritual midwife, helping to birth the thing the Holy Spirit wants to release.
If, however, you go blab about what God wants to do and He didn’t give you permission to talk about it, somehow it can lose power:
- You can lose the impetus to pray;
- Other people’s doubt can hinder the new thing; or
- People that aren’t on the same page with what God is doing might even try to hinder it.
Be very careful when God tells you about His own future plans. Pray into what He shows you, and unless He tells you to say anything, shut up. 🙂
4. A good word at the wrong time is still the wrong thing.
Intercessors and prophetic people tend to hear God all the time. A problem can occur, however, when they think that NOW is always the time to share what God said.
Here are some times when it’s probably NOT appropriate to share what God said to you:
- When someone else is lost in worship and God is working them over. Please don’t interrupt them unless you’re the person in authority. Your word is unlikely to be more important than what God is doing.
- In the middle of a group prayer meeting, when what God told you in your quiet time that morning has NOTHING to do with the flow of prayer. If your word doesn’t flow with the meeting, your word was for you, not for the group, and doesn’t need to be shared.
- At the end of a meeting or discussion when the meeting is CLEARLY over. You may be disappointed that you didn’t get to share your word, but don’t worry about it. If people are done and want to leave, nobody will listen anyway. Save your word for a time when people can pay attention to it. Ask God when and where, and He’ll give you a time to share it if it needs to be shared.
No matter where you are in learning prophetic ministry, the #1 thing you can do is learn to hear God. After that, however, I firmly believe one of the most important disciplines you can develop is learning to shut up. Silence is golden when you’re armed with information that could make you dangerous. 🙂
In what other situations is it important to be silent? Share your ideas in the comments below!
Image courtesy of Mike on Flickr.
WHO would be mad about this very WISE post? I mean seriously? If anyone operates in the revelatory gifts you should WANT to get somewhere, SIT DOWN, and BE QUIET. I will say this…when God reveals something about a person, one should always be astonished like Daniel. If you are a Seer, you would really want to shut up FOR REAL. I know that some things God reveals are people’s deep secrets that only God and that person knows. I can remember being…embarassed when God revealed the deep things and it would lead me STRAIGHT to prayer. I would have to be admonished by Our Father to even say something at the RIGHT time and then learning HOW to deliver the message in the manner of Our Father was a challenge. Being prophetic does not =mean/brash/rude but love power and sound mind. Perfect strangers will tell you their business and it can sometimes overwhelm you. I believe this is where proper prophetic training and an intimate relationship with God is very crucial. So I ask again, WHO has the audacity and gumption to be offended by this wisdom and truth? If you have an ear…EVEN IF IT’S ONE GOOD EAR, hear what Holy Spirit has to say! #getdelivered
I could tell you who, but then I’d have to… Oh wait. This isn’t that kind of blog. 😉 Yeah, I agree.
I find that the hardest thing for me to do is to zip my lips if I have something to say.
It is the restraining part of love. I prefer not being able speak then being able and then having to restrain my tongue. IE if I don’t know I can’t speak. I have been on journey on zip your lips 101 since 2000-2012. I think God reveals secrets about others and Himself to those whom He can trust. I might write a book called “My Child, Not everything you have is useful to Me.”
Vern, you made me laugh. Yes, zipping one’s lips can be difficult indeed! But it helps to ask the Holy Spirit to bear His fruit inside us – the fruit of self-control especially! He’s just so good at helping us in all our weakness, isn’t He? 🙂
Thank you for sharing, and thank you for reading! Have a wonderful day!
Thank you Jamie. 💛
Yes Ma’am! This is awesome. Thank you so much for this teaching and exhortation Jamie.
Thank you for reading, friend. May Papa give us all wisdom in this matter! 🙂
Still i m paying the price for not keeping my mouth shut. I was excited when I got revelations and in my immaturity started telling everyone around me, See God told me this, God told me that…. after 8 yrs only, in 2015 November, i could realise most of them were fake, including my family members… now in 2017 January i was searching net for a prayer to pray against an unjust situation… Accidentally reached this blog.. i found God’s love and wisdom flowing through you… I m not ‘excited’ after these long years suffering.. now I know what will happen if we don’t shut our mouth up… Love you so much Jamie.. God bless
So glad it helped, Rejitha. Father can make all things new!
Read and was blessed by this lesson again! This is good all day – every day – infinity.
Sound wisdom and truth.
Praise Jesus for you, Jamie!
thanks for teaching me how to be
AMEN
Wow..Thank you so much for this teaching Jamie. I have had revelations about people and would tell others as well,but regret afterwards. I would wonder why..now I know silence is golden until Holy Spirit allows me.
Yes; otherwise, it’s usually gossip and/or slander, character assassination, etc.
Wonderful post! Thank you! I want to be a prophet, I want to be a seer, but where do I start?
You asked what other situation could ot be important to shut our mouths?
I didn’t handle this properly. When things are happening to you (God has you in refining fire) and you try to share your frustration. People won’t believe you and may even get angry with you and it also can create more negative talk about you because they think you are a lunatic. This helped Jamie, thank you.
i really appreciate for the information i got today
still looking forward to explore more so that i can be well equiped with the wise teaching
thanks
I appreciate your words.
Thank you ❤️ I needed this to grow in my spiritual walk.
Very helpful, I’ ve made lot of mistakes. But now I know, God bless you.
The website is great and I hope one day GOD would use me to help others . I pray daily and seek GOD keep up good work.
wow may the lord almighty bless u i wanna be a prophet so u made a postive thing unto my life
Good morning!
Before I read your words about the prophetic. I always felt,maybe it’s me,and my insecurities, immaturity better known as baby feelings in the things of God. I say this because I would walk away from a budding prophetic alpha friend of mine feeling bound and annoyed more times then I care to share. I’m constantly told I have a spirit of offense so I’m not told much anymore. I understand she is yet learning her footing in the prophetic, but cutting people up with her tongue and her condescending tone, is that the heart of the Father? I pray she soars in God. However, I need God’s wisdom in supporting her growth but I need to know if this is God or her imperfection manifesting. I love her but I don’t know if I can continue to be cut up and judged. HELP!
Frances, the gift of prophecy is only to be used to edify (build up), encourage, and comfort the church. If this person is cutting, shaming, judging, or whatever else in the name of prophecy or anything else, she needs to stop. She is untrained and out of line, as well as out of Biblical bounds. You are right to have a red flag if that is what she is doing. Speak out loud that you reject every false prophecy that has been spoken, and confront her according to Matthew 18. (You might want to study up on the gift of prophecy first, so you’ll be confident in what you say. Here’s an article I have that will help you.)
Blessings–and I’m sorry you are going through that.
In Christ,
Jamie Rohrbaugh
Shut up when someone else wants to share their heart . Listen . Don’t share your situation that’s similar . Unless God said to . Most people just want to be heard . And acknowledge you heard and ask questions about their pain etc… then listen . Don’t share how to fix their problems . Just listen . Bless them .
Shut
I agree shut up . Unless God says to speak.
I was in a prayer group and at the end a lady said to me
I am a seer and then shared what GOD SAID about me .
It WAS GOD and his Word and it was beautiful . I was already hearing things and going through this and HIS WORD was COMFORT PEACE confirmation
Etc…
I won’t share it cause it was for me .
But hear God and listen to him while you shut up .
Then you can hear .