What To Do With a Prophetic Word

Have you ever gotten a prophetic word that you weren’t sure was for you? If so, what do you do with it? What do you do with a prophetic word in general?

Today, I received a question from a reader stating that they weren’t sure a word they had received was for them. They asked for any tips or advice on what to do. So here is what I told them; I thought it might help you too.

Here are a few major keys regarding what to do with a prophetic word:

First:

When you receive any prophetic word, first always look to see if it is Biblical.

Isaiah 8:20 says this:

“To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20 NKJV).

If the prophetic word aligns with Scripture, even if it doesn’t resonate with you yet, move to the points below to give the word additional consideration.

However, if it doesn’t align with Scripture, throw it out immediately. (E.g. if a word is trying to get you into New Age, or to hurt someone, or if a word is condemning, or if a word is tempting you to sin in any other kind of way.)

Secondly:

If the word is Biblical, then even if you aren’t sure how a word applies to you, begin to pray about it.

Even if you don’t recognize something in a word at that moment, ask God to speak to you about it and to show you how it applies to you, and to show you whether or not the word applies to you at all.

Usually, He will show you a way that a word applies to you that you didn’t think of before, or that you didn’t notice before. He may also show you a different way to understand the word or apply the word that wasn’t your original, surface impression.

Or, He may also reveal events or knowledge that you didn’t know about, which then make the word make sense–and will then cause you to say, “Wow, Lord, you spoke that to me six months ago, and I didn’t even know that was going on! But You were already taking care of it then!”

Next:

As long as a word is Biblical, check your heart (and ask Holy Spirit to show you) to see if you are humbly considering the word without offense.

For example, one time the Lord gave me a word for a man, and the word was about being the Bride of Christ. He was highly offended, because he didn’t like to think of himself as the Bride.

Yet, the word was a great word–a word in which the Lord was inviting this man to come into higher intimacy with Himself. And it was absolutely Biblical; we are all, men and women, collectively the Bride of Christ. Yet, he was offended and couldn’t receive the word because it didn’t fit with his paradigms and preferences, even though it was an extremely kind and loving and Jesus-filled word full of promise from the Lord.

Also …

Just so you know …

In relation to the personal prophetic words I send when I occasionally do “virtual book signings” …

Please be aware that these are not generic words. I have never duplicated a word. I pray over every email and send you exactly what I believe I hear the Lord saying, and that word is unique to you … even when other people also are blessed by the word, like if I publish the word on a blog post for others to read. The word was still issued uniquely to you, after I prayed specifically for you.

However, we are all human and of course we are all learning, so it is possible that I could made a mistake. It would be prideful of me to assume otherwise! However–also however– 🙂 – I do agonize over these in prayer, making a significant investment of time in these words, and the testimonies we have received have been absolutely supernatural from these words.

So, even though it is physically possible that I could have messed up with a word and not heard the Lord properly, I do believe the Word of God where Jesus said that “My sheep hear My voice, and they follow Me,” and I do believe the personal words I send for those “virtual book signing” events are from the Lord.

But, just like I know I am Jesus’ sheep and can hear Him, YOU are also His sheep and can hear Him too.

In the Old Testament, the Lord told the Israelites to stone a prophet if they said an inaccurate word from the Lord. That was because Holy Spirit did not indwell people before Christ; He would only sit on them for a time and a task, and then He would lift off them. So when you said the Lord said something, if He didn’t, you got stoned … because the people had no way to test that word.

But in the New Testament, it’s completely different.

In the New Testament, Holy Spirit was poured out into every believer in Acts chapter 2. Thereafter, every believer in Jesus has God Himself living inside them. And so, every believer can now hear God for themselves–AND every believer can test a word with the help of Holy Spirit.

It’s a much more merciful environment for prophetic people, and for all God’s people, since we all are supposed to prophesy one to another.

THAT is why people are supposed to prophesy, and then the believers hearing the prophesy are supposed to judge it.

As the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 14:29 (under the inspiration of Holy Spirit):

“Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge” (1 Corinthians 14:29 NKJV).

So in the New Testament, we have an environment in which we’re all learning. Mistakes happen sometimes, but we all just seek to get better at hearing Jesus together.

But when it comes to a personal prophecy that is Biblical …

As long as the word is Biblical, t’s ultimately and only up to you, and between you and God, about whether or not you receive the word. It’s only the prophet’s job to pbey God and serve you by praying and delivering the word as best they can.

Personally, I test every word Biblically before I write it. But, it’s still up to you, the reader, to test it again for yourself, and to pray into it. It’s always necessary for any recipient of a word to take every word to the Lord. 

Finally, you should know that advance prophecy is a thing. 🙂

How many prophetic words in the Bible were given to God’s people long in advance? In the Garden of Eden, God’s advance prophecy began: He foretold the birth, death, and victory of Christ. Throughout the Bible, God has always foretold what He would do before He did it.

God actually doesn’t do anything unless He tells it to His prophets first.

As it says in Amos 3:7:

“Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7 NKJV).

Very often, the Lord has sent me words that are for me personally … except He sent them several years or months or days early. In those cases, I have gone back in my journals after the fact to look at a word, and I have been floored by the goodness of God. “Before you call, I will answer,” He said, and that is certainly true.

Prophecy is always either the forth-telling of something or the fore-telling of something.

If a word doesn’t resonate, remember that maybe the Lord would have you to file it and remember it, praying over it as needed, and that the word is for a future time. It doesn’t mean the prophet who ministered the word was wrong; it means God is challenging you to draw closer to Him by stewarding the word for a time before seeing it come to fruition.

One last thing about what to do with a prophetic word:

When you receive a word that invites you to do a thing that you haven’t done before, like operating in a new spiritual gift or opportunity or ministry, that is the time to pray about it, decide if you want it or not, and then birth it in the Spirit through intercession, preparation, faith, and action. That type of prophecy is not generally a guarantee; it is an invitation to birth.

Please let me know in the comments below if this helps you, or if you have any other questions! Blessings!