What is this ‘prophecy’ that Paul speaks about? It evidently has a different status to that of Old Testament prophecy and also to that revelatory function exercised by the apostles in writing the books of the New Testament. It is not so much a matter of revealing the ultimate plans of God for the world, as speaking words which encourage and build up a particular person or community. But prophecy is more than just a word of encouragement. It is the expression of God’s heart for a person or a people at any given time. It might at times be predictive as was the word of Agabus in Acts 21:11, but it is not primarily about prediction. It is primarily about edifying people and giving life through the spoken word. This is a mysterious area and difficult to define exactly. Things like this are understood through practice and right application. The key to the right application of prophecy was given in the last chapter. It is love. We should not focus on prophecy for its own sake. Focus on speaking in love to people. Don’t say to yourself, “I want to prophesy”. Say to yourself, “I want to love others”. Then ask God to reveal his heart for another person and to give insight into how you can encourage them. As you prayerfully speak out in love you may just find that your words have more poignancy and power than you could ever have produced by your own ingenuity. Words that come from a prayerful heart of love inevitably become prophetic.
Ask God to help you encourage someone who needs encouragement.
Read 1 Corinthians 14:1-25
