Demonstrating The Gospel: Part 6
Prophecy
by Gavin Bennett
Begin with prayer (5 minutes)
Gather together as a Community in a comfortable setting. Have somebody lead a prayer asking the Holy Spirit to lead and guide your time together.
Read this overview (10 minutes)
(Note to the Leader: There will be a lot of reading tonight because it’s important that we set a common understanding for prophecy as we practice it together. You are more than welcome to send everyone the link so they can follow along with you as you read.)
In 1 Corinthians 14, we read that all followers of Jesus are to eagerly desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit but especially prophecy. And while for some prophecy is an exciting gift to embrace, for others it carries a layered and complex history. Though there are different definitions, we would define prophecy this way: hearing God’s voice on behalf of an individual or a group. Now, “hearing” is perhaps a little misleading, as we don’t mean with your literal ears. It won’t likely be auditory, but more often you will sense an image in your mind, a feeling in your body, a verse from Scripture, lyrics to a song, a word, or some other thought in your imagination. In short, prophecy is when God’s thoughts mingle with our thoughts.
Whenever we practice something, it’s helpful to have a model of some sort to guide us. Models give us a common language to use and a shared understanding of what’s going on. That said, the Holy Spirit is way bigger than any one model, so keep in mind that we are going to present and use a model for practicing prophecy, not the model.
A helpful way to think about prophecy is in three layers: Revelation, Interpretation, & Application. The guiding question of Revelation is “What do I sense/hear?” This is the thought, feeling, image, etc. that came to mind for you. The guiding question for Interpretation is “What does it mean?” or “What could it mean?” This is you trying to make sense of what you heard: Is it literal or symbolic? What could God be wanting to say through it? Lastly, the guiding question of Application is “What do I do with it?” Sometimes it’s shared with you to be shared with everyone in the room. Sometimes it’s shared with you to be shared with a specific person. And sometimes it’s shared with you to be prayed into being as intercession. In short: Who is it for? And when is it for?
If you sense the word is to be shared, remember that there is always wisdom in delivering a prophetic word with humility. It’s so common to get part of it right, but not all of it right. If the word you share doesn’t “land” or resonate, it’s because you’re learning discernment, not because you don’t actually hear God’s voice. So, when you share a prophetic word, try to stay away from language like “God told me...” or “God says...” and always say something like “My sense is that God may want to say…” or “I wonder if God is saying…” Saying it in a way that assumes that your sense is probably not totally right allows the person to receive whatever you’re saying more openly and with curiosity.
That said, there is also wisdom in practicing the gift of prophecy. Remember: prophecy is a gift that God gives, a deeper revelation of who he is and his heart for us. It takes practice to get this right. And it takes each other: we grow in community, not by ourselves. Prophecy isn’t a superpower — we are not playing with God’s power, we are stewarding God’s presence. We practice because we believe that God wants to speak to us more than we want to hear his voice.
So tonight we want to practice prophecy together.
Work through this practice tonight as a Community (30 minutes)
Tonight, we want to try hearing the thoughts of God for another person, or prophecy, through a game called “Duck, Duck, Prophecy.” But before we do, how do you know what to share? Here are two guiding questions that will help us set some ground rules for sharing prophetic words:
Is it strengthening, encouraging, and comforting? In 1 Corinthians 14v3, Paul clearly says that prophecy is. So, if the word that you have isn’t encouraging, don’t share it. The Old Testament is filled with prophetic words of conviction and rebuke, but that’s because before Jesus, the Spirit was only given to certain people — prophets. But now, through Jesus, the Spirit is given to everyone who asks. So the Spirit does the work of conviction in each of us. That said, sometimes God still convicts through prophecy, but it’s the most mature form of the gift, so let’s all agree to put it on the shelf for now. Again, prophecy is for strengthening, encouraging, and comforting.
Does it line up with the Scriptures? The two primary ways that God speaks is through the Word and through the Spirit. The Spirit of God will never contradict what he’s already said through the Bible. So, weigh your sense against the Scriptures: if the sense you have doesn’t line up with what you know the Bible says, do not share it. For example, the Spirit will never encourage someone into sin or temptation. Again, a prophetic word will never contradict the Bible.
Now, onto the game! Read the following directions for “Duck, Duck, Prophecy” out loud all the way through before playing. Leaders, consider taking another moment to pray and invite the Holy Spirit to speak through each person, and to quiet other voices or distractions that may get in the way of listening well.
The Leader Picks Someone – First up, everyone will close their eyes while the Leader walks around the room and quietly picks someone by tapping their shoulder. The person they tapped will be “receiving” the prophetic words. Just make sure that no one besides the person picked and the person who picked them will know who it is.
Everyone Listens – Next, the Leader will set a 60 second timer as the group pauses to listen on behalf of this unknown person. This may feel rushed, but it’s a great way to not overcomplicate things and to make sure there’s enough time to do a couple rounds.
People Share Words as Prayers — After the timer goes off, while everyone stays in the posture of prayer, anyone who wants can share the images, words, feelings, etc. that came up during that time. Rather than sharing them conversationally, though, have each person share the image through prayer. So with heads still bowed and eyes still closed, someone might say something like, “As we were listening, I saw a picture of a plant being repotted. I wonder if God is wanting to say something about entering a new season of life, so I want to pray into that…” or “Even though I don’t know who we’re praying for, I felt a sense of calm wash over me and feel like God might want to bring peace to that person. So I want to pray for that…”
Debrief — Lastly, once everyone who wants to share does, the Leader says “amen” and reveals who we were all listening for. This person then gets to share with the group about what stuck out from what was shared and what maybe didn’t resonate. The goal of this activity is not to get everything right. If you say something that doesn’t stick, that doesn’t mean you don’t hear God’s voice. People who have practiced prophecy for decades still get it wrong sometimes. In fact, when you don’t know who you’re listening for, it’s pretty safe to assume that you won’t get everything right. The goal is to practice learning what God’s voice sounds like and to practice sharing what it is you sense.
Repeat — Spend the rest of your night practicing prophecy together.
When the time comes, close in prayer. Thank God for speaking and for teaching us what his voice sounds like. Thank him for the gift of prophecy and for people to practice it with.
Discuss the coming week’s Practice (5 minutes)
The Practice for the week ahead is simple. Spend some time this week to intentionally listen on behalf of someone. You could start with someone in mind or you could ask the Spirit who you should listen on behalf of. You could do this every day or on your Sabbath. You could do it on your lunch break or when you wake up each morning. Just practice listening on someone’s behalf and then with humility (especially with those who don’t know Jesus) share with that person what you sensed.