FireSide Chat

Dear Teresa,

My question is one that I don't know if you've dealt with before, but is really bothering me. I'm still quite young (20), but I don't know whether I'm called to the office of the prophet or not.

I was prophesied over as a boy that I would prophesy in my youth, but that is not enough to tell me if I'm going to be in the office of prophet or not. In some ways I think that it doesn't matter, but on the other hand I feel that if that's where God is leading me then I would rather place more of my time and effort into pursuing that gift for the greater edification of the body, than just allow this area of gifting to rear it's head when it has to.

The prophetic stands out very strongly in my life, I find myself speaking and prophesying without intentionally trying to (although I've learnt to distinguish the difference now). On the other hand, I've also prayed and seen many healed--so I don't know what to do. I don't feel as much of a passion for healing the sick as I do for speaking a word of knowledge or prophecy for someone that meets them right at their point of need.

If you could guide me in the right direction as to what you think I should do, I would greatly appreciate it!

Passionate For The Prophetic

Dear Passionate For The Prophetic

You appear to ask the question, "Am I in the office of prophet?" But I think that the question you are really asking is: "What is my destiny and how can I best prepare myself for it?" I know you are at that place in life where you need to decide what to major in and how to train for your life vocation. I think you might be asking, "Should I train for ministry of for a secular vocation?" So I'd like to start by answering that question.

I don't believe that your spiritual gifting and your vocation are tied to each other. God is able to powerfully use prophets in all walks of life. There were some who were officially in "Full time ministry," like Moses, Samuel, and most of the judges of Israel. But there were others who were in secular vocations. Joseph was a slave and administrator of Portiphor's estate. Daniel was a politician. David was a soldier, then later a political leader. Amos was a shepherd. They were all anointed and powerful prophets, even thought they were not officially in "full time ministry."

There has been this "wrong thinking" that the only people who are ministers in the kingdom of God are those on the church payroll. But according to the bible, each and every believer is a minister of God with a calling, gifting and anointing. I believe there are apostles and pastors and prophets in the secular realm that have just as strong of an anointing as those in the churches. In fact, they may have a more powerful ministry because they can reach a lot of people who would never consider coming to church.

Let me give a couple of examples. I know a lady who has a very strong prophetic gifting. She is an insurance agent and has her own office and staff. She is very good at what she does and has won the "best agent" award from her company twice. When she meets with her clients, she frequently ends up prophesying to them-- believers and unbelievers alike. She has lead several people to the Lord when they came in for her appointment because of the keen prophetic words she has given them. She has also ministered deeper to several believers, who are clients of hers but don't go to her church. She ministers prophetically in her church as well as in her business. But she seems to have a much stronger prophetic anointing on her when she ministers in her business, because the Lord has given her authority as a prophet in the marketplace.

Here is one more example. I know am man who is a Christian lawyer. He has a strong healing anointing. He has had several clients come to him with assorted injuries/sicknesses and he has laid hands on them and prayed and they were healed. He has led many people to the Lord who would never set foot in a church. But they have legal needs, so they get a lawyer--and as a bonus, they get the gospel complete with a demonstration of God's power.

All that is to say that your vocation does not have to be overly tied to your gifting. God is anointing people as prophets and apostles in the business world, the educational system, and even in politics. It is possible God is calling you into full time ministry (as a pastor/prophet). But it is just as possible that He is calling you into ministry in the business world. So I recommend that you prayerfully explore your calling and destiny with Him instead of basing it on a spiritual gift.

Now, just in case I misunderstood what you were really asking, I am going to answer the original question,

"How do I know if I am called to the office of prophet?"

It sounds like you are definitely moving in the prophetic and that is a wonderful thing. Do you feel you would be able to more in it more strongly if you had a title, such as "prophet" or "office of prophet?"

I probably come from a different denomination than you do, with different practices. I believe that it is not important to use titles--believe me, people have tried to pin all sorts of titles on me, from "prophet" to "pastor" to "evangelist" to "apostle." They do that because they see me operate strongly in a certain gifting and they want to honor that gifting. But if I were to use any title at all, I would use the one that the apostle Paul claimed--bondservant. That is because when I had my commissioning vision, that is the title Jesus used with me. He asked me to be His bondservant, which is a fancy word for "personal slave"--not a very people-impressing title.

We are to do what Jesus did, which is to draw close to the Father and then to do what the Father did in His power and anointing. If He has given you a strong gift in the prophetic, then use it to do precisely what He is doing, and continue to press in to grow even more in the prophetic. But don't leave out "pressing in" for other giftings as well--healings, miracles, evangelism, pastoring, etc.

Does it matter whether or not you are in the "office of prophet"? I don't think so. I think that what matters is that you learn to see what the Father is doing and do it with Him, and that you grow in your personal relationship and intimacy with Him.

In my thinking, the "office of prophet" is a governmental gift designed to train and equip the body of Christ, to get them "doing the stuff" that God wants them to do in His power and anointing. In the prophetic, that would be to impart the prophetic into others and to train and equip them in being able to prophesy more effectively (with greater clarity, accuracy, power and anointing).

If God calls you to train/equip people in the prophetic, then you may be operating in the office of "prophet." But does it really matter? We all need to keep pressing into Him, growing in Him and growing in your gifting no matter what title we have. As soon as we allow ourselves to be defined by a title of man (instead of being defined by God), we are in danger of falling out of His perfect will. People will often try to mode you or shape us into something other than God's perfect will and greatest destiny.

The only way to stay on course is to stay really close to Him and to allow Him to be the one to define you. That is what Jesus did. He spent a lot of time in prayer and worship, and that enabled Him to see and hear what the Father was doing, then He would go and do it too, and as a result, He had a very powerful ministry.

So I encourage you--don't settle for man's titles, seek to impress God, and seek to get to know Him better and better.

I personally believe that there are different levels in Heaven, based on our walk here on earth. (I got this belief from something an angel said to me one time in a vision.) I believe that we will continue to grow in our knowledge and understanding of God throughout eternity--that He will constantly be revealing more of His limitless Self to us in Heaven. We will be able to experience and comprehend deeper levels of intimacy with Him as we grow in Him in eternity.

Everyone in Heaven will grow and be happy in Him, but the rate of growth will depend on what level you are at in Heaven. Those at the highest level will get to know God the fastest, and the level you get to be at in Heaven is based on your life here on earth. Those who are saved on their deathbed and did not know or serve God at all during their life will be at the lowest level. Those who knew Him intimately in this life, and who served Him and obeyed Him out of their great love for Him will be at the highest level.

So my advice to you is to seek to press in for the highest level in eternity, so that you can get to know Him better/faster in eternity. Don't make your prize a title, such as "office of prophet." Instead seek to make God (and getting to know Him better) your prize.