Prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21)
When our words of advice fall on deaf ears, it is easy to feel defeated. Many of us want our advice to family, friends, or neighbors to produce significant change in them. We see their hurts, and we want our friends to hear of God’s redeeming love. We want selfish neighbors to be moved by our kindness and insecure spouses to be assured of our abiding love. However, often the most significant words and actions offered by friends are those that were never intended to be prophetic.
I was sharing a parenting struggle, and a friend offered that the adult she trusted most in her life when she was young was the one who saw her heart instead of her behavior. That trusted adult’s words impacted her because they originated in a love for God and were carried along to her by the work of the Spirit.
Like a vine connected to a branch, when the life-giving love of Jesus flows through our veins and produces fruit in our lives, our words often have a more prophetic impact on the kingdom than when we use Scripture to convince like a lawyer uses case law. God doesn’t need us to build his case for him. He wants us to be so close to him that we don’t even know it when he is using us to speak truth to another.
To speak truth, know God through his Word and his people.
Erin Crisp is executive director of The Center for Learning and Innovation at IWU National & Global, and a contributing writer for Annesley Writer’s Forum.
© 2020 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
