Prophecy—A Christian’s Crystal Ball? Thoughts on Discerning God’s Voice from Among Men
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Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, Marmaduke, Andy Capp, and the Horoscopes. More or less in that order. Was Calvin going to conquer some new universe? Should Garfield go on a diet? Was I going to have a good day? Should I have stayed in bed?
What better way to start my morning than a few laughs, and a blueprint for how my day would go?
If I wanted to get real serious, the night before I could call a late night hotline, and get my palm read through the telephone by a qualified psychic, for a low price. Or, I could go get my future foretold to me via tarot cards, keeping my fingers crossed, and my rabbit foot on hand for extra luck so I don’t get the death card.
Crazy right?
As a Christian you see the humor, while recognizing the danger of Satan and how he misleads. Unfortunately I have seen many Christians who have swapped superstitions and the sources that mislead them, because it appears “Christian.”
I am not writing this article to debate whether or not the prophetic gift is alive and well. What I do want to do is point out some things I have seen, which scare me a great deal. Not only does it scare me, it reminds me of exactly what I joked about a couple of paragraphs above.
Here in Peru, there are many churches that hold prophetic conferences, and create special services in order for people to receive prophetic words. There is a huge push for people to hear intimate words from God. In fact, there is even a Spanish Facebook application you can join that will give you a daily prophetic word.
What I have generally observed is when a person receives a prophetic word, they often re-order their lives according to the encouragement they receive, (which is their personal and intimate decision before God). Then as part of that re-ordering process, they might experience some difficulty, which makes them thirst for another “word from God.” As a result, as they feel more lost, they begin to chase prophets looking for a new Word. This phenomenon is conveniently measurable whenever a special guest prophet comes to a Church because the Church is ALWAYS packed.
My guess is that this sort of phenomenon occurs all over the world.
Why does this happen? Why do we thirst so desperately to know exactly what we are supposed to do with our lives?
As I think through those questions I believe Saul may be a very good starting point for us all.
In 1 Samuel, we can see Saul was made King by God, as the anointed leader over His people. Some of Saul’s blessings are even recorded as receiving the “Spirit of God” which led him to give prophesies and to receive righteous, judgmental anger. (Quite an impressive blessing considering the Holy Spirit was not available to all).
Shortly after his holy coronation, Saul failed in following the commandments of God. He was rebuked by Samuel and his future lineage lost the appointment as King over God’s people. Everything changed “al toque,” seemingly in an instant from night to day. Saul continued to partially “heed” the Lord’s commandments, and as a result he was completely rejected by the Lord as King.
As Saul began to see God’s favor over David, and a clear separation in his own personal relationship with God, there was an extreme amount of jealousy. There was also desperation on Saul’s part, as he struggled to find purpose in a life stripped of meaning. In chapter 28, we see Saul desperately trying to hear from God. Yet God did not respond to his terror filled inquiries. According to 1 Samuel 28:6, the Lord “did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets.” So Saul then went to a medium, who was used to bring Samuel back from the dead for a quick conversation. Saul sought answers to the questions which plagued him—what would he do with his life and what should he do about the Philistines who were at the kingdom’s preverbal doorstep.
We may have some difficulty in understanding why God closed the lines of communication between himself and Saul. Yet if we honestly look at the “relationship” Saul had with God, it becomes apparent that Saul was more about Saul than he was about God. This is specifically true in reference to Saul following the will of the Lord.
Interestingly enough, the will of the Lord is how this whole topic can be brought full circle. I am not here to put God in a box and say that He does not give specific encouragement through people for His followers. I have seen it happen in my own life. What I am saying is many people, who are wanting to receive prophecy, do have access to the intimate voice of God, and have decided to listen to man instead because man is touchable.
God is abundantly clear that if you knock, He will answer. If you are in line with His will, you will start to see His answer in His perfect blessing. It is quite natural to want to know the will of God in your life. However, because of our flesh, it can be difficult to patiently wait and listen for His will. Here is where we need to rely upon the Holy Spirit we received when we accepted Jesus Christ; the same Holy Spirit that convicts (John 16:7-11), counsels (John 14:16), guides in truth (John 16:13), produces spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23), and is the giver of spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12).
We do not need crystal ball speakers. We do need persistent patience and guarded hearts which petition God. In our reliance on Him, we can trust that He will provide encouragement according to His will alone.
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