Discovering Your Roar – The Prophetic Voice
“Have you ever heard the statement, ‘People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care?’ I made this a core value many years ago, and I’ve tried to live by this throughout all my years pastoring and leading people. It’s good to show people you care. It’s good to express love through acts of kindness.
“Yes, we need to show love. We desperately need the power of the Holy Spirit flowing through our hands in signs and wonders and miracles. But let’s not forget that the Holy Spirit is also the voice of prophecy, words of wisdom, words of knowledge, and gifts of faith that cry out to be expressed with words.
“…People need words. They crave to hear something genuinely prophetic, from someone removed from the absolute closeness of their situation to speak life to them. Unfortunately, many have lost the prophetic voice – their roar. Believers are reading their Bibles, listening to podcasts, attending church, mailing finances to missionaries, but the busyness of this life and the proverbial phrase, ‘People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,’ has silenced many.” (Brian Gibbs)
“Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying.” (1 Corinthians 14:5; NASB)
Give Him 15 minutes in prayer:
- Are you more comfortable working the works of Jesus than saying the words of Jesus over people? If so, ask the Lord to give you the faith and grace to operate in the verbal gifts, as well.
- If you have silenced your prophetic voice over the years, you get to repent.
- Begin by interceding out loud. Find a place you can speak out your prayers for others. It can be a closet, another room in your home, your office, or your car. It will make it easier to later speak those words to others in person.
- Commit 1 Corinthians 14:5 to memory and ask God to work this in your life. Exercise this grace gift as often as you can until the prophetic gifts are flowing from your lips.
- Prophesying over a city or nation is just the same as prophesying over a person. Ask God for words to speak life to America. Declare and decree those things.
A prayer you can pray:
Lord, it is much easier to show people how much Jesus loves them by engaging in acts of service. It takes much more faith to speak Your words of life and love and exhortation. The verbal prophetic gifts are not natural for me. Holy Spirit, You are going to need to give me the faith and training to open my mouth and speak prophetically over people. I will find a place to pray out loud and practice. Fill my mouth with Your words. Show me what scriptures to use as Your sword in various situations. Then, make me bold to share those words with the people I have been praying for. In 1 Corinthians 14:5, Apostle Paul said, “Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying.” This is Your Holy Word. Paul expressed Your heart’s desire for the Church. God, You spoke all things into being. Your words spoken through Your Church into the earth realm even today will bear fruit. This is what You said in the Bible. So, give me Your perfect words to pray over others, to pray into situations, and to pray over our cities and this nation. I desire to be a prophetic mouthpiece in fulfillment of Your Word, Jesus. Fill my mouth. Amen.
Today’s decree:
We will open up our mouths and be the prophetic voice of God to this nation!
1 Excerpted with permission from “Bold As Lions”, by Brian Gibbs.