Recently, I started watching a series called “The Big Door Prize” which is about the residents of a small town called Deerfield, who one day discover a magical destiny-predicting machine (Morpho Machine) in their local grocery store. The American comedy series is based on the book of the same name by M.O. Walsh. The ones who tried the machine got cards which was apparently what they are destined to do, like “Motor biker”, “Dancer”, “Magician”, “Healer”, “Royalty”. This reminded me of an instance where a man tried to predict my destiny and life-calling.

When I was 11, a church member, who called himself a prophet, told me, “Oshin, God asked me to tell you that you are not called to sing or be in the worship team!” What he said not only took me by surprise but also hurt me. It left a scar that made me cautious of “self-proclaimed” prophets; even to this day. “Does God say things like that? Especially, when I love singing and being part of the worship team”­–I asked my senior pastor. Turned out that this man’s apparent “word of wisdom” was directed by several influential members of the worship team at the time. 

This was probably an isolated negative incident because many flocked around this person after the service every Sunday. Maybe God did speak to him about people, and there were things that came true as well. However, I also felt that he let his intuitions seem like “God said it” sometimes. I stayed as far as I could from him or any other prophet for that matter. The only mission of the rebellious child in me at the time was to prove him wrong. For starters, I wanted to be in control of my life and not let it be dictated by the words of someone who claimed that he heard from God. It was somewhat mature and immature at the same time. Mostly immature, because I was driven by anger and bitterness.

Fast forward to 14 years later and, might I add, 14 years of actively being in the worship team, both in the church and outside– the same man comes to me and says, “God is going to use your voice and singing to draw many to Christ through worship and praise!”
Let me be very raw and real here–I was very proud to have proved him wrong but it still did not feel right to me. It was only three years ago that I truly dissected my intention behind being a part of the worship team. There were traces of hate, vengeance and bitterness stuck in the crevices of my heart. In short, I wasn’t completely sincere. All of this, because my core motive was to prove a random prophet wrong.

I always quoted Matthew 7:15

“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves”

A couple of years ago, I spoke to my friend John Giftah, from John Giftah International Ministries, about discerning prophecies when another “self-proclaimed” prophet tried to predict when and to whom I will get married to.

John quoted this verse:

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21:
²⁰ Do not despise prophecies, ²¹ but test everything; hold fast what is good.

“We do not know it until we test it,” he said. “And if these men work on their intuitions, God would definitely hold them accountable–that is not our department. So, stop trying to prove prophecies wrong instead, test it, privately. This way, you are respectful towards the person but not putting them on a pedestal; also this means you give God, the upper hand in your life and not a human being.”

We do not know it until we test it. And if these men work on their intuitions, God would definitely hold them accountable–that is not our department. So, stop trying to prove prophecies wrong instead, test it, privately.

I wanted nothing to do with prophets or what they had to say at the time but this verse kept ringing in my head, and also what John said. So, I decided to dive into the depth of the matter and charted out three pointers to keep in mind while engaging with anything even remotely close to prophecy:

1. Hope-packed word and not just warning/threats

Fear is a red flag: If the word only induces fear and does not offer any hope or solution, chances are that it is not from God. Similarly, if a word from the Lord conveyed through the lips of a friend or authority figure in your life brings about condemnation and oppression, it is not from God, according to Romans 8:1,

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus

The conviction of the Lord will offer freedom, grace, and strength. There can be warnings of difficult things and seasons, but it should be balanced with hope and promise.

Jesus also prophesied: He said,

“At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹ and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. ¹² Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³ but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24: 10-14 NIV) 

This is a powerful scripture. It certainly feels timely for us now. Jesus warns, but He also brings hope and promise.

2. MUST include Scripture

First and foremost, prophesy builds up the church rather than tearing it down. It has its foundation on the Word of God.  It is also affirmed through collective discernment.

 The book of Acts and Paul’s writings highlight an important characteristic of genuine prophets and prophecy: “they build up the church.” Prophecy must always lead to the edification, not the division, of the body of Christ. “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge,” Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:29-33, recognizing the worth of the gift of prophecy. “For God is the author of peace, not confusion.”

When a prophetic word is not backed with Scripture, it might be one’s own idea that is mostly driven by their intuition. But, we, the ones who hear keep dwelling on what is said to us that we try to align everything to fulfil that word, much like the people who trusted the Morpho machine to define their destiny.

3. Produces Good Fruit in one’s life (Prayer, Peace, Transformation, Kindness, Compassion, Love)

True prophetic message in the Spirit tenderly and personally draws hearts to God. The Holy Spirit’s love for his people is never manipulative. It is constantly brimming with God’s love, life, shalom, justice, reconciliation, and restoration. The true prophetic message in the Spirit is the preaching of our Lord Jesus Christ’s salvation gospel, which reaches into the muck of our lives. 

The prophecy delivered must not make one become bitter, or bring about worry but aid them in standing strong in the promises of the Lord. It should stimulate change and stir up a drive to change for God, with the help of God.

So, I urge you not to seek out prophets in order to hear from God or have your future foretold–that is not the objective of prophecy. Recognize that only God has complete knowledge of your genuine past, present, and future. Having said that, do not dismiss prophets, even if you believe they are not God’s men/women. We are not forced to put our trust in all they say, but we are required to TEST IT!

And, NO, Prophets do not know everything about your life, ONLY GOD DOES.

That’s myth debunked.