In 2021, I published my first book “How to Recognize the Voice of God.” A practical and solid book so people could (obviously) hear God and establish a deep relationship with Him. At the same time, within the charismatic world (to which I belong and deeply love), we more commonly use the term “Prophetic Word” or “Word of Knowledge”. The reason I didn’t want to call the book “How to Receive Prophetic Words” is because the goal was deeper than that: it was to show people that they can hear God just like the prophets in the Bible and great men and women of God today. I was (and still am) certain that all who consider themselves children of God can hear His voice, just as Jesus promised: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).
Years passed and, thanks to God, the book sold out twice in its entire print run (which was a lovely and unexpected surprise). At the same time, I held many events and trainings where I directly or indirectly taught about the subject, sometimes under the title “How to Prophesy” and most times “How to Recognize the Voice of God”. As I taught more about this and obviously practiced it, I realized that the first edition of the book could explain some things better and add others. That’s why I published its third edition, this time with some new chapters, improvements, guides, and better teachings, although I didn’t remove any content. This reflection precisely comes from my process of writing that third and final edition.
I’ve seen how this beautiful and biblical practice has generated much controversy during this past year. It’s sad, really. I wish it weren’t so. However, this time I’d like to offer a kind of self-critique about how we use this, some things that are relevant to our life as Christians.
FIRST: AS CHRISTIANS WE FOLLOW CHRIST, NOT A PROPHETIC WORD
Many times people have more expectations in the prophetic than in Jesus Himself. This represents a real spiritual danger when signs become the object of our worship instead of pointing toward the One who produces them.
I believe this is clearly seen in Revelation when John encounters the angel: “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, ‘Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!'” (Revelation 22:8-9). Even after receiving impressive heavenly revelations, John was corrected: worship belongs to God alone. Prophetic words are signs that point to Jesus, not destinations in themselves. When someone receives an impactful and accurate prophetic word, they should be amazed not by the information revealed, but because God Himself is saying: “I’m here, I see you, and I’m close.”
SECOND: SOMETIMES THE PROPHETIC IS VIEWED AS A “TAROT” READING WITHIN THE CHURCH
I believe the collective practice of hearing God’s voice for others is immensely valuable. BUT at some point this can translate into a means to calm anxiety and fear about the future. When we reduce the prophetic to a mechanism to obtain information about future events, we lose sight of its true biblical purpose: “to build up, to encourage, and to comfort” (1 Corinthians 14:3). Genuine prophecy draws us closer to God in the present; it doesn’t provide us a detailed map of tomorrow to control our anxiety. If we use the prophetic primarily to calm our fears about the future, we’ve turned it into something that resembles divination more than a gift of the Holy Spirit.
THIRD: WE MAKE OUR MOST IMPORTANT DECISIONS BASED SOLELY ON A PROPHETIC WORD
Prophetic words are one piece of the puzzle in a decision. We cannot make decisions based on a prophetic word, no matter how much sense it makes to us. Personally, for me it’s important to consider the following things when making decisions:
- That I can discuss this decision with my wife to discern
- That I can discuss this decision with leaders and pastors who are over me to discern
- That I can see if in my spirit the Lord convinces me of it (whether I want it or not)
- Lastly, if additionally there are prophetic words (and not just one, but many)
Believe me, it’s very relieving when you take this path and prophetic words arrive. But I honestly believe that prophetic words shouldn’t amaze us by their content but by who is behind them. I’ll tell you something important: many times we’re more amazed by the fact that a person knows things about me they have no way of knowing than by what God is actually speaking to us. Let’s remember that these are signs, and signs and wonders are meant to point to Jesus. When I give someone a prophetic word and it’s impressive and accurate, I tell them something like: “Look, it’s actually great, I’m amazed too, but the most amazing thing about this is that it’s God, He’s the one speaking and confirming certain things. It’s Jesus saying ‘Hey! I’m here, I see you, and I’m close.'”
FOURTH: WE DO IT MECHANICALLY AND WITH LITTLE DEPENDENCE
In the Old Testament, we see that the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon people who prophesied and then they would do so. Then we see that the Holy Spirit rested upon people at Pentecost and the first thing that happened was a prophetic act of speaking in tongues, interpreting and explaining—that is, a prophetic act!
However, I believe a great mistake we can make is to do it independently and mechanically. I remember once hearing someone tell me: “I can walk up and give a prophetic word to anyone.” I’ll be honest, I believe it, but I don’t want it. I’m totally convinced that depending on God isn’t something that naturally flows many times, but rather a decision. There are many things God allows us to do independently, but it’s our decision to seek to be dependent on Him in order to follow the same model as Jesus: “Jesus gave them this answer: ‘Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does'” (John 5:19). Jesus doesn’t say He lacks the power or even the faculty to do whatever He wants, but the passage in its context shows us that what He does is a reflection of what He sees in God. My personal philosophy is to join what God is doing. He’s always working, and that’s why many times I prefer to wait for “the Spirit of the Lord to come” before doing it in an independent and mechanical way. I long to see God work much more than I long for what I say to make sense to someone.
FIFTH: WE CAN BE WRONG
I’ll never forget a conference I attended many years ago in Chile. I wasn’t there as a speaker but as a listener, but even so, in the middle of the conference, I looked at a person who was standing during the worship time. As I looked at that person, it was as if I had known their entire life, their problems with their father, their mother’s abandonment, certain struggles they were having at that moment. The impression was so strong and deep that I began to cry. I took a deep breath to calm down and approached them, asked if I could pray, and they immediately said yes. I began by saying: “I could be wrong, but I have the impression that…” and basically shared everything I had perceived. They looked at me and said: “I’m sorry, my mom is here with my dad and the truth is we have a wonderful relationship, and everything else you said simply… doesn’t make sense.” That person tried to be kind so I wouldn’t feel bad, but the truth was that: it simply didn’t make sense, I was wrong.
When I (and other people) teach about this, we often tell stories of how we give a word and it makes all the sense in the world, with information we had no way of knowing about someone we just met. But we rarely tell about the (many) times we’re wrong, when we’re at church and pray for someone or, even worse, doing evangelism—that’s really embarrassing. But if I’m honest with you, it’s those moments, specifically those moments, that keep you in integrity before God and men to move in these things.
RETURNING TO THE CENTER
In conclusion, we must know that, above all things, we are followers of Jesus, whether or not there are prophetic words along the way. We cannot place our rest and renewal in a prophetic word. These words, like all signs, lead us to Jesus, and it’s there where we find rest and renewal. This is why prophecy is for “strengthening, encouraging and comfort” (1 Corinthians 14:3). What God speaks to us isn’t encouraging, comforting, and edifying on its own, but because it comes from Him.
Again, the reason I wrote “How to Recognize the Voice of God” is because I’m convinced you don’t need prophets, super-spiritual or super-anointed people to hear Him. Because I know that if God speaks to me, He speaks to everyone, and if I can hear Him (even with mistakes), everyone can too.
We must grow in dependence on Him and longing for more of Him. Be willing and available to join what He wants to do and, as we say in church, not “have it our own way.” We seek to be light for others, and I hope that this practice with this understanding helps us be God’s voice for other people in an integral and powerful way.
