Prophets Take Big Risks

Ananias and Saul of Tarsus

God told Ananias, a prophet, to give Saul of Tarsus a prophetic word of destiny.

But Ananias answered, “Lord, many people have told me about this man and all the harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.”

Ananias was concerned about a risky word. Prophesying that Saul of Tarsus was God’s chosen vessel, a representative of Jesus Himself, sent to speak to Jews, Non-Jews, and cultural and governmental leaders, was the most significant risk he had ever taken in the prophetic.

He didn’t know if Paul would remain true to his encounter or his assignment, but he knew his word about Paul would attach him to this man’s future.

“I have heard about him from many people.” Being cautious about what you hear from God is normal for a mature prophet. When God contradicts the natural reality, prophets receive the revelation with a healthy skepticism about hearing and seeing correctly.

“I have heard” means Ananias was party to the current news. “The guy who is working against the Ecclesia is coming to town” was not gossip nor hoax news. However, Ananias did not know Paul personally.

“Many people are talking about this man, and what You are saying is not what they are saying.” The prophet was asking Jesus, Do You who this man is?” The prophet was questioning his entire functionality. Or, he was making sure Jesus and he were on the same page. Jesus, of course, had some information the prophet did not have.

Personal Experience Taking Prophetic Risks

A few years ago, when our son was first diagnosed with leukemia, Ruthanne and I were in the Amazon Region of Brasil. When we received the phone call, we were in powerful meetings there, and we stayed to finished the meetings at God’s instruction before flying back home.

That is part of the story of our son’s overcoming story.

During the meetings, a powerful nealing and miracle-working anointing was released. At one point, I heard myself calling out seven women from among the hundreds gathered and telling them about pregnancy, sons and daughters, and twins. I did not know that none of them were capable of having children or wanted children.

I teach prophets to reframe from prophesying babies and money. I heard myself prophesying babies. I was concerned about forecasting babies when the faces of the women were turning to frowns, showing anger.

Six years later, I returned to that place. After the service, seven women lined up across the front to greet me and introduced me to their sons and daughters and twins. They all said my prophetic words made them angry either because they didn’t want children or they were unable to have them.

I remember hearing myself prophecying babies and thinking that I was risking more than I had risked before. Since then, I have prophesied with greater risk, but at that moment, I felt that my entire ministry in Brasil was on the line. I also thought about how long it was going to take for the women to realize that the prophetic words were coming to pass. During the time before they were certain of their pregnancies, they were going to have some real attitude about the word.

Risk

I had prophesied enough and knew God’s voice and revelation process well enough to know that I was obeying Him, and the word did not come from me or my imagination.

The devil was prophesying death to our son. God was prophesying life into the situation as a sign and wonder to us for our obedience in finishing the meetings. From that moment, we were as convinced that our son would not die of leukemia as we were that God had opened the wombs of these seven women.

We never wavered from that faith, convinced that God’s promise was true. The level of risk I felt prophesying to those women remain the level of risk my faith embraced that our son was going to live and not die.

There was a direct connection between hearing my voice prophesying life and being convinced God was speaking life – without any immediate evidence – and prophesying life to our son when the natural evidence was entirely about death.

Taking the Risk Wisely

Rattling off your impressions as an immature prophetically-gifted person, and what I’m talking about in this article are not the same thing.

The boldness that convinces you to prophesy with that level of risk comes from the same place as the revelation you speak.

When I say “I heard myself prophesying what I train people not to prophesy,” I am not saying that God took me over. The spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet. I was standing in a miracle flow at the time watching God heal people from fatal and chronic conditions.

I was standing in a grace flow to minister when I had received the news that our son was diagnosed with leukemia and making the decision to remain and finish the meeting when everything within us said to fly home.

I’m not talking about some flippant, “I know that I hear God” justification for saying something risky. I’m talking about a boldness that can only come from being convinced by God before, during, and after the process.

God moved me into a condition within myself from which this risk seemed like no risk at all while I had the same kind of questions that Ananias asked as I obeyed God.