Questions about the Prophetic?

There are many times that a prophecy doesn’t come to pass. Obviously, it isn’t the Lord that failed you in any way. There are many factors involved in the prophetic that will help you understand why this happens.
Let’s look at several reasons prophecies fail in our lives.

1. THE PERSON PROPHESYING GOT IT WRONG:

(1 Corinthians 13:10, 12 KJV) – …. For now, we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

When someone prophesies to you, they draw upon the Holy Spirit to speak them on your behalf through the instrumentality of that person’s spirit, mind, and emotions. The Spirit of God is perfect and pure, but the message is filtered through an imperfect human vessel. Therefore they simply err.

Does this mean by the way that one shouldn’t prophesy? No, the scriptures tell us when we speak for God, we should do so as ‘the oracle of God’ Himself with great boldness:

(1 Peter 4:11 KJV) – If any man speak, [let him speak] as the oracles of God; if any man minister, [let him do it] as of the ability which God giveth:

When someone ‘misses it,’ does it mean we should quit receiving prophecy? No, because the bible plainly tells us:

(1 Thessalonians 5:20 KJV) – Despise not prophesyings.

Even in the days of the early church then, there was something about the whole transaction of prophesying that tempted people to turn away and reject the prophetic. I have personal, intimate experience with this in my own life. But I accept the scriptural admonition that while prophecies may seem to fail at times, I still embrace the prophetic and seek the prophetic word over my life.

This is a matter of maturity in Christ and not choosing not to succumb to religious superstition.

2. THE PERSON RECEIVING THE PROPHECY FAILED TO UNDERSTAND IT PROPERLY OR FULFILL CONDITIONS SET BY THE PROPHETIC WORD

Write the Word Out:

Go back and look at your prophetic word again. Write it out. You may have missed something. A prophecy is not like a lottery ticket that you check on the appointed day and throw away when it doesn’t win. When you write the word out, you will see many things you missed, no matter how many times you listen to it. Listening to the word is important because ‘faith comes by hearing, but it is equally important to write it out.

Did you fulfill the conditions of the prophetic word?

(Isaiah 1:19 KJV) – If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

Isaiah prophesied that Israel would ‘eat the fat of the land.’ In fact, they went into captivity and
bondage. Why? Because they didn’t fulfill the condition. Even Jesus himself gave a prophecy that will never come to pass because one of the people in the group he spoke to didn’t fulfill the condition:

(Matthew 19:28 KJV) – And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jesus was speaking to the 12 disciples, including Judas. And as it turned out, Judas failed to remain faithful, and the portion of Jesus’ prophetic word that applied to him failed.

Why did Judas lose out? Because he didn’t believe the prophet when he spoke:

(2 Chronicles 20:20 KJV) – Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

Adopting a ‘wait and see’ attitude about prophecy is a recipe for disappointment. Many say, ‘Well, just put it on a shelf and wait and see…’ Remember the words of Paul that we are to war with our prophecies. You don’t lay down your arms in a war zone. This is worldly wisdom that will disappoint you every time.

Prophecy is past, present, and future:

When you hear a prophecy, you often think, ‘I already knew that’ or ‘That already happened.’ It can be frustrating until you realize prophecy often speaks to ‘past, present, and future’ in the present tense. So you have to take the prophecy and turn it about in your mind from that perspective.

Timetables are challenging:

Very few prophets get timetables and time frames correct. I’ve even heard nationally known prophets use complex formulas for time frames given in prophecy. I think that is unnecessary. I know a prophetic person who often prophesies, giving timetables right down to the minute, weeks beforehand, and thus far, I’ve never seen them miss it.

On the other hand, I gave a 90-day timetable that two things would happen to a man that he had been waiting for five years. Then one morning, I got a call. It was the man, and he was loudly rebuking me, telling me how unsafe I was, how he should have known better not to accept a prophet who spoke in timeframes, that I wasn’t really a prophet because the time frame I gave him hadn’t brought him his answers.

I looked at the calendar as he prattled on over the phone. There were two days left. I pointed that out to him. There was silence on the other end of the phone. I told him to call me back in two days. Then within those two days, both things God gave came to pass, just like the prophecy said. For this reason, I am never hesitant to give a timetable and have seldom, if ever, missed it.

In Conclusion:

I hope this helps you and that you will act upon the suggestions listed above. Paul told Timothy to ‘war’ with his prophecies.

(1 Timothy 1:18 KJV) – This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;

If you pick up a rifle on the battlefield and fire at the enemy, you don’t throw the weapon away just because the first shot didn’t hit the target. We have to use common sense and maturity about these things. There are many reasons why a weapon might misfire. Those reasons include errors on the person’s part and the possibility of a faulty weapon.

For myself, I heard one prophetic minister say, ‘I know I can miss it, and I KNOW I can miss it.’ But in hopes of serving the vast number of people who have been helped and edified in the prophetic, I am willing to err in hopes of being used by the Father.