I have received such words. They thrill and give great hope. We live on those words of hope.
Unfortunately time is not on our side as the prophetic declaration over our lives takes place. Samuel anoints David as King of all Israel yet it doesn't happen for 16 years. He could have become discouraged. I'm guessing he DID become discouraged.
But he became King in the Fullness of Time as he did not faint and stayed obedient.
Joseph was given a prophetic word as young boy. Yet decades passed before he saw his brothers bowing down to him in his position. He didn't faint. He didn't give up.
You are in financial difficulty. You find yourself at your ropes end. A Prophet of God you know and trust comes to you and gives you a word that says, "God is about to supply all your needs, More than you can imagined or expect".
That's on a Monday. By Thursday you begin to ask, when Lord when? Not a lack of faith, by the wearing down of the saints thru time. It's whisper of the enemy.
A couple weeks later you get a phone call from a person who flows in the prophetic, they tell you, "You are about to see the magnificent provision of God in your life, he is about to provide for you more than you could ask or think".
You get all excited once more. It thrills you to think of it all.
You begin watching for this marvelous event. Time passes. Discouragement sets in. Your response to the word of God in your life needs to be examined.
What is the proper response to a prophetic declaration over our lives?
I heard a man, Bill Johnson, who I don't actually know, explain this better than I have ever heard. It was a rehema word that spoke directly to my Spirit. I hope it will for you as well.
Jesus said to the disciples, Lets go across the lake. He crawls into the back of the boat and goes to sleep. He has said "We are going across the lake". A prophetic declaration. God's will spoken thru flesh.
During the trip a storm kicks up. Water begins to fill the boat. The disciples begin to panic. They do what we all do when we panic as Christians. We pray. They prayed to the Son of the Living God in the Back of the Boat. He woke up. They cried out, Don't you care if we perish?
Now, time out. There were only possible outcomes of this situation.
1. The Galilee Gazette's headline the next day might have read, Boat goes down in storm on sea, all 13 on board are drown.
2. Without much note, lake storm suddenly quiets and the boat arrives on the other shore of Gaderra. No one much notices.
They couldn't have turned around and headed back to shore. The storm was about to swamp the boat. Turning back would have been certain suicide.
The idea of running away from the swamping of the boat wouldn't work. It was sink or swim.
After Jesus calmed the storm he said, according to the account in Luke, "WHERE IS YOUR FAITH"?
I don't' think he said it in a nice holy voice. I think he was irritated. Jesus could get irritated. See the temple cleansing for an illustration of same.
Jesus had declared, "we are going to the other side of the lake" and then rested. So should we.
I have heard Bible teachers say the Disciples should have had faith enough to speak to the storm and it would have obeyed them. I rather think they might have just said, "Jesus said it, we believe Jesus" and kept bailing.
That is if they believed they were going to the other side of the lake. Faith in the word of God should have been enough to get them there.
At this point they had seen many miracles at the hands of Jesus. They had been with him more than a year. People healed, raised from the dead, blind eyes opened, cripples walked and deaf heard. But they still didn't KNOW HIM.
Faith comes when we KNOW HIM, not about him, knowledge doesn't build faith, revelation - KNOWING HIM does.
Another example:
Jesus feeding the 5000. They are hungry. They haven't eaten for a couple days. Things look bad. There were lots of hungry mouths and little or no resources available other than Jesus. Jesus Prophetically says, (he Declares), "FEED THEM".
The disciples say, "with what shall we feed them, we have very little money and the villages around here can't supply in any case".
Jesus has said, "they will be fed". Or, he is a piker to be shown up as a fraud. He will go back on his word. So, he says, "what DO we have"?
Fish and loaves. "But what is so little among so many"?
Now at that point most people receiving prophecy would have expected Jesus to take those loaves and fishes, thrown them up in the air and spoken over them "Shazam" and there would be a huge pile of provision in loaves and fish falling to the earth. Great idea. It's how most of us wish Jesus would answer our prayers of fulfill his word over our lives. It's just not how Jesus does it.
He says to the Disciples, "Start feeding".
Now I could imagine a disciple saying, WHAT? We'll look bad. We'll look like fools. Jesus you have a reputation to look out for. What happens when we run out? This isn't going to end well.
He just says, "have them break up into groups". Feed one group, start over from the scraps and feed the next and then,
You know the rest, everyone ate, and lots was left over.
Jesus didn't rebuke them for a lack of faith this time. But the stomachs of those hungry people were already filled in the Spirit the instant Jesus said, Feed Them.
It didn't manifest for a little while. But all were fed and filled.
I don't see this as much a miracle of multiplication as much as a manifestation of God in response to the Prophetic declaration "FEED THEM".
You have received a prophetic word. You can stay in the boat and do all you can to keep it afloat expecting God to take you where he promised (he will). He is as good as his word. Of course as we pray sometimes God will miraculously act. Frankly, that isn't the way he usually does it. He wants us to act as if, to act in faith, to act believing God. What he wants most is for us to trust him.
You may be faced with little provision and huge demands on those provisions. "What is so little among so many?" Doing nothing will mean your prophetic destiny will be lost because you didn't obey.
Had the disciples not obeyed people would have starved.
Jesus could have solved that problem in a hundred different ways, BUT he did it by asking the disciples to act in faith believing.
He hasn't changed. Do what he has already told you to do. Be obedient. Follow the word of God in your life. It's a sure word. Whatever he promised you, move in confidence that he will provide. He is faithful.
Abraham did it. So can we. Ponder the promises of God you have already received.
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