Prophetic Words – Handle With Care

When it comes to who will win the presidency; everyone has an opinion.  The same was true for the US Election in 2008.  Being curious, I looked to see what some of the prophetic voices, in the Christian community, were saying.  Suffice to say, there were a couple of interesting messages given then.

I am sharing this story to show what God has taught me, during that time.  It is also a forewarning about listening to such messages.  While God, the Father can certainly communicate specific messages about what’s coming.  However, there is a danger of hearing what is desired; rather than what God actually said.

Here is what I’m talking about. Shortly after February 2008, I decided to see what people like Lou Engle, Bob Jones or Kim Clement were saying about the election.

During the primaries, Lou received a message about who the next president would be.  Lou Engle posted the original message on his blog site. Here is what I recall. The original word dealt with two things. The candidate would do a lot with small amount of money and something to do with a brown paper bag.

After sharing what God told him, Lou told of his understanding of what God said.  From what I recall, Lou honestly thought that it would be Gov. Mike Huckabee and so did I.  For me, Gov. Mike Huckabee sounded good and I liked him.

When I read the original prophetic word given by Lou, I interpreted it as meaning Mike would win. This is my error. I read my personal opinions into what God allegedly said to Lou Engle.

Of course, Huckabee did not win the GOP primaries; it was Sen. John McCain.  So much for the brown paper bags that Lou spoke of.  Not so fast!  It turns out that the message given to Lou was true.  It just did not line up with my opinion.

It turns out Gov. Huckabee wasn’t the only one to do much with small amounts of money. Who was the other candidate? I would do a similar thing with something Kim Clement shared on his website.

Politics is not the only place where one can hear prophetic words about possible events.  As with the above story, one needs to exercise care when reading or listening.  The prophetic word could well be true; however, our interpretation can be totally off.

Be not afraid to ask the Holy Spirit about what is being read or heard.  Ask God, “Is it true? Am I understanding this word, correctly? Is there another interpretation that I’ve not considered?”

Here is another idea.  A friend once suggested that I do this with a prophetic word given to me.  Place it on a shelf and leave it alone and let God deal with it.  If the message is of God then it will come to pass without my help. Here is an added thought. Take care not to read into it; what is not there.