Born to Prophesy

by Hakeem Collins

  When I go back in my mind and recall old prophetic words that I have received from seasoned prophets and prophetic leaders, the words give me new strength and new wings to soar to greater levels in God. In addition, the previous prophetic words still have a tangible anointing on them, as when I first received it.

  HEALING IN HIS WINGS

  Malachi 4:2 (NKJV) says, “But to you who fear my name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves.” The Sun of Righteousness is no other than Jesus Christ. Jesus arose with healing in His wings. Jesus came and delivered His healing to you on the day that you decided to dedicate your life to Him. What healing did He bring to you? Jesus came to you with more than just physical healing.

  Please remember that Jesus delivered it to you, but that does not force you to accept it! It is like a parcel delivery. The courier company brings it to you. The parcel is only yours once you sign for it, reach out and accept it. This is why so many are still hurting and sick; Jesus already delivered their parcel, but they have never taken the actual delivery of it.

  The first healing that Jesus brought to you was the healing of your soul. He set your soul free from the torment that it had experienced at the hands of the evil one. Jesus totally healed and renewed your soul. In doing that, Jesus removed all the hurts of the past. He mends the brokenhearted as anointed by the Holy Spirit. He sets us free from the curse of death that hangs over the soul of the unbeliever.

  The second healing is the healing of the mind. Jesus came into our lives, and we were made a new creation. He changes the way that we think and the way that we view things. He renews our mind. Have you ever received a word from God through a prophet or someone with the resident gifting, and those words echoed in your spirit and mind? It’s like regardless of the current circumstances or issues that seemed contrary to the prophetic promise over your life, that word brought assurance, peace, healing, and confidence. The Bible says that “God is not slack concerning his promise” (2 Peter 3:9, KJV).

  Finally, the third healing is the healing of our body. He removes all of our sickness away from us. He came that we should have life and life in abundance. Psalm 107:20 says, “He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.” We are to be blessed, and one of the greatest blessings of all is to walk in total health and wellness. There is no sickness that is too bad or too far progressed that it cannot be healed through Jesus. The Bible shows us many examples of the healings that Jesus performed while He was on the earth. I have witnessed physical healings and miracles through a spoken word, and I myself have given prophecies to hundreds concerning total healing.

  A prophetic word can bring healing to the mind, soul, and body. The eagle is symbolic of independence, but the bird’s function is also interdependent with the wind; likewise, the eagle was God’s reminder to His people that the children of Israel needed Him for freedom, liberty, and emancipation. The prophetic power of prophecy does that through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the wind of the Holy Spirit that carries us on eagles’ wings to the place of promise and greatness.

  LORD, JUST SPEAK THE WORD!

  There was a man, a centurion, who had authority in the Bible. He had heard about Jesus and the spiritual authority that He possessed. He traveled to meet Him because there was someone who needed healing or an instant miracle in his house. The man with authority understood that when a person with authority and influence speaks, something has to change, happen, and align itself with that authority.

  Moreover, the man met Jesus and told Him about the situation. He asked that Jesus would just speak the word. He understood that because of His authority the person in need of a healing would be healed. Jesus, seeing this man’s great faith in all of Israel, spoke the word of healing, and at that very hour the person was totally healed. When the centurion got back to his house the person was healed completely. (See Matthew 8:6–13.) The prophetic word that brought healing was activated in Jesus due to this man’s faith in Jesus’ authority in speaking healing.

  The prophetic had to obey what He said. Faith and the prophetic go hand in hand. In other words, it takes faith to prophesy and declare life to a dead situation. It is really a person’s belief system or paradigm in regard to healing, faith, and the word of God that brings deliverance. Jesus had a reputation of healing by His words. The word of the Lord doesn’t just bring freedom, but there is transformational power by the prophetic spirit that comes upon a believer and changes their heart and life.

  Chapter Five

  THE POWER OF PROPHETIC TRANSFORMATION

  The Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.

  —1 SAMUEL 10:6

  SAMUEL THE PROPHET was one who instituted the prophetic university and was Israel’s last judge. King Saul was in route looking for his father’s lost donkeys, but in the process he encountered the prophetic personality of Samuel, who at a very young age was flawless in the prophetic. The whole northern and southern parts of Israel recognized him as an honorable prophet whose words did not fail. King Saul was the people’s choice for king, with the sanction of God, who selected him, anointed, and commissioned him through Samuel. King Saul was chosen to be a king and not a prophet, but he himself encountered the spirit of prophecy and was transformed.

  First Samuel 10:5–6 says:

  After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, timbrels, pipes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. The Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.

  King Saul needed to be changed into what he was now going to embrace. There was a prophecy and declaration through Samuel, who represented the voice of God to Saul. Before Saul could carry out such a kingly assignment and mandate he needed to be empowered, employed, and deployed by the Spirit of God. It was prophecy that preceded his position as king over Israel. Moreover, Saul was about to encounter a sudden change that would radically happen in the presence of prophets who were prophesying. This change of heart that he was going to experience would also change the way he was going to govern the people. Saul’s heart needed to be changed in order for him to be a godly king and not like other kings of other nations.

  Transformation was something that needed to be done. God didn’t want Saul to have the same nature as other kings, which caused the people to want to have their own king instead of God being their King.

  SPIRIT OF TRANSFORMATION

  According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, of prophecy is “an inspired utterance of a prophet . . . a prediction of something to come.”10 The verb form, prophesy, means “to speak or utter by divine inspiration” and “to predict with assurance.”11 Again, we see that in 1 Samuel 10:5–6 Samuel gave Saul detailed words of knowledge, wisdom, and insight into who Saul was going to see at the next city, that he was going to see a group of prophets with musical instruments prophesying or ministering in prophetic songs of God.

  After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, timbrels, pipes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.

  The passage of Scripture above states that Saul was going to cross paths with a procession of prophets coming down from the high place ministering in prophetic worship. They would be prophesying, and the Spirit of God would come on him in power. He would prophesy with them and would be changed into a different person due to this encounter. Samuel prophesied accurately the intentions and purposes of God to a king who needed to be anointed for t
his great work. We see in this passage of Scripture that it is the Spirit of God that causes change in a person’s life. It took a prophetic word to align Saul with heaven’s plan. He needed to be employed and deployed by the Spirit of God. Being a king of Israel wasn’t a job or career opportunity, but now it was a lifestyle that God needed him to embrace, understand, and walk in.

  As king of Israel, Saul needed the prophetic spirit, wisdom, and counsel of the Lord. I have witnessed in my own life how prophecy has changed the very existence of my heart and destiny. There have been times when I wasn’t clear about a specific assignment and what I needed to be doing in a particular season. The prophetic word came and brought clarity. It is as if Saul went to a prophetic gathering and conference, and after leaving that conference he was changed into another person.

  The prophetic encounter changes the hearts of men. Have you ever received a prophetic word that changed your life? Have you ever been in a meeting of prophetic minstrels, musicians, prophets, psalmists, and leaders that stirred something on the inside of you to speak? If you have never experienced the prophetic or prophecy by the Spirit of God, I would recommend that you be baptized by the Holy Spirit to receive this gift from God. The prophetic function is imperative when one receives the Holy Spirit. In the Bible, when a person received the Holy Spirit they would speak in tongues, and they would prophesy.

  Moreover, when a person encounters the ministry of the Holy Spirit, usually tongues follow first and then prophetic utterance. I have seen Pentecostal believers and different denominations operating only in tongues but being limited in prophecy. I remember challenging a person in the prophetic who was a Pentecostal. This individual had a genuine call to the prophetic ministry and also spoke in tongues quite frequently. However, when I asked that person to give me a prophetic word, they got offended and stated that they were a prophet of God and did not need to prove themselves to me. My reply to that person was that prophets of God hear and speak what is on the heart of God to His people. I cannot understand tongues, but I can understand prophecy in my native tongue.

  I also went on to say that tongues are a sign for unbelievers, but prophecy is a sign for the believer (1 Cor. 14:22). I believe that comment from the young man was an excuse not to prophesy, further exemplifying the limited understanding of the gifts of the Spirit in general and how these gifts operate within the church or for the believer. The way this individual developed a mature prayer language in tongues is the same faith needed to mature in prophecy or prophesying. In other words, it took a yielding vessel to speak in other tongues, so it takes a yielding vessel to minister in the prophetic.

  PROPHECY IS A SIGN TO BELIEVERS

  First Corinthians 14:22–25 (NKJV) says:

  Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe. Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.

  We can see clearly that tongues are a sign to unbelievers, but prophecy is a sign for believers. The apostle Paul’s use of Isaiah 18:11–12 notes how the harsh, unknown tongues of foreign invaders during Isaiah the prophet’s day was a sign of God’s divine judgment upon Israel that they completely scoffed at and rejected. So Paul was making a comparison of tongues during Isaiah’s day and noted how tongues in operation in the Corinthian church could have the same effect of hardening believers who were present whose response and receptivity to the sign of tongues might be, “You are out of your mind or insane.” We can see the same type of reaction and expression from unbelievers witnessing the move of the Spirit and birth of the church on the Day of Pentecost in the Book of Acts. (See Acts 2:13.)

  However, prophecy, on the other hand, is a sign to believers, leading them to repentance. I believe that with the infilling of the Holy Spirit we can witness a dual function and manifestation of tongues followed by prophecy. My point to the young man was that one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.

  Accordingly, he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. In addition, the Scriptures tell us that he who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church (1 Cor. 14:2–4). As Holy Spirit-filled believers we must move beyond just tongues only and into the prophetic dimension to edify, exhort, and comfort others as well (the church).

  We read in 1 Corinthians 14:5 (NKJV) says, “I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.” In other words, Paul wanted this gifted church to be in order when it comes to gifts of the Holy Spirit, tongues and especially prophecy. This church was so gifted that they needed to be governed by the Holy Spirit in love and under apostolic supervision. They needed to know the purpose of operating in these gifts, and he wished that this church would be a prophetic community, assembly, or local church.

  TONGUES AND PROPHECY

  The prophetic element was needed because it edifies, exhorts, and comforts the church as a whole. While tongues are necessary to edify oneself in the faith and in worship, the gift of prophecy is greater because everyone can hear, learn, and be encouraged. If a person speaks in a tongue and there is no interpretation following, then prophecy is greater for the purpose of edification. There is no reason to speak exclusively in inspired tongues if there are not any prophetic words following.

  Tongues exercised in a church gathering must therefore be interpreted. So if one decides to yell out in tongues in a public meeting, that person bears the responsibility of interpretation. (First Corinthians 12:10 permits diversity in these two gifts of the Holy Spirit.) If no interpreter is present, the tongue is to be restrained, as we read in 1 Corinthians 14 and verse 28 (NKJV), which says, “But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.” What this is saying is that you can speak to yourself and God in tongues, but there has to be an interpreter; but if there is not, keep silent and minister to God in tongues. We have to understand the operation of these gifts in the church and how to use them properly. The gift of tongues has its place privately, but the gift of tongues along with prophecy has its place publicly or corporately.

  There have been times when I have heard people speak in tongues and give little or no prophetic words at all. I would not discourage them because the desire is there to minister the word of the Lord, but I would tell them to worship the Lord with some holy anointed music, go into the spirit (speak in tongues), and wait on any strong or light impression on their senses. Then share what they saw, heard, felt, discerned (sensed), and tasted. It’s important for prophets and prophetic people to learn to stir up the gift of God on the inside of them, and usually worship in music, word, and in the tongues will uncap the prophetic gifting by the Spirit for a Holy Spirit-filled believer to prophesy.

  Notice that I said Holy Spirit-filled believers; you must believe that you can prophesy for God. Prophecy is the result of being filled with the Holy Spirit. In Luke 1:67, we read that Zacharias had been stricken unable to speak because of his confession of unbelief. He was dumb until his tongue was loosed through the infilling of the Holy Spirit. In addition, he not only spoke a few words for the first time in several months, but he also prophesied.

  There have been times when I have prophesied to people through friendly evangelism out in the marketplace, and I have seen the convicting power of God touch unbelievers and believers alike. I’ve come to realize that the prophetic gift is a gift that builds people up. When Saul came i
nto a prophetic community of prophets, he became prophetic. In other words, if Saul, a future king of Israel, can prophesy, so can you!

  The Holy Spirit anoints a person’s tongue to speak through more ways than just mere words. I have received prophetic warnings that caused me to escape judgments, sicknesses, and even death. That is why I love the word of the Lord so much when released by anointed vessels; it helped me to change. That is the power of prophetic transformation. Just imagine if I did not take heed to the warning signs and prophetic words to confirm the wrong direction I was going. If I had a rebellious heart and didn’t believe the word of the Lord for my life, I might have been incarcerated or even dead. Personally I would rather receive words of correction, rebuke, exhortation, and adjustment that will challenge me to live circumspectly and upright before a Holy God.

  LOVE IS ESSENTIAL IN THE PROPHETIC GIFT

  First Corinthians 13:2 (NKJV) states, “And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” The gift of prophecy and other gifts of the Holy Spirit are null and void without love. A person cannot operate in any gifting of the Holy Spirit without love. It’s impossible to minister by the power and authority of God without the love of Christ. A changed or transformed heart will cause a person to minister in love by the grace of God and be moved with compassion. How can a person minister in love and vocalize the heartbeat of God if they know not love and possess love? God is love. The Bible says, “Love never fails, but whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part” (1 Cor. 13:8–10, NKJV).