Hearing His Voice #348

I tell you, Elijah has already come, but he wasn’t recognized, and they chose to abuse him. And in the same way they will also make the Son of Man suffer.

Matthew 17:12

Many people believe that the prophetic gift of the Spirit is not at work in the church today. One of the reasons for the skepticism is that most believers look like normal human beings, not superspiritual prophets—as if a prophetic gift would make someone glow or appear extra holy. In the Bible, however, even the greatest prophets were flawed human beings. None was sinless. And most were rejected by plenty of people because they didn’t look particularly prophetic.

In Jesus’ day, John the Baptist was celebrated as a prophet by many, but he was also rejected by many others—especially the religious experts who were supposed to be close to God. In fact, Jesus criticized the religious leaders for not recognizing John as the “Elijah [who] has already come.” And Jesus knew He would suffer at their hands too. A great prophet and the Son of God Himself were rejected as genuine prophets by those whose religious grid didn’t allow for the presence of prophets in their midst. And a generation missed the time of its visitation by God.

That’s sobering. Multitudes of people filled with the Spirit of God are unrecognized for their gifts because we live in a generation highly skeptical of prophetic insights. We aren’t sure what a prophetic voice would sound like; we assume it couldn’t be nearly as human sounding as the ones we hear. But our assumptions may be causing us to miss the times of our visitation. God is among us, and we often don’t recognize Him. What are we to do? Open ourselves up to the possibilities. Allow the Spirit to speak through His people. And listen as if we may be hearing the very words of God.

Lord, what does a prophetic word sound like? How can I know it’s You? Teach me to be discerning without being skeptical, to be open without being gullible, and to listen to anyone through whom You might be speaking. Open my ears to Your voice—whatever it sounds like.