I did a survey in which I sent out e-mails to approximately 310 websites that are either Prophetic Ministries or have written articles on the Prophetic. It was a rather exhausting survey. I e-mailed the question "I would like to ask the question about what do you feel is the one thing that a New Testament Prophet absolutely must possess?"
I am convinced that the gift of the Prophet to the Church is without question the most misunderstood of all the gifts which Christ has given to the Church.
Out of the approximately 310 websites that I contacted, approximately 145 sent me back a reply to my question. I do want to make it clear that I really appreciate the sites that sent me back a reply. It is not my intention to belittle anyone. However, I do have a strong desire to share a few points that I hope will bring a little more clarity to the Gift of the New Testament Prophet to the Church.
I received back many different answers. There were many answers that I received back that for me were somewhat puzzling. I will not be addressing the answers that were somewhat puzzling for me. I will just address the rest of the answers that were a fairly common response to the question.
The answers that I will address are as follows: Love - Humility - Character - Integrity - Honesty - Contriteness - Obedience - Strong Prayer Life.
Even though these are all wonderful traits for a Prophet to possess as well as for all Christians to possess, they are not a must for the Prophet. The reason being, that the Lord does not just instantly zap a Prophet with these traits. These traits that are hopefully developed in the Prophet as well as all Christians, will be a lifetime developing work of the Holy Spirit.
I would like to share that I am convinced that the one thing and often overlooked thing that a New Testament Prophet absolutely must possess, is a strong desire to IMMERSE HIMSELF into the Scriptures of the Bible. Of course that is very important for each and every Christian, but it is absolutely essential for the New Testament Prophet.
In fact, the Lord demands that of a New Testament Prophet. The reason being: IT IS CRITICAL for a Prophet to have Spiritual Discernment.
It is through a constant searching for God's truth in the Scriptures of the Bible that a Christian learns about the Lord and His ways. This is by far the greatest tool that the Holy Spirit uses to develop Spiritual Discernment into the Christian’s life.
There are hundreds of websites that speak about the Prophetic gifting of the New Testament Prophet, and yet I have found that little emphasis if any at all, is being given to the importance of the Prophet immersing himself into the Scriptures of the Bible which is the Lord's first and most important step in His training of the Prophet.
In fact, I challenge anyone to go to their computer and then go to their search engine and key in the wording: "A New Testament Prophet must fill themselves with God's Scriptural truths from the Bible," or key in some wording that is similar. Good luck with your search. I personally find it quite disturbing that such little emphasis is being put on such a VITAL resource that the Lord uses in His development of a New Testament Prophet.
Out of all the answers that I received back, only 3 individuals sent me back an answer that I felt were insightful answers according to my understanding to the question. This clearly demonstrates the major problem that we have today with understanding the role of the New Testament Prophet.
Even though the Church may have Prophetic training programs that with proper insight can certainly be of benefit to those who have a Prophetic gifting, it is of the utmost importance to fully understand that the Lord has His own training program for each and every individual to whom He has called to be a New Testament Prophet.
There was a Pastor who sent me back this reply: "Good question, but I’m not qualified to answer." My understanding from his answer was that he felt that because he is not a Prophet that he is not qualified to answer that question.
To add to all the confusion concerning the widespread lack of understanding of the gift of the New Testament Prophet to the Church, is the fact that there are many False Prophets and there are those who have the gift of Prophecy who think that they are Prophets.
A lady named Kim sent be back this reply: "I think the one thing that a New Testament Prophet must absolutely possess, is to really know the Lord, i.e. His character, ways, purposes and desires through spending time reading, studying and meditating on the Word......it is extremely difficult to speak on behalf of someone you don't know or know anything about."
"I also believe knowledge of the Word is key, because all Prophecies should be passed through the grid of the Word to determine whether their course is indeed from God and not another source, because God will never declare anything that is in violation of His Word."
The thing that really stood out to me about Kim's reply, was her statement that a New Testament Prophet absolutely must know The Lord which comes from spending time "reading," "studying" and "meditating" on the Word.
Kim and I are in complete agreement on this issue. The Lord has provided us with the Bible so that we can learn about Him and His ways. This is the way that Spiritual Discernment is developed in the New Testament Prophet as well as all Christians which is a must for the Prophet.