Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 1:4-8
Three things stood out to me in this passage of scripture. 1. Before the womb God knew them. 2. Before their birth God sanctified (Hebrew word: qadash / see previous devotional) them for the plans He had for them. 3. And our youth and inadequacies are not a hindrance to God’s purposes for us … IF we just obey Him.
Do you believe God made you for a purpose? Do you believe He has given you everything needed to begin to workout the purpose He made you for? Before your birth? Before you were even in your mother’s womb?
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Proverbs 19:21
Realizing this … one begins to understand why the enemies of God work so hard at killing the children still in the womb or just born. In 2024 the largest numbers of death globally of humans was from abortion. The enemy wants to cut off the plans of God by killing His precious children. I’ve been noticing the greater numbers of individuals / youth who are gifted with greater ‘soul senses’ and who are much more aware of spiritual realms. Could God be wanting more ‘prophets’ in the coming days?
Who is going to help them? Who is going to train them? Obviously …God. Are we to be like the peoples God sent the prophets to in the past… who spurned their words, and called them crazy? Didn’t the apostle Paul say that a prophet was a gift to the ekklesia / church from Jesus?
But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says,
“When He ascended on high He led a host of captives,
and He gave gifts to men.”
(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that He had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.
Are we going to be like the peoples of old and say that the prophet is not needed? Or basically spurn the gift of the prophet because they speak things we are uncomfortable with? Or ask questions of us that expose us before God and Man? Or manipulate the interpretation of the scriptures to say God no longer needs prophets in this day and time?
Are we going to recognize the gifting / calling / and plans God has for prophetically gifted children in our community? How are we going to help and encourage them in that gifting? Does your community / Church have spiritually mature elders who have the same prophetic calling and gifting who are already recognizing the gift in others, confirming, and equipping others to use that gift?
Before you jump and point to certain ‘ministries’ and churches elsewhere, first examine the community / Church you are a part of. Does your community have a healthy ministry of prophets of both young and old, who have a place in your community to equip others in the Body of Christ? Are your spiritual leaders even aware of the ministry of the prophet to your community / Church? Have those prophets been given the authority to do what God has gifted them to do in your Church? Do you think this kind of individual is rare? Why? Are there less of them than the other four giftings? Do you have scriptural text for that belief?
How would a spiritually mature elder prophet help your Church? Can you even imagine it?