This is probably why Paul rebuked the girl with a spirit of divination in Acts 16 although she seemed to be saying the right thing about him and his missionary colleagues.
“16. And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17. The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. 18. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. – Acts 16:16-18
You will recall if you’ve followed so far that the last post in this series looked at how we can tell true prophecy from false and it explained what to look for both in the words and the speaker.
3. Pray over the prophecy:
Cancel negative prophecies (ask for God’s mercy to avert them), but affirm positive prophecies (ask for God to bring them to pass). Do not reveal prophecies carelessly if they concern intimate matters.
When God told David through Nathan the prophet that he would build him a dynasty, David went into a long prayer concerning it, part of which is captured below.
“23. Therefore now, Lord, let the thing that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said. 24. Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified for ever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee” – 1 Chronicles 17:23-24.
When God sent Jonah the prophet to pronounce judgment on the city of Nineveh, the people prayed and God annulled the judgment.
“4. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 5. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. 6. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: 8. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. 9. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? 10. And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” – Jonah 3:4-10
Continue to speak the prophecy back to God over time if it’s desirable and not for immediate effect. Declare it even when you’re not in prayer. Declare the cancellation of negative prophecies likewise.
We need to insert a caveat at this point on praying against ‘undesirable’ prophecies. A word may sound negative and our first impulse may be to say, “God forbid!” but we need to confirm what God is saying and pray in that wise. Paul the apostle received a negative prophecy from Agabus and others about his planned trip to Jerusalem but he didn’t pray against it or change his plans. He knew that his calling was to suffer for the name of the Lord Jesus and thus spread the gospel far unto the Gentiles. So he didn’t shrink from the negative prophecy (Acts 21:10-15). Sometimes in running away from unpleasant stuff the Lord brings our way to strengthen and make us more fruitful, we complicate our lives and dry up spiritually. Here’s a better point to say, “God forbid!” if you ask me.
We should also be careful who we share our prophecies with. If God tells you something wonderful about your life and you broadcast it prematurely, you may attract avoidable envy and attacks as Joseph did in Genesis 37. Just praying without undue announcement is wisdom.
Furthermore, if we receive negative prophecy about brethren, we should pray against it, not use it against them. Our duty is to help them pray against every evil foretold against them, not avoid and ostracise them on that account, especially when they are faithfully following the Lord.
This is very important for those who conduct deliverance prayers. If a believer comes from an idolatrous background, the powers of their father’s house will be witnessing evil against them because they have renounced those powers to serve the living God. We need to stand with them and tell the devil that only the counsel of God will be performed in their lives, not abandon them because of the evil reports received from the spirit realm. The powers of darkness don’t give up easily but we have overcome them because He that is in us is greater than they (1 John 4:4).
Everyone who has surrendered his or her life to Christ is a new creature with all the rights of heavenly citizenship (2 Corinthians 5:17. None should be treated like second class citizens because of the powers speaking against them. The power of the Lord supersedes all.
“16. And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17. The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. 18. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. – Acts 16:16-18
You will recall if you’ve followed so far that the last post in this series looked at how we can tell true prophecy from false and it explained what to look for both in the words and the speaker.
3. Pray over the prophecy:
Cancel negative prophecies (ask for God’s mercy to avert them), but affirm positive prophecies (ask for God to bring them to pass). Do not reveal prophecies carelessly if they concern intimate matters.
When God told David through Nathan the prophet that he would build him a dynasty, David went into a long prayer concerning it, part of which is captured below.
“23. Therefore now, Lord, let the thing that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said. 24. Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified for ever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee” – 1 Chronicles 17:23-24.
When God sent Jonah the prophet to pronounce judgment on the city of Nineveh, the people prayed and God annulled the judgment.
“4. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 5. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. 6. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: 8. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. 9. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? 10. And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” – Jonah 3:4-10
Continue to speak the prophecy back to God over time if it’s desirable and not for immediate effect. Declare it even when you’re not in prayer. Declare the cancellation of negative prophecies likewise.
We need to insert a caveat at this point on praying against ‘undesirable’ prophecies. A word may sound negative and our first impulse may be to say, “God forbid!” but we need to confirm what God is saying and pray in that wise. Paul the apostle received a negative prophecy from Agabus and others about his planned trip to Jerusalem but he didn’t pray against it or change his plans. He knew that his calling was to suffer for the name of the Lord Jesus and thus spread the gospel far unto the Gentiles. So he didn’t shrink from the negative prophecy (Acts 21:10-15). Sometimes in running away from unpleasant stuff the Lord brings our way to strengthen and make us more fruitful, we complicate our lives and dry up spiritually. Here’s a better point to say, “God forbid!” if you ask me.
We should also be careful who we share our prophecies with. If God tells you something wonderful about your life and you broadcast it prematurely, you may attract avoidable envy and attacks as Joseph did in Genesis 37. Just praying without undue announcement is wisdom.
Furthermore, if we receive negative prophecy about brethren, we should pray against it, not use it against them. Our duty is to help them pray against every evil foretold against them, not avoid and ostracise them on that account, especially when they are faithfully following the Lord.
This is very important for those who conduct deliverance prayers. If a believer comes from an idolatrous background, the powers of their father’s house will be witnessing evil against them because they have renounced those powers to serve the living God. We need to stand with them and tell the devil that only the counsel of God will be performed in their lives, not abandon them because of the evil reports received from the spirit realm. The powers of darkness don’t give up easily but we have overcome them because He that is in us is greater than they (1 John 4:4).
Everyone who has surrendered his or her life to Christ is a new creature with all the rights of heavenly citizenship (2 Corinthians 5:17. None should be treated like second class citizens because of the powers speaking against them. The power of the Lord supersedes all.
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