Prophetic Ministry

Some excerpts from "Prophetic Wisdom" by Graham Cooke (pg 43-49)

On waiting on the Lord.

Building a relationship with God secures our inheritance. "Wait for the Lord and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you will see it" (Psalm 37:34). We don't have to worry about our future, destiny, or identity because God has got all of that covered. All these things are simply added to us while we bask in His presence. The plans He has for us unfold in His heart. Once we ensure that we are in His presence and ready to receive them, they will surely flow to us. "The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in his way," says Psalm 37:23-24. "When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord is the one who holds his hand." We may stumble, but God holds our hand. Relationship belongs to us, but guidance is His alone. It's not our job to seek God's will. It's our joy to seek His face. Relationship is the key to all things spiritual.

Below, Cooke defines guidance as coming from within us as an outflow of our relationship with God, while direction comes from a third party.

Guidance comes from the Lord through our ongoing relationship with Him. The goal of the Holy Spirit is to teach everyone how to hear the voice of God for themselves. [...]

The Old Testament prophetic anointing made no distinction between guidance and direction. They were one and the same. This is because people did not have the indwelling nature of Christ and were not capable of beling led by the Spirit. Their spirituality was ordained through the office of the prophet and priest who represented God to man and man to God. [...]

The world changed on the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is now in people, not on them. In the Old Testament, the prophetic gift was concentrated on a few people. In the New Testament, thanks to Pentecost, the ability to hear God and to move in the gift of prophecy is now available to every Christian (1 Cor 14:1,5).

In the Old Testament, it was okay to go to a prophet to inquire of the Lord. In the New Testament, that would be deemed illegal behavior. We have the indwelling Presence of God and therefore capable of hearing His voice ourselves (John 10:27).

The role of a New Testament prophet has now dramatically changed. The chief role of a prophet is primarily to teach people how to hear God themselves. They train people in how to discern and obey the will of God. They instruct, train, equip and release people in the prophetic gift, ministry and office of a prophet. In the process of that training directive, they also bring prophetic words to individuals and people groups. [...]

In the modern church, many people go to prophetic conferences because they want a prophetic word, not because they want to learn to prophesy or hear God's voice themselves. Prophets are put under incredible pressure to prophesy. I have been given marks out of ten by leaders, most of whom had never prophesied but were comparing me to other prophets they knew. [...]

Guidance is a relational issue, not a prophetic one. If people are not walking with God properly, prophecy will not solve that problem. Prophets cannot come between people and God. We point the way back to God. We equip and empower people to have a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus (Eph 1:17). When asked for guidance, a true prophet will first question the current status of people's relationship with God. [...]

The principle is this: we take care of the relationship and God takes care of the guidance. In itself, guidance is the by-product of a right relationship with God. Everything a New Testament prophet does should push people back into their own relationship with God. Direction is God's responsibility, not ours.