Ignoring physical clues is not an excuse to throw out any concern for the person for whom we are prophesying. We must be sensitive and carefully consider the person receiving ministry. When we prophecy over people, we must learn to put margins into the word. Do not be anxious to gush out everything you ever see; it is easier to add than to retract. We must not be so eager to prophecy that we fail to consider the needs of the recipient.
If we prophesy over an individual for even a few brief moments, we may speak several 100 words. What is this person doing while we are speaking? He or she is probably standing there in memory mode, frantically trying to remember every single sentence and phrase. Their memory will be selective-they will choose to remember the words that have an immediate application to his or her current circumstances. Only a small percentage will be retained; the rest will be deleted or distorted. The main part of the word could be about the future, but that may be lost. Later on, the individual may panic trying to remember. The enemy can even try and convince them that the forgotten pieces were the most important part of the prophecy. A sense of disappointment may settle on the receiver.
Even worse, a person may remember the bulk of the words but retain little or nothing of the spirit behind them. Prophecy communicates spirit to spirit as well as speaking to our minds. There is a spirit to prophecy that sets it above all other communications. Prophecy I received several decades ago still has an impact on me. Spirit is eternal, and we can still hear the spirit language of the Lord down through the years. We can read the written transcript of a prophecy 1000 times, but if the Holy Spirit touched our spirits at the point of delivery, our hearts will retrain the freshness and the power of the original word as if it was just given.
If we are going to prophesy into people’s lives, we need to be responsible. We need to either bring a tape recorder or a notebook to capture the detail of the word and allow people to fully engage with it. A relaxed recipient is more likely to receive communication spirit to spirit, which is the goal of all prophecy. The individual can have the words recorded for later, but it’s the actual spirit of what God is saying that will live with him or her and change their life.
This is one reason why I don’t endorse private privacy outside of accountability for the person’s life. While I do believe in personal privacy-that is, a word individuals received that is directly for their lives and circumstances-private prophecy is a distasteful practice. It occurs outside the constant of meetings or accountability. It lacks integrity and submission to leadership.
We must earn the right to minister to people’s lives. If we are living in a godly fashion and are seeking to live responsibly, we have nothing to fear from accountability. People must be protected, which is the role of a shepherd. It’s important that people hear, understand, and can respond to what God wants them to do and say.