Recently I heard the term prophetic prayer to receive the blessing of God, a term that is totally off base. An old friend tried to explain to me the difference between modern prophecy and old prophecy, the fact is there is only one kind of prophecy because all true prophecy comes from God for His Glory.

All prophets are called by God alone for His purpose, not to pray for the crazy will of man. Most Jews don’t use the terms intercession or prayer because they are so embedded into Christianity.

The Jewish prophets were specific people called by Go9d to explain and share His will for His people with them. Biblically, the prophets weren’t always welcomed by God’s people because true prophets often shared bad news with God’s people (Isaiah 53:1-4, Luke 4:16-17).

Communing with God was only one of the Old Testament prophet’s roles, they were given visions by God of the future and they always came true. In some faiths, prophets were only qualified as true if they performed miraculous signs.

We must get this right; prophecy is ingrained deeply into Judaism because they are God’s original chosen people. Thus, we need to understand how prophecy and the prophets relate to the church.

Prophets?

The prophets in the Old Testament were the clearest ways God spoke to His people. These prophets speak to us today through Scripture. Half of our Bible is written by Jewish prophets, major and minor!

The difference between major and minor prophets is only the length of their books, not their relevance. God simply had more to say through the Major Prophets. God was still talking through the Minor Prophets, this God is no joke.

Then for 400 years, God stopped speaking through the prophets and then Jesus, the Messiah arrived. Christians believe Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, still, God didn’t do what His people wanted; the long-awaited Messiah didn’t come as a conquering King they wanted.

Jesus?

Some followers of Jesus believed He was a prophet Himself because He spoke with God and performed many miracles. Jesus denied being a prophet and said He was more than one (Matthew 11:9-11).

In Judaism, the era of prophets ended with Malachi. In Christianity, most believe in Cessationism because the prophecy has been fulfilled through Jesus who paid for it. Furthermore, Christians have direct access to God through Jesus.

However, Jesus warned that in later times false prophets would again creep in and deceive God’s people (Matthew 7:15-20). Even, in Judaism there were many false prophets who manipulated and fooled God’s people with false hopes and trickery!

False Prophets?

In the Old Testament, it was common for pagans to turn to sorcery, astrology, and diviners to get a “good word” From God to “bless me Lord.” This worldly practice infiltrated the beliefs of God’s people and false prophets led them to fall away like Satan did Adam and Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:1-3).

God sent true prophets like Jeremiah and Ezekiel to prophesy against these tricksters’ lies (Jeremiah 29:4-8). And when God’s people didn’t hear what they wanted they killed Jeremiah. The role of a prophet isn’t always a happy one. All of the original prophets were nomads wandering in the wilderness.

Biblical prophecy isn’t a personal prophetic word for individuals; true prophecy brings joy to all of God’s people and it isn’t proof of your love. The Apostle Paul also warned in the last days false prophets would speak feel-Good lies to deceive God’s people (Romans 16:17-20, 1 Timothy 3:6-5). Are you a believer or the other kind?

Fortunately, God gives us discerning spirits to differentiate between true and false prophets who can’t tell it all. Every believer has the Holy Spirit and the gift of discernment; we are called to discern the prophets!