The Playgrounds of Prophecy!
by Rev. Lorraine D. Coconato

As a younger woman, I taught elementary school and after lunch, I joined the children on the playground. It was a great time of releasing the stored-up energy, resulting from hours of stationary behavior in the classroom! Some children would run just to run, with no intended destination. Others would laugh, tell stories, stroll the perimeter of the playground, play games and indulge in a bevy of outdoor activities. Yet, others, shy and withdrawn, would stand aloof, isolated, intimidated, disengaged with any of the myriad of playground indulgencies. The latter were usually the wounded children needing special care and attention.

God’s Word declares in 1 Thes. 5:20, “Do not despise prophecies.” Obviously a command, this verse warns the Church of Jesus, the Christ, to appreciate the gift of prophecy, a gift of the Holy Spirit, operative throughout the generations to varying degrees. Another warning that proceeds this verse is (vs. 19) “Do not quench the Spirit”, which connotes a dousing of a fire, a denial of the liberty of the Holy Spirit, who so greatly endeavors to bless His people through the distribution of this gift!

Being raised in a mainline denomination and also attending Temple on occasion, as my roots are Jewish on my father’s side, I did not see or experience the gift of prophecy operating, a gift that is to edify, exhort and comfort God’s people. (1 Cor. 14:3) To edify means to build up, fortify and strengthen that which has been established! To exhort is to teach, expound upon and by example, to encourage others to walk in the way of the Lord. And while “comfort” does not mean to cuddle or express “poor baby”, rather it means to bring instruction, empathy, reproof and correction, that men would be inspired to receive the Word of Truth, repent of all unrighteousness and be made well! Thus comfort is more than offering a nurturing and uplifting word, it incorporates a sense of mentoring through prophesy that brings healing to the soul!

Now 1 Cor. 14:31 states that “all can prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged." From this verse, we glean that prophesy will be done in an orderly fashion, so that the Church can learn and be encouraged. The Lord makes it clear from this verse, that one of the earmarks of the Church is that it will be prophetic! Being prophetic, though, does not mean that every individual in the Church walks in the office of a prophet! (Eph. 4:11)

In my experience as a believer, who walks in the prophetic, I have seen and experienced the gift of prophesy in two very distinct dimensions. I have seen a prophet prophesy and the Church has responded with sensitivity, acceptance, and sometimes repentance, applying the directive spoken by the Holy Spirit through the prophet. In agreement with this, I have seen and experienced the generous flow of the prophetic in prayer meetings, times of fellowships and in Church settings & gatherings, always intended to bring glory to the Lord and not glory to the prophet, the ministry or the affliliated church!

On the downside, I have seen and witnessed numerous occasions where a “prophet” speaks forth from a pulpit or other platform and individually prophesies to an entire congregation perhaps deleting only a few disappointed individuals! So many times I have asked the Lord, how does this line up with the principle set forth in Your Word and how does this bring glory to You? Nowhere in Scripture do we see Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah or any other prophet, one by one prophesying over the people of Israel! Prophetic messages were delivered to entire congregations, a Spirit-breathed word through the prophet to the congregation or to an individual in a private setting, not a public arena, like where Nathan addressed David’s sin with Bathsheba. (2 Sam. 12:1-15) David received the word of correction and rebuke delivered by the prophet Nathan, humbly repented of his adultery and was forgiven by the Lord, told of the consequences of his sin (vs. 14) and exonerated of his guilt. Nathan could have said, ”King David, since you are God’s anointed, He has seen your sin, your sin is covered, go on and do as you see fit”, which is more prevalent in the “prophecies” delivered during this age! Lives and ministries have been built on these precepts, grieving the Holy Spirit and causing the Church to look to the prophet for answers in stead of the Lord of all knowledge! This type of focus in a ministry has caused the Church to cry out, “I need a word, give me a word, tell me of all the blessings that I so deserve!” Instead of the Body hearing a prophetic, Spirit-led message, receiving instruction to change ungodly behavior and turn to the Author of Life for His wisdom, we have erected altars in high places, and bowed down to the creature instead of the Creator! Because this prophetic pattern is deeply rooted in the Contemporary Church, it is deemed sanctified and accepted by the most godly of God’s leaders!

In effect, it has become a form of Christian entertainment, the Church’s emulation of the psychic’s role, causing His people to focus on the anointed leader instead of the Anointed One!

Charismatics/Pentecostals often despise the ministry of apologetics which exposes the heresies and false teachings of the Church. Yet, this ministry is needed because the Church, called to be a Prophetic Voice to the world, taught by the fivefold leadership/eldership, has become derailed by a fascination with the prophetic and His prophetic giftings!

Know, dear brothers and sisters, I do not despise prophesying and I believe and trust the inerrancy of God’s Word and the execution of the divine gifts as ordered by the Holy Spirit! Yet, I must convey that I have witnessed more “prophetic callestenics” and prophetic nuisances these days than I would care to remember! I have heard “prophets” hem and haw, make unintelligible sounds, prophesying empty words, leaving a hungry and wounded people anorexic and dismayed!

Should we consider that many of our “anointed” meetings, Church services and the like have become “playgrounds of prophecy” where some spend hours prophesying over individual lives, many of which become scarred, confused and disillusioned by the unfulfillment of these words? And let’s not forget the most wounded in the Church that attend this type of service to “get a word” are never addressed and become more isolated from God, depressed, and immobilized by the rejection they feel by not receiving "a word!"

I close with this story. I recently received a phone call from a precious sister in the Lord. Her conversation revealed that a few months prior, a “prophet” had told her that marriage would be healed. Though she had been estranged from her husband for several years, this “prophet” assured her that God would restore the marriage. Her conveyance to me was that her husband was filing for divorce. She was shaken, devastated and grieving. She had believed the word of the prophet!

Has competition (who is the most anointed?) one-upmanship (my prophecies are the best!) and man-pleasing become so evidenced in the Church, that the gift of prophecy has become tainted and become an instrument of destruction, woundedness and an anathema, that even God’s elect are being deceived?

I love prophesy when it is Spirit-led and Word-aligned! To quote a young lady, speaking for the younger generation, who shared at a recent convention, “Please don’t prophesy over us if you are prophesying from the flesh! We don’t want the counterfeit anymore!”

Oh, Father, forgive Your Church! Forgive Your leaders! Cause Your Church to refuse to prophesy to prophesy and that we will only speak when You speak and only do what you do! Lord, help us, the Charismatic/Pentecostal Community, to exercise the gifts in the appropriate manner, as the abuse of the gift has caused estrangement to the Evangelical section of the Body and much damage to the “receptors” of false prophesies. May we, Your children, fear Your name and do all to bring glory and honor to You in Jesus Name. Amen!

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