Where Are the Prophets?

I've talked about the gift of prophecy and the character and nature of prophets before. It is on my mind again today. No doubt, by writing this, someone will read it and accuse me of having issues with preachers and pastors. I don't believe I do, but I accept that's the risk you take when you put your thoughts and views out there for the world to assess and agree or disagree with. So here I go.

I've been a "student of churches" for many years. I've studied church models, looked at growth strategies, and tried to understand this thing called the New Testament church. More to the point, I'm always evaluating and wonder if we meet Jesus' ideals for the New Testament church. Quite often I think to myself that maybe we're missing the mark in some respects.

Psalm 63:1-2, "O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You ... So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory."

I look at today's preachers and church leaders and I wonder if that is the nature of their relationship with God. Do they long and thirst for Him each day? Do they get up in the morning to look for Him? Many of the churches I've known don't seem to have a prophet in them anywhere. They have lots of good preaching, some good acting, often some awesome worship music. But I don't see much prophecy. Is that the way it's supposed to be? Something in my soul tells me it's not.

One of my favorite authors, A. W. Tozier, has much to say about the difference between a prophet and a minister. I think he speaks to my point. Look at what he says.

"But it is within our hearts and our beings that God searches and looks. It is our spiritual heart life that is to be simple. It is in our hearts that we are to meditate and be silent. It is deep within our beings that we must be courageous and open to God's leadings.

If there ever was an hour in which the church needed courageous men of prophetic vision, it is now. Preachers and pastors? They can be turned out in our schools like automobiles off the assembly line.

But prophets? Where are they? The simple, humble, and courageous men who are willing to serve and wait on God in the long silences, who wait to hear what God says before they go to tell the world--these do not come along too often. When they do, they seek only to glorify their God, and His Christ!"

What would the churches today do with courageous men of prophetic vision? Would they embrace them? Would they fear them? Would they empower them? Or would they persecute them? Jesus said, "Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor." - Matthew 3:57 Did Jesus mean that prophets can never rise up and glorify God in our local churches? I think He probably did mean that. But I wonder why that has to be the case.

What is it about his hometown, his own house or own local church that makes a prophet so unwelcome? Perhaps an even better question would be ask what is the cost to the hometown, his own house or his local church when they reject the true prophets of God? As you can tell, I am believing that there is, in fact, a cost. Prophets are called by called, not trained in seminary. If our churches only focus on worldly credentials, do they turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the prophets that God may be putting in their midst?

My prayer for today's churches is that they might learn how to engage the prophets. Let us learn to trust the extraordinary God that we serve and to embrace the extraordinary blessings (including prophets) that He puts in our midst. And my prayer is that the prophets would stay true to their calling, and pure to the words that they speak, using only words given to them directly by God Himself.