Prophet & The Principle of Design – Describing the Gift picks up where we left off in the introductory post Prophet & The Principle of Design – Friendship with God. Before launching into further description of the redemptive gift of Prophet, my heart is to restate again that –
the foundation to all seven of the redemptive gifts is developing and maintaining covenant friendship with God, through the redemptive relationship with Christ and the Person of the Holy Spirit.
This is the solid ground on which to stand in order to grow up in and develop your God-given identity, to possess your spiritual birthright.1
Prophet, Previously
Previously, we took a brief look at What concerning the Prophet redemptive gift and its Wisdom principle of Design, with its birthright of helping others live in their destiny by providing vision on God’s design. (An important note, clearly listed on the Prophet Checklist, is that the redemptive gift of Prophet does not necessarily have the manifestation gift of prophecy (prophesying)* listed in I Corinthians 12 or the Office of Prophet in Ephesians 4). The redemptive gift of Prophet is the first in the lineup of the seven redemptive gifts – Wisdom’s seven pillars hewn out for a strong foundation upon which to build.2
Four key weaknesses of the Prophet portion of our human spirit were briefly listed in the context of the enduring battlefield for the Prophet: their inherent, life-giving ability to recognize God’s design, identity, and calling in others versus the non-redemptive effect of fractured relationships.
The essential virtue of the principle of Design that combats fractured relationships is being a rebuilder.
Describing the Gift – Who & Where
Who: Prophet (first portion of the human spirit) is drawn toward two types of people:
- Leaders, especially those who excel in leadership, and
- The very broken who struggle with believing (in fact, may not believe) that they can live in dignity or be used by God
At first glance, it appears contradictory with people on opposite ends of a life spectrum. However, it makes sense. Because it is the Prophet’s imprinted principle of Design that allows them to see beneath the surface presentation, they have an intrinsic ability to see the birthright and calling of both types of people – the leaders and the broken – and by design, to call forth those things God has placed in them.
This has less to do with exercising prophecy in religious circles* and everything to do with cultivating the gift and walking in it as a member of one’s own family, in friendships, in all manner of vocations, in the marketplace, and in public arenas of church, school, and government; etc.
The Prophet is motivated by new or seemingly impossible tasks, often accompanied by a fierce sense of competition. Taken to an extreme, a competitive spirit can be detrimental to relationships. In grace-full sport or visioning, it is an outward expression of the Prophet redemptive gift as God created.
As I type this, it strikes me that the two types of people Prophet is drawn to are reflected in this aspect: leading by breaking others is a perversion of this first and foundational redemptive gift. ~ Selah.
Describing the Gift – When
When: The Prophet portion of one’s spirit is most fulfilled when it witnesses someone they have invested in embrace their birthright and become a reproducing disciple.
Meanwhile, Prophet tends to be driven more by ideology than relationship, tempted to withdraw than to resolve the tension of disagreement or opposition. Relationship takes a backseat, or a major hit.
Lyrics from Rogers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella describe it well – “in my own little corner, in my own little chair…” Prophet, may I suggest that this is the quickest way to weaken the Wisdom principle of Design and all that God created the Prophet portion to be and to fulfill.
Embracing your design for redemptive living is significant. To embrace differences with others and work through them to create healing and wholeness is a vital part of your redemptive gift and incremental fulfilling of your birthright: helping others live in their destiny by providing vision on God’s design.
Describing the Gift – How & Why
How: does friendship with God in covenant relationship apply? Dear Prophet, God extracts a higher price from your portion above the other six gifts. He accomplishes this by pruning and more pruning. Unless you choose and learn to trust His hand that holds the shears, you will be tempted to shrink back.3
Why: God’s intention is to build a deep root system in order to bring forth fruit, more fruit, much fruit. The pleasure of the Husbandman is that you produce fruit, a harvest of righteousness, that will last.
Father God has not left the Prophet portion of your human spirit to grow in fits and starts on its own. Grafted into the True Vine Christ Jesus, you His branch may heal and grow through the energy of the Vine set free to work its will in and through your life. Pruning increases His flow of growth and life.
Prophet, you whose Wisdom principle is Design and whose gift enables you to be attuned to the mind of God, will be required to yield, yield, and yield again your will to the higher purposes of the Father.
Each time you go through the pruning process enabled by Holy Spirit to say from the heart, “Not my will, but Thine”, and choose to hold fast in covenant relationship with Father God, Jesus is glorified in greater measure. His life life’s yours. His love grows your love. Periodically pruned of what hinders or is not of God, you, Prophet, develop a deeper, healthier, life-drawing root system. Then, the outflow can be life-giving.
~ Nancy
1 birthright: “a revealing of our spiritual DNA” from Redemptive Gifts – Part of Our Spiritual Identity
2 Proverbs 9:1 – 3 Hebrews 10:39
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