Author: Brian Burdett

“And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.” – Deuteronomy 18:21-22

There are a startlingly large number of people in the present day claiming to be Christian “prophets”. The prospect of this sounds quite exciting – a new word from God for today! Many Christians find this compelling, while others find it confusing. What should we say about these prophets??? Christian, Beware!!!

Laying aside the deep, complex, and important theological question of whether prophecy is even going to happen today since the canon of Scripture (i.e. the Bible) was completed, let’s briefly look at this phenomenon from a few perspectives. First, since God perfectly revealed Himself through Jesus Christ and explicitly revealed Himself through Scripture, it seems unlikely that He would also continue to send forth numerous prophets after that was completed. Perhaps a few, but certainly not so many!

Second, we should expect any modern “prophets” to function in a manner consistent with God’s prophets throughout history. The bulk of Old Testament prophecy wasn’t devoted to foretelling the future, but to critiquing the spiritual and moral failures of God’s people (today that would be the church). Because God is a God of order, we should expect the same. True prophets should be expected to devote the bulk of their words to critiquing the church for failures of love, mercy, and justice. That doesn’t generally seem to be the case!

Third, many of these so-called prophets have a track record of error. The Old Testament was clear: if a prophet gave a prophecy that was false, he or she was a false prophet. In those days, they were to be executed. Today, rejecting and ignoring them completely and permanently should be sufficient. Many of these so-called prophets have already made outlandishly false prophecies and should be shunned.

Fourth, prophets of God should always present a message consistent with the Scripture and teaching of God’s character. A prophet inciting Christians to behaviors or attitudes inconsistent with the character of Jesus Christ is a false prophet.

Ultimately, what a “prophet” believes to be a message from God may come from one of three sources: God, Satan, or self. Discerning that source can be tricky, but every Christian must nonetheless be discerning for him or herself. Don’t be fooled into following someone just because you’re attracted to what he or she claims to be revealing from God. Scripture says such false teachers will proliferate in these last days. Christian, beware!

“Why, my soul, are you so dejected?
Why are you in such turmoil?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him,
my Savior and my God.”
– Psalm 43:5

One of the reasons the psalms are so precious is that they teach us how to walk in faith and love the Lord when things aren’t going well. Just about every human situation, good and bad, is addressed in those 150 prayers and the psalmists model for us how to trust in God in each. Over and over, the psalms show how to be distressed, angry, afraid, discouraged, depressed, sick, and sorrowful, while still trusting in God.

The psalms teach us to pray honestly and lay bare our hearts before our Creator. They teach us to cry out to the Lord when we don’t understand His plan, but we know He’s present. They teach us to seek the Lord even when He feels absent. They teach us to persevere in our faith even when we’re stuck in the depths of grief, guilt, or persecution.

Often in life, we feel dejected, unsettled, and disturbed. We may understand why we feel that way or we may not. However, the psalms model for us how to hope in God and praise God even when things are troubled or terrible. They remind us that God isn’t just with us in our triumphs, but He’s even more profoundly with us in our tragedies. His presence, steadfast love, faithfulness, and strength aren’t just revealed through our victories, but in how He accompanies us in our defeats.

It is a beautiful discipline to learn to hope and praise God, knowing that He remains our loving God and Savior, even during seasons of suffering.

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” – Luke 12:6-7

God’s care and concern for you personally is both detailed and comprehensive. He knows and cares about every concern you feel, every burden you carry, and every need that you truly have. He cares so much that He knows every detail about you. God’s love and care for you isn’t generic or vague, nor is it from a vantage point thousands of miles away. God is very present in your life. He loves you in meticulous detail and wondrous specificity.

Let this be a great comfort! God truly understands what you’re struggling with, so it’s OK to cry out to Him. There’s nothing to hide from Him and you don’t need to try. God fully knows how you feel, so be honest in expressing yourself in prayer.

God treasures you, because you were carefully and uniquely made in His image! You are an image-bearer of the King of Kings. So go to Him in prayer, praise, sorrow, supplication, and thanksgiving, because you mean so much to Him!

“As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?”
– Psalm 42:1-2

Do you feel such a powerful desire to experience God? What a beautiful and powerful image of a heart desperately longing to feel and experience God’s presence! As the Psalmist continues, we learn that this profound thirst stems from deep depression, sorrow, humiliation, and a sense that God is absent. This is a place many believers will experience during their lives.

It seems that God uses these times when He feels altogether absent to strengthen our faith, refining it through fire. He builds our love and desire for Him independent of “what has He done for me lately.” Then, when the spiritual breakthrough finally comes, His presence is more deeply appreciated. So, if you’re currently “in the desert”, pouring out tears, wondering where God is, and desperate for His presence, keep seeking Him!

God ultimately rewards those who seek Him. Those who learn to live by the certain knowledge of His love and presence, even when they can’t feel it, eventually develop a stronger and more impactful faith, along with an awareness of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness more precious than could ever be imagined. Keep thirsting for the Lord! Keep desiring His presence! Keep praying, even if it feels like those prayers are going nowhere! God is present. God is love. God is working, even in the desert!

“But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.” – Deuteronomy 4:29

God knows the human heart! In a moment of triumph, as Israel was on the verge of finally entering the promised land, God knew that it wouldn’t be long before their hearts strayed away from Him and pursued false gods. So God promised that even when they strayed badly and suffered His discipline for their unfaithfulness, once they sincerely turned back to Him, He would be right there to embrace them.

This promise remains true today! Though we love Jesus, our hearts and minds will often pursue other passions with greater zeal than we pursue the Lord. Throughout our lives, we’ll raise certain things to a place of lordship in our lives (perhaps money, career, family, sports, pleasure, entertainment, safety, comfort, health, leisure, fame, accomplishment, status, or credentials, just to name a few possibilities). When we do, we’ll eventually experience God’s loving discipline to get our attention and draw us back to Him.

The good news is that when we recognize our error and turn to seek God, He’s always there! When we repent of our sin and cry out to God to forgive us, He always will. Christ died and rose from the dead so that all who believe in Him will receive forgiveness and reconciliation when we honestly seek it. So, if you feel distant from God today, or you recognize that you’ve let other things come to dominate your thoughts and feelings, turn back to God. Seek Him in the name of Christ. Seek Him in repentance, in worship, in prayer, in His Word, in meditation. Seek Him, and you will find Him!