Does God still reveal His will to His servants? According to Amos 3:7 it would seem that we should
expect our Lord to speak into our lives today since Amos wrote "Surely the Sovereign LORD does
nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets."

Why would so many think that Yahweh no longer speaks into our lives? After all, scripture repeatedly tells us that Yahweh does not change and His nature endures forever.
 
      Numbers 23:19    1 Samuel 15:29    Psalm 33:11
         Malachi 3:6        Hebrews 13:8      James 1:17
 
I have included an extensive study of the prophetic voice and Yahweh's movements among us and will also categorize on this page canonized prophecies applicable to our circumstances today, selected words of prophets recognized by some of the charismatic believers, and various words I have received.

What does the word "prophet" actually mean? The definition one finds in various dictionaries is "a person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God" yet in most cases, people assume a "foretelling" aspect to this word. While a prophet may also foretell situations by inspirational revelation of the Spirit of the Living God, the primary truth is that a prophet honestly and accurately speaks the Word of Yahweh into our lives, applying scripture or history to current circumstances, faithfully speaking on behalf of our Lord and Savior regarding things we face.

Is this what the Apostle Paul meant when he encourage us to desire the gift of prophecy (1 Corinthians 14:1)? In his comparison of speaking in tongues and prophecy, Paul tells us that prophecy convicts in the heart causing one to fall down on his face worshipping God for the recognition that God really is among us. What does this mean? Let me explain this by a personal example. In the 1990s, I was attending a worship assembly at Belmont Church in Nashville Tennessee and Don Finto was speaking. As he spoke, he made a remark such as "... and someone here has ..." and after he finished his remark, he then said, "I don't know where that came from!" But you see, I knew why he said it... because it was a specific thing directly for ME! It convicted me in my heart and after the assembly I approached Don and explained to him that I KNEW why he said the thing he had said without understanding why he had said it at the time. He just smiled hugely!!

The Apostle Paul further tells us that in the assembly of believers, two or three prophets should speak and the others should evaluate. What does this mean? Confirmation is an important aspect of prophesying. Whether it is just a word of knowledge, a teaching, or a revelation, confirmation occurs through the Spirit of God. Also, the rule for a "foretelling" is clear in Deuteronomy 18:22 and Paul also explains the concept of "testing everything" in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21. Evaluation, confirmation, testing... these are admonitions of Paul regarding the prophetic. We are to DESIRE this gift (1 Corinthians 14:1, 5, 12, 24-25, 29-31, 37, 39) and, because God is not a God of disorder, we are to maintain control over our gifting (1 Corinthians 14:32-33).

Clearly, we have strayed from the design of assembly described by the Apostle Paul for in 1 Corinthians 14:37-40, he says:

"If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. But if anyone ignores this, they will themselves be ignored. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way."

Therefore, we have strayed, for Paul tells us to "be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues" yet we don't prophesy and we forbid speaking in tongues. I was raised in a denomination whose tradition was that these verses no longer applied to Christians. Until my early twenties I always accepted that, but in my twenties I wondered why we would have these words from Paul if they don't apply to us any more?