Afternoon Session, presented by Fr. Bob Hogan, S.M. and Obie Nicolini of the Incarnate Word Community in Dayton.
Q: Should prophecy be written down? Is prophecy just for the people who are present, or for the parish, etc.?
A (Obie): You have to look at the context the prophecy is spoken in. Usually it has the purpose of encouraging us, building us up, freeing us to respond to God. This type of prophecy is probably just for the prayer meeting itself, helping us to recognize what God is doing. Sometimes prophecy is more specific and directive. This kind needs a lot more discernment.
Prophecy is both the Word of God and the word of man. This mixture is in all prophecy. As St. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:9, our �prophesying is not perfect.� None of the gifts are perfect because they operate through us, who are not perfect. However, the gifts are valuable. Prophecy is the Word of God. But prophecy is not the Word of God in the same sense that Scripture is the Word of God. We can make the mistake of taking all prophecy with the same weight or even take prophecy with the same weight as Scripture. If this were so, we would be obliged to write down all prophecy, reflect on it, and act properly on it. But this is not the main purpose of most prophecy. There are directive prophecies that must be discerned and acted upon. For instance, in 1978 a prophecy was received by a prayer group in Lebanon that said, �Get out!� They took this literally, and the next week the place where they met was bombed. You will know it if its a prophecy you�re supposed to act on. The Lord gives both the Word and the ability to not misinterpret it.
The Lord doesn�t usually give prophecy in a group that is for anyone else outside the group, but there are exceptions.
(Fr. Bob): Discerning prophecy takes great prudence. I recall a woman in a prayer group who had psychological difficulties. There was no doubt that her prophecies were mixed with her human need, but if we listened well, there was something from the Lord in it. The core group felt that it was not our job to tell her to stop prophesying, but rather to help her, since there was this kernel of God�s Word in what she said. Since all prophecy is imperfect to some degree, it is better to work with what we receive.
People prophesy on different levels. Someone without a consistent prayer life may still receive inspiration from God, but it tends to be about the same thing all the time. Yet God will work through them in what they are able to receive. Prophecy is often deeper with a person who has a real ongoing life of prayer, study, and worship.
If someone says, �God told me to tell you this,� be careful. I would never say this. Rather, I may say to someone, in prayer, �You know, it just struck me that if there�s any area in your life where you�re lacking forgiveness, I encourage you to be open to God working in that way in your life.� Then, its up to them. If its a true word, it will strike home. God will already be preparing the person to receive such a word. I don�t need to tell them, �God told me to tell you this.� I need to share what I sense, which is imperfect. The goal is not that I get out my word�the goal is that the word is taken in and changes a life. But it is true that at times we feel, �I�ve got to tell them. God wants me to say it!� On the one hand, we must be open to what God wants, but on the other we must be reasonably sure that God is the one urging me to speak. It is best to give more specific prophecy more time, to discern it on a wider basis.
(Obie): In a group where the gifts are not operating, sometimes expectations are larger than life. Then we need to make the group aware that its OK to do this wrong. If we�re growing in the Lord, we�re going to make mistakes, especially at the beginning. Our attitude should be, �Lord, we lay this in your hands and we want to grow in it. Now help us.� The whole group needs to work together on this. It is freeing to give people permission to be imperfect and know that we will stand by them and support them, especially when they give us permission to correct them, and we give them permission to correct us, too! Some teaching along these lines would be good.
It can be very freeing in opening up the gifts to ask, as you pray, �What are you sensing right now?� �What�s going on right now in your heart?� We often just need prompting to speak what is in our hearts! God is giving all kinds of stuff, but people are afraid to speak out because nobody ever gave them permission!
(Fr. Bob): Sometimes people just need to be comfortable enough with each other to open up. Sometimes its helpful to break into small groups just to share. You don�t need to have an inspiration�just share what God has been doing in your life. This allows people to become comfortable enough to speak.
While we�re on this subject, we also need to teach them the difference between small group sharing and whole group sharing. It is legitimate in the small group to tell anything and everything that is going on with you and the Lord, but in the larger group we need to be more discerning. Does what I have to say fit in with what God is doing in the group? You don�t want to be too rigid about this, either, but people shouldn�t just throw out whatever�s hitting them. As leaders, pray for the gift of wisdom! You have to sense when things are getting out of hand, but correct gently. Treat people as people. Again, avoid extremes. But these ways of getting people to share can open them up to share inspirations in the prayer meeting.