“After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him.” – Acts 25:6
Probably there is no gift of the Spirit as mysterious as the gift of prophecy. No wonder the Bible encourages us to “follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy” (1 Corinthians 14:1).
Prophecy has the potential to convince even the hardest heart and bring him or her to Christ. The woman of Samaria was blown away by Jesus’ prophetic utterance; she left her water pot and said to her townspeople, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did…” (John 4:29).
Yet the way prophecy comes to pass will always remain a mystery to us. You will recall that the apostle Paul received a revelation that he would be proclaiming the gospel to Gentiles and kings (Acts 9:15).
“But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.’” (Acts 9:15)
Paul indeed testified before at least five rulers in the book of Acts alone. He testified before Claudius, Felix, Festus, King Agrippa II and Caesar Nero.
Yet it did not happen as we would normally expect. He often stood before them through imprisonment, accusations, protests and opposition. Truly, the ways of God are past finding out.
Dear friend, do you have a prophecy of God hanging over your life? Believe me, “God is not human, that He should lie” (Numbers 23:19); if He said it, it will surely come to pass.
Yet you may never be able to envisage how it will eventually unfold. I encourage you to stay focused, pray consistently over your prophetic word, and believe God to cause it to come to pass.
Remember, “the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” (Habakkuk 2:3)
– Rev. Simon Ampofo
