Courage for Prophetic Ministry – Elijah (4)

God didn't just close the heavens without warning. He first announced the whole thing through prophetic ministry - and He used Elijah for this. 

Incidentally, the LORD has often done this. When the people strayed from Him, when they began to practise idolatry, He sent prophets who called the people to repentance and change. 

However, this was a task that meant great suffering for the prophets. It often even resulted in their martyrdom - at the hands of the very ones they had called to repentance. 

This is why Stephen says to the Jews in Acts 7: “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?” (Acts 7:52). 

What does that look like today? Today there are no longer any prophets who, like Moses or Elijah for example, were publicly appointed by God. Who, divinely inspired, predicted the future or could say: "Thus says the Lord." 

But prophetic ministry still exists today. This is also called prophecy in the New Testament. And this means that believers speak to the hearts and consciences of others on behalf of God and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  

This means that at exactly the right time the Lord puts the right word on someone’s heart. And that word then speaks into the lives of others. 

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14 that we should strive to prophesy - even if we sometimes may not even realise it ourselves when God speaks through us. 

This can be giving an encouragement or an exhortation. Both are needed. God uses prophetic ministry to make His will clear to us in a particular situation. Or He uses it to point out things in our lives that we need to put right. 

Elijah was a courageous witness in an extremely ungodly environment. But courage doesn’t mean: “Watch out! Here I come.”  

Rather, courage can mean standing before someone with trembling knees and still saying what God puts on your heart. In other words, not taking the path of least resistance. Instead, it’s doing what I’m convinced God wants me to do now. 

Corrie ten Boom once said: courage is fear that has prayed. Incidentally, the first Christians in Acts 4 also prayed for courage. They needed courage to bear witness to Jesus despite persecution and opposition.  

They weren’t fearless heroes who said: “What's the problem? Here I come!” They had courage because God gave them their courage as an answer to prayer! 

If I want to stand courageously before people, then I must have knelt before God first. If you lack the courage to be a witness of Jesus, then pray! That’s the first step, that you say in prayer: Lord, give me the courage to speak of You now! 

J.P.S.

Article series: Elijah