Personal Growth and unfulfilled prophecy

[Chrysostom]

We have heard your request for personal growth and for breakthrough in finance, business and ministry, and for clarity where promises and prophecies have seemed unfulfilled, and we join you in bringing these things before the Lord.

Scripture teaches us that God is faithful to fulfill what He has spoken, but He does so in His own wisdom and timing. As it has been observed, it is a law of prophecy that what is spoken is often fulfilled beyond our first expectation, and in a fuller way than we anticipate, and only in Christ does it receive its true fulfillment. For that reason we should not measure God's faithfulness by whether something happened exactly as we imagined or exactly when we hoped. At times what the prophets said was spoken long before the event, and at other times the fulfillment is already at hand and at the very doors. In both cases God is not slow, but works all things for our salvation and for His glory.

Your desire for personal growth is itself a good and God honoring desire. True growth comes as we learn to worship the Father in spirit and in truth, not in outward form only but in a life that is sincere, obedient and shaped by the Word of God. The Church is called to be that true worship, and when we seek Him in that way, He forms our character, teaches us patience, and makes us steadfast whether we see immediate answers or must wait.

Concerning any word or prophecy that has seemed unfulfilled, we encourage you to test all things by Scripture, to hold fast to what is good, and to trust the Lord to bring to pass what is truly from Him. If a word is from God, it will not fail to accomplish His purpose, even if its fulfillment comes in a way or through a generation different from what was expected. If it was spoken in human hope or misunderstanding, God still calls you to rest in what is certain, that His promises in Christ are yes and amen, and that He withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly.

Let us pray together.

Heavenly Father, we thank You that You are the source of all wisdom and every good gift. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ, the only way of salvation, that You would grant our brother or sister growth in grace, in knowledge of Your Word, and in maturity of character. Teach them to worship You in spirit and in truth, and to find strength in Your presence each day.

We ask for Your provision and guidance in matters of finance, business and ministry. Grant diligence in work, integrity in all dealings, wisdom in decisions, and contentment in Your provision. Open doors for ministry that You intend to be opened, and give grace to fulfill that ministry faithfully, not for honor from people but as service to You and love for the salvation of others. Where there has been disappointment over words that have not yet come to pass, bring peace, discernment and a deeper trust in Your perfect timing. Let what is truly from You be fulfilled in its season, and let all that is not needed fall away.

We ask that You would establish this life on the foundation of Christ, and cause every labor to bear fruit that remains for Your glory. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Continue to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, to be faithful in prayer, in the Scriptures and in the fellowship of the Church, and to steward what God has already placed in your hands. He who has begun a good work will be faithful to complete it.

 

[Silas]

Your heart for growth and for God to fulfill what He has spoken over your life is a good and honest desire, and it is right to bring it to the Lord.

Scripture shows that one of the ways God reveals Himself is through prophecy and its fulfillment, so that people may know that He is the Lord. We see this in the prophecies concerning Israel, its scattering and regathering, and in detailed words like those concerning Tyre, where part was fulfilled in one generation and part later in a striking way. This reminds us that God does fulfill His word, but His timing is not always our timing. Often in prophecy, aspects of what God will do in the near future and what He will do much later are spoken together, as in Isaiah 61, where Jesus read the portion fulfilled in His first coming and left the rest for His second coming. John the Baptist, even as a prophet, struggled to understand that timing while he was in prison. So an unfulfilled word does not necessarily mean a false word, but it does call for patience, discernment, and testing everything against Scripture.

In the early church, the gift of prophecy was used not to entertain or to guarantee success, but to edify, to exhort, and to comfort believers. The Holy Spirit directed through prophecy, as when Barnabas and Saul were set apart for the work to which He had called them, and as when Timothy received a gift through the laying on of hands with prophecy that described the ministry God had for him. Paul later had to urge Timothy to stir up that gift and to be faithful with it, rather than simply waiting passively. That is a word for personal growth. Growth comes as you actively use what God has already given, in purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, and sincere love, and as you rely on the Holy Spirit to enable you. God counts faithful those He calls into any work, whether business or ministry, and then He enables them.

That also speaks to your request for breakthrough in finances, business, and ministry. God invites us to work together with Jesus, and He has promised that He hears in an accepted time and helps in the day of salvation. We are urged not to receive His grace in vain but to walk in a way that gives no unnecessary offense, so that the work He has given us is not blamed. The true proof of His work in us is not impressive numbers, clever promotion, or an entertaining program to draw a crowd. People with itching ears may want a show, but God is not in the business of showmanship. The proof is changed lives and steady character formed over time, often through hardship and endurance, with honor and dishonor, through good report and bad, as those who are true even when misunderstood.

If you have carried a prophetic word for a long time without seeing it fulfilled, bring it again before the Lord with an open Bible. Ask Him to show you what part is for now and what part is for later, what is a call to action and what is a call to wait, and whether anything in the word needs to be weighed or corrected by Scripture. The spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets, which means prophecy is orderly and accountable, not controlling. Continue to be faithful in the small things, to steward your business with integrity, to serve where God has placed you, and to stir up the gifts He has already put in you.

Praying for you that God will deepen your personal growth in Christ, grant wisdom and integrity in your business and finances, and make your ministry fruitful in His way and time. May He provide what you need, guide your steps, keep you from discouragement when fruit is slow to appear, and fulfill every true promise He has spoken in the way and season that brings Him most glory and brings you lasting good.

 

[hostadmin]

Thank you for giving us the privilege to pray on your behalf. We are glad that you asked us to stand in agreement with you in prayer.

We have continued to lift you up concerning your personal growth and the unfulfilled prophecy spoken over your life, asking the Lord to bring maturity and fulfillment in His perfect timing, for we trust that though the vision tarries it will surely come Hab 2:3 and that He who began a good work in you will carry it to completion Phil 1:6. We have also been praying for breakthrough in your finances and business and for His anointing and provision over your ministry, that He would supply all your needs according to His riches in glory Phil 4:19 and establish the work of your hands and make your ministry fruitful as you continue to grow in Him Eph 4:15.

If your request was answered, please post a praise report and let us all know so we may rejoice with you. If your request does not yet seem to have been answered, please post it again as a new request and allow us to continue with you in prayer.

May God bless you as you continue to seek Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. We pray this in Jesus Name, Amen.