It was a great time in church and the worship was uplifting, the teaching of the Word was eloquent and practical and then it was time for prayer ministry. People came forward to be prayed for, they came expecting to hear from the Lord…Then a mobile phone appeared ready to record what was going to be said…

I don’t know if you have had that experience, it seems to be a common experience in conferences and in charismatic churches to record what the prophet will say from the Lord.
I have prayed for people, I have given words of knowledges and prophetic words. I have taken my mobile out and I have pressed the recording app to record words of knowledge and prophetic words.

Is there anything wrong with it, no I don’t believe there is. In fact I have been so encouraged by those who have prayed for me telling me what the Lord is saying into a particular issue.
I am keeping a record of prophetic words that have greatly bless me, building, encouraging and strengthen me, and that is the very heart of the prophetic ministry that Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians 14.

I have read different prophetic books, gone to conferences and being prayed by anointed leaders and I have seen the fruit of the work of the Holy Spirit in my life and ministry and I am still hungry for more.

My great grandfather was a key revivalist in the revival movement that shook the Methodist church in Chile now known as the Methodist Pentecostal Church. I love the Holy Spirit and we have seen an acceleration in terms of manifestations of the gifts and the fruit of the Spirit.

However, it seems to me that there is growing tendency to record what the Lord is saying through prophetic words, and words of knowledges, (please don’t get me wrong, I don’t think there is nothing wrong with it), a tendency of becoming too dependant on prophetic words and less dependency on the Word of God. We may run the risk of valuing more the prophetic word over the Word of God and that concerns me greatly.

It seems much easier to book a prophetic session and hear what the Lord is saying than spending time with the Lord, opening his Word and ask for the Holy Spirit to speak to us though the Scriptures. This takes time, discipline and perseverance.

The Bible is a prophetic book. It is the written voice of God to the world. The whole council of God, that is God’s mind, God’s law, God’s love, and everything about God is told through the pages of the Bible.
It is in the Bible that we learn how God speaks to us. The Bible is the inspired Word of God able to speak to our very needs, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3.16 NIV11). “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4.12 NIV11). Paul said “… the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6.17 NIV11) and Jesus said “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.” (John 6.63 NIV11)
We know that God speaks to us through His Word and that Word of God comes to us in two different forms, they are both biblical and effective.

The Logos Word.
“For the word/logos of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4.12 NIV11)
This is the Bible, it is the standard by which all thoughts and intentions of the heart should be judge. It is the council of God that we are instructed to read, study, memorise, meditate, and praying. When we come familiar with the Word of God we accumulate a vast resource of logos in our hearts and mind that can be submitted to the Holy Spirit’s transforming power.

The Rhema Word.
“… the sword of the Spirit, which is the word/rhema of God.” (Ephesians 6.17 NIV11) The Rhema
Word is a specific word for a specific situation . The Rhema Word is a word that is delivered using the gifts of the Spirt, such as Word of Knowledge, Wisdom, and Prophesy.

It is a Word that the Lord prophetically applies to our situations, where He speaks things directly into our spirit and encourages, strengthens and comforts us. It is a word or an illustration that God speaks directly to us.
There is no contradiction between the Logos Word and the Rhema Word, nor there is just one more important than the other and there is no place for saying that the Logos Word has eliminated the Rhema Word, instead the the Logos word teaches the continuation of the Rhema. This is important for three reasons:
1.When God uses the Logos and the Rhema word in us and through us it has the capacity to create faith that releases the supernatural power of God through the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
2.When we are fed with the Logos Word then the Holy Spirit uses the Rhema Word in and an through us effectively. That is clearly seen when we are taking someone about a particular situation and the Holy Spirit prompt us to say something to them and that usually is a word from God that we learned, memorised and meditated upon, that is the Logos word. So when we encourage, instruct or comfort someone it comes in the form of an immediate word, a specific word, Rhema word that will bring a profound manifestation of the Presence of God. When we don’t feed ourselves with the Logos word, then we run the risk of being influence by other voice, our own old self and the voice of the enemy.
3.The Rhema Word will always come under the authority of the Logos Word. This is important, because it keeps the prophets accountable to the Logos Word of God.
We cannot place the prophetic word over the Scriptures, if we do we run a great risk of misunderstanding what the Lord is saying. I believe that the Lord does use the prophetic to bring encouragement to believers and unbelievers alike. But this word has to be under the authority of Scriptures.
This is particularly important for those who have been given prophetic gifts, like words of knowledge, prophesy and wisdom. We need to hear the Lord on a daily basis, we need to read, meditate and pray His Word over our lives.
Likewise if we only value the Logos Word and we do not value the Rhema Word we run to the opposite direction and instead of being refreshed by the Word we may run the risk of becoming knowledgeable only.
I love the Logos Word and the Rhema Word and I so grateful that God speaks today.