Pitfalls which Prophets should avoid
The clear pitfalls which every truly called Prophet should observe are these:
1. Satan's entrapment. Satan will always target those called to this high office. It is necessary to recognize this reality and proactively resist him John 10:10; 1 Peter 5: 7-9; James 4: 7.
2. Soulishness. The greatest danger the prophet will face will however come from within him or herself! The soul is the seat of reasoning, emotions and attitudes. If the soul is not crucified and not subject to the spirit of the prophet which in turn should be subject to the Holy Spirit, carnality will run riot in personal life. The soul has a voice and can speak just as the Holy Spirit has a voice and speaks. The prophet who allows emotion to engage with a person or situation may therefore speak from the soul realm.
This is often the case when the prophet believes he or she has a right to open the mouth any time and release prophecy. Whoever does not first cultivate an intimacy with God and close communion with the Holy Spirit will utter what the soul wants and claim to speak for God! On the last day there will be several wailings when people fail to account for idle words they uttered in this present life! The escape route therefore is to repent now! It is to avoid activation of their soulish propensities that the Lord has always allowed Prophets to live fairly isolated lives.
Emotion therefore is a present danger in the Prophetic calling. The pains, rejection and persecutions which true prophets often experience are sometimes designed by God to be instruments of reminding them of their humanity lest they are exalted and conceited! This principle was demonstrated with Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:1-10.
3. Pride of Life.
God personally hates pride and says He will resist it wherever found! James 4:6. Pride will cause a prophet to seek glory for the words uttered whereas these are the word of the Lord for His people. The prophet is merely a conduit to convey a message and actually has nothing to glory in. On the other hand, humility and gratitude should be the right attitude that it pleases God to use one in this way! Boasting about prophecies that one gave which came to pass is a very dangerous tendency!
4. Using Prophecy to manipulate and control saints.
A present danger in the prophetic ministry is tendency to use prophecy to manipulate and control the people of God. It is wrong to make the saints to remain babes ever seeking for a prophetic fix regularly. It is worse when a prophet takes advantage of such vulnerability to manipulate those same people to do his or her bidding. Saints are to be trained in the Word to grow in the Lord to the degree that they can hear His voice and draw from the anointing of the Holy Spirit to judge all things. 1 John 2: 18- 27; 1 John 4: 1. The principal function of prophets is to be used of God to perfect and equip saints for the work of ministry! Ephesians 4: 11, 12. This is achieved when Prophets points people to Christ to grow in grace and not to themselves. 5. Covetousness/Prophecy for Profit. True prophets live frugally. The intimate knowledge of God and His righteousness they embrace whole heartedly is based on an absolute trust in Him to meet all their needs as part of the great Kingdom promise. Matthew 6:33, 34, Matthew 10: 7 - 15. They know that the love of money is the root of all evil and realise that there is a present danger and occupational hazard when people want to compromise them with undue favours and gifts. Elisha knew this reality and rejected Naaman's gifts 2 Kings 5: 1- 19.
They learn to be temperate so that they do not put themselves in situations where their needs will drive them to merchandize the precious gift they carry. Philippians 3:17 -19; 1 Timothy 6: 6 - 10; Hebrews 13:5-6. The ungodly fundraising ways of the Church in the Western world lends itself to much misuse.
It is wrong to hawk/merchandize prophetic utterance for people to come and buy or to negotiate fees to speak at prophetic meetings. Hosts should know how to take care of the Prophet and where they neglect their duties; the prophet should never fight for himself/herself but forgive them or commit everything to He who judges righteously as Jesus did. 1 Peter 2: 21-23! The tendency to take advantage of one's prophetic gifting to engage in fund raising after every meeting is a very dangerous trend. Hosts should avoid the temptation of foisting the role of fund raising to offset bills on the visiting Prophet!
6. Misuse of Points of Contact to lead the people into idolatry and syncretism.
Points of contact are biblical means of activating the faith of the weak, babes and those who need to see "something tangible" to believe the unseen". Jesus Himself used point of contact to facilitate the healing process John 9: 1- 7. Paul the Apostle had handkerchiefs taken from his body to heal the sick Acts 19: 11, 12. . The shadow of Peter was a great point of contact for healing Acts 5:15, 16. When points of contact are used in a fleshly manner, it can lead the saints astray into idolatry or mixture of the spiritual and religiosity called syncretism. Excessive use of points of contact can also lead the people of God into carnality and therefore not growing in their spirit man which is the base of true faith Romans 8: 5-8.
>Please share freely with friends, family, here on face book, in local congregations and in Bible Schools! This and other downloads granted the Global School of Ministry by Abba are free from Babylonian copyright restrictions and are for the whole Body! Don't miss any Lesson in this exceptionally important teaching which will equip you with understanding of the mind of God.
Just as God will use Prophets and Prophecies to bless and build you up, so has Satan purposed to use fakery of this office and gifting to trap, sideline and make shipwreck of your destiny. As you know the truth, you will walk in liberty to discern and receive who and what God has freely blessed you with! | 
