During a hard time of my life, and while I was still a young Christian, I received a prophetic word spoken over my life. It was a promise for the prayers I have been pleading over the last few months, and to say the least I was amazed.

The ability of an almighty God speaking through a child of God, for me! I held onto every word spoken, and couldn’t wait for the next few weeks to see the miracle manifest in my personal life.

And so I waited. I spoke the prophetic word aloud, I believed upon it, and I told others the miracle God was going to perform in my life. It never manifested. So, did God miss it? Did the preacher miss it?

Was he a false prophet?

Now there are many reasons a prophetic word may not come to pass when spoken forth, yet the purpose of this writing is not to give you the answers for unanswered prayers or unfulfilled prophetic words. This message is written to call much needed attention, not to the "false prophet", but to our own attitudes and slanderous remarks we have made towards those in the prophetic ministry.

Have you judged a prophetic word? Great! We are told to judge the word, for we all see in part and hear in part, and every word is not always "from the spirit".

Did he miss it? Or did I miss it?

Before you make a judgment, let’s look closely at this point…

We all grow in the gifts as we exercise and walk in faith for that gift. Therefore, let’s understand that we can all "miss it" prophetically, and that does not make us a false prophet. In fact, most people that prophesy today do not hold the office of a prophet! They are being obedient to the scriptures when the Apostle Paul commanded us to seek all spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.

So why do we judge those speaking forth a prophetic word so strongly? Should we judge the word itself? Yes. Yet, remember those speaking the word do so in faith as they discern from the Holy Spirit. But what if they "miss it"?

Well what about the healing evangelist or pastor that prays for a multitude of sick people? Have you ever prayed for a sick person that remained "sick", or even worse?

Where is the judgment then? Oh, that’s right – we blame that on God’s will to heal or the other person’s lack of faith. Hmmm…

However if just 1 out of 100 were healed then we are ecstatic and jumping for joy! We talk about, tweet about, and YouTube the 1 miracle for all to see - despite the 99 that remain sick. Believe me, I am happy for the 1 – very happy!

Yet, we do not condemn the person praying for the 99 that remained sick.

So what about the one who is prophesying over another person, or a group of people? What happens when they do not have complete accuracy? We somehow see it different… They can prophesy clearly and accurately over the 99 people, yet totally "miss it" on one person or event – and they are ridiculed and labeled a false prophet!

Why the difference? Because we expect all who prophesy to be a Prophet, we do not understand the gift of prophecy through the body of Christ. The gift of prophecy is to be sought after and the manifestations will grow as you exercise the gift.

The same also goes with the other gifts such as healing, words of knowledge, etc. Our responsibility is to judge every prophetic word, and to seek the spiritual gifts as the Bible has commanded us.

Prophets miss it. Evangelists miss it. Apostles miss it. Teachers miss it. Pastors miss it too. We all see in part, hear in part, and are all growing from glory-to-glory by the leading of the Holy Spirit.

So what about the evangelists that prophesied over me? Did he miss it?

Maybe, or maybe instead I interfered with God’s plan over me? What did I do with my discouragement and "false word"? I thanked God for his grace, mercy, and his goodness in all things.

And instead of condemning the evangelists as a "false prophet", I myself started to study and seek the spiritual gift of prophecy. And then the other gifts…

Are you seeking? We are here for you! Do you need prayer? Go to www.TheSecondAdam.com.