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                                           WHY “PERSONAL PROPHECY” DELAYS IN MANIFESTING 

                                                                       (Part 2)

“And the Lord answered me, and said, write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” (Habakkuk 2: 2-3)

Previously, we established that there are prophecies we have heard which may not manifest in our time. We used God’s word to Abraham that he will make him a father of  many nations to establish that. Indeed, God told Abraham that his children would be too many for him to count. When that prophecy was fulfilled, Abraham was no more. That was because the manifestation of that prophecy was designed to outlive Abraham. So, Abraham did not die with the prophecy. It simply outlived him. Nothing he did caused that. It was God’s design. 

We also spoke about false prophets and false prophecies which has become part of us. Now, whilst we have many false prophets prophesying words which are not from God and will never manifest because they are not God’s words, we also need to state clearly that there is a high possibility of  true prophetic words to delay in manifesting or completely fail to manifest as the case may be. We shall discuss a number of reasons which can cause that as we proceed. 

Many believers in Christ want to be prophesied to. They want to know God’s plan for their lives. There is nothing wrong with that. However, the problem with many of us is that we are not aware what we are not aware of how to run with a prophecy to avoid delay or rendering it dormant.  

Truth be told, it does not matter how beautiful a prophecy appears, if the recipient does not play his or her role towards its fulfilment, chances are, the prophecy will either delay or fail to manifest. Today, we shall discuss two reasons a true prophetic word may delay in manifesting and how to avoid it.

Ignorance 

One reason a personal prophecy will delay is “ignorance” on the part of the person who has been prophesied over.  When I speak about “ignorance”, it comes in two ways. The first is the fact that many people receive prophecies but have no idea how to run with it. It is to be understood that whoever receives a prophecy has a role to play towards the manifestation of the prophecy. If you are ignorant of your role concerning your prophecy, the prophecy will surely delay in manifesting or may totally fail to manifest, as the case may be.  

The solution is to know the role you are expected to play concerning the manifestation of any prophecy you have received. Failure to play your part at the right time or total negligence will pose a threat to the prophecy. This means that ignorance of the role we are supposed to play towards the manifestation of a prophecy we have received is a recipe for delay in its manifestation. I will give you a very simple example to help you understand how it works. 

Once upon a time, I went to a church as a guest minister. After the sermon, I began to minister prophetically to the people. As I came across a young boy of about eight years old, the Holy Spirit said to me, “I have given him the grace to be a medical doctor.” The Lord was specific concerning the destiny of the child. “He will take care of my children when they fall sick,” he added. 

The prophecy was a revelation of God’s purpose for the boy. He was destined to be a Paediatrician; that is, a medical practitioner who specializes in children and their diseases. Armed with that information, I started a conversation with the boy. 

“Do you have any interest in being a doctor?” I asked.

“Yes, sir,” he replied with so much excitement. 

“Who came with this boy?” I asked the congregation. A man and a woman raised their hands. I asked them to come closer and they did. From our conversation, they told me they were the boy’s parents. I was glad to hear that because I wanted another confirmation from someone close to the boy.

“Has your son ever told you he wants to be a medical doctor?” I asked. 

“Yes, man of God.” It was the father. “He has said so many times. I am glad to hear it from you, sir,” he added. Before I could reply, another voice spoke out. 

“That’s true, man of God. Very true.” It was another confirmation from the boy’s mother. “He always says he will be a medical doctor when he grows up,” she stated. 

That was the confirmation I needed. Now, that was a prophecy for the young lad. We should not assume that because the Lord has said he will be a medical doctor, it will happen without an effort on their part. No, they have their part to play. Failure to do that on time will delay the prophecy. Failure to act at all will render the prophecy impotent. Until they understood that and played their role, the prophecy is bound to derail. 

“If you want your dream of being a medical doctor to come true, you must be willing to go to school and also ready to study hard,” I told the boy. 

“Yes, sir,” he replied.

“You must also be obedient to your parents if you want them to send you to help you realize your dream,” I added.  He answered in the affirmative. Then I turned to the parents. 

Their role is to help their child fulfil God’s plan for his life. How? By seeing to it that he goes to school and studies medicine. Now, two things were clear from the prophecy I gave to the boy. On one hand, I told him God’s plan concerning his life. Secondly, I also helped him and his parents to know exactly what kind of medical practitioner the Lord wants him to be. That makes the prophecy very clear. 

As a man of God, I have a duty to help those I prophesy to, to understand the word the Lord has given me concerning them. I am also required to explain to them their role concerning that. Many prophecies fail or delay because often times those who give the prophecy do not have a proper understanding of the word they have received from the Lord concerning a person. When a prophecy is not properly delivered, the recipient will not know how to run with it. That is a problem. 

In order to avoid such, it is always important to understand a prophecy before we deliver it, and it must be well interpreted to avoid mistakes. A wrong interpretation of a prophecy will do a lot of damage to the recipient. It will also bring shame to the name of the Lord. I am never in a hurry to prophesy. It is either I am certain of what I have received for someone and how to go about it, or I keep quiet. 

That day, I advised both the boy and her parents concerning how to run with the prophecy. I knew very well that his parents have a great role to play in the manifestation of the prophecy. It was their duty to send the boy to school and make sure he studies the right course to become a Paediatrician. Failure to do that will cause a delay to the manifestation of the prophecy in the life of the boy. It could even lead to total failure. In any case, “ignorance of the role they were supposed to play” concerning what God said about the boy would cause a delay or failure of the prophecy to manifest. 

The point I am making here is that when we receive a prophetic word, we must know what to do to ensure the prophecy comes to fulfilment and without delay. This is because God has an appointed time for the manifestation of every prophecy he releases to man. If we are ignorant of our role concerning that, delay will set in. The only way to avoid it is to know the role we have to play concerning the prophecy we have received and do same. Now, let us look at the second point. 

Play your role

Apart from the fact that God has made known his plans for us, prophetically, another thing we must know is that prophecies require efforts on the part of the recipient to be fulfilled. Many people have experienced delays in the manifestation of the prophecies they have received because they did not play their role. In this case, it is no longer ignorance of what to do. Rather, it is a case of not doing what they ought to do to activate the prophecy. 

For instance, if a prophetic word says to a childless couple that they will have a child in a year’s time, it does not mean that the couple should go home and do nothing concerning the prophecy. Yes, God has promised to give them a child, and he will do it because God does not lie. However, we know that for the seed to be planted in the womb of the woman, the couple have a part to play to make it happen. Their part is to have “sexual intercourse” at the right time. That is their role concerning the fulfilment of the prophecy.  God will not do that for them. If they failed in that regard, the prophecy will not come to pass within the expected time. The reason is that they did not play their part. In other words, they did not run with the prophecy as expected. 

Truth be told, our inability to work towards the actualization of a prophecy renders the prophecy dormant. Even if we received one million prophecies in one day, if we sleep on them, there will never come to pass. Unfortunately, many believers have neglected this truth. In their minds, every prophecy will come to pass, even if they do nothing about it. 

Let me share something with you. In 1998, a prominent prophet in my country, Nigeria, prophesied about my calling. He told me the great things God would do through me as a man of God.

“My son, God is going to use you mightily. I see you going round the world spreading the word of God with signs and wonders,” said the man of God. 

I was excited when I heard that. I heard the same prophecies from other men of God. They told me that God would use me in ministry to teach,  heal the sick, prophesy, cast out demons and ultimately win souls for the kingdom. However, time passed without any sign of what was prophesied over me. Meanwhile, I was actively involved in church as a chorister. This went on for many years. I began to wonder what had gone wrong. I started thinking that the prophecies were not real. But I was wrong. The prophecies were real. It was delaying because I did not play my role. 

How could any of those things happen when I had not surrendered my will to the Father? 

The Father’s will was for me to go out and preach the good news to the captive. By so doing, I will see his miraculous works. However, I did not do that for many years. That caused the delay I was experiencing in the manifestation of the prophecy. The moment I started playing my role, I began to see the prophecy unfold. I have since gone into full time ministry and God is using me as he said. 

Now, the more I get involved in ministry work, the more the prophecy I received many years ago continue to unfold. I can boldly testify that all the prophecies spoken over me are gradually manifesting to the glory of God. 

Have you received a prophecy? 

Do you want to see it manifest in your life?

Seek out what God expects from you to make it happen. If you know it and do the same, you can be sure that your prophecy will neither delay nor fail. God has played his role by releasing the prophecy concerning his plans for you. It is time to do your part to activate it. 

The next post will discuss how “Doubt” can cause personal prophecies to delay or even fail to manifest. 

Author:   Apostle Frank B. Ogbu

                  Head Pastor/Overseer

                  Champion Grace Eternal Ministries

                  Ayikai Doblo, Amasaman 

                  Accra, Ghana

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