X. THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR PROPHESYING
A. Taking the Precious from the Vile
The first qualification for prophesying is to take the precious things from the vile, or worthless (Jer. 15:19). God said to Jeremiah, "And if you bring out the precious from the worthless,/You will be as My mouth." In order to speak the word of God, we have to separate all the vile, worthless things from the precious things. We have received many precious things. If we do not keep the precious things separate from the vile things, we will lose the position to be the mouthpiece of God.
B. Loving the Lord, Being Close to Him,
and Being One with Him
To love the Lord, to be close to Him, and to be one with Him is another qualification for those who would prophesy (Jer. 1:8-9; Psa. 73:28a). All of the prophets loved the Lord, were very close to the Lord, and were one with the Lord. We must have the same experience; otherwise, we cannot be prophets.
C. The Intimate Counsel of Jehovah
Belonging to Those Who Fear Him, and
His Covenant Being Made Known to Them
The intimate counsel of Jehovah belongs to those who fear Him, and His covenant He will make known to them (Psa. 25:14). In order to prophesy, we must have an intimacy with God. Furthermore, we should not think that because we are intimate with God, we can be loose. On the contrary, we must also have a fear that matches our intimacy. In this way we are qualified to be God’s mouthpiece.
D. Until I Went into the Sanctuary of God,
and Considered...
In Psalm 73 the psalmist was bothered at the prosperity of the wicked (v. 3). Then in verse 17 he said, "Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end." He could not understand until he went into the sanctuary of God, that is, until he contacted God. This shows that he did not want to solve any problem apart from God. He went into the presence of God to get his problem solved; then he received the word from God.
E. Praying for the Ministry of the Word
In Acts 6:4 Peter said, "But we will continue steadfastly in prayer and in the ministry of the word." In order to prophesy, we must pray for the ministry of the word. Without prayer, the ministry of the word will not be enlivened and empowered.
(The Practice of the Church Life according to the God-ordained Way, Chapter 4, by Witness Lee)
