Prophesying is constituted with three matters. First, we must have the knowledge of the Bible and be familiar with the Bible. Second, we must have the experience in the Lord, not only entering into the truth in depth but also having the experience of life. Third, we must draw near to the Lord to have fellowship and union with Him. It is best if we draw near to the Lord in the morning by reading His word and fellowshipping with Him. We do not need to read too many verses each morning, perhaps only seven or eight. Then we should choose two of the most meaningful of these verses to pray-read. If we spend fifteen to twenty minutes doing this, we certainly will have some inspiration, which we should then write down. If we enjoy the Lord in this way every morning for all seven mornings of the week and receive inspiration from His word, then on the Lord’s Day we can put together all the inspirations from the seven days as a written prophecy, and in the meeting we can prophesy according to what we have written. This is a good way, especially when we are still beginning to practice prophesying, and everyone can do it very easily. As long as we read the Lord’s word and fellowship with Him every day, we will receive light from Him. Eventually, when we combine our knowledge of the Bible, our experience of life, and our spiritual light, we can prophesy for the Lord.
I hope the elders and co-workers would take the lead in practicing this way. Then they should train all the brothers and sisters to practice in this way. It is best if the brothers and sisters write out their prophecies and show them to some trainers for reviewing and correcting. Then after the prophesying on the Lord’s Day, there should be a time of evaluation. Although the saints have something written as a draft when they are prophesying, they should not merely read it in a stiff way but should try to speak normally. If they have some instant inspiration while they are speaking, then they can add a sentence or two. This will make their prophesying more living and more full of light. If we are willing to be trained in this way, I believe that we will all be able to prophesy after one month of practice. Then we can change our meetings from having one person speaking with the rest listening to having everyone speaking and listening to one another. There will be times when mutual speaking and mutual listening will not be enough to ensure that the meetings are rich and enjoyable and that each one has something to say. Therefore, the leading brothers will still need to be prepared. If the brothers and sisters are able to prophesy richly enough so that all the attendants are satisfied and fed, then that is sufficient. Otherwise, the leading brothers will still need to speak a word for eight to ten minutes at the end of the meeting. It should be a strong, rich, living message based upon the sharing of the brothers and sisters, and it should supply and satisfy everyone. Such a preparation is to fill up the lack in order to maintain and strengthen the prophesying meetings of the church.
If we practice this for a few years, the prophesying in the church will be rich and will have a solid base. Furthermore, everyone will be revived daily, get into the Lord’s word, and have a rich enjoyment of the Lord. Thus, the entire church will be revived. All will become the New Testament priests of the gospel, and all will do the work of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. No one will be lazy and barren. Everyone will be a member of the “clergy,” and no one will be a part of the laity. If we have three thousand believers who are like this—everyone being able to beget, nourish, and teach—and if each one can bring in only one new one each year, then we will double our number in one year; three thousand will become six thousand. If we can do this year after year, the church will truly flourish. Every believer is a New Testament priest of the gospel, with everyone preaching the gospel, everyone feeding the Lord’s lambs, everyone perfecting the saints, and everyone prophesying for the Lord. In this way the church will be built up.
(The Ministry of the New Testament Priests of the Gospel, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee)