The Job Description of Prophetic Singers

Even after years on a worship team in the House of Prayer, I am still trying to figure out what is the spirit of prophecy.

Truly, this is no small subject and there is an inherent mystery to it as you see all the different expressions a spirit of prophecy takes in Scripture.

One thing I do know is that the call to be prophetic as a singer is a call to sing the Word. This is our very job description. 

Many wrongly believe that prophesying means only saying something made up in the moment — something that is fresh and never been heard before. Prophesying is singing the Word. The Bible is a prophetic book, and the Holy Spirit loves every word in it. We could never come up with something better or more anointed than what He breathes on in that Book. 

Our job as prophetic singers is to gain an understanding of the Word, know it in our hearts, live it in our lives, and open our mouths to sing it. The Holy Spirit then anoints it with His power and lives are changed and things are shifted in the spirit as we sing. It is as though we are little libraries of His Word that we have hidden in our hearts. What we have downloaded into our hearts and minds is what the Holy Spirit has to work with when we prophesy. The more we have stored within us, the more useful we are as messengers of the Lord. This is a glorious aspect of our partnership with God. 

Beautiful singing and poetic language is absolutely empty unless it is filled up with the substance of Scripture.

I used to think that, since I have never been the intense studying type that I could just open up my heart and sing from experience. Following this line of thinking means we will sing mostly sentiment, and sing just a few phrases over and over with nowhere else to go. This is not bad or wrong, in fact it is where we will all start our journey as prophetic singers. However, we must develop and mature in our revelation of the Bible. This is a valid starting place, but it is not an okay long-term mindset. We have to shake ourselves from the dust and commit to doing what it takes to grow in the understanding of His Word. 

The good news is that this desire to be filled with the Word and sing it is highly commended by the Lord.

Paul exhorts us to “pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:1). Our longing to be filled with the spirit of prophesy and ability to sing the Word is honoring to Him. 

I find that my “reach” for the spirit of prophecy can weaken over time if I am not diligent to consistently connect with the Holy Spirit as I am singing during my worship sets.

It takes time and energy to ask the Holy Spirit what He is saying and doing in that particular worship time. As soon as we see that our zeal to prophesy has waned, we must recommit to the reach for the Word of the Lord. He is so good; if we ask of Him He will give us more.