Guidelines for prophecy

The notes below are from Pioneer's Annual Leaders' Conference.
We will probably sharpen them up as we go along but in the mean time
they are a useful addition to understanding the way we do things in Dayspring.
 

We love the culture of prayer and prophecy across Pioneer and many of us have been blessed by receiving prayer or prophetic words from both speakers and fellow delegates at our annual leadership conferences.

We want to create an environment where ministry operates safely so we're therefore asking everybody to observe the following guidelines:
 

• Please be sensitive about who you are praying for. In some situations, for example with people of the opposite gender or when there aren't lots of people around, it may be better to have someone else with you.

• Please make sure you always ask permission before praying with the laying on of hands. Please be sensitive about where you place your hands on a person, particularly with people of the opposite gender. Heads, shoulders and arms are usually safe options.

• When bringing prophetic words, please ask yourself whether it is strengthening, encouraging or comforting in keeping with 1 Corinthians 14:3.

• Never insist that a word you have brought is a word from God and encourage the person to reflect on it and 'weigh it.' Make sure you communicate in such a way that the person understands that you could be wrong. You could begin by saying, "I think God might be saying..." or "Please weigh what l'm about to say..." Or you could end by saying, "It's important that you weigh that as we can only prophesy in part and we can get things wrong."
   

• When people are responding to the Holy Spirit, remember to consider their safety and their dignity. In certain situations, a person might need help to sit or lie on the floor safely.