God often marks milestones in your life from birth, calling you while you are young. Many have had a wild praying grandma, grandpa, or family member who prayed over them and may have found it evident in their lives. The Word of God shows that we are called while we are young.
That’s why it’s vital that you speak life over your children. It’s important to prophesy over them and call them up to what they’re supposed to be. Children are like sponges; they absorb the words spoken over them. Many don’t realize that what you speak over your kids is what they will grow into. Consistently speak life over them by calling them a blessing, anointed of God, and marked by the blood of the Lamb. As parents, we need to see who they are in the Spirit and call that into the natural.
There’s an example of this in the book of Samuel. Hannah dedicated Samuel to the temple at birth. One of the words that came forward over Samuel’s life was a prophecy spoken by his mother.
The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; from heaven He will thunder against them….
—1 Samuel 2:10
Samuel was raised in Shiloh, a place dedicated to the training and equipping of the prophets to lead the nation. The Ark of the Covenant was held there, and at the time, it was run by Eli and his two immoral sons, Hophni and Phinehas. They were utterly corrupt, stealing from the altar, taking the best food from the offerings, and preying on the women serving at the tabernacle. Even though Samuel was there to supplant them, the Lord positioned him to give them time to turn and repent. They never did (see 1 Samuel 2-3).
Samuel was called to be a prophet to the nation. He’s one of the few prophets who held the line in the beginning, middle, and end of his life. Hannah released a word over him as a baby, saying the adversaries of the Lord would be broken in pieces from heaven, and the Lord would thunder against them. Here we see the fulfillment.
Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 So the children of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. 10 Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel.
—1 Samuel 7:7-10
The thunder in 1 Samuel 7 is similar to when Jesus prayed, and a Voice from heaven spoke. Some thought it thundered; others believed an angel had spoken (see John 12:27-29). We see the same narrative with Paul, when he was still Saul on the road to Damascus. A Voice spoke to him, and Paul understood what Jesus was saying; however, those around him couldn’t quite ascertain it (see Acts 9:1-8). It shows that when God speaks from heaven, it’s supernatural. If you don’t have ears to hear, it might just sound like thunder.
The Prophet’s Reward
He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.
—Matthew 10:41-42
When you honor any gift, you honor the gift itself. It’s not about a person carrying it or about worshiping a man. There are gifts in the body of Christ, and you honor the gift God puts in front of you. When someone brings you a gift, you receive it; the best way to open it is with honor, stepping into it.
When you minister to a prophet, the greatest reward you can receive first and foremost is his or her word. By honoring a prophet and sowing into their ministry, you’re positioning yourself to hear the Voice of the Lord—whether through that prophet or another way. That’s because prophets are called to bring direction, correction, and clarity. They prophesy the future and teach the Word in a way that unlocks your heart. Ultimately, a prophet’s reward starts with the word they carry.
Many people don’t realize that sowing into the prophetic ministry is a radical gift of multiplication. You need to understand that all soil is not the same. While every seed sown to bless the Kingdom brings a return, there is something unique about this. People often say, “I don’t give to get,” but that isn’t biblical. The Word says, “Give, and it shall be given unto you” (see Luke 6:38).
Some people say, “I just want to give. I don’t need things to be given unto me.” There is a selfishness to that. When you give, you should want to receive so you can give even more to advance the Gospel. That’s the real reason we give: to advance the Gospel and the preaching of the Word.
Not all soil is the same; it’s important to recognize that. Prophetic ministry carries a unique capacity for increase. Consider the story of Elijah and the widow. She and her son were down to their last bit of oil and meal, ready to eat their final meal and prepare for the end. The prophet steps in, takes one look at the situation, and asks them to take the little bit they have, make it, and give it to him to eat.
From a purely natural perspective, religion would say that Elijah was lacking in compassion, questioning how he could dare ask for food when the widow had absolutely nothing. Yet, Elijah was not walking by sight. He was led by the Spirit even when he asked them to sow into him despite them having nothing (see 1 Kings 17).
I encounter this same tension in ministry today when people come to me in meetings offering everything they have. My initial, natural reaction is to give it back, tell them they need to keep it for themselves. The Lord will lean on me and say, “Don’t you steal what I’m trying to do for them. Don’t you do that by your own religion, by your own self-centered empathy for people because you care so much about them. You need to let them take this faith act. It’s not about you, Joseph. It’s about what I’m doing with them.”
A miracle was induced in the case of the widow who appealed to Elisha for help. Her two sons were about to be taken as slaves by a creditor. Elisha told them to borrow all the empty pots they could find. Then they were to fill them with oil. They obeyed, and the oil did not run out until they ran out of pots. The widow was able to sell the oil, which gave her more than enough to pay her debt (see 2 Kings 4:1-7).
The Anointing to Multiply
Prophets are representatives of the Voice of God. They carry a unique anointing to do the impossible. When you sow into them with honor, impossible breakthroughs can happen in your life. Prophets carry an anointing for supernatural multiplication.
Then a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat.” 43 But his servant said, “What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?” He said again, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the Lord: ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’” 44 So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.
—2 Kings 4:42-44
Baal Shalishah was a region far removed from the people of God, essentially a territory where Baal was worshipped. It was known for being the first area in the region to produce fruit. Whether due to the climate or the sun, their crops matured before anyone else’s. During a time of severe famine, a man from this place traveled to Elisha. He brought twenty loaves of barley and newly ripened grain, offering the firstfruits of his worldly harvest to the man of God.
The prophet’s reward is a responsibility to those who give and to the prophet. This man had to bring something from the world system and lay it at the prophet’s feet. Not only for the prophet, although the prophet may have eaten too. The purpose was a miracle for the people. When you engage in sowing and reaping with a prophetic ministry, there’s a supernatural multiplier on it.
Here we see the multiplier from the world system coming to the prophetic voice, and it multiplied for the good of the people. The more you sow, the more the Word of the Lord can run freely and be glorified. That’s the prophet’s reward.
We have witnessed countless miracles—medical bills canceled, houses paid off, and land acquisitions paid off—that seemed impossible, all occurring when people sowed in faith. It is not about us; it is about the obedience of the people and the mantle God has placed on the ministry. It has to do with the prophet’s reward: sowing and reaping, applying your faith to the Word of God, and to Jesus. It’s between you and Jesus.
This works by trusting the Lord. The seed doesn’t return void, but the avenue you sow through determines what you will get. In other words, if you sow into pastoral things, you’re going to have a pastoral blessing. When you sow into the prophetic, there’s going to be clarity, destiny, and wild increase.
The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.
—Proverbs 10:22
Man’s system is to toil, strive, work hard, and all those are virtuous things. You activate the blessing by sowing. When the blessing is on you, activate it by sowing. It is the Lord who makes one rich.
When you seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, then all these things will be added unto you (see Matthew 6:33). It is the blessing that we seek God Almighty first. Whether we abound or we are abased, we serve the Lord. The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it. There’s joy in the blessing because it’s freely given.
For Jesus,
Joseph Z
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