Prophesying (the gift of communicating revealed truth) comes from the Greek word προφητεία prophéteia i.e. prophecy.
Prophesying is not so much predicting the future, but more so the expression of the mind of God (as dictated by the Bible or the Holy Spirit) at a given moment.
1 Corinthians 14:1 says, follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. Especially prophecy ... How in the world can we make that practical today?
Prophesying is a spiritual gift which enables the believer to share a word of revelation from God (who is in Heaven) thereto urged by the Holy Spirit (who dwells in us). That word, therefore, is not a sermon prepared at home or a predicting of the future. Prophecy is the proclamation of God's will and the calling and encouraging of believers towards justice, loyalty and perseverance.
Some interesting facts:
- Uttering prophetic words is now something every believer can and should do (Acts 2:17).
- The gift of prophecy is distributed as the Holy Spirit decides (1 Corinthians 12:10-11), but we must pursue it (1 Corinthians 14:1).
- The appointment of a prophet for the edification of the church is done by Christ Himself (Ephesians 4:11).
- Nowadays, prophetic words are no longer infallible (as opposed to the OT), therefore, such words must always be weighed and tested (1 Corinthians 14:29 and 1 Thessalonians 5: 20-21).
- Prophesy is a matter of using our mind. Actually, it is one of the few times (maybe the only time) that the Bible says we must submit the spirit (1 Corinthians 14:32).
How do we strive to prophesy? I strongly believe by asking the Lord for it in prayer and by studying what the Bible says about it. God has always desired and still desires to speak through people like you and me. He wants to speak through His written Word ... but also LIVE!