Is Personal Prophecy in the Bible?
Yes. In several places.
God uses it to warn, to correct, to guide and most of all to draw people to Him.
This is what the New Testament said Prophecy is for:
But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. 1 Corinthians 14:3
It hasn’t changed. God uses people at times to help those who are needing to be drawn back to Him.
He will reveal secrets of the heart so that the person can understand.
The thing to watch out for is that we not admire the giver of the message, we keep our focus on Jesus.
The prophecy might be to restore a person’s relationship to the Lord.
It can also be for confirmation and sometimes to hold onto and see if God brings it to pass.
King David would not have known he was anointed king unless Samuel had told him that.
God could have told David that, but God gave David the message and then confirmed it as time went on.
The hearer should seek the Lord about whatever was spoken.
There is no responsibility for the person who hears to answer to the prophet.
Their responsibility remains to God.
The person who delivered the message is just that, the messenger.
It is important for the person who is delivering the message to stay out of the way.
Let the hearer pray and seek the Lord independently.
This is part of the personal prophecy the prophet Nathaniel gave to King David after King David
had Uriah killed so he could take his wife, Bathsheba.
And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him,
There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up:
and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat,
and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd,
to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb,
and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth,
the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:
And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel,
I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom,
and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little,
I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight?
thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife,
and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me,
and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house,
and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour,
and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. 2 Samuel 12:1-12
The purpose of Personal Prophecy is not to impress anyone.
The person who shares what God gave them is directly for the person for whom it was meant.
Be very careful not to look to the prophet to hear from the Lord.
Each one of us can hear Jesus’ voice.
If we are corrected, and via personal prophecy our sins are exposed, as was the case with King David,
the result should lead you closer to the Lord, not farther away.
However, there are rare exceptions.
God does use people to encourage or correct one another in Him, sometimes with personal prophecy.
When Peter in the Book of Acts told Saphira she would die
Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?
behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Acts 5:9
As with anything that we learn about God, whether it be a teaching or any other type of communication,
watch for the fruit. Is it good or bad? Does it reflect the word?
Do we put it on the back burner and wait for confirmation?
Always seek God’s wisdom and always share with trusted leaders what has been given to you via Personal Prophecy.
Personal prophecy should never take the place of your own relationship with God. Ever.
We should never follow prophets, especially those who are known for giving personal prophecies.
God wants us each to have our own relationship with Him.
He can figure out how to speak to us so we know it’s Him.
Keep seeking Him with your whole heart and never look to someone else to hear from God for you.
If He does use someone else, that person should not interfere with your relationship to God
or encourage you to hear from God through them.
That is a form of witchcraft.
Quench not the Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:19
Despise not prophesyings. 1 Thessalonians 5:20
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 1 Thessalonians 5:21
In other words, make sure what is given is from God.
Do not seek prophecy, seek the Lord. He will help you to find His word,
whether it is from a person or from His word or directly to you from Him.
Each of our relationships with Jesus will become stronger as we seek Him and learn of Him and read His word.
Keep the focus on Jesus, no matter what the situation,
never a person, never a doctrine, never focus on the prophet. That will lead to error and idolatry.
Always keep Jesus at the center and love the truth.