The agonies and tears of a Prophet.
A prophet is a man of burden, a man of prayer and a man of many troubles. A journey through the prophetic books revealed that there is no prophet that lived a trouble free life. They all had their challenges but the joy of it was that God delivered them from it all. Abraham was a Prophet but for so many years he had no child. He travailed in prayers but at a time when it seemed that all hope was lost, he had Isaac. Moses was another kind. He was trained in the Egyptian school, he was learned and versatile in Egyptian philosophy. He was a professor of his time and by his training he was prepared for the highly exalted Pharoah throne. He rejected the pleasure and benefits attached to his status. He chose to identify with his people and this act of him made him a fugitive for forty years. A professor became a shepherd, it was forty years of travails, depressions, pains, disappointments, agonies and inconveniences. At eighthy years of age when he was actually preparing to die, God's mercy located him, he called him and made him a deliverer. The next forty years of Moses, he made great impact and fulfilled Gods purpose. As a deliverer, life was not rosy, he bore the burden of a whole nation, interceding for them day and night. At a time he told God to ease the burden on him. Show me a Prophet and I will show you a man of burden. A prophet is beyond who see or prophesy. They are burden bearers. Jesus was a model of a prophet while he was on earth. He was compassionate and always praying.
What are the agonies of a prophet? Similar to Trojan priestess of Apollos in Greek mythology called Cassandra also sometimes refer to as Alexandra. Her prophecies were accurate but no one believed her. She was believed to be Cursed by Apollo who she refused to marry after bestowing her gift of prophecy. He could not collect the gift back and cursed her that no one would believe her prophecies. Many a times prophecies do not come to pass in the lifetime of a Prophet. When prophecies tarries, Prophet is in the inner room praying, crying, agonizing for manifestation of his prophecies. God can not be boxed. He is unpredictable. At times he speak of things that will happen in fifty years to come as if it will happen tomorrow. There was no other Prophet in the Scriptures that prophesied about the birth, ministry and death of Jesus Christ than Isaiah. He spoke of it as if it would happened in his time but it did not happen until about eight hundred years later. There was no Prophet that was ridiculed more than Isaiah. Why? Nearly all his prophecies was not fulfilled in his time. Nevertheless Isaiah kept interceding for the nation of Israel without looking back. The founder of the redeemed Christian Church of God saw the glory of the church, he knew it would be an international church, he knew the church would be a nation but all these did not happen in his life time. He saw it, he prayed about it and today Gods promises for him had become a reality.
A prophet is a man of prayer who approach the throne of God daily, interceding for his people and praying that the will of God be done. Prophecies is not enough, for it to manifest, there must be prayers to back it up in the inner room. At times God honour the word of his servants instantly and whatever they prophesy happen immediately. Elijah was an example, at his words rain ceased in the land and when it was time for rain to come back, he prayed severally before it could rain again. God work in mysterious ways. A prophet that heal instantly today, tomorrow it may take a longer time or the miracle may not happen at all. That does not mean God have departed from his prophet but he is sovereign and unquestionable God. It becomes necessarily for a prophet to have deep knowledge of the scriptures, prophecies may fail but the word of God does not fail. The word of God is always there to assure the prophet that God is still God regardless of the happenings around him. Great prophets are usually vast in the word of God and communicate the truth expressly. True mark of a prophet is his ability to communicate biblical truths perfectly without any heresies. Jesus taught more in his earthly ministry than prophesying. He was always teaching the truths. John the Baptist reputed as the greatest Prophet communicated truth to the people boldly and taught them practically how to live the truth. So many people parade themselves as prophets today but if they actually know what the ministry and call of prophet entails they will not want to be one. The life of a prophet is full of hidden tears, agonies, pains and inconveniences. Jeremiah was often called a crying prophet because of his agonies. There is no prophet of God that had it easy in the biblical days, their lives were full of ups and downs. Elijah was always on the run, Jeremiah was imprisoned, Ezekiel lost his wife and could not mourn. Their paths were rough but God was with them. He delivered them all from their afflictions. So many things could make a prophet to be distressed apart from unfulfilled promises and prophecies. A Prophet is not happy when people live sinful lives, a prophet is not happy when he see sick people, a prophet is not happy when people are demonized, A prophet is not happy when false teachings are spreaded , A prophet is not happy when the church is cold. A prophet is not happy when the nation does not uphold righteousness.All these are what form agonies and cries of a prophet. He is always on his knees praying and interfering for a Gods intervention. Majority of the Biblical prophets live in the outskirts of a city where they will not be distracted from communicating with God. A prophet is simply a man in tune with God. They are always in the inner room seeking the face of God. The moment they sighted prophet at the city in the old biblical days, there was usually fear because they knew that they had certainly come with a message.The ministry of the prophet did not end in the old testament but it still operates today. The intercessory prayers of prophets is crucial to a nation. Leaders of nations know this and that is why they have their own prophet that guides them into truth. For every working country and organizations, there are prophets agonizing fo them in prayers. The agonies and cries of a prophet are mysteries that do wonders in the spiritual realm. The agonies are embedded in his burden and in his burden lies his message.
Abolanle Oladipupo
©️ March 2022
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