It’s hard to watch what is happening to the prophetic ministry today in our nation without feeling a deep sense of grief. Canada has a history of seasoned prophets running from our nation to another, to be heard and not despised. When we turn away from God’s true prophets, we forfeit divine alignment. In their place, we are left with isolated voices who band together to offer only an imitation of His truth. That is where we are today.

 

There are very few prophets who carry the weight and fear of the Lord, and there is a void of spiritual mothers and fathers to ground and mature them into their call. We have many young, raw prophetic voices carrying heavy insights from Heaven, only to get absolutely battered by ‘friendly fire’ from church leaders who prefer comfort over conviction. Because they have been burned by the system, they begin to soften their words to conform with what is popular – what people and other leaders want to hear. A dangerous spirit has crept into our ministry culture.

 

The question now, is where are the spiritual parents who will genuinely care and mentor them? Who will love them enough to provide healthy boundaries and mature them? Who will sacrifice their time and ‘status’ to do that?

 

This heartbreaking disconnect is exactly what Jesus was agonizing over in His lament over Jerusalem. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” Matthew 23:37  

 

Jesus chooses the imagery of a mother hen. A mother hen will voluntarily stay over her nest and burn to death in a coop fire just to shield her babies from the flames with her own body. What a visual of the staggering depth of His love! Jesus still looks at our chaotic, wandering culture with that same agonizingly beautiful love.

 

The mature prophet today must have the same aching desire to hold, protect, and restore the younger generation of prophets. Until the seasoned prophets become protective, spiritual parents who train these young leaders in the way they should go, they will continue to be misunderstood and wounded by the church. We must take them under our wing – not to control them, but to offer a safe, nurturing shelter so they may grow into maturity. 

 

Jesus’ ultimate desire is for us to love with the same pure, sacrificial love that took Him straight to the cross. It requires both the mature and the emerging prophets to sacrifice everything so the prophetic community can be respected and restored starting in the church and in our nation.

 

We must all remember Jesus’ final, heart-wrenching words to a resistant culture: “…and you were not willing!”

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Yvonne Woods

Invictus Prophetic Canada

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