The Calling of a Prophet

A divine summons initiated by God, not man, that marks the prophet’s identity and purpose.

The calling of a prophet is often revealed in stages. It begins with a personal encounter with God, followed by confirmation through others, and culminates in a visible affirmation or manifestation in the earth. While there is no rigid sequence between the personal experience and the confirmation through others, the final confirmation never comes first. God confirms what He has already spoken, either directly to the individual or through those He chooses to echo His message.

Personal Encounter

Perhaps the most well-known example of a personal prophetic encounter is found in Jeremiah 1:4–5 (CSB): “The word of the Lord came to me: ‘I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born. I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’ But I protested, ‘Oh no, Lord God! Look, I don’t know how to speak since I am only a youth.’”

Here, Jeremiah encounters the voice of God personally. He is told that his calling as a prophet was established before his conception. This personal encounter did not come with public fanfare or external validation, but it marked a turning point in his life. Though Jeremiah protested, God’s word defined his purpose.

Not every experience and process will mirror Jeremiah’s. Some callings may come through dreams, visions, or an unmistakable inner voice. What distinguishes a personal encounter is that it disrupts the norm. It is unforgettable. After it happens, something in you changes. You become aware of your own weaknesses and the areas of your life that must be purified. There is a sudden awareness that God is calling you out of who you have been and into something far greater than you imagined.

---

Weigh these next words carefully.

I say that sincerely because I understand how easy it is to be skeptical of personal encounters. And truthfully, you should weigh them. Far too many in today’s prophetic culture resist testing and discernment. But a true prophet is not afraid of being tested. I share my experience not to elevate myself, but to bear honest witness to how the Lord first marked my life. I also share it to encourage you to reflect on your own.

I still remember my personal experience. I was around twenty-four years old and had just purchased my first home. At that point, I had not yet given my life fully to Christ, though I prayed daily. I was dealing with inner conflict. There was a constant tug on my heart to surrender to the Lord, but the relationship I was in at the time was ungodly. I didn’t want to give it up. We had built a life together, and I could not see myself walking away. At twenty-four, I had a career, financial stability, and a brand-new home. I loved my lifestyle, but I knew it was outside of God’s will.

Every day I woke up to the same inner struggle. My heart was being pulled toward God, but my flesh was resisting. One night I went to bed early. I was awakened by a bright light in the room. At first, I assumed my partner had fallen asleep and left the light on. I mumbled, “Turn off the light.” I pulled the covers over my head, but it was still bright. I kicked at her, still half-asleep, saying, “I said turn that light off. I can’t sleep.”

Eventually, I decided to get up and turn it off myself. I peeked from under the covers with squinting eyes, hoping to fall right back asleep afterward. That’s when I saw it. There was a figure standing in my room, male in appearance, positioned behind a podium and holding papers. The light was emanating from the podium.

I watched in shock as he began reading from the paper in a language I didn’t understand. I said aloud, “I don’t speak that language,” and again, “Sir, I don’t understand what you’re saying.” But he kept speaking, undeterred, as if what he had to say had to be said.

Then, suddenly, he looked up at me and said, clearly, “Prophesy. I will give you the words.” Then he returned to reading. The light began to dim, and eventually the room returned to darkness.

I could not shake what had just happened. I wrote it in my journal because I knew it wasn’t ordinary. It felt too real. What kind of dream was that? Why did it feel like I had just witnessed something sacred?

After that night, the tug on my heart intensified into a full-blown war. My lifestyle no longer satisfied me. I became painfully aware of everything in my life that was sinful. I felt exposed, stripped. But that was the beginning of my calling. That moment marked the shift.

---

Reiteration Through Others

Reiteration is when God uses others to speak what He has already placed in your spirit. It is not the same as receiving a random prophecy that suddenly defines your calling. Reiteration does not initiate your identity. It confirms it. It typically follows a personal encounter with God and brings clarity and alignment to what was first revealed in secret.

This kind of confirmation may come through someone who does not know your private wrestlings. It may emerge during a conversation, a sermon, or even through the unexpected words of a stranger. Reiteration is not about excitement or recognition. It is about divine agreement. God often uses this step to strengthen you in seasons of uncertainty, to assure you that you are not imagining things, and to prepare your heart for the assignment to come.

For me, things in my life had become topsy-turvy. I was facing internal chaos and confusion, trying to make sense of the shift I felt within. During one of those moments, I was talking with a church evangelist I really trusted. We had never gone too deep in conversation. She was always firm with me, but loving. She made me study the Word and never spoon-fed me anything.

In one of those “woe is me” conversations where I was overwhelmed and trying to understand what was happening, she suddenly looked at me and asked, “Do you know what a prophet is?” I shrugged and said, “Yeah, so?”

She had no knowledge of my dream, no insight into the encounter I had experienced, yet she responded, “Do you know you are a prophet?” From that day on, she began calling me prophet, gently and persistently, as if training me not to flinch or retreat from the weight of the word.

Then one day she called and said the pastor wanted to meet with me. When I sat down for that meeting, I was not given a title, a microphone, or a stage. I was given an assignment. I was instructed to study the five major and eleven minor prophetic books of the Bible. That was it. That was my assignment.

This is what reiteration looks like. It is simple. It is weighty. And it is unmistakably God. It confirms what He has already whispered to your spirit. It awakens the reality that you are not self-appointed, and you are not confused. You did not call yourself. He did.

Confirmed in the Earth

This final part of the calling process is not something you orchestrate or manufacture. It is the outward recognition of what has already been established in private. It is the visible fruit of the internal journey. The confirmation in the earth is not about proving yourself to others. It is about watching the hand of God make known what He has been doing all along.

This manifestation can look different for every prophet. For some, it may come through a public commissioning. For others, it might unfold through divine assignments, open doors, or the undeniable release of grace and authority as they begin to walk in their calling. Earthly confirmation is not about achieving a platform. It is about stepping into alignment with divine timing.

It is essential to understand that the calling of a prophet does not depend on human validation. You do not need man's affirmation to be chosen by God. However, God often chooses to confirm in the earth what He has already spoken in eternity. Just as Jesus was affirmed by the Father before He ever performed a miracle, so too is the prophet often confirmed before they ever step fully into their public assignment.

This confirmation may not come the way you imagined. It might not be marked by applause or a grand ceremony. It could come in the form of deeper responsibility, greater pressure, or a fresh assignment that carries more weight than recognition. But when it comes, it will be clear. You will know in your spirit: this is not something I created. This is not something I pursued. This is something God has appointed.

For me, the confirmation came twelve years after my initial encounter. By then, I had fully surrendered my life to Christ, committed to holiness, and was serving as a teacher and leader. One day, I received a phone call from a senior leader in the church. They had an assignment for me. And to my amazement, it was the same assignment I had been given over a decade earlier when I was first wrestling with the call of God. They instructed me to do an in-depth study on the prophets of the Bible, with the understanding that one day, I would teach what I had learned.

This time, the assignment felt a bit more rigorous. I opened a fresh notebook and dove deeper than I had the first time. What I discovered shaped not just my knowledge, but my spirit. I was no longer trying to understand the calling. I was now preparing to walk in it.

The leader who gave me that assignment never followed up to see if I had completed it, just like the first leader. They simply spoke the instructions and left it with me. But about a year later, I received word that I would be confirmed through a formal clerical ceremony.

That moment did not mark the beginning of my calling. It was the public acknowledgment of what had already been unfolding over the years. It was God saying, “Now is the time to walk fully in what I have already shown you.”

Closing Reflection:

The calling of a prophet is not always loud or immediate; it often unfolds over time. It is a sacred summons that God reveals and develops according to His timing. If you believe you are called, do not chase affirmation or try to force a platform. Instead, steward what God has shown you and be faithful in that place. Let Him shape you, speak to you, and send voices of confirmation to echo what He has already planted in your spirit. And when the time is right, the same God who called you will be faithful to establish you.