The Making of the Prophet

The making process, or more accurately, the breaking and preparation process, is one of the most essential phases in the development of a prophet. It is the stretch of time that exists between the moment of calling and the moment of being sent. During this season, the prophet knows who God has called them to be, but they have not yet been conditioned or cultivated enough to carry the weight of the assignment.

The making process is a time of stripping, pruning, and refining. It is where God begins to deal with the prophet’s motives, ego, pride, fears, and inner wounds. Before a prophet can carry the word of the Lord with authority and purity, they must be emptied of anything that might compete with God's voice. If the prophet’s heart is still filled with ambition, offense, insecurity, or self-will, their ministry will be compromised, constantly filtered through human emotion instead of clarity.

Hosea: A Prophet in the Making

The life of Hosea is an example of the making process in progress. When God first spoke to Hosea, He did not give him a powerful message to deliver to kings or nations. Instead, the first word from the Lord was, I imagine, something Hosea could have easily wrestled with internally. Hosea 1:2 says, “When the Lord first spoke to Hosea, He said to him: ‘Go and marry a woman of promiscuity and have children of promiscuity, for the land is committing blatant acts of promiscuity by abandoning the Lord.’”

Rather than allowing Hosea to speak a radical message or declare a bold “thus says the Lord,” God required him to live the message. This is the essence of prophetic formation: the prophet must first become the message before they can proclaim it. Hosea’s marriage to Gomer, a woman known for her promiscuity, was not only an act of obedience but also a prophetic sign to the nation. 

Gomer represented Israel’s spiritual unfaithfulness, and Hosea’s relentless love for her mirrored the covenant love of God, who continually calls His people back to Himself despite their repeated betrayals. God literally called Hosea to endure heartbreak and betrayal over and over again at the hands of his wife. Divorce was not presented as an option, and he could not use Scripture to justify walking away. To be submitted to God meant obeying even in places that most would have fled from.

The Cost of Obedience

This assignment was not glamorous, and it certainly was not celebrated. Hosea was likely met with scorn, judgment, embarrassment, and ridicule. His prophetic calling and radical obedience exposed him to whispers, false assumptions, and public shame. And yet, this was the very soil where the prophet was being formed. His pain became his training ground, and his humiliation became his altar. God was not concerned with building Hosea’s reputation; He was shaping Hosea’s heart to reflect His own.

It is not until chapter two that Hosea releases the burden of the Lord in words. By the time Hosea finally spoke, his message flowed from the depth of a man who had lived through the heartbreak of betrayal and had been trained in the discipline of unconditional love. Hosea 3:1 continues this prophetic drama: “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go again. Show love to a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Just as the Lord loves the Israelites though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.’”

Obedience Without Applause

This is the making of a prophet: to learn how to be obedient without needing applause to accompany it, to sacrifice without keeping record of the losses, and to remain faithful while enduring opposition. The true making process is a long, hidden, and costly experience. It is filled with lonely obedience and assignments that make no sense to those on the outside. Yet, it is in these obscure seasons that God births the kind of prophet who can carry His heart without distorting His words.

Some prophets are called early in life but are not released for years or even decades. The time between calling and commissioning is often filled with wilderness seasons, crushing trials, misunderstood assignments, and repeated tests. These seasons strip the prophet of every idol, including the idol of self. A prophet who values appearance or reputation more than obedience will never stand in boldness when it truly matters. Therefore, God dismantles the need to be liked, the temptation to be impressive, and the desire to be seen.

Gifted, But Not Yet Grounded

This is one of the major issues within prophetic culture today. Many have recognized their gift but have never endured the making. They have bypassed the breaking process and surfaced with performance, yet they have not been purified. As a result, their words are tainted. Though they may be gifted, they lack grounding. They are celebrated by people, but they have not yet been entrusted by God.

Forged in Obscurity, Sent in Power

The authentic prophet is formed through adversity and refined in the secret place. Their strength is built on private communion with God. These prophets have been tested by silence, shaped by rejection, and forged through obedience in difficult places. They have nothing to prove and nothing to gain. They speak because they must. Like Jeremiah, they carry fire in their bones. Like Ezekiel, they have consumed the scroll. Like Moses, they have been called out of the wilderness.

So, to those who find themselves in this place of making, I encourage you to not despise this place. You are being formed. This is your place of preparation. God is building endurance, and He is teaching you how to hear Him with clarity, how to obey without compromise, and how to carry His burden without breaking. The same God who called you is the One who will keep you, and when the time is right, He will send you.

But first, He must make you.