There is a lot of debate about what faith is and how we partner with God through faith to see things come to pass.  In some cases we do things out of faith that God hasn’t specifically told us to do, but there are other times where God has shared something with us, either by a knowing in our hearts, speaking to us directly, or through a prophetic word.  Regardless of the method by which we receive the revelation, there are a number of ways the promise can come to pass.  The confusing part is knowing which method is in store for us and how we need to respond.  We are going to look at the various ways we can step out in faith to become partners with God’s promises.

Prophecy Is Usually Conditional

Most promises from God, whether received through prophecy or otherwise, are conditional.  This means that it’s not “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.”  Instead, it means that the choices we make and the things we do influence whether or not the prophecy comes to pass.  An example of this is the difference between Mary and Zechariah in the Bible.  Mary agreed with the word about Jesus but God had to strike Zechariah mute so he wouldn’t disagree with the prophecy about John and prevent it from coming to pass.  If prophecies are conditional, then we can either help them along or prevent them from happening.

Sometimes, simply choosing to trust God is the faith-answer, but that’s usually when actual faith is applied to what God said, not simply a head nod and then going on our way and forgetting about what God said.  When someone truly trusts God deeply in their heart to do what He said He will do, immense faith is released to partner with that prophetic word to cause it to come to pass.  However, based on observation, I believe that kind of faith is uncommon.

Pray It Through

The first thing we can do to partner with a prophetic word is to pray into it.  What I mean by this is to pray for the thing to come to pass.  If God says, “I have a bigger house for you,” then start praying for a bigger house.  If God says, “I have a certain ministry for you,” then start praying for that ministry and for all God wants to do in and through it.  Most things in the Kingdom are birthed through prayer, so spending time praying for what God said to come to pass is wisdom, and it is the very least thing we can do, not to mention the easiest.  The acronym PUSH was made by someone regarding how we are to pursue things in prayer. It means Pray Until Something Happens—and that’s what we should do to partner with the prophecy.

Do Something

A next step to take after that is to actually do something to put things into action.  For example, let’s say that I got a prophetic word about writing books (I have had multiple words to that end).  If I am going to partner with God to write books, then I have to do a few different things to see that promise come to pass. First, I have to decide what to write about, then I have to actually take time and write it.  Then I have to edit and revise the book, develop a cover design, and publish it—and if I want the book to sell, I probably need to do some marketing too.  All of these things don’t just happen on their own.  It’s not like I woke up one day and found some books on my shelf with my name on the cover.  No, I spent time deciding what to write, writing it, and then rewriting it to make it better.  Partnering with God means actually setting time aside to do the things He has said I will do, and in the area of book writing it has involved considerable time and effort on my part.  Mind you, I enjoy writing so I do enjoy the process, but the fact is that it doesn’t just happen on its own.

The point here is that if we want to see a word come to pass, we often need to do practical things in real life to make that happen.  Have you received a word about having some massive healing ministry?  Well, probably you need to identify what that is supposed to look like.  Take some time with God in prayer and draw up a plan.  Do you need to start a 501©3 nonprofit and rent out a place to start hosting meetings, or do you just need to start praying for people in the grocery store?  Do you even know how to pray effectively for people for healing?  Maybe you need to take some time to learn about divine healing methods and figure out how God wants you to go about praying for the sick.  Maybe you need to sign up as a volunteer chaplain at your local hospital.  Do you see where I am going with this?  A massive healing ministry won’t happen on its own.  If God wants to do something like that through you, it is going to take time and effort on your part.

One of the biggest weaknesses of the modern prophetic movement, in my opinion, is the “sit on my laurels” attitude.  Everyone wants a prophetic word, and of course they do!  The prophetic is amazing!  It encourages you and gives insight into God’s heart for you, and can often provide wisdom in challenging situations.  You can get perspective on things God wants to do with you in the future, and by revelation receive direction on how to proceed forward in life.  Nevertheless, if we don’t do something to put wings to prophetic words we receive, they will rarely come to pass.  It is easy to blame someone else, a ministry, an organization, etc. for not helping you in your calling, but at the end of the day it’s not really their job, it’s yours.  If God opens up favor for you in an area, then that’s great.  But if He doesn’t, then He is still planning on doing what He said, but it may not be the way we are expecting it to happen.

In the end, partnering with God in regards to prophetic promises is a must if we want to see them come to pass.  Sometimes it is as simple as praying.  Sometimes there is a small action to do.  Other times there is a long series of actions to do on an ongoing basis.  Whichever the answer, it is very uncommon that a prophecy will come to pass with no involvement on our part.  Not impossible, mind you, but rare, uncommon, infrequent.  Ultimately, the wisdom step here is to remember to engage the things God says to us.  If God tells us things, and we keep our hearts open and obedient, then as we pray for those things we can trust that He will lead and guide us in His timing to step out in action.  The book of John tells us that faith without works is dead, not because we are trying to earn our faith by our works, but because the natural response to putting faith in what God says is to step out in action.

If you have things God has promised you that have yet to come to pass, I encourage you to put them on a list and begin to pray about each one.  Ask God what He wants you to do to partner with Him in those things, then write down the answer He gives you.  As you identify the “next step” for each one, take that step and see what happens.  Once you have done those steps, if you are ever unclear you can always revisit them in prayer again to get more insight on how to move forward.  As you do practical things to partner with God, I believe you will begin to see more and more of God’s plans and purposes for your life take shape around you.