On the other hand, the humble prophets of the Lord would not touch the glory of God with the proverbial ten-foot pole. When Peter entered the house of Cornelius, a centurion who had invited him to share the Gospel, Cornelius fell at his feet and began to worship him.

“But Peter made him get up, saying: ‘Stand up, I too am just a man‘” (Acts 10:26).

Peter knew he should not touch God’s glory. In his humility, he preached the Gospel to the Gentiles, believing that God does not show favoritism—and many were saved for the glory of God. In Lystra, Paul and Barnabas found themselves in a similar situation. When Paul saw that a man, crippled from birth, had the faith to be healed, he told him to stand up.

The healing power of God met the man at the point of his belief and healed him. When the people of Lystra saw what had happened, they called Paul Hermes and Barnabas Zeus, and they decided to sacrifice oxen to them. But the apostles Barnabas and Paul, when they heard this, tore their clothes, ran into the crowd, and cried out:

“Men, why are you doing this? We are also men of the same nature as you, and we are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them.” (Acts 14:14–15)

Paul could have chosen to take the glory for himself, but he ended up being stoned when Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and turned the people against him. They left him for dead, but God had another plan for a man who refused to take the glory that was not his. Edwards taught that spiritual pride is:

“the main spring or at least the main support of all other errors. As long as this disease is not cured, medications are used in vain to heal all other ailments.“

The good news is that spiritual pride can be healed. The prescription is a strong dose of conviction, repentance, and humility, and I would add, a continuous effort to cooperate with God’s grace to walk in the fear of the Lord. It’s interesting to note that Edwards is regarded as having played a key role in the First Great Awakening that swept through Europe and the young American colonies.

Although there is much talk about another great awakening and the healing of our nation, I believe that any widespread move of God will start with you and me. We must work with the Holy Spirit to eradicate spiritual pride and walk in humility so that we will be ready when God answers our cries to show us His glory.

So, embrace the grace of humility in your creative process. It will bear fruit when God exalts you as an influential voice. Build an accountable team around you, people you trust who can gently correct you if they see you starting down the path of a prophetic prima donna.

Don’t be the lone prophet who is too good to heed wise counsel. If you want to come out of the wilderness with a strong prophetic voice, ask the Holy Spirit to cultivate meekness in your heart now…

This text is an excerpt from the book The Making of a Prophet written by Jennifer LeClaire.

We invite you to read the following article: “ENVY CAN PERVERT THE PROPHETIC“.