I led out Chapter 2 of Understanding the Prophetic Nature with a short dramatization of the prophet Micaiah speaking to kings Ahab and Jehoshaphat. I used the phrase "the spirit of prophecy kindled in his soul…" to describe his experience of delivering God's word to these two foolish kings. I honestly can't think of a better way to describe what a prophet experiences when the word of God wells up inside him, pushing its way out.

There is another example of this in 2 Kings 9:1-10. Elisha called a "young prophet" (we don't know his name) and gave him orders to go find an army commander named Jehu and anoint him to take over the kingship of Israel. Most people don't realize that the directions Elisha gave to his young protege were third-hand orders. God originally gave those orders to Elijah years before in the cave on Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:15-18). Elijah had ridden a fiery chariot to heaven and those orders had been passed on to Elisha. Now, Elisha passed them on to this young, unnamed prophet. He didn't embellish the message either. One short sentence, "I anoint you king over Israel." He added, "Then run!" to the orders and sent him off.

The prophet relies on the Spirit of God in everything. I'm sure that during the trip to Ramoth-gilead (where Jehu was) he was seeking the Lord, maintaining his walk in the spirit. God didn't let him down. His message to Jehu was much more than just "I anoint you king of Israel." He described in detail what Jehu was to do. God spoke directly to that army commander through this young prophet. I'm sure that's what Elisha expected. He knew that the Spirit of God rested on his young friend. He also knew that God likely had more to say than just that one, third-hand sentence. He was right! And… when the time came, the spirit of prophecy kindled in the young prophet's heart and God's word poured forth.