Power of Attorney

Power of attorney gives someone the legal right to make decisions and speak on behalf of someone else. You might give someone full power of attorney, or a limited power of attorney. For instance you may only give someone the right to make health decisions on your behalf, to manage your finances, or to purchase license plates for your vehicle. A power of attorney gives specific authority, but if you overstep the limits set forth you have broken the trust of the individual granting the power of attorney and could face legal consequences.

In a way God grants power of attorney to prophets who are given the authority to speak on God’s behalf. Such authority can be easily abused.

[14] Then the Lord told me, "These are the lies that the prophets are telling in my name: They claim that I sent them, commanded them, and spoke to them. They dreamed up the visions they tell you. Their predictions are worthless. They are the products of their own imagination.
[15] "I didn't send these prophets. Yet, they prophesy in my name that there will be no wars or famines in this land. So this is what I, the Lord, say about them: Wars and famines will bring an end to these prophets.
Jeremiah 14:14-15 (GW)

When someone says, “The Lord has said,” “Hear the word of the Lord,” or any other such statement they claim to speak for God. It can be easy to declare that you are speaking for God; however, a prophet should be careful not to ‘put words in God’s mouth.’ If God has not spoken and instructed you to speak, then you have no authority upon which to talk for God.

Many of the so-called prophets of Jeremiah’s day were just telling people what they wanted to hear; they claimed to speak for God but they spoke lies. Therefore God judged them by their own words; the famine and war they said would not happen came upon them.

God will speak words of blessing and encouragement, but if preachers today never confront sin and the consequences it brings, then do they really speak for God? We need to learn to evaluate a ‘Word from the Lord’ by the authority of scripture and not simply by how it makes us feel. Heed God’s word; test the spirits. God will confirm His word by doing what He said.