I believe that as we live, we unintentionally demonstrate actions that are prophetic in nature. For example, I once was bent on felling a gigantic, fruitless apple tree in the backyard of my old house (over a thirty-inch diameter!). I thought it would be fun and adventurous to cut it down with an axe (Afterall, every man should fell a tree with an axe on occasion). Anyways, to this point, I’ve never fell a tree with an axe, so I figured it was about time. It dawned on me later, conversing with my wife, that the act of using an axe to dispatch a dying, fruitless tree was prophetic. Specifically reminiscent of John the Baptist’s proclamation that the axe is at the roots of the fruitless trees and that they would be cut down and thrown into the fire.

            After this, it just so happened that one of our friends was healed of her apple allergy, and around the same time, the Holy Ghost led me to create a tasty apple dish with venison (called Piedmont Stir-fry). What I’m saying is, is that there was something prophetic about that action, but I didn’t realize it until later. Were these special occurrences afterward associated? I don’t know, but it would seem so.

            I feel as though if I had known what was going on at the start and considered that the Holy Spirit put that desire in my heart to proclaim His goodness that it may have been a much more powerful experience. Or, perhaps, not. Maybe it is more powerful not knowing then figuring it out in retrospect. Just like it was more powerful for Jesus to fulfill prophecy without necessarily seeking the occasion. Although some special things occurred after the felling of that ol’ apple, the question remains—what did this particular action mean?

I see the nature of prophecy as a physical manifestation (i.e., action or word, etc.) of testimony that points toward the Glory of God (which reminds me of what may at least be one function of a miracle). In this case, I was reminded of Matthew 3:7-12 (ESV). John warns that “Every tree…that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire,” but Jesus, being the solution, “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

            I wonder—what are we doing now that is prophetically proclaiming the glory of God? For the Christian, are we bold enough (or in love enough) to share this with others? For the non-believer, would you have enough curiosity, humility, and courage to accept God’s invitation to relationship? Perhaps, these instances are meant to edify only the one doing the prophetic action or maybe it’s both or maybe it depends upon the situation. I pray that for the non-believer and the Christ-like ones that these actions would become evident and be an encouraging testimony to God’s love for all involved.