Carried Along

 "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

— 2 Peter 1:20-21

Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King,

The mystery of Scripture is this: written over a period of 1400 years by 40 different authors from all walks of life, written from three continents and in three different languages. Yet, despite the diversity of its human authors, the Bible has a single, unifying message—salvation is through Jesus Christ the Messiah. Peter underscores this by saying no prophecy of Scripture came by human understanding, private interpretation, or personal creativity. Prophecy never originated in human will. Rather, each human prophet spoke and wrote as, "they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

The word translated "carried along" is the Greek word phero. It means to carry some burden, to be moved by force such as of a gust of wind. It's the same word used in Acts 2:2, "And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind (phero)." Paul used the word in Acts 27:15, "The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind, so we gave way to it and were driven along (phero)." The prophets of the past were carrying a burden pressed upon them by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit rushed upon them like a wind that blows a ship where it wants. The prophets raised their sails of faith and allowed themselves to be moved by the force of the Holy Spirit as His breath filled their sails and carried them along.

Lord Jesus, as I seek to speak Your Word faithfully and to be available to the Holy Spirit to speak with His gifts of prophecy, words of wisdom, and words of knowledge (1 Cor. 12:7-11), may I be like the prophets of the past who did not permit prophecy to originate in their own thinking but were moved and carried along by the rushing wind of Your Spirit. May I be filled with Your Spirit like the sails of a ship as He leads and instructs my words to be His.

— In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen!

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