A Reflection on Prophetic Words and God’s Perfect Timing

In the stillness, He speaks.

I wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary that afternoon at Adoration.

I was at a chapel near where I work. It wasn’t even my home parish. I thought I would use my lunch hour to sit in prayer and discern my purpose, my calling. I planned to journal what was on my mind and pray for those who had asked me for prayers.

The chapel was quiet, as usual. That steady, holy silence that seems to breathe with you. I slipped into my regular rhythm of prayer, resting in the presence of Jesus in the monstrance.

As the hour changed, I noticed the familiar face of the woman who had let me in that day gather her things. She turned toward me with a small smile, yet I could see a tear in her eye, and said, “Can you do me a favor? Please, pray for me. My husband passed this morning.”

I froze for a second. The weight of her words sank in. That very morning.

I promised I would. Right there in my seat, I prayed for his soul and for her heart. I remember thinking how amazed I was that she was there. Not surrounded by family. Not at the funeral home. She was with the Lord. She had just lost her husband of many years, yet she wasn’t going to miss her time in His presence. She put Him first, even in her grief. That quiet witness stayed with me.

A couple of weeks later, I saw her again. Same pew. Same posture of prayer. Faithful. I sat behind her this time. When her hour ended, she turned to reach for her coat.

That’s when it happened.

I felt my arm move before I even thought about it. My hand touched hers, my eyes met hers, and the words came out of my mouth without me forming them in my head: “He hears your prayers.”

Her eyes widened, then she smiled. “Thank you,” she said softly, and walked out.

I sat there for a moment, stunned. I glanced at the only other person in the chapel and asked, “What was that?”

He looked right back at me and, without missing a beat, said, “The Holy Spirit.” Then he added something that stopped me in my tracks. “She’s been struggling. Wondering if God is even hearing her. You just told her exactly what she needed to hear.”

It wasn’t my idea. It wasn’t even in my mind until the words were already spoken. I was simply the one God used in that moment.

Prophetic words have always fascinated me, mostly because they’ve never been one of my charisms. I’ve known people who operate in that gift regularly, speaking into someone’s life with pinpoint accuracy about what God wants them to know.

But here’s the truth: God can use any of us that way when He chooses.

That day in the chapel, I wasn’t trying to give a prophetic word. I was thinking about my own needs, my own prayers, my own discernment. Those words were simply given to me, and I was given the grace to say them.

Later, when I called my pastor to tell him what had happened, I admitted I was worried I might have done or said something wrong. He reassured me that when something blesses, strengthens, or consoles someone, and it does not cause harm, it is safe to believe it was from God.

Since that day, my schedule has changed, and I don’t get to that church for Adoration as much as I used to. I haven’t seen her again. But I know there was a reason I was there, at that church, during that hour, on those two days. God put me in the right place to encourage a heart that was grieving.

The Apostle Paul wrote in his first letter to the Thessalonians, “Encourage one another and build one another up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Sometimes, encouragement is as simple as being present. Other times, it is speaking words that are not your own, words that come straight from the Lord’s heart to theirs.

Prophetic words do not always sound grand or dramatic. They might be a sentence, a phrase, or even a smile at the right time. The gift is in the timing and the obedience, not in the length or eloquence of what is said.

I was once given the word tumor as a prophetic word. It bothered me at first. Tumor is such a horrible thing to hear. But in time, and with prayer, I realized it was a picture of a sin I had been holding onto deep in my heart. This sin was like a tumor, causing a wound on my heart. Once I brought it to confession and let it go, the pain went away.

That taught me something else about prophetic words. Sometimes they are for someone else, and sometimes they are for you. Either way, the glory isn’t ours. We are simply the conduit.

If you have never experienced something like this, don’t think you are disqualified. God is not limited to using only those with a particular gift all the time. The Holy Spirit moves where He wills. Our role is to stay close to Him so we can recognize His nudge when it comes.

A simple prayer has been enough for me: Come, Holy Spirit. I have said it before speaking in public, before offering to pray with someone, and even before picking up the phone to call a friend. That little invitation leaves the door open for Him to work in ways I cannot plan or predict.

That afternoon in the chapel taught me something I will never forget: God knows exactly what His children need to hear, and sometimes, He will speak it through you to one of them.

It also reminded me of the prophet Isaiah’s words: “The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to answer the weary a word that will waken them” (Isaiah 50:4). That day, He gave me the words for someone who was weary, and I had the privilege of speaking them.

So, stay ready. Stay open. Keep your heart close to His.

Because the next time you feel your arm move before you think, or words form on your lips without your planning, it just might be Him.

Don’t hold back. Let them out.

And someone may walk away knowing, without a doubt, that He hears their prayers.