In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the supernatural source to other people. The message that the prophet conveys is called a prophecy.

The spiritual gift of the prophet is the deliverance of God’s will to the Body of Christ through the Holy Spirit. The prophet must bring to life the truth in himself and in others. As a bellwether of right and wrong, the prophet will go to great lengths to communicate and illustrate that purpose, even to the detriment of his/her own situation.

A prophet’s basic motivational drive is to apply the Word of God to a situation so that sin is exposed and relationships are restored. Prophets might be considered the “trumpets” of the Body of Christ who sound the alarm in the face of sin and compromise. A prophet calls attention to sin and wrong attitudes.

The gift of prophecy is a special ability to speak forth the message of God. A prophet is basically a spokesman for God. He or she delivers the Word of God to people by means of direct revelation. Prophetic utterances can deal with certain individuals, the church, or a larger context. It does not always refer to the future.