Lying spirits are afoot. They are advising people with words they want to hear, not words of warning sent from the Lord. This is a time to discern what is true and false. 

As kings Ahab and Jehoshaphat considered whether to go to war, they assembled 400 prophets to advise them. All the prophets replied in unison, “Yes, go right ahead! God will give the king victory.” But Jehoshaphat sensed a problem with their counsel and asked, “Is there not also a prophet of the Lord here? We should ask him the same question” (II Chronicles 18: 5-6).

One prophet, not part of the 400 was Micaiah. He was summoned to speak to the kings. Before his arrival, he was schooled on what he should say, “All the prophets are promising victory for the king. Be sure that you agree with them and promise success. But Micaiah replied, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, I will say only what my God says.’” (vs. 12-13). 

 When asked for his advice, Micaiah sarcastically replied, “Yes, go up and be victorious, for you will have victory over them!” (vs. 14). Ahab knew Micaiah was mocking him and said “How many times must I demand that you speak only the truth to me when you speak for the Lord?” (vs. 15). 

What was happening on that day is happening today. The prophetic gift is being challenged in a contest between a lying spirit and the Spirit of God. At a critical moment in Ahab and Jehoshaphat’s decision-making process, a lying spirit was sent and said, “I will go out and inspire all of Ahab’s prophets to speak lies” (vs. 21). Those lies came through the 400 prophet’s compromise of the truth.

Micaiah stood alone among a stable of agreeing prophets and spoke only what the Lord spoke. His words contradicted the words of the false prophets who spoke lies that stroked the king’s ego.

Be careful about assuming that prophetic consensus is the truth. The truth of a matter is not always found in consensus. It only comes from the word of the Lord. What we are asked to speak may run contrary to what the prophetic consensus is confidently declaring.