1Co 12:10 and to another, workings of powers, and to another, prophecy, and to another, discerning of spirits, and to another, kinds of languages, and to another, interpretation of languages.
Moving on we see prophecy listed. Generally, prophecy can be seen throughout scripture in various forms. As we know the birth of Jesus was prophesied in the Old Testament (see Isaiah specifically) and other passages of scripture.
The word prophesy in Greek is propheteia and simply means prediction. A person predicts what is going to happen. For it to be prophesy, it needs to come by the revelation of the Holy Spirit as there is no way of knowing apart from that.
As an example of prophecy in the New Testament...
Act 11:27-30 And in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabus rising up, he signified through the Spirit that a great famine was about to be over all the habitable earth, which happened in Claudius Caesar's time. And according as any was prospered, the disciples, each of them, determined to send for ministry to those brothers living in Judea, which they also did, sending to the elders through the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
First, prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. This suggests that the ministry of a prophet was a recognised ministry in the church.
Second, Agabus spoke through the Spirit. The gift of prophecy in operation.
Third. The saints gave not a tithe but as anyone prospered, which is the only giving that the NT church recognized and taught.
Fourth. They sent it to the Elders, not the pastor which indicates pastors did not manage the church.
In the King James version, it says that people gave according to their ability. Giving 10% may not be according to your ability as you may well be able to give much more.
This story suggests that when someone prophesies by the Spirit a response is required and the church was expected to act on it which they did as people gave as they prospered. In other words, they gave according to their income. Not a tenth of it but as they prospered which means if my income was a $1,000 dollars and that week I only needed $200, I would send $800.
If we believe that God meets our needs, we can happily give away $800 knowing that when we have a need he will meet it as he sees fit especially if your giving is in response to prophecy.
On a personal note, I was made aware of some Christians in India who had their houses burnt to the ground by Hindus and they were appealing for funds to build new houses for them. They said that a new one-room house cost $1,100. So one might say I received a word by the Spirit about this situation.
On reflection, I decided not to send a tenth ($110). I decided to send $1,100 to pay for a house, plus $50 for credit card fees. This meant that today there is a Christian Family in India that is living in a new house and I was so pleased for them as they had to live under tarpaulins on the street. I had no idea if I could afford the cost but that was not important.
Church-wise we were having our normal Sunday morning meeting not that they were ever normal and one of the deacons stood and said "There is someone here that the Lord wants to minister to who smokes. I don't know what it relates too but he has given me the number five."
A few moments silence and then a visitor stood to his feet and said, "That is me. I smoke 5 cigarettes a day every day." So he was prayed for by the laying on of hands and the meeting went on.
Six months later this same man visited us again. During the meeting, he stood and introduced himself as the 5 cigarettes a day man. He said since the day we had prayed for him he had not smoked a single cigarette. That is what you might call a cold turkey prayer.
So to sum up. Prophecy comes by the Holy Spirit and if it is directive, the church needs to respond accordingly. True prophecy will always achieve the outcome that is prophesied.
2Pe 1:20 knowing this first, that every prophecy of Scripture did not come into being of its own interpretation; for prophecy was not at any time borne by the will of man, but being borne along by the Holy Spirit, holy men of God spoke.
Just a note. Prophecy does not have to be all charismatic and emotional. it can be one person talking to another or a person talking to a group and even a written instruction.