How did you find out you are a prophet? I have the gift of prophecy, but do not hold the office of prophet.
Shortly after I believed the gospel, I read an article in a magazine, Newsweek I think, about certain elements in the RCC pressuring the pontiff to elevate St.Mary, "the mother of God", to the status of coredemptrix with Jesus Christ. I found this appalling as nothing in scripture elevates a saint to equality with God. That's blasphemous.
I've always written letters to presidents when concerned about the state of the Union, though I couldn't say if any ever made it to their desks, so when I got the unction to write to the pope, I sent a hand written letter to the Vatican warning John Paul not to make any such pronouncement as it would only further divide a fracturing church.
I was raised as a Roman Catholic and abandoned that church early in the great apostasy, but it is the religion of most of my extended family and I've always had a burden upon me for the lost, though never felt any obligation to that institution until after receiving His Spirit many years later (approximately 26 given that I stopped attending "masses" regularly immediately after my "confirmation " and finally believed and received the gospel at the age of 39).
I have no knowledge that John Paul ever saw the letter, but given that I signed it with my given name and that Catholics were looking for "Michael the great prince", and the letter's call to repentance, it's a fair bet that it was discussed.
Within a year, John Paul, who's patron saint was indeed Mary, did actually make a speech confessing the evil deeds of the church (already publicly known historically) and calling upon the church to look at things in new ways.
Not really following things in the RCC very closely, I wasn't aware of his speech for some time, but my early ministry was entirely letter writing, sometimes to radio ministries when I heard offensive error being taught, sometimes to individuals running confidence scams on people with "pay for pray" advertisements or psychic advisors offering life guidance.
Who can say what was read or simply tossed in the trash, but I heard changes in the radio ministries, sometimes angry and self righteous denunciation of attacks on sound principles like new testament "tithing", sometimes thoughtful discussions about potential misunderstandings and misinterpretation that have lead to the acceptance of carnal teaching.
Again, I couldn't say that my letters were even read, but the Holy Spirit was obviously moving powerfully in His body with teaching that I was receiving. However, I didn't see myself as a prophet while under the teaching of pastors that held completely to Reformed doctrines ( the reformation concluded that the gifts ceased with the completion of the Canon of scripture. )
I was "saved" outside of the context of the church in the sense that I received the gospel through the ministry of charismatic evangelical coworkers who patiently answered questions while we worked in our vocation. I received the gospel and submitted to the Lord at the age of 39 years old.. After 3 years of just reading the scriptures repeatedly from Genesis to Revelation, and seeing Christ revealed from the beginning to the end, I came under the conviction that I should be attending a church regularly. Since I'd been ministering to my former wife from scripture (who was also raised as a Roman Catholic but not of a religious bent,) we started visiting church services locally with a number of different denominations. While we encountered some lovely saints, most of the preaching seemed somewhat lifeless.
A small local congregation only a few blocks from our home kept drawing my attention when I drove by. It was an independent Baptist church congregation and upon our first visit, I was impressed with the Spirit at work in the members, the solid exegetical preaching of the pastor, and the powerfully moving worship in song and praise.
We attended that church for a few years, eventually making a public confession and being baptized by this "reformed" pastor who was quite gracious to me though he didn't recognize the charismatic gifts, despite the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in charismatic ways during services.
As we grew in Christ, I was looking for ways to participate in ministry beyond attending men's prayer meetings on Saturday mornings and Wednesday night gatherings for the whole congregation, but I found that ministry leaders jealously guarded their "solo" ministries and refused help.
This was a reflection of the Pastor's tight hands on the reigns of " his church" (though he was submitted to his elders.)
We visited another local assembly, called Grace Tabernacle, Which held to similar doctrine, in a neighboring town. The pastor there was very open to ministry participation and encouraged the congregation to do so. We immediately became "members" and jumped into ministries doing everything from clean up after fellowship to, on my part, preaching messages and teaching the congregation.
I was involved in multiple ministries, trusted by a quick succession of pastors, but noticed a number of issues involving the health of the congregation. I had access to the pastor and mature congregants to discuss them.
Where my counsel was heeded, internal conflicts were avoided, church discipline was activated, and spiritual growth was observed. These were not my works, but God's who gives growth.
Eventually, after having established an outreach ministry to the elderly and building it to a point where I was no longer necessary for its operation, I found myself discontented with some "modernization" to appeal to the growing "youth" membership of the congregation. I felt the call to move on and began moving from one church to another in the area.
At each church I was invited into ministries, usually worship ministries because of my "singing voice", but in each church that I was drawn to, I kept seeing deficiencies in the pastors or leadership that were hindering the spiritual growth of the congregation. When I addressed these issues directly and in the least confrontational way possible (as friendly counsel), those who heeded what I had to say "improved" the health of the congregation, but where I was ignored things didn't go quite so well. One church shrank until it couldn't afford to stay open, closing its doors forever and leaving a pastor looking for another job. In another a pastor was fired for his behavior behind the pulpit (and not by my doing) but the church recovered quickly.
It became increasingly obvious that I was serving the Lord in the capacity of prophet and you are what you do. When I wrote letters under the unction of His Spirit, I brought to bare the word to confront sin, false doctrine, corrupt thinking, and the call to repentance. As far as I could see, I was in line with the preaching of Spirit filled radio ministries, preaching identical messages from completely different Bible passages (things I heard immediately after my letters or postings.)
We discover our spiritual gifts through their manifestation, our calling through the unction of the Holy Spirit.
It's exceedingly sad when saints miss their calling, their opportunities to serve the Lord, because of complacency or the doctrines of controlling men in leadership positions, many of whom were placed through carnal practices though not qualified for their calling or treating ministry as a vocation and meal ticket.