Acts 27:14-26
Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the "northeaster," swept down from the island. The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along... Fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along... After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: "Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.' So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island."
The purpose of the word of the prophets is to encourage, comfort and strengthen believers. Many mistakenly believe that prophets are supposed to foretell the future, but God already clearly defined the purpose of prophecies in the Bible in 1 Corinthians 14:3: "everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort."
First of all, the purpose of prophecy is to strengthen. In this passage, as soon as the word of the prophets was released, it immediately brought the hearts of people to fear God and make people turn back to God, to know that He is the master of the universe. That's the purpose of prophecies - Let the hearts of people turn back to God and eager to know God better.
Next, it's the word of comfort. When the ship was drifting around, the hearts of people were anxious. Verse 21 says that "the men had gone a long time without food," which shows that because their lives were at risk they couldn't care about eating and drinking. When God's word was released, however, the hearts of people were comforted. We thank God because He has sent the Holy Spirit so that we may be comforted. Our lives are often filled with anxiety and nothing that we can say or do will change it, but God's word can bring us peace, joy and satisfaction.
Third, it's the word of encouragement. In verse 22, Paul told the people that "I urge you to keep up your courage." To encourage is to use God's word to provide counsel so that people will head onto God's way. We are often like sheep who can easily go astray, but God's word can provide us with direction. May God help us not to reject the word of the prophets, but to test everything and let the power of God's word be manifested in our lives.
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