I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare:… II Corinthians 13:2 (KJV)

The word foretell in this verse means to tell what will happen before it happens, and it can be done through a prophetic word. Foretelling can even be a type of warning to let us know what is coming. Paul was going to visit Corinth again to set some things in order- to take care of unfinished business. He was sending his words ahead of his presence.

John the Baptist was a forerunner of Jesus. He went ahead of Jesus to prepare the way for Jesus and prepare people to receive Jesus.

As we speak the Word of the Lord, it prepares things in advance so they are ready and so things line up. It prepares the way and allows us to walk the path God has for us. As we look into Scripture and hear what God is saying to us through His Word, we can speak what God has spoken to us, applying it to our lives. We can declare the ending from the beginning. We can call, declare, and prophesy the way things will go for us. The quality of our lives is determined by what we believe and speak- not by man, the devil, or circumstances. If we don’t like our lives right now, we need to call the things that be not as though they were so we can see them manifest in our lives.

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Mark 11:23 (KJV)

Jesus is our example. Over and over again, Jesus would tell his disciples what was going to happen to Him- and He even declared the outcome. He told how He would be mistreated, handed over to die, then rise again the third day. He was foretelling and prophesying, and what He spoke came to pass exactly as He said. Jesus knew His destiny by the Scripture and by the Holy Spirit, and He lined His words up with what they said.

We are to follow Jesus’ example. We should live the same way He did and do things the same way He did. His spoken words lined up with God’s Word. When our words line up with what God saying about us, we declare and foretell our future and we can have what God says.

For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10 (KJV)