Prophetic timing in the marketplace

There is a stirring deep within the marketplace today, a movement of the Spirit that is subtle yet unmistakably divine. It is the sound of the prophetic voice finding its time, not just within the four walls of the church, but in the noise and negotiations of the marketplace. For too long, the prophetic has been boxed into Sunday services, limited to church gatherings, or confined to those moments when the worship reaches a crescendo. But the truth is that the prophetic has always belonged in the world, speaking into the currents of commerce, governance, and daily life—where people actually live, labour, and long for meaning.

In these days, we are seeing a fresh emergence of the prophetic voice in business meetings, in boardrooms, in coffee shops where deals are done, and in the corridors of influence. This isn’t about spooky proclamations or vague encouragements. It’s about the razor-sharp edge of God’s insight cutting through complexity, confusion, and compromise. The prophetic is not mystical in its essence; it is practical. It brings clarity where there is chaos. It offers direction when people are lost in a sea of data and strategy. And more than anything, it reminds us that God is not distant from the marketplace—He is present, intentional, and interested.

The great mistake we’ve made is assuming the prophetic is a ministry strictly for the church. But the prophets of old were not confined to religious spaces. Joseph interpreted dreams for Pharaoh and shaped the economic policy of Egypt. Daniel served in the courts of Babylon, offering wisdom and revelation that set the course of empires. Even Amos, a shepherd and fig tree farmer, was called to speak to a nation on the brink of collapse. These men were not cloistered in temples. They were deeply embedded in society, speaking truth to power and bringing God’s voice to the world outside the tabernacle.

In the UK today, the marketplace is crying out for something more than clever slogans and trendy leadership techniques. There is a hunger for authenticity, for integrity, for voices that cut through the spin and speak to the soul. The prophetic meets that need. It doesn’t compete with worldly wisdom—it transcends it. When a prophetic voice speaks into business, it is not merely offering spiritual encouragement; it is bringing heaven’s perspective into earthly systems. That kind of insight doesn’t just bless—it transforms.

I remember a business owner in the Midlands who had been struggling with supply chain issues for months. Consultants couldn’t find the problem, and delays were costing him dearly. In prayer, he felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to review one specific distribution point—something that hadn’t raised red flags before. He did, and found a quiet but significant internal fraud issue that had gone unnoticed. That simple prophetic prompting, barely more than a nudge, saved his company thousands and restored order. It wasn’t dramatic, but it was divine.

Then there was a woman working in property development in the South East. In a moment of worship during her lunch break, she sensed the Lord say, “Do not close that deal.” She didn’t understand it—it looked perfect on paper—but she pulled out at the last minute. Two weeks later, it was discovered that the land had undisclosed contamination issues that would have cost millions to rectify. That’s the prophetic in the marketplace—hearing God, trusting Him, and letting His voice override even the most convincing logic.

But make no mistake, the marketplace will not always welcome the prophetic with open arms. Just as the prophets of Scripture faced opposition, misunderstanding, and rejection, so too will those who carry a prophetic mantle into boardrooms and bank halls. The call is not to be popular but to be faithful. The prophetic voice is not always the loudest, but it is the clearest. It often whispers in the noise and cuts through with uncomfortable truth. It requires courage to carry. It demands character to sustain. And it must be rooted in love, or it risks becoming a clanging cymbal in a world already full of noise.

Keith Hazell used to say that the prophetic is not about control or spectacle; it is about purpose. It is about unlocking the destiny in people and in places. The marketplace is full of destiny. Every product, every service, every contract holds the potential to either reflect the kingdom of God or to propagate a culture of greed and self-interest. The prophetic presence in the marketplace acts as a plumb line, a reminder that God has a standard, a design, and a purpose for even the most ordinary of tasks. There is no sacred-secular divide in the kingdom. God is as interested in accounting software as He is in worship songs if both are vehicles for His glory.

We are in a moment of divine alignment. The prophetic has its time in the marketplace because the marketplace is one of the final frontiers for the church’s influence. The Spirit of God is not waiting for permission to enter; He is already moving through faithful men and women who carry a prophetic edge into their work, who dare to ask God for strategies, for blueprints, for insight that defies convention. These are the Daniels, the Josephs, the Esthers of our time. They do not wear clerical collars. They wear suits, uniforms, high-vis jackets, or sometimes just jeans and a hoodie.

This is the season to embrace the prophetic not just in the pulpit but in the pitch. Not just in the sanctuary but in the street. The prophetic has its time in the marketplace because God’s voice is needed there more than ever. And those who are listening will find themselves not only hearing from heaven but shaping history on earth.