Paul wrote this, but why would he write such a foolish thing,'seeing all the confussion and discord the "gifts" have caused? One group teaches this, and another that, and still another says that there are no gifts any more, and others won't even consider something so subjective, so uncontrollable. But he did write this, that we all should seek the gifts of the Spirit, but especially that we should prophecy. It's scripture, unless Paul was not inspired by the Holy Spirit when he wrote about the "gifts."
There are many reasons to seek the gifts of the Spirit, but there is one that has not been guessed by many, and it involves that embarrassing gift, the one most of us wish has never been mentioned; prophecy. All kinds of reasons are given why we should not prophecy, and every one of them is a rationalization. The reason why we should seek to prophecy is immense in it's ramifications. Simply, that we learn to speak the words we hear from Jesus.
When confronted about the words He spoke, Jesus had a very simple yet powerful explanation; He said that the words He spoke were the things He heard His Father speaking. Just consider this for a moment. He spoke what He heard His Father saying. This is the essence of prophecy.
In almost all of the teachings Jesus gave to His disciples in private, one theme was most often repeated. That as He did, we are to do likewise. This means not only that we are to do the same things He did, but that we are to do them in the very same way that He did them. And in His prayer to His Father, He shows the desire of having us become just as He was, while we remain in this world. "That the world may know that Thou didst love them, even as Thou hast loved Me." one of the things that can be easily said about Jesus during His walk in this world is that the Gather loved Him, because He did whatever Jesus asked Him to do, but one.
So we seek to prophecy in order to walk in the very same way that Jesus did, having His words to speak, because we hear them, and having His love, because we are truly wanting to be His disciples, filled with His Spirit by which we hear His voice.
Do not despise prophecy. Please. And earnestly desire the gifts of the Spirit.
In Christ,