Some people don’t want to be the voice of God in your life.
They want to replace the voice of God in your life.
This is where spiritual manipulation becomes dangerous.
Something may look like prophecy on the surface. Still, underneath it is rooted in fear, control, and a need for influence. I call it prophetic stalking.
It often begins subtly. Someone takes a keen interest in your journey. They affirm what they “see” in you.
Still, behind the scenes, they’ve been gathering information. They are watching your social media and asking mutual contacts questions. They are tracking your movements and maybe even making “coincidental” appearances.
They don’t just want you to respect their discernment.
They want you to depend on it.
They want a spiritual preeminence in your life—a position that belongs to Christ alone.
“I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.”(3 John 1:9)
Like Diotrephes, these individuals reject accountability while seeking influence. They reject correction, avoid healthy leadership structures, and isolate their “followers” by becoming the final spiritual authority over them.
But that is not the way of Christ, who serves rather than dominates, who leads gently rather than demands allegiance.
A prophetic stalker will present themselves as the one who unlocked something in you. It could be a calling, a breakthrough, or a spiritual gift. Now they need you to believe they are the only one who can guide you in it. Or worse, that they made you who you are.
And because awakening can feel confusing and intimate, you might believe them. You might even feel grateful.
But make no mistake: this isn’t intimacy. It’s a strategy. And the goal is not your growth…it’s your obedience.
A prophetic stalker might notice something in you they want for themselves. However, since they are unwilling to pay the price, they try to access it through you.
Other times, your very presence threatens their illusion of control. Your clarity unsettles them. Your freedom exposes their fear and manipulation. But instead of facing God with their own brokenness, they try to control yours.
They don’t want to become nothing in their own sight so God can raise them up in His time. They’d rather attach themselves to someone who has walked through that process. They use your obedience as a platform for their own influence.
A prophetic stalker is someone who can’t be the change, so they try to dominate the one who is.
And here’s what makes it even more confusing: sometimes these people say all the “right” things. They quote Scripture. They talk about prayer. They cry when they speak.
But underneath, you feel it—the subtle pressure. You feel the weight of always needing their approval. There is a fear of what they might say or reveal if you step away.
You start to wonder: “Is this God? Or is this manipulation?”
The truth is: if someone’s voice makes you feel more anxious than free, more confused than anchored, that’s not Jesus.
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27)
You don’t have to chase someone else’s guidance to hear from God.
You don’t have to surrender your discernment to stay in someone’s favor.
The ibex doesn’t follow any voice but the voice of the Father. It climbs steep terrain not because it’s reckless. It does so because it’s trained to listen. It trusts the One who built the mountain.
A prophetic stalker wants to replace that instinct. They want you to stop moving until they say go. But you were not created for that kind of bondage.
Maybe you’ve been there. You question what God said. You doubt your own clarity. You water down what Jesus told you in the quiet place, just because someone else made you feel unsure.
If that’s you, let me say this clearly:
Don’t lower the standard.
Don’t minimize what you heard from God just to keep the peace or avoid spiritual guilt-tripping. Real prophecy will never contradict Jesus.
It won’t breed fear.
It won’t demand allegiance.
No person should ever require you to declare loyalty to them as a sign of your honor, humility, or submission. Or to prove that they can trust you.
That’s not spiritual leadership—that’s manipulation, and let me say this clearly: it is dangerous. Dangerous for you, and dangerous for anyone else under that influence.
You are not required to submit to another person’s authority to prove your alignment with God. You already belong to Him.
We have the Holy Spirit.
“But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie…” (1 John 2:27, KJV)
That doesn’t mean we reject wise counsel or godly leadership. It means we don’t surrender our spiritual freedom to voices that elevate themselves above the Spirit of God in us.
You are allowed to test the spirits.
You are allowed to ask questions.
You are allowed to guard your heart and seek confirmation from God Himself.
And most of all—you are allowed to walk in the direction God placed in your heart.
He is not vague. He is not manipulative.
He is faithful, gentle, and true.
He knows how to speak to His own.
And friend, don’t be afraid to call it what it is: demonic.
Anyone who seeks to silence God’s voice in your life, twist His Word, or demand your allegiance to a person is not just unhealthy. They are opposed to the Spirit of Christ.
Recognizing it for what it is doesn’t make you harsh.
It makes you free.
Ibex Ascending 
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