| Women have been faithful and courageous champions over the centuries, for the whole history of the people of God. We do not know about as many of them as we could, because the (largely male) history-writers have ignored or minimized their accomplishments. Naturally, another reason we don't know about all the great women of the past is that many of them were restricted from taking leadership. To some extent, this is still the case, which makes women's accomplishments all the more notable. We are all supposed to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God (see 1 Peter 5:6). By building a culture within the Church of honor and relational authority we can esteem one another across traditional dividing lines because, in Christ, there is no male or female (see Galatians 3:28). The simple fact of the matter is that, in giving His gifts, God does not discriminate because of gender.  "In the last days," God says, "I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants— men and women alike—and they will prophesy."
Acts 2:17–18 NLT
With the scriptures as our guide, let's take a quick look into the courageous and prophetic women in the Old Testament. Women Called Prophetesses in Old Testament Scripture Let's start back at the Exodus with Miriam, sister of Moses and Aaron. She was known as a spokesperson for God particularly as a leader in music and dance: Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took the timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dancing. Miriam answered them, "Sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; The horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea" (Exodus 15:20–21). Moving on through the years, we find Deborah, who is mentioned in an unapologetic way as one of the judges of Israel. As a prophetess and judge, she stood before God on behalf of Israel and she was an advisor to the military leader Barak as recorded in Judges 4. Eventually, because of Deborah's leadership acumen, she was called a "mother in Israel" (see Judges 5:7). Huldah was another early prophetess in Israel. This prophetess and keeper of the wardrobe sought the prophetic word of the Lord on behalf of the young King Josiah (see 2 Kings 22:14). There were other prophets in Israel at the time, but King Josiah sought her out because of her seasoned and influential ministry as a prophetess. Then we have the unnamed woman who was Isaiah's wife. Almost nothing was recorded about her, as Isaiah mentioned her only once: "And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son" (Isaiah 8:3 NKJV). Some scholars have said that she was called "the prophetess" only because she was Mrs. Isaiah. I have personally come to believe that Isaiah and his wife operated as a prophetic team! Courageous Women in the Old Testament Some of the women mentioned in the Old Testament were not called prophetesses, but played important and courageous roles in prophetic events. Their example of godly obedience should encourage you to follow in their footsteps, "doing exploits" (see Daniel 11:32). Jael was shrewd and brave. She welcomed the fugitive into her domain and gave him milk to drink. At her invitation, he lay down and fell into an exhausted sleep. Then… | 
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