Being stirred up in her spirit, Elizabeth immediately received the instant inspiration of the Holy Spirit (v. 41b), and she had the utterance by exercising her spirit (v. 42a). Verse 42 says, "And she lifted up her voice with a loud cry." To speak loudly in such a way is to exercise the spirit. In the meetings, often the brothers and sisters do not speak with boldness; that is, they do not speak loudly with the exercise of their spirit. Speaking without exercising our spirit brings death to ourselves and to those who listen to us. In speaking for the Lord, we need to put ourselves aside and speak loudly with the exercise of our spirit.
In Elizabeth's prophecy, she blessed Mary, the one who had come to her. Verse 42 says, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" The fruit of Mary's womb was Christ. The Bible tells us that Christ is the seed (Gen. 3:15; 17:8; Gal. 3:16), the root (Isa. 11:10; 53:2; Rev. 5:5; 22:16), the tree (John 15:1; Rev. 2:7; 22:2), and the branch (Isa. 4:2; Jer. 23:5), but without Elizabeth's blessing we would not know that Christ is also the fruit; we would lack one of the figures that describe what Christ is. Elizabeth's prophecy, the only portion in the Word that tells us that Christ is the fruit, completes the figures concerning Christ. He is the seed, the root, the tree, the branch, and the fruit. The seed, the root, the tree, and the branch all are for the fruit.
Elizabeth's blessing of Mary implies a great deal. For Elizabeth to say, "Blessed is the fruit of your womb!" was not a common utterance. Mary came to Elizabeth in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, shortly after Mary had conceived (vv. 26, 39-40). She realized that Mary was with child and that the fruit of her womb was Christ. This was Elizabeth's foreknowledge. Thus, her speaking concerning Christ as the fruit of Mary's womb was a prophecy of foretelling.
Elizabeth also blessed Mary by saying, "Blessed is she who believed" (v. 45a). This was Elizabeth's realization of Mary's faith in the Lord. Blessing Mary in this way indicates that Elizabeth had the sight under the divine enlightenment concerning Mary's situation.
By exercising her spirit, Elizabeth was able to recognize the Lord's doing. In verse 43 she said, "And how can this be, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Elizabeth realized that the baby in Mary's womb was her Lord, Christ, the unique fruit for feeding mankind. This must have been by a spiritual revelation or vision. To compose a proper prophecy, we must have the sight under the divine enlightenment to know the situation and environment in which we are. Without such a sight under the divine enlightenment, Elizabeth would not have been able to recognize that the baby in Mary's womb was Christ as the Lord and as the unique fruit for feeding mankind. Rather, she might have asked, "How are you? What has happened with you?" Actually, to ask someone how they are indicates that we are in darkness about their situation. If we are under the light and have the sight to see through the environment, we will know what each person's situation is. We may greet a brother by saying, "Brother, I know that you have had some problems." This kind of word will indicate to the brother that someone knows his situation, and it may be a real comfort to him. In order to prophesy, we need this kind of spiritual unveiling. Through such an unveiling, we will know our own situation, the situation of the saints and the church, the situation of the people around us, and even the situation of the world and the country in which we live. We need to be those who have this kind of insight concerning the environment around us. This will help us to prophesy.