2 Corinthians 13:14 (NKJV): The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
I've had many people asking me such questions:
"How to hear from God on a consistent basis, and at all times?"
"I desire to move when He moves, stop when He stops, to stay when He wants me to stay,... basically to be led and directed by Him. How?"
To the above questions, I would say the key will always be communion with the Holy Spirit. To commune with Him is to communicate with Him and being in union with Him (see also 1 Corinthians 6:17).
Spending time with Him in the Word (i.e. time in fellowship with Jesus who is the Word) and praying in the spirit (i.e. praying in tongues) on a consistent basis every day will lead to one knowing (you know the expression: "I know that I know that I know"?) when He speaks and how He speaks. The Bible says, 'the sheep knows the Shepherd's voice' (John 10:27), and that comes by no other way but by spending time with one another in intimacy. That's how His sheep will know which 'door' is from Him and which 'door' is not from Him (see John 10:7-9), i.e. able to discern what's God and what's not. This applies to every single aspect of life, not just in ministering to others.
I also suggest praying in tongues at least one hour every day, not just some minutes. This is especially so for those who are ministers of God. Practice makes perfect too. Every great prophet of the Lord will admit they've made mistakes in hearing before, especially in younger days. So, do give room for mistakes. It's from here that one learns.
There's this prophet/pastor (the late Pa Agong Bangau) who was a key figure in ushering down the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit during the Ba' Kelalan Revival in East Malaysia in the 1980's. After attending Bible College and then becoming a pastor in a bigger town, he then spent some ten years 'honing' (fine-tuning, sharpening) his spiritual skills in hearing in the Spirit back in his home village in Ba' Kelalan. Now, I'm not saying in that case, we are to live a 'hermit' life. That's not my point here. But as he learned to 'simplify' his life and 'hone' his spiritual skills in hearing God (and practice makes perfect), amazing things happened, not just in his prophetic and 'signs & wonders' ministry but also in his daily natural chores. For example, many times even his fellow villagers were amazed how he just knew which direction to go in the thick jungle during hunting trips those days. When asked how he 'hit the bulls-eye' every time, his answer was simple: "The Holy Spirit led me". This, of course, also truly put to shame those visiting 'big-city' pastors in his days, the so-called "much more sophisticated and knowledgeable in theological matters, holding-many-degrees" pastors! Now, please, I'm not mocking at 'big-city' pastors here, because I myself grew up in a big city too!
But the above understanding and realization of course, was a turning point in my own ministry life as well.
My point here is one can be too much surrounded (or crowded) by 'noises' or 'pressing matters' (that compete for one's attention) every day, so much so one has no time to 'be still and know that He is God' (Psalm 46:10), and therefore to hear from Him. The truth is He still wants to speak to you today as much as He did Moses, Elijah, and David those days! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
There's a call to 'simplify your life' for God's end-time people today. This is a generation full of 'noises' and 'distractions' all over, yet all the more this is also the time God's end-time people need to hear accurately from the Lord if they are to triumph in Christ, every day, and in every area of their life (2 Corinthians 2:14). How can one be led by Him if one doesn't hear from Him? And how can one hear from Him if one doesn't have time for Him, i.e.'being still and know that He is God'? Again, John 10:27 says, 'the sheep knows His voice', and it's from here that the sheep knows which 'door' is from Him and which 'door' is not from Him!
People of God, it's possible to 'simplify' one's life even when one lives in big cities. It's a matter of re-prioritizing. For example, when one gives say, the first 10% of his day to the Lord, he'll find that the rest of his day (the other 90%) is going to be truly blessed and sanctified! Watch and see. Try it if you don't believe! I can testify to this time and again, and I've seen how His hand has been guiding without fail! Glory be to God! Now, the same applies also to your tithing/giving to Him. If you give your first 10% to Him, you'll find that your the other 90% is going to be truly blessed and sanctified as well! Romans 11:16 is very clear on this. It says, 'for if the firstfruit is holy (say, your first 10%), the lump is also holy (sanctified); and if the root is holy, so are the branches (& the fruits thereon)'.
There'll also be grace to complete the work God has begun in you, if you follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. "When the Lord says so, you say so, and when the Lord says no, you say no." Life becomes so much more restful, yet fruitful. Amen! The apostle Paul was a great example. He's a man who knew what it means to be led by the Spirit (he wrote Romans 8:14), and he also lived by the revelation of the Holy Spirit (see 2 Corinthians 12:1). In other words, he moved and made decisions by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, not by mere human logics, intelligence, persuasion, or self-effort.
One thing I've observed is this: If one makes decisions based on the revelation of the Holy Spirit, the fruits (i.e. results) thereon will be long-lasting. But if it's by mere human logics, intelligence, persuasion, or self-effort, the work will fade away after some time. We are all now thanking the apostle Paul for his ministry and works. Why? Just take away all his writings from the New Testament, and the New Testament will really look rather empty! See? We are still enjoying the 'fruits' of his ministry even until today! In other words, his works have been long-lasting even to our generation. The reason, of course, is simple: Paul has learned to be led by the Spirit, moving and making decisions based on the revelation of the Holy Spirit.
