"How do you hear from God?"
"How do you know what to do and what not to do?"
"How do you know things should be done this way and not that way?"
"How do you know that person is the right person to work with, and that other person is not?"
"How do you know God is calling you to do certain things, or move to a certain location?"
These are some of the questions people often ask me.
Now, if I say, "I know that I know that I know", those who ask probably won't be convinced or satisfied with that kind of answer.
So, to begin with, let's go all the way to 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (NKJV). 'But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.'
Look at the three parts that I've underlined here: 'revealed', 'all things', 'deep things'.
The word 'revealed' here in Greek is 'apokalupto', which means 'take off the cover, disclose, unveil'. In other words, God wants to share many secrets with you. May your spiritual eyes be opened to see, and your spiritual ears be opened to hear.
How about the words 'all things'? Now, 'all things' here means 'all spiritual things'. You see, the spiritual things are the deeper things of God.
Notice the words 'deep things' here. It can mean 'depth, mysteries, profound, far-reaching, great knowledge'. In other words, deeper knowledge. Deeper knowledge of what? Deeper knowledge of what God wants to tell us, or the secrets that God wants to tell us. And the Scripture tells us that He reveals all this to us through His Spirit.
Amos 3:7-8 (NKJV) says, 'Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants...'
See the word 'reveals' here? See the word 'secret' here? You see, God is still speaking, and He is still in the 'business' of speaking to you today. So beloved, expect to receive His secrets or His revelations when He speaks to you. He reveals first before He acts, or before He works through your life.
1 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV) says, 'But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they (the things of God) are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.'
Then, 1 Corinthians 2:15 (NKJV) says, 'But he who is spiritual (i.e. the spiritual man) judges all things...'
See the contrast between the natural man and the spiritual man here.
The natural man here is translated 'Psuchikos' in Greek, from the word 'psuche', which means 'soul'. The natural man here is a person who operates only from his soul. This is a person whose spirit is uninfluenced by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God; and therefore cannot receive revelation from the Holy Spirit. That's what the natural man is, according to the writings of Paul here.
How about the spiritual man? The spiritual man here is translated 'Pneumatikos' in Greek, from the word 'pneuma', which means 'spirit'. The spiritual man is a person whose spirit is directed or led by the Holy Spirit. He operates with his spirit, not just with his soul.
As a matter of fact, the spirit of a man is a supernatural faculty, and is created to receive revelation from the Holy Spirit.
The statement 'spiritually discerned' in 1 Corinthians 2:14 means 'spiritual things are to be spiritually discerned', i.e. 'discerned by the spirit of man'. For example, only Joshua and Caleb could "see", while the other spies could not "see" (Numbers 14:9). Both Joshua and Caleb saw with their "spiritual eyes", not with their "natural eyes".
So you see, the Scripture tells us that our spirit is created for communication with God, not just to worship God, and to fellowship with God.
How do you receive from the Spirit of God?
1 Corinthians 6:17 (NKJV) says, 'But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him'.
In other words, as a believer, you are in union with God, and He lives in you. His Spirit lives in you, and His Spirit reveals deeper things inside of you. You can understand His revelations and His secrets when your spirit is joined with Him (i.e. having a personal relationship with Him).
There are two ways God can speak to you:
1. Extraordinary way. This can be an audible voice of God, i.e. 'voice that is audible to your natural ears'. For example, Saul heard the audible voice of God with his natural ears on the way to Damascus. This is not the usual way, but this is becoming more and more common in this end-time.
2. God speaks to your spirit. It means the Holy Spirit communicates with your spirit within you, instead of an audible voice to your natural ear.
And this is what we are going to focus right now, i.e. God speaking in your spirit, to your spirit, within your spirit.
"How does God speak inside of me?"
1. You can receive directly in your spirit.
1 Corinthians 2:12 (NKJV) says, 'Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.'
You see, that's where we get this expression: "I know that I know that I know"; that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
The word 'know' here is 'eido' in Greek, meaning 'to be aware, to behold, to be sure, to understand, to see'. It means to see what God wants us to see, and to see what God sees.
2. God speaks inside of you with the Word of God.
John 14:26 (NKJV) says, 'But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.'
The statement 'bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you' here means 'the Holy Spirit is teaching us and bringing to our remembrance the Word of God, and what we have learned from the Word of God'. In short, He is speaking to you through the Scripture. That's why reading the Bible is so important. Never let your eyes depart from the Word of God.
Very interestingly, just one verse later in John 14:27, Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
This is God's assurance for you, because He speaks, and He still speaks and guides you. Because of that, you have this peace that you are not left forsaken. So, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
"In what ways does God speak to my spirit?"
1. With signals or indicators.
For example, inner witness, i.e. 'peace or no peace' in your heart. This is the simplest form of communication, but it's very reliable. Do you have peace to go ahead, or do you have no peace to go ahead? Listen to the Holy Spirit inside of you. Yes or no? Peace or no peace? Go ahead or not go ahead?
Another example is through stirrings in your spirit. It means promptings from the Holy Spirit within your spirit. The Holy Spirit can stir your spirit to go ahead on something or prompt your spirit to go ahead on something.
2. With intelligible contents.
For example, voice of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can direct you, command you, or instruct you through His voice inside of you. This is not a product of your mind. This is not a mind play. But this comes from God. Therefore, it carries the character of God.
Another example is through word of wisdom. The Holy Spirit can reveal to you a specific instruction for a specific situation, or specific direction to handle a specific situation.
Another example is through word of knowledge. The Holy Spirit can reveal to you about a specific need, especially as you minister to people. For example, while you pray for somebody or minister to somebody, the Holy Spirit can drop words inside of you about that person's specific need, and you minister to that person accordingly.
And of course, another way is through dreams and visions. If it's from God, it's vivid, it's clear, and it's not confusing. When you wake up from the dream, you can remember it, as if you've just watched a drama. Write it down. Ask the Lord for the interpretation. The Lord will speak. The Lord will tell you. The same it is with vision. You can receive vision from God while you are praying or reading the Word of God.
3. By perceiving with your spirit, or discerning with your spirit.
To perceive with your spirit, or discern with your spirit, this may require some training with your spiritual senses. But this is possible.
One example is found in Acts 5:1-4 when Peter discerned with his spirit regarding a lie.
