The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart (Proverbs 20:27).
When you need direction, don’t look to circumstances or even to your thoughts and feelings. You must go much deeper than that. Look to your human spirit.
The Holy Spirit dwells in your spirit, not in your mind. In your spirit is the needed direction for every area of life.
As a pastor, I look to my human spirit for direction and guidance. I usually know intuitively many things about people and about out direction in ministry.
Information comes to us from our spirit in the form of a nudge, an inner witness, an intuition, or we sometimes call it a gut feeling or a hunch. This witness could also be referred to as conscience. This is deeper than logical thought. This is the Holy Spirit bearing witness in our human spirit (Romans 8:16).
If you want to make good choices and decisions, learn to listen to this inward witness. Throughout the years of my life, I’ve learned to depend on this inward witness for guidance, and it has never once led me the wrong way! All that we are doing in our ministry today is the results of leaning on and trusting this inward witness to have the final say in my decision making processes.
To become sensitive to your spirit and to this inward witness, it is important to take time to meditate the Word. Meditation will cause you to become keen in spiritual perception. Take some time regularly to get quiet with the Lord and muse in the Word. Take one scripture at a time and let it revolve over and over in your mind. Remember that God’s Word feeds our spiritual nature and brings it to the forefront in our lives. And meditation builds up your spirit nature.
Because the Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit nature, and because He is the Spirit of Truth, making the Word your center of inward attention will make you more conscious of the Holy Spirit living in you. And when you become conscious of the Holy Spirit within you, He will begin to bear witness about things to your human spirit. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:16-NKJV).
Praying in the spirit, in other tongues, is an excellent way to become spiritually sensitive. Taking time daily to pray in the spirit will also help keep you spiritually sharp. Remember that the Apostle Paul said: For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit, by the Holy Spirit within me prays…(1 Corinthians 14:14 – Amplified). Then, when decisions must be made, you can look to your spirit for this inner sense, this inner knowing, this witness, and you’ll be perceptive enough to pick up a yes or a know, or a just wait a bit, when making decisions. It’s wise not to make decisions in haste, but to take time and wait until you’re sure about a matter before you act.
Early in my walk with God I read Kenneth Hagin’s book How You Can Be Led By The Spirit of God. This is probably the best book I’ve ever read on the subject of being led by the Spirit and following the inward witness. It has helped me immeasurably through the years of my life. I encourage you to read it.
The Father wants us to be successful in all of life’s endeavors. And we will be if we learn to follow and obey the inward witness. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God (Romans 8:14). Allow the lamp of the Lord to burn brightly in your life today!