The Spirit Speaks; Do You Hear?

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: 

for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, 

that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

John 16:13

Our spirits must be trained to become sensitive to God. Much time is spent on intellectual development through education. Much time is spent on physical development through exercise and athletics. But often, little time is spent on spiritual development.

The Bible is full of the declaration "and God said" or "thus sayth the Lord" references to the fact that God "spoke" or "commanded." Often this was an audible voice. But there is another voice through which God speaks.  The word of God also tells us of:

The Inner Voice Of The Holy Spirit:  

More often than an audible voice, God uses the inner voice of the Holy Spirit to speak to man. This is called being "led by the Spirit":

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.   Romans 8:14

To be "led by the Spirit" assumes a spiritual life in those being led. A soul dead in sin, with no spiritual life, cannot be led by the Holy Spirit. Being led of the Spirit also assumes an inability to lead our selves. 

When we experience the new birth of salvation, God renews the spirit within which is receptive to His communications:

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.   Ezekiel 36:26-27

When we are led by the Spirit, the will of God is revealed in our spirit by the Holy Spirit. One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is guidance:

Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come.   John 16:13

The spirit of man is that "hidden man of the heart" mentioned by Apostle Peter:

But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.   1 Peter 3:4

When God speaks to the inner man He is speaking to your spirit. Proverbs reveals to us the spirit of man is the candle, or lamp, of the Lord:  

The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

 Proverbs 20:27

In the natural world, a candle enables us to see in darkness. In the spiritual world, God uses the candle of your spirit to direct our steps to His will. He enlightens and guides through our spirit.

Once during a journey by ship, Apostle Paul warned the captain of the vessel:

Sir, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.   Acts 27:10

Apostle Paul did not say "I had a vision." He did not claim to have a dream or that God had audibly spoken to him. His spirit had an unction from the Hoy Spirit and that unction proved to be correct.

Our spirit can be educated just as our mind. Our spirit can develop in spiritual strength just as our body can be built and trained.  We train our spirit by meditating on the Word of God:  

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.   Joshua 1:8

God also uses the inward voice of the Holy Spirit to convict Our conscience. The conscience is an inward awareness of right and wrong given by God.  We should understand some facts about the Holy Spirit speaking to us:

    Þ    Feeling is the voice of the body. God does not use how we feel to direct us. 

                     The flesh is an enemy of the spirit, so feelings can deceive us.

     Þ   Reason is the voice of the mind. God's ways are often beyond human reason.

                     His thought processes are much higher than man's.

     Þ   Conscience is the voice of the spirit of man, convicting and directing us to the

                     perfect will of God. The Holy Spirit speaks to our spirit. The spirit convicts the conscience.  

                      Through this we are brought into conformity to the will of God. When the 

                      Holy Spirit speaks to our spirit, the conscience is convicted, but if we 

                      continue to ignore it, our conscience can become "seared". This means it 

                      becomes hardened to the conviction of the Holy Spirit:

      

      Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;  1 Timothy 4:2

The book of Proverbs contains many verses that indicate God controls inner thoughts and the conscience of man to guide him into His will:  

The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord.   Proverbs 16:1 

A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.       Proverbs 16:9

The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water: He turneth it whithersoever He will.   Proverbs 21:1 

The Audible Voice of God:

Spiritual gifts are also used by God to speak to man in an audible voice. Spiritual gifts are special abilities given by the Holy Spirit. Several of these gifts enable us to receive communication from God.

 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;  To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;  To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:   1 Corinthians 12:8-10

There is the gift of tongues through which God speaks to man in a language he does not know. Interpretation of tongues from God follows translation of the message. 

There is also the gift of prophecy which brings an immediate message from God to His people. There is a gift called discernment through which God communicates regarding the spirits operating in others. God also communicates through the gifts of wisdom and knowledge.

These gifts provide divine insight about people and circumstances beyond what is known by the natural mind.

The prayer language of the Holy Spirit (other tongues) is also used by the Spirit to guide us to the will of God. When we do not know how to pray regarding God's will, pray in other tongues . . .

And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.   Romans 8:27

Is God speaking to you?  Do you hear Him when He speaks?  Are you obedient to His voice?

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