You Can Hear the Voice of God: How God Speaks in Listening Prayer by Steve Sampson

Author:Steve Sampson [Sampson, Steve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Hearing—Religious aspects—Christianity, REL012080, REL079000, Spiritual life—Christianity
ISBN: 9781441265302
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2015-03-10T07:00:00+00:00

8

Hearing God through the Inner Witness

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit.

Romans 8:16

I have been in situations in which people are telling me the direction they are sensing from the Lord, and as they are telling me, it is as though my spirit is jumping up and down and doing cartwheels in response. I am convinced that the Holy Spirit is simply bearing witness in my spirit to the action they are taking.

Other times, my experience is just the opposite. As people are telling me about a decision they are making, I feel dead and lifeless inside, which makes me aware that the Holy Spirit is not in agreement with them.

Frequently Christians refer to “receiving a witness” about something they have heard spoken, preached or suggested. But what is a witness of the Spirit? Scripture talks about the Spirit bearing witness: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16).

In other words, what proof do you have that you are a Christian? Yes, you have the Word of God that says so, but you also have a witness in your heart—a knowing from God Himself. This witness is undeniable and equips you with security and a certainty that you belong to Him.

When someone receives a witness about a step he or she is taking, that person is declaring that they have a “knowing” or a spiritual connection with God inside, and in effect, it is resounding a positive “yes” within. We know that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, and He will always bear witness to truth. Since He dwells within the believer, He will bear witness to truth in the spirit of the believer. God guides us in our human spirit, which has been made alive through the Holy Spirit.

Proverbs 20:27 says, “The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all the inner depths of his heart.” No matter what way the voice of the Lord comes to us, it should always bear witness to our inner man. It is much like a lightbulb turned on in our spirits.

Upon being born again, it is the spirit, not the physical person, that has been made new. Obviously, the physical body does not get changed (at least not right now), but the real person (the spirit) is made brand-new. It is through your spirit that God will guide you. That is where He lives.

In a very practical sense, God will teach you how to recognize an inner witness of truth. First of all, He will never contradict Scripture. Thank God for the written Word, because it is a safeguard against heresy and against those who claim they have heard God and are running with some “new” doctrine.

Second, the Holy Spirit will cause you to have a “knowing” in your spirit when there is a witness or a lack thereof. Each person may experience this in a slightly different way. There is definitely such a thing as a positive or negative witness, and over time believers should develop a sensitivity to those.

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