First, let me make it clear that this article is
not about psychological or neurological conditions or disturbances.
This is about spiritual experience and
follows on to my earlier blog entitled "Hearing God".
Challenges
We all have words in our mind - in fact,
we experience a constant stream of words, ideas, memories, reflections, temptations, regrets, inspirations and, simply put,
we all think. For Christians, some of these internal messages pose challenges. We want our minds to be pure. We aspire
to hear the call of God, but how can we be sure we hear it right? And sometimes we worry that our thoughts have led us
astray. How can we keep ourselves on the right path? How can we discern what's really going on inside our heads?
Spirits
The Bible reveals that there are just three
categories of spirit that can speak inside our heads and the first and most obvious is the human spirit - the source of
our own thoughts. Yes, we humans are spirits. We think; we talk to one another; and we talk to ourselves. Animals
can communicate at some level, but they can't put words into our heads. However, there are other intelligences that can.
Blame
The second category of spirit is evil, or unclean
spirits, otherwise known as demons. We may be cautious about admitting belief in them, but that's because of misleading
images planted in our cultural memory. Dress the devil in red tights and he becomes incredible (= not believable).
Don't be put off by images of fantastical monsters. Be careful, however, about the voices of temptation and accusation.
Demon spirits are deceivers. Like human scammers, they don't want us to realise what they're up to. If we have a tempting
thought, and believe that it came from our own mind, we are often inclined to blame ourselves. We feel unworthy, and we
count ourselves out from God's mercy and blessings. The evil spirit's trick is to crush us with undeserved guilt - but
temptation is not sin. Recognise where the voice comes from, resist the temptation and turn away. As James said:
"resist the devil and he will flee from you" NOTE 1.
Or use a strategy that the apostle Paul recommended:
"...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if
anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things" NOTE 2.
In other words, deliberately turn your thoughts towards
good things.
Confess
If, on the other hand, we willingly yield to temptation, that is sin, but we have a choice,
and we have a remedy if we fall. There's a familiar text that tells us how to deal with that:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" NOTE 3 .
The aim of demon spirits is to draw us away from grace, faith, and forgiveness. On the other hand, when the Holy Spirit
convicts us and draws our attention to sin, his aim is to lead us to confession and forgiveness - which leads this
explanation to the third kind of spirit.
Holy
The third kind should really be the first, because God is first. I'm talking about holy spirits,
and I emphasise the plural because angels too are holy. The Bible frequently portrays angels bringing God's messages to
faithful people. That doesn't necessarily mean that we will see angels with our physical eyes. But we can't necessarily
tell whether the holy messages we receive are the direct voice of God, or messages delivered by God's agents, meaning angels.
All we need to know is that the messages originated from God. Every Christian has heard holy messages - words from God.
That last statement is entirely biblical and, if you have any doubt about that, I refer you to my earlier posting, "Hearing God" NOTE 4.
What does the voice of God sound like? Jesus said his followers would know the answer to that. He put it like this:
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" NOTE 5,
and again,
"I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine" NOTE 6.
So, when did you first hear the Shepherd call?
Character
Certainly, you heard Him when you first chose to follow Him. Maybe you heard someone preach
the Gospel and just knew that the message was for you. Perhaps you responded to a Bible text? or the kindness of a
Christian you met? Whatever it was that moved you to change your life's direction, that was the voice of God. It was a
Holy Spirit. Remember that, and "listen" for the same tones in the gentle urges that lead you to do good deeds, to say
encouraging words, or to step into special adventures with Him. But let's clarify what I mean by the word "listen"; it
is possible that God may speak to us in an audible voice, but the words usually come by other ways. They may come in the s
peech of another person (who may not know what those words mean to you). They may appear as words or phrases that come to
us as our own thoughts (but perhaps unexpectedly). Or they may appear in a Bible text. But whatever way those words come
to our attention, we sense that they come with a special authority. They come with the authority and character of God.
Unique
So, we hear Inwardly from three different spirit voices. Mostly the source is our own human spirit -
and we need to deliberately learn to know ourselves well. We need to recognise our own personality, character, and motivations
(the things that make us unique). When we surely know our own inner voice, it's easier to recognise when another spirit is
speaking to us. We need especially to recognise the voice of God.
Practice
What I have been describing is the basic operation of two special Gifts of the Holy Spirit -
"discerning of spirits" and "prophecy" NOTE 7. If you practice using these gifts at this level they will benefit
you in your personal walk with God. But the Holy Spirit may lead you to go further If, by continual practice, you increase
in confidence and become more competent in your use of the gifts, your prophetic ministry could become a valuable asset to
your church and its mission. In his Parable of the Talents, Jesus criticised the one-talent-man for not making an effort
to increase his gifts. However impressive the biblical prophets were, they all started as children and, when they were first
called, they had plenty to learn. We all start from the same place. How far we may go depends on God's call, but it also
requires our willingness to follow.
"Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church" NOTE 8.
Be deliberate about it.
