1 Corinthians 2:10-11 reads, "For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God." Also, Romans 8:14 says, "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." It shows that when we are led by the Spirit of God—the Holy Spirit, we are now God's children.
The Scripture says that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, which means that the Holy Spirit's heart is one with God's heart. Thus, it is natural that God's children be led by the Spirit of God—the Holy Spirit. In order for God's children to hear the Holy Spirit's voice and receive His guidance, they first have to demolish fleshly thoughts that are hostile toward God (Romans 8:7). Now, let's delve into how to smash fleshly thoughts completely and hear the Holy Spirit's voice and receive His guidance.
1 We should cast off untruthful things from our hearts
The voice of the Holy Spirit is not a kind of sound that is heard through ears. This is the voice from our hearts. It is heard from the truth that we have cultivated in our hearts. However, if we have untruths in our hearts, fleshly thoughts first come through our mind before the Spirit's voice is heard. Fleshly thoughts arise from the operation of soul belonging to the untruth.
Suppose you hear someone speaking ill of you. You may think, 'He is very rude and hurting my pride. I feel bad.' Following these fleshly thoughts, untruthful things may be agitated in you such as anger and hatred. Then you may get very angry and want to punish him. Your face may turn red, you may curse with a harsh tone, or you may throw something or even hit him.
This kind of fleshly thought is hostile toward God and cannot please God (Romans 8:7-8). Thus, to the extent we have fleshly thoughts, we cannot attain greater faith and we cannot experience God's works. Moreover, it is very hard to enter spirit. Therefore, in order that we can hear the Holy Spirit's voice clearly, we must cast off untruthful things from our hearts quickly.
2 We should obey the Holy Spirit's voice even if it sounds faint
The Holy Spirit's voice is heard to the extent that we cultivate the truth in our hearts. For many people, both fleshly thoughts and the Holy Spirit's voice are both heard because they have both truthful heart and untruthful heart.
So, the Holy Spirit's voice may be very faint, but as much as we keep obeying the voice, we can hear the voice more clearly. For instance, one has not yet to become sanctified. When someone does evil to him, he may have two kinds of thoughts: fleshly thought—'I hate him. I am feeling bad' and the Holy Spirit's voice—'Be kind. Love even your enemies.' If he chooses the Holy Spirit's voice and obeys it, he will be able to hear the Holy Spirit's voice more clearly.
If you are not able to hear the Holy Spirit's voice, the reason may be that you do not obey God's Word though the Word comes to your mind. We should try to hear the Holy Spirit's voice even if it sounds so faint. It is just as we can hear a weak sound when we pay attention to it although it is heard with other louder sounds. When we try hard to hear the Holy Spirit's voice, we can hear it more clearly.
Therefore, the important thing in hearing the Holy Spirit's voice is a longing heart. If you long to hear the Holy Spirit's voice and like to obey it, you can hear even faint voice of the Holy Spirit. To the extent that we practice the truth diligently with longing for the Holy Spirit's voice, we can hear the voice more clearly. And to the extent that we obey the Holy Spirit's guidance, we can cast away untruthful things from our hearts more quickly.
3 We should pray fervently
Let's say two radios are on. Two different programs come out from the radios. If you turn up the volume of one radio, you will be able to hear the program from it better than from the other. Praying fervently is like turning up the volume of the radio. When you receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit through fervent prayer, you can hear His voice more clearly.
Before you visit other church members, you should first pray fervently for them and receive the Holy Spirit's guidance. Then, you can give them more exact counseling. Suppose a member did not keep the Lord's Day and you are going to visit him. If you simply think you will preach about the importance of keeping the Lord's Day, you may not be able to resolve his problem.
You must pray fervently first and hear the Holy Spirit's voice. The Holy Spirit may let you know the real reason for his skipping the Lord's Day. He may also give you a Bible verse necessary for him. When you give the Bible verse to him, he will open his heart, receive grace, and finally keep the Lord's Day again. Sometimes, you happen to visit someone on the spur of the moment. Then, you may not have prepared for the visitation with prayer in advance. However, if you have prayed without ceasing and stayed filled with the Holy Spirit, you can hear His voice with a short prayer.
TIP How to discern the Holy Spirit's voice from one's own thoughts
If we want to discern something clearly, we should pray earnestly for it. Through prayer we can become filled with the Holy Spirit and then can hear His voice more clearly. Thereby we can have proper discernment.
Besides, we can tell the Spirit's voice from our thoughts through the result of obedience. If it is the Holy Spirit's voice, joy and heart of thanksgiving may come down from above after obeying it. Or, we may hear words that confirm it is the Holy Spirit's voice from others. Or, we may reap fruit of blessings.
If the Holy Spirit's voice is heard in prayer, you may receive His guidance. Then, you should meditate on it and pray about it. By doing so, you can definitively discern whether it is the Holy Spirit's voice or not.
If you keep praying fervently and leading your Christian life full of the Holy Spirit, you can communicate with God all the time, hear the Holy Spirit's voice, and receive His guidance.
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