Journey to Faith

Journey to Faith
Follow your own path

Friday, June 10, 2016

How to Know When the Holy Spirit is Speaking

What do you know about the Holy Spirit? Do you believe He exists? If so, how do you get the Holy Spirit and why does it matter?                          

Unless you belong to a Pentecostal church, you probably won't hear much teaching on the Holy Spirit. There is a lot of debate about the activities and functions of the Holy Spirit. Many pastors shy away from anything they don't fully understand. Talking about Jesus is one thing, at least he showed up in human form. Talking about a spirit gets into deep water for some people. But we're courageous here so jump in with me.                                  

At a recent church service, the speaker began a message on the importance of the Holy Spirit. I was glued to my seat. It is not often preachers talk on the subject. Sadly, however, the guy sidetracked to a story from his childhood talking about the "spirit of bbq" and his grandmother's cooking. His appetite for food got the better of his message so I decided to pick up where he left off.

Knowledge of the Holy Spirit is extremely important in the life of anyone attempting to live a peaceful and harmonious life. If we are unaware of the forces working within us, we are powerless to combat them and we will be defeated every time.

So today I'm going to share  a personal story  about following our inner promptings. Here's a situation that happened today.

I was peacefully working on my computer, when my cell phone rang. It was my mom.  I hesitated but answered anyway.  She was very irritated and the conversation did not go well.

"Something told me not to answer the phone, " I said to my son after I hung up.
"That was the Holy Spirit," he replied.
"I didn't listen - again." I said.

So that's how it goes. The Holy Spirit was warning me not to pick up the phone. I felt it, but I went ahead and answered the call anyway. How many times have you felt a hesitation but gone ahead and done whatever it was anyway? I had the same feeling walking down the aisle. I ignored it then, too, and the marriage ended in divorce.

God wants to protect us and guide us. When we accept Jesus into our lives, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us to help us. The choices and decisions in our lives lead us either towards God or away from God. We have free will and it is up to us to choose.

The Jesuits, a branch of the Catholic religion, call these inner promptings "consolations and desolations". Here is an article describing the difference. And another one here.

Following the Holy Spirit requires mindfulness. It requires us to be mindful of the feelings and promptings we get from God in the present moment.  When we slow down enough to be fully present, we are more able to feel these promptings. It is then up to us to heed them or not.

I hope you have enjoyed this post and it has encouraged you in how to tune in to that still small voice that wants to guide and protect you. If you would like to receive my free e-guide entitled "7 Steps to Finding Your Spiritual Path", enter your email address in the box provided.

Until next time, I'll be practicing listening and obeying.
Keep looking up!


Ariel Paz