Everything begins in the Spirit realm. This is much like storing and accessing data from the “icloud”. Most of us learned early on in Sunday School that God has created each man and woman to be a triune being. This means, we possess a physical body, a mind with an independent will and emotions, and a Spirit. Every believer relies on God’s divine information needed for successful living and desired outcomes. For believers, the fear of God begins in the Spirit realm. What I mean by that, is we hear God and behave accordingly. God is Spirit. But, in order to process and interpret His directives we must not doubt or interfere when it comes to hearing accurately His voice. His divine directives are transmitted through the voice of the inner man (connected to God via the Holy Spirit). Also, God uses His angles in our daily circumstances according to His plans for our lives. Finally, we must employ the important task of reading the mass library of instruction, ethics, real life scenarios, laws, poetry, praise etc. known as the Bible. We must allow the scripture to speak to us.
I have compiled some proven techniques for Staying Sharp In The Spirit Realm.
1. Hearing the Voice of God. Jesus said “My sheep listen to my voice, I know them and they follow me.” Hearing God’s voice begins with listening for his voice. Many times we learn God’s voice from a posture of hind sight. “I knew God told me to do that.” Consider yourself trained after that illumination, not condemned. God will instruct in small things, so that you do not miss the big one. We can’t hear His voice if we don’t listen; or deliberately distinguish who or what is speaking to us. ( John 10:27).
2. The Holy Spirit teaches you…over and over again. Effective teaching uses repetition. No one knows that better than the Greatest Teacher; the Holy Spirit. Familiarity will not only kill your hunger for learning, it will dull your daily communication with God. Familiarity disallows fresh revelation and can contribute to resentment and indifference to God, His Word, and His realm. The Holy Spirit is our teacher, our helper (Paraclete), and the most important relationship we will have on earth. (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit is in fact, a person. It is important to recognize this fact and aspire to know Him on a personal basis.
3. The Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth, not speaking on His own initiative, but what He hears from God to let you know what is to come (John 16:13). As believers, if we train ourselves, we have access to inside future information. This is based on two things, what God has done in the past, and current flow of revelation. Revelation is always flowing like a river. We are sharpened and attune if we practice sensitivity, staying abreast of current events, and listening for Gods’ promptings and timing. Oversensitivity can serve a positive purpose; it is much better than indifference or dullness. The angels will help you.
4. Talk Less. Perhaps, it is my perilous military experience that reminds me of the old adage, “Loose lips sink ships.” The enemy does not have the ability to read your mind. General fellowship and edification is not only healthy, it is commanded; however, I’m not a fan of group discussion about what God is saying. A personal relationship with God is just that, personal. Don’t feel obligated to “prophesy everything you hear.” Wait on the Lord for the strength to deliver a word, or a message. God needs to be able to trust us. Much talk comes out of the imaginations of the mind, parroting the current religious narrative. Listen, watch, observe, pray, and above all, think more, and talk less. Proverbs 21:23 tells us “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from trouble.” We all know the tongue teachings. This leads to number five, and “those tongues.”
5. Pray Always! Seriously! If you have the gift of glossolalia (tongues and the interpretation of tongues as described in Acts or I Corinthians 12:8-10), use it, a lot. If you do not have that gift or were told it’s not for today, seek God first, man second. What you are ashamed of will never work for you. This gift of glossolalia is literally mind boggling in its power. It is God’s gift of divine communication that the enemy cannot decode. Your brain (understanding) may be bored, but you have the power to move heaven and earth with that divine language. I love learning languages. It takes time, study, and practice. The gift of tongues is given by God and can come instantly upon request of Baptism of Holy Spirit. If you don’t’ want the gift of tongues or do not believe “a new tongue will I speak to these people” stuff, there is no pressure. If you choose to pray aloud in your first language, use a lot of scripture to back up your declarations and petitions. Sometimes I pray in Hebrew, in as much as I have learned, or Spanish, as it gives my mind rest. God speaks all languages as do His angels. Prayer changes things. As a believer, you have a right for your prayers to be answered. Prayer is not all you have; prayer brings all He has to you. Jesus was a fan. Luke 9:18,29; John 17; Mark 1:35; Matthew 18:18-20; and Matthew 21.
6. Gut Check. Listen to the check that comes from another realm. The circumstances are not always the truth. Deception is so sensuous, attractive, and believable at first glance. Take a second examination, and then a third. Listen and dig deeper. Deception and lies go deep. Truth is found by digging deep into the circumstance, talking to God, and pairing scripture to the current situation. Practice questioning everything. If the pieces do not snap into place, it may be a dupe of the truth.
7. Finally, we need strength to Stay Sharp in the Spirit Realm. Isaiah 11:2 states it best. “And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord…” Pray this over yourself while inserting your name. Then hold fast to Isaiah 40:31 “They that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength…”, finish reading this on your own. This edification will encourage you. II Corinthians 10:3-6 lays out the obstacles of the spirit realm.
We must acknowledge and recognize our battle and understand our God given weapons. You already know this. We do not always have to be on the defensive or have an answer to everything. Repeat step 5 often. Apologetics can wear one out if they are not anointed for that. Knowledge is great, but disseminating that knowledge and effectively communicating a doctrine or practice takes strength and discipline. A common strategy used by the enemy is to wear you out, to argue for the sake of argument. You will tire easily always feeling that you need to defend God.
I love the Apostle Paul’s advice to Timothy: “Avoid foolish questions, genealogies, contentions and strivings” (Titus 3:9). More importantly, Jesus gave us a clue to power. He withdrew to pray often. He always remained in Shalom (peace, tranquility, security). Shalom is the attribute of divine grace. Ecclesiastes 5:2 instructs us to “let your words be few…” There is a useful quote by Sun Tzu, a legendary Chinese warrior, “He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious.”
Disconnect from the news, and other outside stimuli, at least once a day. God speaks volumes through nature. Recently, my little Papillion, Golda, woke me up at 3:00 in the morning. Although I was not happy, I let her outside, only to witness the most amazing constellation and starlit sky. I was immediately reminded, this was the favorite hour for Jesus to pray. It was at this hour he gained the strength as a man to confront and conquer demonic giants. And conquer, He did!
May this teaching empower you to conquer, possess, and live more in the spirit realm than ever before in your walk with God.