God Speaks Through His Holy Spirit

In the Listening section of my prayer journal I have written what I like to call my marching orders.  My marching orders are little notes I make to myself during prayer time of the things that I should do, like write a note of encouragement to a friend who is going through a trial or maybe I am reminded to buy Larry a pair of pants or call Melanie and invite her to lunch.  I have learned over the years that these nudges are from the Holy Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit is one of the ways that God speaks to us.  Jesus told his disciples in John 14 that he was leaving, but he would send the Comforter who will abide with us and teach us and remind of Jesus words.  The Holy Spirit is a gift that has been given to every believer to help us live a life that is pleasing to God.  If you are a believer, you are a child of God and you have the Holy Spirit living inside you and you can learn to listen and hear his voice. 

Whenever I say that the Holy Spirit speaks to me, it's not an audible voice that I hear.  It's more like a thought that comes across my mind.  He may remind me of a scripture that I have read or he may inspire me to reach out to help another,  And all of this takes place in my mind;  ideas, inspiration, discernment, and answers to prayers.

If you are a young Christian you may not have learned to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit.  But, with practice, you can learn to listen and hear when God speaks through his Holy Spirit.  Quiet yourself before the Lord as we are told to do in Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God" and then record what you feel he is saying to you.  If it is something that will lead you astray, then it is probably you own thoughts or thoughts from the enemy.  If it is something that agrees with scripture, then you can rest assured it is the voice of the Good Shepherd. 

God will speak to us in these planned moments of quiet, but he is not limited to these times only.  He may speak to you at other times as well.  In 1Kings 19 we have the story of Elijah the prophet when he was fleeing Jezebel who had sworn to kill him.  Elijah is hiding in a cave when the Word of the Lord comes to him.  First, there is a strong wind, then an earthquake, and then a fire, but God does not speak in any of these.  Last of all, there came a still, small voice that spoke to him, encouraging him and giving him instructions.  If you will listen, you too can hear God's still, small voice as he speaks to you through his Holy Spirit.  God is speaking.....Are you listening?