The men of Israel wanted to know if these men were telling the truth. So they tasted the bread—but they did not ask the Lord what they should do.
Joshua 9:14 (ERV)
There are many ways in which God, through His Holy Spirit may speak to us. Today we will look at some of the different ways in which God may give us advice:
The Word
The Bible is the Word of God which will never change. Heaven and earth may pass away but the Word of God will never pass away. The Word of God is described as a Lamb for our feet and a Light for our path (Psalm 119:105). Light gives illumination where there is darkness therefore anytime we find ourselves in darkness and need advice about a particular situation we can turn to the Word of God for guidance.
Still small voice
When the Prophet Elijah was afraid and was running for his life from Jezebel, God spoke to him through a still small voice and told him who to anoint as King over Israel and who to anoint as his successor (1 Kings 19:12-16). The Holy Spirit does not shout, He often speaks to us through a gentle quiet voice which we hear through our spirit.
Audible voice
Sometimes God may speak to us through an audible voice. When Saul was going to the city of Damascus with a letter from the High Priest to find followers of The Lord to arrest and bring back to Jerusalem, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shined around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting Me?” Saul said, “Who are you, Lord?” The voice answered, “I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting. Get up now and go into the city. Someone there will tell you what you must do.”
The men traveling with Saul just stood there, unable to speak. They heard the voice, but they saw no one. Saul was blinded by this experience and after fasting for three days a follower of Jesus named Ananias came and laid hands on him so that he could see again. Saul then got baptised and he began to go to the synagogues to tell people about Jesus (Acts 9:1-22).
Dreams
The Bible is filled with numerous stories of men and women who have received guidance, warning, and advice through dreams. When the wise men left after seeing Baby Jesus, an Angel from the Lord came to Joseph in a dream. The Angel told him to get up and take the Child with His mother and escape to Egypt because Herod wanted to kill the Child. They were to stay in Egypt until the Angel told them to come back. When Herod died, an Angel from the Lord came to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child with His mother and go to Israel. Those who were trying to kill the Child are now dead” (Matthew 2:13-21).
Visions
A vision is a spiritual or mental image. Cornelius who was a Roman army officer had a vision in which he saw an Angel. The Angel told him that God had heard his prayers and had seen all his gifts to the poor and he was to send some men to the city of Joppa to get a man named Simon, who is also called Peter.
The next day Peter was going up to the roof to pray. He was hungry and wanted to eat but while they were preparing the food for Peter to eat, he also had a vision. He saw something coming down through the open sky. It looked like a big sheet being lowered to the ground by its four corners. In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds. Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill anything here and eat it.”
But Peter said, “I can’t do that, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is not pure or fit to be used for food.” But the voice said to him again, “God has made these things pure. Don’t say they are unfit to eat.” This happened three times. Then the whole thing was taken back up into heaven. When the vision was over the men that Cornelius sent had arrived and were waiting for him. As a result of his vision, Peter went to Cornelius house and Cornelius and all his household became believers in Jesus Christ and were the first Gentles to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10).
Prophecies
Prophecy is predicting the future with certainty as the Lord reveals it. God may at times speak to us through His messengers about things to come. Agabus was one such Prophet. He spoke with the help of the Spirit and said that a famine was coming to the whole world where there will be no food for people to eat. The Lord’s followers decided that they would each send as much as they could to help their brothers and sisters who lived in Judea. They gathered the money and gave it to Barnabas and Saul, who took it to the elders in Judea (Acts 11:27-30).
Inner knowing
Inner knowing is the ability to know something through our spirit or heart. Human beings are spirits, we have a soul and live in a body. God does not look at our outward appearance but He looks at the heart and it is through our heart that His Spirit communicates to us “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” (Romans 8:16)
Prayer
Dear Father, please open my eyes to see wonderful things from Your Word. Let my spiritual eyes be opened to see dreams and visions and let my spiritual ears be opened to hear Your still small voice and Your audible voice. Please help me not to despise prophecies but test them all; and hold on to what is good in Jesus name.
Which other ways does God give you advice? Please share your thoughts. Email me at info@blessingcoaching.com
Listen to the Message
You can also listen to this message on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06w5lKCyVQM
How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams
Do you know God’s purpose for your life? If not, please listen to the audio version of: How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams
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