Abide with Holy Spirit

Opening Question

Have you ever heard God “speak” to you? Tell your Growth Coach about it. Ask them about a time they’ve heard God speak to them.

Training

Holy Spirit is our helper (John 16:7), cleaner (1 Corinthians 6:11), teacher (John 14:26) makes us more like Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18), helps us do the Father’s will (Acts 8:29), gifts us for ministry (1 Corinthians 12:4-11), imparts love (Romans 5:3-5), gives us hope (Romans 15:13), guides our prayers (Romans 8:26), empowers us to witness (Acts 1:8).

He is God on earth, so it’s tough to sum up everything He does here on earth. 

But the truth you need to know is that you can be in connection with Him each and every day. All day. All the time. 

Jesus did it. He only said what He heard the Father say (John 12:49). He only did what He saw the Father do (John 5:19). 

It’s our goal to be like Him and live that way. It’s something we grow into. 

For now, you need to know you can “hear” the Father’s voice. This is usually not an audible voice. It’s more often a still, quiet voice; a deeper knowing; a thought that is smarter than we can come up with on our own. This is how God the Holy Spirit communicates with us (Acts 15:28).  

The tool we have for you is one that will show you how close you already are to Him. The more you use it, the more you test it, the more you’ll know you “hear” Holy Spirit. 

Tool – Conversational Journaling

Conversational journaling reads more like the dialogue in a novel than it does a biography or checklist. There’s no planning in Conversational Journaling and writing tends to become more profound and much deeper than what you can come up with on your own.

Here’s a few simple steps to start conversational journaling: Take a journal and write out a question. Fix your thoughts on Jesus and the love of the Father. Suddenly you’ll have a good thought. Write it down. Write whatever comes to your mind in response to your question write it down.  Do this free-flow, don’t edit it.  What you write can be tested later to make sure it lines up with Scripture. Ask another question. Write down the good thought you have in response. What occurs is a two-way conversation between a loving Father and child. 

Don’t be afraid that all these good answers are coming from you. First, I’ll wager they’ll be better than you think you can come up with on your own. They still may be coming from you, but don’t worry – you have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). 

We are seated in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6 ). We are sheep that know the shepherd’s voice (John 10:27). We have the Kingdom of God within us (Luke 17:21).

How to Test What You Conversationally Journal

I’m not saying you’re infallible and I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t test and confirm what God is telling you. We’re not under the law where if a prophecy didn’t come about you’d be stoned. Under grace we seem to be allowed to make mistakes since Paul tells us to “Test everything and hold to the good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). You can test what you’ve written by:

The Word of God: It can’t be contrary to the will of God in Scripture. (Hebrews 4:12; 1 Corinthians 14:37; Isaiah 8:19-20; 1 Timothy 6:3; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 John 1:7-11)

The Witness of the Spirit: It needs to “seem good to us” and others. (1 John 2:27; 1 Corinthians 2:15)

By its Fruit : Does it edify? Does it produce life? Is it clear or confusing? (1 Corinthians 14:4; John 6:68; 1 Corinthians 14:33)

You test what you write against the cannon of Scripture and major decisions you come to should be confirmed by a spiritual father or mother.  Conversational Journalling is a valuable tool to learn how to hear God for a specific situation. And to have hope in transition, you need to wait on God, expecting He’ll speak. Because He will. He’s your dad. Your Father is good and He’s in a good mood and He loves giving good gifts to you. 

Application

This week take a journal and write out a question. Fix your thoughts on Jesus and the love of the Father. Suddenly you’ll have a good thought. Write it down. Write whatever comes to your mind in response to your question write it down.  Do this free-flow, don’t edit it.

Share what you’ve written with your Growth Coach next week. 

Resources