"I am learning this myself. Walking in the Spirit first comes by listening. When we pray or type a note or sleep or fill-in-the-blank, we need to be aware of God's presence. This is praying without ceasing. When we are listening, then we can stop in mid-stance and say "yes Lord, here am I" when He calls. It's all about being sensitive to Him. He will call at the most inopportune times to see if you're serious about our walk with Him. What comes first, Him or a game or dinner or... "Seek ye first..." This is why the devil has the rebellious world keeping everyone so busy by inventing new ways to keep from having down time so we don't take the time to stop and listen. The story of Elijah is our example. God wasn't in the earthquake, nor in the fire, nor in the wind, but in a still small voice. Listening for God is like listening for that whisper at a state fair. But when we're sensitive, we can hear Him though we can't hear ourselves think.
When we learn to hear, then we need to learn to obey just like Jesus did,
Hebrews 5:8. We have to understand that though Jesus completed the course, it's up to us to literally follow in His foot steps. He lived by the promptings of the Holy Spirit, not as God. He took off that mantel and put on mortality and chose to live as we do, but He showed us a better way. A way that isn't confined to the laws of this world, but for the glory of the Father. We have the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth to move as the Spirit wills. To do as the Spirit prompts us. By Him we also have the authority and power to perform. But to do that we have to learn to listen and obey unquestionably. Think of it like this: if someone wanting to prove God prays "God if you're real, have someone yell out 'Praise Jesus'." At that moment in the middle of a crowded supermarket you get a prompting to "Praise Jesus" out loud. What'cha gonna do? Save your pride or serve the Lord? He will make you do things that seem really REALLY dumb, but they all serve a purpose.
The more obedient, the more responsibility because He can trust you with more. That's where the prosperity group have missed the mark. Indeed God will provide for all my needs, and God will even bless you with a want now and again, but it's not a lustful demanding right; they're a gift. While a parent will still provide for a rebellious child, would that parent indulge that rebellion with a new car? A righteous child calls for blessings from the parents through actions not words, and unknown to the child, the parent is eager to bless the child lavishly. As I've said before, it's all about relationship with God. That is why I chose my nickname
Abdicate; to surrender my rights, my throne, to the Father. I chose it to remind
ME to do just that, surrender. Bad guys surrender to the cops, but the righteous surrender to the Lord.
Lastly, how can you tell what to do. Through peace. Let's say you have a choice, right, left, or center. You ponder
right and ask the Lord. If you don't have peace, that's not the right choice, even if our flesh wants it. So you obediently ponder
left and ask the Lord. Again if you don't have peace, that too is not the right choice. So you again obediently ponder
center and ask the Lord. This time you have peace; that's the correct choice. There are two exceptions, as all generalizations do, what if you didn't get peace for any choices; then you wait. The other is when you have peace for them all; then God is saying "I'll bless you either way you choose." He wants to see if you are in sync enough with Him to choose what He would. Sometimes it really doesn't matter. I have three kids and we had been working on potty training the oldest. I was watching them play together and my oldest got up from playing, walked to the bathroom, used the toilet, washed his hands, and returned to playing. Now to someone without kids this may seem to be ridiculous, but I was so elated and filled with pride for my son. We never once made eye contact, he did it all on his own. He conformed to my wishes so that his wishes were now in sync with mine. That's what the Father wants from us. My son did what he did not to please me, but to please himself (relieve his bladder) but he did it correctly and not just selfishly in his shorts, and he washed his hands! 100% obedience, not 90%. What an example the Spirit taught me a that moment what it is to walk in the Spirit.
Finally (you know there's always more than one), if you're not at peace, how can you know something isn't right? Women are very sensitive to the Spirit because God gave them stronger instincts than men so as to protect their offspring. The world calls it "Maternal Bonding" and they try to explain away the Holy Spirit. The word of God is written on our hearts, even the unsaved. Most people are taught to use the 5 senses, but just like the woman at the well who had five husbands, the one she lived with wasn't her husband - the Spirit. We need to wed ourselves to the Spirit and give Him preeminence in our lives even over our 5 senses. Even the world unknowingly calls Him the 6th Sense. Give God the credit for all things natural too. So if we don't take the time to pray and meditate on His word, however are we to be at peace when trials come, and they will come, because they come to
pass. They don't come to stay!
I pray this helps. I have to remind myself too of these things."
My thanks to Abdicate for this instruction. I'm looking forward to yours.
