The Holy Spirit is no respecter of persons. He didn’t give us that guidance because Ken and I are in the ministry. He gave it to us because we follow Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” We asked Him for His will in the matter and expected Him to reveal it to us. You may say, “I just don’t know about that. I don’t think I have the kind of connection with God that you do.”
Yes, you do, if you’re born of God. I’m sure of it because the Apostle John wrote a letter to believers and said, without qual- i fi c a t i o n :
But as for you, the anointing (the sacred appointment, the unction) which you received from Him abides [permanently] in you; [so] then you have no need that anyone should instruct you. But just as His anointing teaches you concerning everything and
is true and is no falsehood, so you must abide in…Him… (1 John
2:27, A M P) .
If you are a believer, you have the anointing—or unction—of the Holy Spirit within you. That anointing is there to lead and guide you. If you will maintain a lifestyle of spending time with God and putting His Word in your heart, then the Holy Spirit will talk to you and continually give you the answers and information you need to walk in victory in every area of your life. If you will live in contact with God—listening for His Spirit, being patient to wait on Him until you hear His voice and being pliable and quick to obey when He speaks—He will keep you out of bad situations. He will keep you out of court. He will keep you out of the lawyer’s office. He will keep you out of bad business deals and all kinds of other catastrophes.
If you ignore that anointing, however, and just forge ahead making decisions based strictly on your natural intelligence, without praying, seeking and obeying God, too often you’ll find yourself in more trouble than you can handle.
It is a wonderful thing to be filled with the Holy Spirit! It’s a wonderful thing to be able to hear from heaven about your daily life and to receive supernatural guidance about what to do. But you have to cultivate a hearing heart. You can’t just spend your time attending ballgames and watching television and then run to your pastor for prayer and a word of wisdom when you need it. If you’ve been doing that, stop it. That is nothing more than spiritual laziness, and it will eventually land you in trouble.
Thank God for a good pastor, but you need to start doing your own praying. You can’t depend on another person’s faith—even if that other person is your pastor. Your pastor is there to help you,
and he’ll build you up and teach you the Word, but he’s not God. As you grow up spiritually, you are able to go to God, pray the prayer of faith and hear from Him yourself.
God didn’t give you the Holy Spirit so you could be dependent on someone else. He gave you the Holy Spirit so you could be dependent on Him! So build your life in such a way that you can hear from heaven for yourself. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Learn how to listen to the Counselor and follow Him. Granted, that will take time and effort, but it is the only safe way to live. After all, the pastor may have more problems than you do. Your needs might not be top priority on his list. He might forget to pray about them, but you won’t! Your problems are more important to you than to anyone else on Earth. It’s not realistic to expect someone else to have the same interest and fervency that you do.
If you’re a new Christian, you may have to depend on others for a while until you have time to develop your own faith. But don’t be content to remain a spiritual baby. Get busy. Spend time in the Word and in prayer. Study what the Bible has to say about the Holy Spirit within you. Build your faith in Him. He is God.
Meditate on all the Holy Spirit has been sent to do for you. He has come not only to teach you, but also to show you things to come. As Christians, we should not be in the dark. We ought to know the things that are coming upon the earth. We ought to be like Noah. When all the world around him was in the dark concerning what was about to happen, Noah was hearing from God. The Holy Spirit of God told him what was coming and told him how to plan for it down to the last detail. So when the Flood
came, Noah wasn’t in the dark—he was in the ark! He and all of his family were saved by hearing and doing what God said.
The Holy Spirit will do the same thing for us if we will just pay attention to Him. He will let us know what’s ahead, so we can prepare and continue to do what we are called to do, regardless of what happens to the economy or any other natural situation.
What’s more, when we face a hard situation, He will be our Strengthener. When we feel ourselves growing weak and starting to slip into fear or doubt, He will speak to us and give us light from the Word that will make us strong again.
The Amplified Bible says He will also be our Standby. What
does that mean? It means He’ll be standing by to help when you need it.
Sometimes you will be moving through life just fine, and then you hit a challenge that requires something extra. It’s like you’re climbing up a mountain and you need a push to help you over the top. The Holy Spirit will give you that extra boost. If you will look to Him in faith, He will help you when the pressure of circum- stances becomes too great. His strength and ability are limitless, so He always has whatever you need.
Remember this: Everything Jesus has—and all that He is—is made available to you through the Holy Spirit. You have every- thing when you are filled with Him. But to enjoy His provision, you must spend time with Him. You must live vitally united to Him, in communion with Him continually.
Learn to commune with the Lord throughout the day. Worship Him. Visit with Him. Sing to Him. Listen to Him. Brother Lawrence, a monk from the 1600s, is still a famous Christian
today because He learned to “practice the presence of God,” even in everyday tasks and mundane chores. He learned how to walk in the spirit and live in the spirit. We can learn how to do that also if we will give ourselves fully to God by letting the Holy Spirit lead us, teach us, strengthen us and become the most powerful voice in our lives.