“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14
Do you want to know God? Do you want to hear His voice, know His will, and follow His leading? John 4:24 says that God is a spirit. Genesis 1:26 says that we have been made in His image and likeness; we are spirit beings, children of a spiritual God. Since God is a spirit, and He made us to be spirit beings, it makes sense that our relationship with God is going to be a spiritual one.
Another word for spirit is “heart.” We connect with God from our heart, from the center of who we are. Our heart, our spirit, is where we discern when something is right or wrong. Sometimes we refer to our heart as our conscience. Our heart is where we get a knowing, like a sixth sense, about what we should or shouldn’t do. Having a knowing in our heart is one way that God leads us.
For example, yesterday I was scheduled to fly from Phoenix to Dayton. My husband, Jerry, was staying in Phoenix for another week to assist a pastor with a church. As I packed my suitcase, I had an inclination that my plans might change. I kept my heart open and continued with my day. As I entered into the airport, a knowing grabbed my heart again, and I knew that God wanted me to stay in Phoenix longer. I nearly turned around, but I checked my heart and sensed that I was to continue to walk things out. When I got to the gate, I found out that my flight was canceled. I had a knowing that God wanted me to stay in Phoenix for another week to help with the church. God gave me favor with the airline, and they extended my ticket for another week without charge.
If a person has given their life to Christ, God has renewed their spirit and the Holy Spirit has come to live inside their heart. That ability “to know” is something God uses to steer us in the direction He wants us to go. It’s not complicated. It’s a spiritual instinct that we can learn to recognize and to be sensitive to.
Application: Ask the Lord to lead you, and be sensitive to the knowing He places in your heart. As you grow in your relationship with God, you will be able to discern if an inclination is God or not.