It’s not mysterious or spooky. You don’t have to be super spiritual or carry a 20-year-salvation card. To follow the Spirit of God, all you have to do is follow the Word of God. “It can’t be that easy!” you say? Yes, it’s that easy. Right off the bat you must understand that God’s will is His Word and His Word was written by His Spirit. Peter wrote that holy men of old were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:20-21). All scripture is God-breathed according to second Timothy 3:16. Walking by the Word is following the Spirit. As you do this, the Holy Spirit is able to direct you on specific details of your life. Take the following steps and enhance your ability to follow the Spirit of God:

Step One. Pray the Word. It is the perfect will of God. Hearing the Word of God not only builds your faith, it sows the Word directly into your heart and enables the Spirit to speak. Many times you will be reading/praying the Word and get your answer.

Step Two. Pray in the Spirit. It is another form of perfect prayer. Your natural mind is unfruitful and can’t hinder your prayer (1 Corinthians 14:14).

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

—Romans 8:26-27

Step Three. Live by the Spirit. Galatians 5:16 says, “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” Verses 22-23 later list the following fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If you intentionally personify these traits everyday, when the Spirit does give you a command you know it because there will be no mental clutter.

Step Four. Listen and obey. We have the secret! In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). All we have to do is obey. Imagine a person who lived their whole life totally committed to God’s Word—obeying it to the letter. This person, however, never actually “heard” from God. He only did what the Bible taught. What are the odds that his life would be successful? You get the picture.

Of course the scenario in step four is impossible because a man or woman of that stature would surely hear from God many times. Even sinners on occasion hear from God—it’s called a conscience. We are spirit beings. Now the conscience can be seared (1 Timothy 4:2) and therefore become ineffective. But, it was put in every human by God. So the more you discipline yourself to follow His Word, you will inevitably be following His Spirit. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice (John 10:27).” You learn to know His voice by knowing His Word.

Clues that Expose the Enemy’s Voice

1. If the voice is talking about killing, stealing or destroying, it’s not of God (John 10:10; Jeremiah 29:11).
2. If you can’t verify it in the Bible, it’s not from the Lord (1 John 4:1). Any voice you hear should line up with Scripture.
3. If it’s negative, it’s not God (Psalm 145:13). Even in chastisement, God is gracious.

Tips for Following the Spirit in Decision Making

1. Go in the direction of peace, even when your flesh is unsure. Know that your steps are ordered and it’s all working out for your good (Psalm 37:23; Romans 8:28).
2. Don’t stop moving. If you’ve not gotten a clear answer, just keep doing the right things and stay prepared. My natural father always tells me, “Stay ready so you won’t have to get ready.” This way when God speaks you’re nimble.
3. Have a short memory—forget past mistakes. So you flubbed a decision, who hasn’t? Psalm 138:8 is true concerning you. Don’t get deterred from following the Spirit just because you miss it.

Again, follow the Word and you’ll always be in line with the Spirit. My goal in this series of articles is to simplify the processes of life by the Spirit and prayer in the Spirit. I give Scripture references to encourage you to seek these things out for yourself. It is the best way to start following the Spirit of God. It’s just like following a recipe. You may not get it perfect the first time, but the more you tweak your life by the Word, the better it becomes.

Be blessed friends, and have the perfect day everyday!

—Shontta
Psalm 138:8

We say it all the time. “I can’t wait until this summer!” “I can’t wait until my daughter’s potty trained!” “I can’t wait until football season starts!” Then what happens? That time you couldn’t wait for comes and goes. And before you know it, an entire decade passes and you’re wondering where the time went. Some time ago, I was expressing my inability to wait on a particular event or happening and my spirit took notice. I asked the Lord to show me a better way to express my enthusiasm or to control my anticipation. Patience is, after all, one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).

For many, patience connotes an arduous task. This could very well be your situation, and life has its share of discomfort. The Bible encourages us to run with patience the race set before us, and fix our eyes on Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). I believe that mastering patience, regardless of the situation, can instill an ability to enjoy or learn in every nuance of life.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently on Him …” –Psalm 37:7a

James tells us to let patience have her perfect work so that we can be perfect and entire lacking nothing (James 1:4). So it’s possible to lack nothing. By allowing patience to have her perfect work, you hold out for the best every time. You end up lacking nothing and enjoying the journey. Before you disagree, lend me your eyes. Look through the eyes of God. He never gave up on you—and He never will! “The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance,” reads the Amplified Bible’s version of 2 Peter 3:9. He waited for you and He continues to wait for you. He wants you to get it.

And one day, I got it. The Holy Spirit ministered to my spirit. We started saying things like, “I’m excited about the party this weekend!” Instead of, “I can’t wait for the party this weekend!” You see, by saying you’re excited about or you’re looking forward to or you’re interested in seeing this or that, you acknowledge where you are right now. Take the potty training comment. I tried not to focus on rushing my daughter through it, rather we celebrated the task! It gave me the opportunity to teach her more about worshipping God. Every time she produced positive results, we shouted, “Hallelujah!” or “Praise the Lord!” Now in addition to being well potty trained, she loves to worship God! Patience had her perfect work.

Now for the more serious instances, I’ll share a more difficult experience. During the weeks and months following the death of my first son, I wanted to totally escape. I literally could not wait for the gut-wrenching pain to end. But, I had need of patience. I had to count it as joy. There is no quick fix—no immediate way to totally heal (physically, spiritually or emotionally). After this tragedy, I had to be healed from the inside out. God was with me the entire time. Had I decided to yield to escapism by evading the emotions I was experiencing, I would not have been healed. Patiently, I allowed the Lord to help me deal with the hurt, anger and confusion I was feeling. Even in cases of instantaneous divine healing, there is still work to be done on the individual’s part in order to maintain the healing. So it is a work in progress. Jesus told the man healed at the Pool of Bethesda, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee (John 5:14).”

Let’s finish with Brother James. Again, he tells us in James 1:2-4 to, “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” We can count it as joy because we know this—that our faith will be tried and if we endure, we will want nothing (Psalm 23:1). Your father God is patient, imitate Him. Enjoy the time you have. Patiently stand in that line and if you can find nothing positive about it but the fact that you have healthy legs to stand on, praise God for that! Know that your steps are ordered and there may be a reason for the unexpected delay. Clean that oatmeal off the wall with joy! One day you may have to set an appointment with your children in order to have a meal with them! I think you get the picture now. There is something positive and beautiful in every experience and season of your life. Yes, you can wait.

Be blessed friends, and have the perfect day everyday!

Psalm 138:8

—Shontta