On April 22, Jennifer and I crossed the St. Croix River into Wisconsin on our way to a long-anticipated prayer gathering that we hoped would launch a sustained prayer initiative for revival in the spiritually dark area of Pine County MN, and Burnett County WI.
As we drove over the bridge, two things happened that are hard to put into words. Jennifer said she saw a dark figure on the road that exuded evil, and then two phalanxes of what appeared to be angelic beings rushing ahead of our car, driving the figure away. As they did, a thought popped into her mind that sounded like a voice, saying: “Do not fear, I will clear away evil before you.”
I did not see that, probably because I was driving and looking out for oncoming traffic and potential obstacles in the roadway. But I experienced something too: A sense so distinct that I knew it couldn’t come from my imagination. It was the sense of the atmosphere being abuzz with unseen activity. It was followed by a thought in my head that was as clear as a bell: “You have been praying for me to command the hosts of heaven to go before you and drive back the forces of darkness. They are here.”
I had expected to feel the oppression and dark pall that many others who had come to preach and minister in the area described. Some felt so oppressed they got physically sick. So this was a pleasant surprise. The sense of a battle taking place in the unseen world lingered throughout the weekend and as we drove out of the area.
I am a left-brain, rational sort of a guy so these types of experiences make me want to ensure that what we experienced came from God and not our overactive imaginations and that they are biblically warranted. In other words: “Do not quench the Spirit…but test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21). Perhaps the fear of getting it wrong is why so many shy away from such things.
The most important question is: Does a Scriptural basis for “sensing things in the Spirit” exist? The answer is yes, but it is somewhat indirect. I think it falls under the general notion of things that happened “in the Spirit” as a result of the Holy Spirit opening eyes, or in the context of a relationship that born-again believers are meant to have with Him. For example, He communicated directly with the apostles (Acts 16:6,7); He gave them visions (Acts 10: 10-16; 16:9,10); He carried Philip away so that he found himself in a completely different location than where he was a few moments before (Acts 8:39,40); John was “in the Spirit” on Patmos (Revelation 1:10) when he began to get his prophetic visions. In the Old Testament, we encounter the stories of Moses who gets to catch a glimpse of God (Exodus 33:22,23), and Elisha’s servant who had his eyes open to see angel armies fighting on behalf of Israel (2 King 6:15-17). All these are things that happen in the unseen, supernatural, spiritual world in which God lives and to which we are awakened when we are born again.
Perhaps the clearest word about that is given by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:14: “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” Born-again believers have been given the ability to sense, experience, hear and see things in the spiritual realm that seem foolish to human nature. Those things have been counterfeited by the occult, of course. But what people see in the spirit there belongs to the realm of Satan and will not lead to them growing in the knowledge of God.
It is a growth process for us to learn to sense things in the Spirit. The growth comes by testing: Is it in line, or in contradiction with, Scripture? Am I the only one who is seeing or sensing this or are other mature saints around me experiencing the same? What thoughts, feelings, and actions do what I am seeing or sensing produce?
The main concern I have now is that I do not quench the Spirit for fear that what I am seeing or sensing may be weird or wrong. I have found that by testing everything, and not ever neglecting that practice, my confidence in receiving experiences in the Spirit has grown and my ability to perceive any sort of counterfeit sense or seeing that comes from my flesh or from Satan has sharpened.
Sensing things in the Spirit does not replace the written Word. It helps us in receiving subjective directions toward actions that God wants us to undertake, or a perspective on a situation He wants us to have. Knowledge of the written Word is crucial in testing. God never contradicts or overrides His Word, so if you see something or sense something that contradicts it, it can be immediately dismissed. Holding fast to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21) implies discarding what is bad.
I encourage you to ask God to sharpen your spiritual sensitivity. To deepen your faith that these are ways in which He directs and helps us within the authority of HIs Word. To make your understanding of the fellowship He wants you to have with the Holy Spirit clearer. He has a unique plan for you in this. What He wants to accomplish in you is most likely different than what He wanted to accomplish in me.
Here are some simple steps to help you on your way:
1. Pray much. It keeps you “in the Spirit.”
2. Read the Scriptures and let them dwell in you richly (Colossians 3:16). They enhance your ability to
test, hold fast to what is good, and discard what isn’t.
3. Ask the Lord to speak to you and learn to listen to Him. It opens you to the idea that He is a God Who
wants to reveal Himself to you.
4. Record what you hear and see in a journal so you won’t forget.
5. Ask others to pray with you for confirmation. That too, will help you test and discern what is good.
Be encouraged. The Lord desires for you to set your mind on and keep in step with the Spirit (Romans 8:5, Galatians 5:16,18). All you need to do is ask, and He will help you grow in that area. He did it for me, and He’ll do it for you!