HOW TO FREE YOUR SPIRIT AND HEAR FROM GOD

We all understand that reading the Bible and prayer should go hand in hand. By first reading the Word of God, we then know what and how to pray.

Prayer should always be a 2-way communication between us and God, but the truth is that many of us pray without hearing any response from Him. Even when it comes to reading the Bible, we should do so with our spiritual eyes open and the Holy Spirit revealing to us what God is saying about our lives. In other words, communicating with God requires the involvement of the Holy Spirit.

If it is God’s will for us to hear Him clearly, then the problem can’t be on His end. There must be something on our end that is preventing us from enjoying this special communion with God.

Now, every believer has the Holy Spirit living inside of them, but we also have our own human spirit, or spirit-man, as some call it. The 2-way communication with God is a spiritual connection where your spirit tunes into the frequency of Holy Spirit.

If you are not hearing from Holy Spirit during Bible reading and prayer time, it means that there are things that are jamming the signal. To be more specific, these things have locked up your spirit and put it in a state of bondage!

Why do I say this?

You see, you cannot hear from Holy Spirit if you do not have a free spirit! It is only by having your spirit free that you can hear God clearly.

Which begs the question: what is responsible for locking up your spirit and preventing you from attracting Holy Spirit?

The answer is sin. There are some sins that we tend to take for granted. We assume that they are just common issues and shouldn’t worry about them. The truth is that these sins can hold our spirit captive for years.

Chief among these sins is bitterness. This is one truly terrible stain on any human soul. It is attached to other sins like unforgiveness, holding offense, anger, envy, strife, slander, malice, and hatred. There are some past hurts and pain that some of us have simply refused to let go of and forgive the people who offended us. Holding the sins above can damage you spiritually and leave you in bondage; without a free spirit necessary to comfortably and clearly commune with God.

Notice that these sins aren’t what you would call “the heavy hitters” such as murder, sexual sin, stealing, etc. They appear small and not worthy to make the List of Shame, but never forget that it’s the little foxes that ruin the vineyard (Song of Solomon 2:15). The big stuff is easy to recognize in oneself and repent about, but the small sins are the worst because they can stay hidden for decades without your knowledge!

So where do we go from here?

We know that God is full of unfailing love, mercy and grace, and He will always find ways of getting any message across to us. But we have a role to play in the relationship. Have you ever been in a relationship with someone who is always bitter and angry, holding grudges with everyone? You would flee from such a person! Holy Spirit is very sensitive and is repelled by such things if found in the heart of a believer.

Of course, God won’t run from you, but all that junk will get in the way of you freely communing with Him. God wants you to give Him access to heal the damage caused by bitterness and unforgiveness. We have to repent of these sins and ask Him to help us overcome them. Gradually, we will get to the point where someone says something offensive and we don’t take it to heart. We will simply ignore them and let God fight our battles.

You know that God has done a good work in you when you find yourself on your knees praying for your enemies! Learn to persevere and be patient as you endure various trials (James 1:2-4).  As you stay obedient to staying clear of the root of bitterness, you will realize that Holy Spirit is getting clearer and clearer as He speaks to you. Obedience is critical!

Fellow brothers and sisters, do all you can to keep your spirit free from the baggage that so easily entangles us in a world of social media trolls and fake news. Run your own race and fix your eyes on the author and finisher of you faith, Jesus Christ.

Shalom.