SUNESIS MINISTRIES

 

 

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Written by Stuart Pattico

 

© 2007 Stuart Pattico.  All rights reserved.  No part of this document may be produced or transmitted in any form without prior permission from the author.

 

All Scriptures are taken from the New Kings James Version of the Holy Bible.

 

Introduction

 

God speaks to us through the Bible.  If the Word of God is living in us, it will speak to us and guide us in different situations.

 

26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. (John 14:26)

 

God can speak to us also in an audible voice

 

 

16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He^[c] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17)

 

 

However, usually God does not speak to us in an audible voice.

 

 

What does God’s voice sound like?

 

Usually, God’s voice comes from within our spirits.  This is because the Holy Spirit lives within us.

 

17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (1 Cor 6:17)

 

6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” (Galatians 4:6)

 

 

The Hebrew word for prophecy is naba which literally means to “bubble up”.  God’s voice bubbles up from within our spirits.

 

God’s voice is usually heard as spontaneous thoughts, ideas, words, feelings or visions. 

 

God’s thoughts can be distinguished from our own thoughts because they are not a product of our reasoning – they are spontaneous, coming from within our spirits and are accompanied by the witness of the Holy Spirit.

 

The witness of the Holy Spirit helps us to distinguish whether or not a thought, idea or word is from our mind of from God.

 

…And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. (1 John 5:6)

 

This ‘witness’ is the same as the assurance we have that we are children of God, and is felt in our spirits.

 

16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Roman 8:16)

 

Our own thoughts come from our reasoning.

God’s voice is spontaneous and is accompanied by the witness of the Holy Spirit.

 

 

Spontaneous thoughts, ideas, and words

 

The Bible speaks of the Spirit giving the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom.  This comes by a spontaneous thought, word, or idea lighting upon your mind and can happen at any time.

 

8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8)

 

This is also often experienced whilst ministering the Word of God and whilst prophesying (more about that later).

 

 

Spontaneous feelings

 

- The peace of God

 

15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts (Colossians 3:15)

 

God often guides us by giving us a strong sense of peace in our hearts about a certain course of action.  It is a confirmation from God that it is the right decision of make.

 

 

- A feeling of unease in our spirits

 

On the other hand, when we are about to take a wrong course of action, we will feel a feeling of unease in our spirits.  This is probably how Paul was guided by the Spirit when he did not minister in certain places.

 

6 Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. 7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit^[a] did not permit them. (Acts 16:6-7)

 

- We may feel a pressing in our spirits to do something

 

Another spontaneous feeling we may receive from God is our spirit feeling urged to do something.

 

5 When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. (Acts 18:5)

 

However, we must be careful to distinguish between our spirit being compelled by the Holy Spirit, and our soul being compelled by self.  We will look at how we can become sensitive to our spirit later.

 

 

Spontaneous visions

 

Many of us receive visions from God but do no realise it.  There are many types of visions:

 

We can receive a vision whilst our eyes are open.  This happened to the apostle Paul (then known as Saul) on the road to Damascus.

 

3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:3-4)

 

We can also receive a vision whilst in a trance (when our physical senses are temporarily suspended).  This happened to the apostle Peter.

 

10 Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance 11 and saw heaven opened… (Acts 10:10-11)

 

There is another, less dramatic kind of vision experienced by many of the prophets.  This kind of vision is when God shows us pictures in our mind’s eye.  This may be whilst we are praying, or can occur at any time.  As we seek the Lord for understanding, the Holy Spirit will also give us the understanding of what we see.  An example of this kind of vision can be seen in Jeremiah’s ministry.

 

11 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”
And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”
12 Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.” (Jeremiah 1:11-12)

 

First Jeremiah saw the picture that God was showing him.  Often in prayer we can easily ignore the pictures that float before us in our mind’s eyes. However, instead of doing this, we should ask the Lord to reveal to us what the picture means.

 

Another regular kind of vision happens when we are sleeping and is known as a dream.  Often, in our dreams, God is speaking to us and we don’t realise it.  Again, we should be diligent to ask the Lord to show us what He is saying to us through our dreams.

 

14 For God may speak in one way, or in another,
      Yet man does not perceive it.

 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
      When deep sleep falls upon men,
      While slumbering on their beds… (Job 33:14-15)

 

How to prophesy

 

All Spirit-filled believers have the ability to prophesy.  The apostle Paul said:

 

31 For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. (1 Corinthians 14:31)

 

To prophesy means to speak forth a message inspired by God.  A prophecy is therefore a word from the Lord.  In order to prophesy, we need to understand that the Holy Spirit flows within our hearts like a river. 

 

38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing^[g] in Him would receive… (John 7:38-39)

 

When prophesying, our inspiration comes from the river flowing within our hearts.  The prophetic word bubbles up from within our spirits (the Hebrew word for prophecy is naba which literally means to “bubble up”).

 

In order to prophesy successfully, I take the following steps:

 

1. I receive the unction to prophesy.  This may happen whilst praying over someone or whilst in a worship service.  The unction may come in the form a vision accompanied by a feeling that I am to begin to speak what I believe the Lord is saying.  The feeling will be accompanied by an understanding of what the vision means.  The unction may also come by just a feeling in my spirit that I am to say a particular thing.
2. I continue to speak the words that come to me as I feel the flow of the Spirit within my spirit.
3. I stop speaking as soon as I feel the flow of the Spirit stop.  I don’t go beyond the flow.

 

 

How to develop sensitivity to the voice of God

 

It has been mentioned several times that God’s voice comes from within our spirits.  Therefore, a key to becoming sensitive to the voice of God is to be familiar with your spirit.  You need to know what your spirit ‘feels’ like.

 

Pray in tongues

 

In order to become well acquainted with your spirit, and the flow of the Spirit within your spirit, I recommend the practice of praying in tongues.  The apostle Paul said:

 

14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. (1 Corinthians 14:14)

 

When you pray in tongues, it is your spirit praying and not your mind.  Only your spirit engages in prayer as it is inspired by the Holy Spirit.  When you practice praying in tongues you will feel a flow within your spirit.  This is the Holy Spirit flowing within you.  The more sensitive you become to that flow is the more sensitive you will become to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.  You may wish to practice praying in tongues for 15 minutes a day.  You can then increase this to 30 minutes or as much as you like.

 

 

Read the Bible often

 

Reading the Bible often will help you to become familiar with the ways of God.  It will also show you many examples of God speaking to people.  With a greater knowledge of God’s ways, and through familiarity with how God has spoken to others, you will therefore be able to better recognise the voice of God speaking to you.

 

It is also important to test what you hear against what the Bible teaches.  As Paul said:

 

21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

 

A good knowledge of the Bible is essential in order to test things successful.  If what we hear contradicts what the Bible clearly teaches, then we should reject it.

 

 

Pray often, being aware of the pictures God gives you

 

As you pray, you should pay careful attention to the pictures God shows you in your mind’s eye.  God may show you the face of someone you are to pray for, or He may show you a picture that is symbolic.  If it is symbolic, then you will need to ask the Lord for the interpretation.

 

 

Praise God often

 

A lifestyle of praise and worship also help you to become sensitive to God’s voice.  This is because God’s presence is felt in a special way when we engage in heart felt praise and worship:

 

3 But You are holy,
         Enthroned in the praises of Israel. (Psalm 22:3)

 

God’s presence will be experienced in a special way when we praise Him.

 

 

Do not violate your conscience

 

We should not violate our consciences.  The more we violate our consciences, the quieter our conscience will become until we can no longer hear it.  Such a situation is called have a seared conscience in the Bible (1 Timothy 4:2).  This is very dangerous, as God will often speak to our consciences when we are engaging in something that is either morally wrong, or contrary to God’s plan:

 

…my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit… (Romans 9:1)

 

 

Do what God tells you to do

 

If we want to continue hearing God, it is important that we are obedient when we hear God speaks to us.  God does not have to waste His time speaking to us if He knows we never obey Him anyway!  I believe that God agrees with the standard that Jesus taught:

 

6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine… (Matthew 7:6)

 

However, let us remember that God’s mercy endures forever.  If you know you have ignored God’s voice in the past, you can repent, receive God’s forgiveness and renew your fellowship with Him.

 

 

Make sure your will is laid down before God, otherwise it may be difficult to hear God

 

Finally, if our own desire is more important to us than God’s desire for us, then it will be difficult to hear God on certain matters.  If we want to know God’s will on a certain matter, we must ensure that God’s will is indeed our priority.  This truth is presented very clearly in Romans 12:1-2.

 

 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2)

 

In order to be able to “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”, we must first present our bodies as “living sacrifice”.  When we live only for God, then we are well on the way to knowing His will for our lives.

 

May the peace of God be with you all.