Learn to Discern

[Eph 1:17; Jn 10:27; Heb 1:14; Josh 5:14,15]

I know many of you are participating in proclaimed fasts, and are praying for our nation in your various groups. It is time for the church to fast and pray. I believe that we should redeem the time while fasting, by learning as much as possible about the spiritual warfare that is taking place with our prayers.

The devil hates you, especially if you are doing anything to advance the Kingdom of God. You know by now that the more you participate in God’s business, the more the enemy attempts to stop you. Praise God, with our position in Christ, these are only attempts to make us quit.

We must continually stay in tune with what our Commander-in-Chief wants us to do! Jesus gave us Holy Spirit to detect and carry out orders and commands for this life of battles.

We must be able to tell whether an unction or direction comes from our soul, or from Holy Spirit. Sometimes our opinions get in the way, and block what we need to see and hear in the spiritual realm. We must be able to decide if what we hear is from our natural minds, or the mind of Christ.

I’m talking about spiritual warfare tactics which are used to determine the strategies to be carried out on the battlefield. This takes practice, and I believe it is a skill that is learned. We learn to discern what comes from our brain and what comes from Holy Spirit.

You cannot always trust your brain. If we could trust ourselves, God might have given us a new brain. Instead He gave us a new spirit to rely upon. The more we trust Holy Spirit, the more our minds are renewed to His ways. We have a spirit of revelation, and a spirit of wisdom (see, Eph 1:17).

At times what you hear from Holy Spirit will blow your mind. When most people first hear from God, it seems far fetched, strange or impossible. We must learn to discern. Was that some strange thought, or was that something Holy Spirit was trying to reveal to me? If you practice listening to Him, eventually you will develop the ability to know the difference right away. The more you listen, the more you will hear. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (Jn 10:27).

You can operate in the gift of discernment. The key is to allow yourself to be wrong sometimes at first. Don’t be frustrated and ignore the Spirit when you are not sure of what you hear. He never gets upset when we ask for wisdom. Work on your relationship with Holy Spirit by talking with Him. I wouldn’t know your voice unless we took the time to visit.

Fasting and praying time should be a close communion with the Lord.

It is difficult at times learning to discern. When a revelation comes, I see things in the Spirit, and I have no clue as to the reason or application of what I just heard Him say. His ways and my logic are usually very different. I have to wait in faith for His wisdom. Revelation without wisdom requires faithful waiting for spiritual understanding to come.

It is essential that those who have partial revelation, seek the balanced anointing of wisdom that Paul talked about in Ephesians chapter one. This is especially true with prophecy. You may hear the message long before you know to whom, or when to deliver it.

In these critical last days – it is imperative that we learn to know the voice of God, and be able to function in the gifts given to us by Holy Spirit, according to First Corinthians 12. We are to be Kingdom Warriors! Not only are we to discern good and evil, but also to recognize angel armies, the power that is behind the scenes of the natural events. We must detect the presence of Holy Spirit, and discern His timing, and even to prophesy His Words exactly as He dictates to us.

Our assignment is to push back the gates of hell, and take new ground for the Kingdom of God. Spiritual discernment gives us strategies and intelligence from God’s throne room, with every advantage to defeat the enemy every time.

Spiritual discernment is more than detecting a demon. It does give us the ability to know that a stronghold exists and that evil is at work, but it also reveals strategies on how to pull down and destroy those strongholds. It provides insight of angelic interactions with us, and shows us how to respond to angel armies as they minister to us (see, Heb 1:14).

Discernment balanced with wisdom helps us see the move of Holy Spirit, and how we can function with Him in warfare. We are to get our orders from the captain of the Lord’s host (see, Josh 5:14,15)! It is through the Spirit that we operate in Christ. Anything else is shadow boxing.

These things are not sideline issues. If you are a soldier for God, you realize the manifestation and council of Holy Spirit are not options, but divine gifts to respect and use for a victorious life.

If you knew there was a certain person, who had everything that you would ever need in life, and was willing to give it to you – you would want to become acquainted with that person. The knowledge of all good things, is to realize Holy Spirit is that person!

Prayer:

These are the most powerful days – the conclusion of the church age! Draw from His well and share that good news of His Kingdom!

I pray that God’s Spirit of wisdom and revelation empowers you to have eyes to see and ears to hear what He is saying to His Church today. Amen.

God bless you my friend,

— Dwight Hammond