Once Upon A Prayer Journal...Day 3

CLF21 Day 3 DM

Avalon, 9:46 AM, wt. 239

Distinguishing Between the Spirits

Distinguishing Between the Spirits

V V V

All right, Father, I see where you are going – not at all where I would have gone, but most assuredly were you want to go.  I feel uneasy, being so out of control – a passenger on this train, instead of its engineer. But I suspect that is a good thing. And now you are reminding me that this is the way it always is, when you begin to revive a church or awaken a thirsting people. You prefer divine chaos to good order. You want us scrambling to catch up with what you have begun, praying on the run, as it were, to see what you would have us do next.  You prefer your leaders to be leaning on the Holy Spirit, listening inwardly together, because we are desperate to get it right this time, and not attempt to do it in our own strength. Well, it looks like you are going to have your way.

This is your Father, and I approve of this message. Continue.

I always get suspicious, when you are encouraging. So let us pause for a moment, for a light check. In your Word, you urge us to test the spirits (I John 4), and you provide the test: So let me hear you say the words that are so difficult for an unclean spirit to pronounce, as they admit that their side is already defeated.

Jesus Christ is Lord, come in the flesh.

While that test is hardly fool-proof, it has caught low-level devils off guard and occasionally exposed a significant unholy spirit, masquerading as the Holy Spirit.  No test is infallible, of course; even the very elect can be deceived (Mark 24:24).  

 But in John 10:4, the Lord emphasizes that His sheep follow Him, because they have come to know His voice. That knowing is the fruit of years of interior listening. 

To judge any spirit (including the one behind the blue ink in this journal), first plead the Blood over your body, mind, soul, and spirit. Then pray for an extra measure of the Holy Spirit’s gifts of wisdom and discernment (which literally means “the ability to distinguish between spirits”). Then ask yourself: does the word being discerned align with the plumb-line of Scripture? If there is the slightest deviation, discard it. The Logos (the written Word of God) trumps the rhema (God’s Spirit speaking in our hearts) every time.

Ultimately you must decide whether the voice you are discerning reflects the desire of the Holy Spirit, or an unholy spirit which happens to be familiar with your dossier.  Is it in any way directive?  God suggests or calls or encourages. He deplores and commends, chastises and forgives. And sometimes He issues Commandments. But preserving our free will is so important to Him, that almost never does He direct.  Actually, we, being spiritually lazy, often wish He would. If we could just be certain we have His will, we could do it and be right.  But He wants companions, not puppets, and so, whenever we face a difficult and complicated decision, there is no easy way to arrive at it, no alternative to taking the time to sift and sort it all out with Him. But that’s another story for another time.

Finally, check you discernment out with someone else – in whose spiritual wisdom you have confidence, and who does not have a horse in that race.

V V V

Whew! That was quite a parenthetical comment.

It was necessary, and this is the right time for it.

I see that.  We were talking about big-R Revival preceding another Great Awakening, and your preference for Divine Chaos over orderly proceedings.  We don’t like being out of control. And so, out of fear that things might not go the right way (or any acceptable way, for that matter), we grab the wheel with a white-knuckle grip.

That is enough for today. You just yawned, and so did the reader.

Amen.