Constant fellowship develops intimacy, and a non-verbal channel of communication in a relationship that is difficult for people outside of the relationship to discern or understand.
I’ve been best friends with my wife for more than ten years and we’ve developed a language beyond words that still amazes me. We are able to recognise and respond to the slightest (non-verbal) gestures from each other and to respond to cues no one else is able to recognise. I might see her look at the extension cord in the living room and instantly get up to go the bedroom where i last saw her charger, somehow recognising by her one glance at an extension cord that her phone’s battery was low.
If someone were to ask me how i knew she wanted the charger, I’d struggle to explain it beyond the words, “I just knew”. Perhaps I’ve spent so much time with her to recognise the pattern: the first thing she does before getting up to look for a charger is to look at the extension cord. Whatever the cause of this ability is, it seems to me to be a product of intimacy through fellowship. We are able to anticipate and respond to each others needs without them even being overtly communicated.
I use my relationship with my wife as an example of my relationship with Holy Spirit. I often get asked, “How did you know that?” or “How did you know to do that?” after I say or do something that was the right thing to say or do at the right time. I often struggle to answer that question beyond the words, “I just knew”, because in an instant, the Lord communicated something to me that i could explain in an hour or cued me to do something that yielded in an instant results that would have taken several hours or days or even weeks to achieve naturally.
And to this day i still find it hard to explain to someone how God speaks to me because, like i would struggle to explain how my wife spoke to me without speaking, i would struggle to explain verbally the non-verbal cues and communications I have learnt to pick up from the Lord in my walk with Him over the years. “What does God’s voice sound like?” is often a question asked by people that have not learnt the ways of God, because you learn quickly the closer you get to him that words are perhaps the least effective means of communication in the realm of the spirit.
Why communicate in so many words knowledge you could instantly impart to someone’s spirit?
All this to say, it's really important for saints to develop a relationship with Holy Spirit. This is one of those things you cannot receive via impartation but by actually developing a relationship through fellowship, over time.
God has saved me and others from trouble, lead us to breakthrough and given us timely counsel through non-verbal communication so many times. It’s not always easy to obey the leading of the Lord, but it's always worth it.
Get to know Holy Spirit.
Develop an ear for His voice.
Remember that His voice is not limited to audible words.
Then you will realise why Jesus was so eager to send Holy Spirit to help us. "...it is to your advantage... that He comes."
Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash.
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