Led by the Holy Spirit?

Galatians 5:25 tells us, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in step with the Spirit.” Scripture gives numerous examples of being led by the Spirit: Jesus facing temptation in the wilderness, Luke 4:1, Ananias meeting with Paul after his conversion, Acts 9 and Paul being called to Macedonia in a vision, Acts 16.

However, this may not be the day-to-day reality in our lives. Our minds seem to get in the way! We may know the scripture, “Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind”, Romans 12:2. But do we really take on board that this transformation comes through the renewal of our minds? So often we allow our minds to control what we do, without having submitted that thinking to the prompting and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. So often, we think we know the answer, particularly if we have met a situation before - it worked last time, so we think it will do so again. The wisdom and leading of the Holy Spirit may be different. We can focus on ‘fixing’ something rather than listening for the Spirit’s ways. The enemy targeted Eve’s mind at the Fall, inciting her to reason that eating the apple was, “Good for food and pleasing to the eye and desirable for gaining wisdom.” Genesis 3: 6. God prioritises our relationship with Him. Do we focus more on ‘works’, on getting something done?

Years ago, I was returning from a training event when the Lord spoke, telling me to be less sensible. As I worked with this, I slowly learned that if I allowed a ‘passing’ thought to land - instead of instantly dismissing it as impossible, inconvenient or too challenging - I would often find that the Lord was speaking about doing something unexpected. Some of those things felt strange but have produced significant fruit. A couple of ministry examples may illustrate this.  

On one occasion, I was asking the Lord what He wanted to do in someone’s life. He told me to ask if there was something she had never shared with anyone. I began to argue that the person had so many caring responsibilities she was unlikely to have the head space to respond. When I did ask her, she immediately shared an abusive situation from the past that she had never told anyone before. We prayed for her, and she went away with the same responsibilities but markedly lighter in her spirit, no longer feeling used and abused.

I also argued with the Lord when a young person asked for prayer, she was certain that she would be healed that day. Her condition was the same as a family member for whom I had prayed for over many years. My argument was that I ‘could not raise her hopes’. The Lord told me to declare “in the name of Jesus Christ, be healed”. After what felt like a lengthy struggle, I got the words out. And she was, indeed, fully healed.

Both incidents show that God’s wisdom and timing are far superior to mine.

Is it fear of losing control that blocks us from listening for the leading of the Spirit? Is it past abuse or involvement in the occult or Freemasonry somewhere on our family line? Intellectualism, pride, shame, family ways of doing things? Or simply a conviction that “I’m not like that”?  Whatever it is, we would do well to ask the Holy Spirit if this is Him speaking to us and hand any issues over to Jesus, confessing our fault and seeking His forgiveness and cleansing. The Lordship prayer is a helpful declaration of submission to Him.

The Western world is renowned for education and reason, perhaps largely due to the Grecian thinking which influenced the Enlightenment or Age of Reason of the 18th century. Certainly, many of us have been trained to think things through, weighing the pros and cons, and coming to a reasoned conclusion. We give a lot of attention to the question “why”, sometimes instead of addressing the pain of a situation.  

We are created in the image of God, with spirit, soul and body, 1 Thessalonians 5: 23. Our minds are part of our soul, together with our wills and our emotions. However, it is through our spirits that God communicates with us, not our souls. Soulish decisions are not helpful. In soulish prayer, the desires of our own hearts, unsanctified by the work of the Holy Spirit, take pre-eminence over the desires of the Holy Spirit of Jesus – and can also seek to manipulate the will of whoever we are praying for. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts of a need for change not our arguments.

If we accept that “as a man thinks, so he is”, Proverbs 23: 7, KJV, we need to look carefully at our thought life. My own experience is that I was seriously limited in the flow of the Holy Spirit in my life until I was convicted of ‘mind control’ – and repented of this.

So, do we feel programmed to “idolise” our minds? To be challenged on this at a personal level may feel totally alien. However, we know the Lord tells us to have no other gods but Him. May we examine ourselves and ensure that there is no root of such idolatry in us, that we really do allow God to be Lord of all our lives and be transformed by the renewal of our minds; and, indeed, in all things, to be led by the Holy Spirit of God.

A prayer to submit every area of my life to the Lordship of Jesus

Lord Jesus, I acknowledge my need of you, and I accept you now as my Lord, my Saviour, my Redeemer and my Deliverer. I invite you now to be Lord and to rule and reign in every area of my life. 

I submit my spirit to you Lord - my worship, my conscience and my spiritual understanding. I submit my mind to you Lord - my thoughts, my understanding and my imagination.
I submit my will to you Lord - my intentions and all my decisions.
I submit my emotions to you Lord - my feelings and my reactions.
I submit my body to you Lord - my physical health, all my actions and all my senses.
I submit my sexuality to you Lord and all its expressions.
I submit my finances to you Lord and all my material goods.
I submit my time to you Lord - my work, free time, my sleep and my dreams.
I submit all my relationships to you Lord - my family, my marriage/my singleness, my church fellowship and my friendships.
I submit my plans to you Lord - my ambitions and my future.
I submit to you Lord the manner - and timing of my death.

Lord Jesus, I thank you that your blood was shed so that I might be free and cleansed. I recommit myself to you, body, soul and spirit. Amen

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