(no subject)
i've been learning a lot about prayer this year....through quiet times and experimentation and a good book or two and through the wisdom of others. just this morning i was talking to this wonderful man of God that i know and he was telling about the words translated as 'know' in the new testament. but i'm getting a bit ahead of myself.
prayer is basically communion with God, spending time in His holy and awesome Presence. learning to listen is super important. it's not real communication until we learn to listen. (and to implement what we've heard- but that's a whole different story =)...) i've always heard that listening is difficult. that kneeling before the LORD for days and days is something that should happen before each decision in your life is made. don't get me wrong...i think that humbleness and reliance upon God is necessary and we should take the time to sit before Him in silence. but i don't believe it's always the way to go. i believe, through what i've seen and through what i've read in the Scriptures, that we Christians have a strong tendency to make things more difficult than they need to be. what i learned this morning is another example of what i mean.
but you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth...as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. but as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit- just as it has taught you, remain in Him.
1 john 2:20,27
the greek word used for 'know' in this passage is eido...which means to know by intuition. which is different from the greek word ginosko...which means to know by experience. ginosko is used in other passages, such as john 17:3 which says 'now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.'
the difference in these passages points to a difference in how to know God and how to know His will. knowing God, understanding His attributes, learning about all the facets of Who He is, that is done through experience...through living your life for Him and taking on obstacles with His glory in mind. knowing the specifics of what He desires for you, such as your career, your roommate next year, or your summer plans, is something that you can know intuitively- like when people say they just feel it. that's the Holy Spirit speaking into your heart and soul. there will so rarely be a thunderblot from heaven. the path that you should take may just 'fit'; it's not always something that will take months and many tears to discern.
i think this is one of the main reasons why so many people believe that they can't hear God or that their discernment is lacking...because the impression given so often (including by myself) is that God's leading is something obvious, something that absolutely cannot be missed. and this isn't the cause. often, i've looked back upon decisions that i had made on the spot, based upon what i thought was myself...and it was God. things worked out too perfectly for it to have been based upon my common sense. God was there, speaking through my gut, through my intuition.
the child of God is not conscious of the will of God because he is the will of God.
-oswald chambers
don't doubt your instincts.
kare bear
prayer is basically communion with God, spending time in His holy and awesome Presence. learning to listen is super important. it's not real communication until we learn to listen. (and to implement what we've heard- but that's a whole different story =)...) i've always heard that listening is difficult. that kneeling before the LORD for days and days is something that should happen before each decision in your life is made. don't get me wrong...i think that humbleness and reliance upon God is necessary and we should take the time to sit before Him in silence. but i don't believe it's always the way to go. i believe, through what i've seen and through what i've read in the Scriptures, that we Christians have a strong tendency to make things more difficult than they need to be. what i learned this morning is another example of what i mean.
but you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth...as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. but as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit- just as it has taught you, remain in Him.
1 john 2:20,27
the greek word used for 'know' in this passage is eido...which means to know by intuition. which is different from the greek word ginosko...which means to know by experience. ginosko is used in other passages, such as john 17:3 which says 'now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.'
the difference in these passages points to a difference in how to know God and how to know His will. knowing God, understanding His attributes, learning about all the facets of Who He is, that is done through experience...through living your life for Him and taking on obstacles with His glory in mind. knowing the specifics of what He desires for you, such as your career, your roommate next year, or your summer plans, is something that you can know intuitively- like when people say they just feel it. that's the Holy Spirit speaking into your heart and soul. there will so rarely be a thunderblot from heaven. the path that you should take may just 'fit'; it's not always something that will take months and many tears to discern.
i think this is one of the main reasons why so many people believe that they can't hear God or that their discernment is lacking...because the impression given so often (including by myself) is that God's leading is something obvious, something that absolutely cannot be missed. and this isn't the cause. often, i've looked back upon decisions that i had made on the spot, based upon what i thought was myself...and it was God. things worked out too perfectly for it to have been based upon my common sense. God was there, speaking through my gut, through my intuition.
the child of God is not conscious of the will of God because he is the will of God.
-oswald chambers
don't doubt your instincts.
kare bear