Have you ever wondered if God truly communicates with His Children? Or do you wish that God will communicate with you but don't know how? If so, dive in.
There are various ways in which God communicates with His own. In this article, we will be discussing the three most important ways God talks to us.
And He teaches us by the inward witness, that is, through the voice of the human spirit.
Cloud of Witness – Hebrew 12: 1
In context, the cloud of witnesses must refer to the people in the previous chapter. Hebrews Eleven is known as the Hall of Faith because of all the references to men and women of faith who have gone on before and shown us the way of faith. I do not think anyone can honestly read the last verses of this chapter (Hebrews 11:34-40) and then go straight to Hebrews 12:1 and miss the connection.
I believe that although the day to day events of earth are not known to the saints in heaven, they may get occasional reports of spiritual blessings. Though this is speculation, I can imagine a heavenly saint rejoicing and glorifying God because an angel just reported to her that her great-grandson just got saved. Yet, I suppose that we will have to get there ourselves before we know for sure how much is known. But that does not keep us from understanding the presence of the cloud of witness.
Conscience – Romans 2:15, 9:1
Our conscience is a part of our God-given internal faculties, a critical inner awareness that bears witness to the norms and values we recognize when determining right or wrong. Conscience does not serve as a judge or a legislator; that is a modern take on the concept. Instead, in the Biblical sense, conscience serves as a witness to what we already know.
Conscience may induce an inner dialogue to tell us what we already know, but more often it merely makes its presence known through our emotions. When we conform to the values of our conscience we feel a sense of pleasure or relief. But when we violate the values of our conscience, it induces anguish or guilt. John MacArthur describes conscience as “a built-in warning system that signals us when something we have done is wrong. The conscience is to our souls what pain sensors are to our bodies: it inflicts distress, in the form of guilt, whenever we violate what our hearts tell us is right.”
Inward Witness – John 16:13-15, Proverb 20:27, Romans 8:16
Christ is saying here that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things. And He teaches us by the inward witness that is through the voice of the human spirit. He says he will bring to remembrance. He will bring to recall the things that I, Jesus, have taught you. The Holy Spirit will use so many methods to speak to you, but one of the fundamental ways that he gets through to you is when he speaks by the inward witness, when he whispers into your ear, when he whispers into your spirit, when he communicates spirit to spirit, when suddenly things you didn’t know you suddenly know.
3 characteristics of the Inward witness
- An impression of peace
- A strong conviction and repetitive
- It is beyond human reasoning
3 ways to strengthen communication through the inward witness
- Total submission and surrender to God’ knowledge and wisdom
- Studying the word of God
- Regular praying, especially speaking in tongues
This article was written by the Sunday School department of Family of Faith Chapel. familyoffaithchapel.org