Ways the Holy Spirit Teaches: The Inner Voice

 

Ways the Holy Spirit Teaches: The Inner Voice

Nearly everyone has heard or read accounts of someone hearing a voice from no visible source. Sometimes it is audible, but more often it is a heard in the mind, so that, in a strict sense, it is not a voice at all. This "voice" has spoken to me on rare occasions, and in each case the message was brief but enlightening.

Suppose someone mumbles a statement that you don't understand. You start to ask him to repeat it, but the sounds, still there in your head, suddenly come together and you realize what he said. You grasp the entire meaning in an instant - not gradually, as you would have if you had understood each word. That's the way it was with me - a kind of echo that suddenly and instantly became a clear statement.

I realize that, in our day, to say someone hears voices can be synonymous with pronouncing him insane; but I approached the phenomenon both as a scientist and as a student of Jesus's teachings. As a scientist I could record the information without a decision as to its source, and check it objectively to see if it was pertinent, helpful information. At the same time, I tended to trust the validity of the messages because I had prayed for guidance and had been assured that no counterfeit would be substituted (Matt.7:9-11).

My first experience of this kind occurred after I had been attending the charismatic church for several months. I was eager to receive "gifts of the Spirit", and was disappointed in my slow progress. I mentioned these feelings to the pastor, and asked if he had any suggestions that might be of help. He replied, "Well, brother, I do sense a lack of joy in your spiritual life."

He was right. I had been approaching the quest for a more dynamic spiritual life as if it were a research problem to be attacked and worked at until a breakthrough occurred. To me, it was a matter to be taken seriously. Yes, the pastor was right, but I didn't do anything about it. I looked on joy as an effect and not a cause. I thought that its source was outside myself.

In my prayers that night I spent a good deal of time beseeching God for a closer, more direct relationship. When I awoke the following morning, I was aware that someone had just said something. When I turned my thoughts to it, these words were echoing in my mind: "A happy heart is one I love to live in."

Notice the alliteration in that sentence. I decided that possibly it was presented that way to render the words easier to remember. Notice also the brevity. Each of the few teachings that I received through this inner voice was concise, with absolutely no wasted language. One of them treated the subject of the relationship between the conscious and the unconscious. It explained that I could induce the subconscious to take hold of a goal by repeatedly bringing it into my thoughts; and that the way to do that was to become enamored of the goal - to find it so attractive that my mind wouldn't stay away from it for very long at a time. It explained all of this in twelve words.

The record for brevity, however, was an enigmatic three word message spoken by that silent voice. It happened after I was divorced and found myself in the awkward position of seeking female companionship, at a time when I was in late middle age and already a grandfather. It took some time for my social life to come up to speed, but then I participated with alacrity, attending singles group meetings and dating frequently. I finally reached the point where my thoughts outside of the office were centered almost exclusively on my relationship with the lady that I was dating at the time; even though she had no interest in any of the constructive things that normally occupied my mind.

Then one morning I awoke just as a voice, clear as a bell in my mind, said these strange words: "You are Samson". When I recovered from my surprise at hearing these words, I began to decipher their meaning. In symbolic terms, whenever a dominant character appears, the implication is that the dreamer is in some way like that character. How was I like Samson? Surely not because of any physical strength. But the source of Samson's strength was his long hair. Hair symbolizes thoughts, and long hair symbolizes deep thoughts. The message was that my strength - my strong point - was my mind and my thoughts. What more did I know about Samson? I knew that his personal tragedy stemmed from his relationship with a woman. Here, the voice was warning me that my obsession with the lady was a similar distraction that was preventing me from focusing my thoughts in order to achieve their full capability (long hair). It was keeping them at a shallow level (short hair), where they were no longer productive.

There were several of these messages, sometimes occurring on first wakening in the morning, sometimes on awakening during the night, and sometimes within a dream. I would awaken and remember a scene in which an alliterative message was delivered very clearly. I'll not list more of these messages. These two should serve to demonstrate how the Holy Spirit uses this system in my particular case. 

But this system is by no means unique to me. Joel Goldsmith received much guidance through an inner voice. And I have read of others.

Return to table of contents for this label:

Table of Contents for Mysticism Label (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com)