John 16:13 says…
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

“Other Ways the Holy Spirit Leads Us” is the fourth of four thoughts on how we can better prepare our hearts to hear from our Lord.

So far we’ve learned about three of the main ways the Holy Spirit communicates to us: through the inner witness, the inner voice, and the authoritative voice of the Lord. But there are several other ways also.

Visions

Acts 10:9-20 says…

9About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. 13Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

14″Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

15The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

16This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

17While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. 18They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.

19While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. 20So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”

In verse 10 is says Peter fell into a “trance.” The Greek word used for trance is the same root word we use for the English word “ecstasy.”

It literally means:
“a throwing of the mind out of its normal state, such as a lunatic or that of a man who by some sudden emotion is transported as it were out of himself, so that in this rapt condition, although he is awake, his mind is drawn off from all surrounding objects and wholly fixed on things divine that he sees nothing but the forms and images lying within, and thinks that he perceives with his bodily eyes and ears realities shown him by God.”

Visions will sometimes contain God’s voice but not always. Also, visions will usually contain things in them that we recognize, although those things may be used or presented in an unusual way, such as Peter’s large sheet with unclean animals in it.

Visions that I’ve had have even contained myself in them, as if I were seeing a scene in my life played out from a third-person perspective.

However the vision unfolds, and wether God is directly speaking in it, you will know exactly what the purpose and meaning is behind the vision.

Dreams

Although dreams may at first glance appear to be the nocturnal version of a vision, according to the Bible they serve a different purpose.

In the New Testament the only the Magi and Joseph are recorded as having dreams. The Magi were warned not to go back to Harod after seeing the baby Jesus. And Joseph had three dreams all recorded in the second chapter of Matthew.

Matthew 2:13-15; 19-23

13When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

21So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Although these New Testament examples limit dreams to simple warnings, we know that dreams can be a lot more when we look at the dreams of Daniel and Joseph in the Old Testament. Their dreams were visually rich and often were used to foretell future events.

I have had dreams of people from my past and after waking up decided that God wanted me to pray for them, but I’m not sure I would classify that as a biblical dream.

Gifts of Wisdom/Knowledge/Discerning

1 Corinthians 12:8-10 outlines nine gifts of the Spirit. All of the gifts are given as the Spirit directs (verse 11) and they are for the benefit of everybody involved (verse 7). Three of the gifts are the gift of wisdom, the gift of knowledge, and the gift of discerning spirits.

Let’s take a quick look at the Greek meanings behind these three gifts of the Spirit:

Wisdom (sophia): broad and full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters
Knowledge (gnōsis): general intelligence, understanding
Discerning (diakrisis / dÄ“-ä’-krÄ“-sÄ“s ): a distinguishing, discerning, judging

So without repeating myself too much, we can see that a gift of wisdom is when God reveals to a person full and very broad understanding regarding something, the gift of knowledge is when God reveals understanding that is more specific or limited when compared to the gift of wisdom, and the gift of discerning of spirits is when God reveals the source of spiritual activity, enabling a person to judge/act correctly.

The book of Luke chapter five holds an example from Jesus regarding these three gifts.

Luke 5:17-26

17One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. 18Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.20When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

21The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

22Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 25Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

John 3:34 tells us that Jesus had the Spirit “Spirit without limit” so we know that all of the gifts of the Spirit were operating in His life, as the Spirit directed. So regarding this miracle in Luke we can see all three of these gifts being used.

First we can see that Jesus was given specific insight (the gift of Knowledge) into what the Pharisees and teachers were thinking. Second we can see that Jesus was then given a broader understanding (the gift of Wisdom) of the entire circumstance and it’s purpose — using a physical healing to prove His ability to forgive sins. And lastly we can observe that Jesus also knew (the gift Discerning spirits) the source of the Pharisees and teachers hearts and acted accordingly.

The understanding that these gifts bring usually happens in an instance, and not the result of prayer, meditation, or in-depth Bible study. I say this because just like the other ways the Holy Spirit leads us, His understanding brings revelation to us with which we need to act on in faith. Having the gift of Wisdom/Knowledge/Discernment manifest in your life as the Spirit leads will not cause you to DO anything. You have to choose to do something with it.

Other Spirit led people

Acts 9:10-19 says…

10In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.11The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

13″Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

15But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

In this example, Ananias came to Paul to share what the Lord told him, but at other times it can be us going to another biblically-grounded Christian and asking for advice. Either way, the most important key to remember is that the communicated message from the other Christian must be in line with the Word of God. If it isn’t, throw it out!

Along with being biblically grounded, there should also be a confirmation within your heart that confirms what the other person is telling you. The reason why is because guidance from other Spirit led people usually comes after the Holy Spirit has already been communicating with you in some form.

Circumstances

Acts 16:6-10 says…

6Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

The important thing to note about the above passage is that Paul had to “conclude” what God was telling them after being circumstantially blocked twice and also having a vision. Paul did not receive a clear communication in this instance but acted in faith on what he concluded was from the Lord.

I’ve also experienced circumstances that prevented me from going down one path, but I’ve also had open doors that I needed to walk through before finding out that they were not the right path, just an experience gaining path. In other words, circumstances will not always be clear.

You may want to include the “second chance on life” circumstances in this category. This is when a person’s life was divinely spared through some accident and out of that circumstance the person changes the direction of their life, concluding it was God that spared them.

The goal is to NOT be led by circumstances. I say that because it is not the most direct form of communication like the other ones we’ve examined. The good thing to remember is that God will speak to us any way He can in order to get our attention.

Finally, remember that God will personally lead you in your everyday life, obey the inner witness and voice in your spirit, and don’t seek spectacular guidance.

May God increase your sensitivity to His voice so that we can truly be His sheep, following His voice.