How to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit

How do you know that your spirit truely heard from God? How do you know it is not your own imagination?
1. You are left in awe because the response/thought is revelatory. You could have never come up with that response/thought on your own. It is the Spirit of God streaming His thoughts into yours.
2. When you are done communicating deeply, you feel the issue has been resolved or your concern/question has been asnwered.
3. The response you receive from Him can be backed up by the written Word of God, the Bible (Logos). The Spirit does not contradict the written Word.
4. You are experiencing a sense of joy even if what you heard was not what you wanted to hear. This could be the case, but not necesarilly always the case.
5. Usually the thought/response is very different from what you would have thought yourself. It seems like you just sat infront of another person and heard their oppinion and it may not be like what you thought. Why? Because His ways are higher.

These are what I experienced in learning to become confident in knowing I am hearing God myself. Lets keep practicing hearing His voice.

Feel free to ask questions too, we can discuss further and build each other up.

                Picture Source: My own Instagram post. @SorayaRosaria

The Importance Of Rest In A Busy World.

There was this time in my life, last year, when I was burned out so badly I didn't have strenght even to work. It wasn't the first time I had crashed like that and that God had to tell me to take time off. But I felt guilty not putting my time into something important. So I figured I should at least put time into studying lots about the prophetic and possibly getting more involved in ministry, that way I wouldn't have to feel guilty about not doing anything. Yet while I was striving to feel some sort of accomplishment in another way other then my secular work, all the more I felt dead and so drained that I had nothing left to give. Not even in ministry. I took it to the Lord, who then spoke into my spirit:

"I LOVE YOU, UNCONDITIONALLY. YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING FOR ME. I LOVE YOU AS IS. YOU CAN TRUELY REST IN ME. I AM NOT CALLING YOU TO DO ANYTHING FOR ME RIGHT NOW. I DONT NEED YOUR HELP IN ANYTHING. I WANT YOU TO JUST BE IN ME. CAN YOU HANDLE THAT? HOW HARD IS IT TO JUST BE IN ME? JUST BE IN ME. THAT IS ALL I WANT YOU TO DO RIGHT NOW. JUST BE IN ME. I AM HERE FOR YOU, CARRYING YOU AND YOU CAN FEEL IT TOO. YOU CAN FEEL MY CONTENTMENT OVER YOU. YOU DON'T HAVE TO STRIVE TO DO ANYTHING. JUST BE. JUST ENJOY. THIS SEASON IS FOR YOU AND FOR ME TOO. ITS ABOUT YOU AND ME. ENJOY THE QUIET AND PEACE. I LOVE YOU".

Food for thought: Can you relate to being overly tired that you have nothing left to give? Who suffers the consequences of your physical or mental exhaustion? Do you take at least one day of the week off? What do you do on your day off? Play, rest, read, hang out with friends and/or family or more mental and physical activity such as grocery shopping, yardwork, websurfing or homework? Do you find it easy to just rest in the Lord and do absolutely nothing without feeling guilty? Do you agree that ministry can also drain you yet many times you assume God wants you to keep going?
Would you please share some Scripture references that you were reminded of as you read what I sensed the Lord saying to me that day?

Picture: my handwritten journal. Red lines are what I sense He is saying.

When God is silent...

Last winter 2012 I had experienced a burnout from being way to overworked. But on the spiritual side I was journaling feverish everyday, multiple times a day. It was the only way for me to be refreshed and stay connected to the Lord. But slowly over a few days I felt I had nothing more to give to God either in my journaling time. I was THAT exhausted. So I told Him...

"God I feel so empty. There is nothing left to give out, not even in prayer. I know that is fine with you. I feel like we are sitting silent next to each other. Do you care that we are silent? Don't you have anything you want to talk about? Anything deep you want to discuss?"

He responded gently, yet to my surprise: "NOT YET, I AM HAPPY HERE, SILENTLY SITTING NEXT TO YOU AND I HOPE YOU ARE HAPPY TOO. I LOVE YOUR COMPANY AND I DON'T MIND US BEING SILENT. THIS IS LOVE ALSO. I LOVE YOU WITOUT WORDS EVEN. I SIMPLY LOVE YOU AND I WANT YOU TO SIMPLY LOVE ME. NO WORDS OR DISCUSSIONS ARE NECESSARY TO EXPRESS OUR LOVE. REMAIN IN ME. I AM SILENT FOR A SEASON. BE OK WITH IT".

At that point I felt tears filling my eyes because I felt like He was not wanting to talk to me like we have so intimately for so long. I said: "I didn't know you don't mind being silent. I had a great run with you journaling and I thought that is what you would want daily of me. I realize there is no condemnation in being silent towards you, but it is a shock that you actually want us to be silent. That you don't mind it. That you actually want us to just be silent for a season. Can we discuss being silent then? I guess then we wouldn't be silent. This is weird".

I felt He was smiling and felt He said: "I AM NOT GIVING YOU THE SILENT TREATMENT. THIS IS NOT PUNISHMENT. THIS IS REFRESHING. YOU CAN RELAX. I AM YOUR GOD AND I LOVE YOU. WE LOVE EACH OTHER IN SILENCE. YOU CAN HAVE PEACE IN SILENCE BECAUSE YOU KNOW I HAVEN'T LEFT YOU. ENJOY THIS SEASON OF SILENCE. I LOVE YOU THROUGH IT".

And so followed weeks and months, where, even if I tried...His words didn't come. I could only read the Bible, write out my own prayers if I felt like writing, but no response. No dreams, no visions. It really felt empty. It was not fun at all, but eventually I got used to the silence knowing He'd come back... so I waited... The picture below expressed very well what that season felt like. It lasted 11 monhts!! Yes, it's been a year and He started speaking again... and I was delighted again.

Food for thought: They say distance makes the heart grow fonder... I experienced this first hand as my husband and I dated each other overseas for 3 years until we got married. Wow! That was crazy. How much do you long for someone you love and is far away? I believe sometimes God hides Himself so our passion for Him can grow even deeper. What is your take on this? Would you please share in the comment box and possibly add any Scripture references that you were reminded of as you read what I sensed the Lord saying to me that day?

picture: view from my front door looking into the street.