Voice of the Holy Spirit

Scotty Smith: A Prayer About Hearing the Voice of the Holy Spirit

     For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Romans 8:15-16

     Gracious Father, on any given day, there are a number of voices contending for our attention. There are the voices of from the past, sometimes yammering loudly… sometimes just nickel-and-diming our peace away with the refrain “If people really knew who you are. You still don’t have a clue, do you? You haven’t changed one bit. Why would God ever love someone like you? Didn’t I tell you you’d never amount to much?”
     Then there are the voices of the present, often hijacked by our defeated enemy, Satan. His incessant scheme is to tempt, seduce, then accuse us—doing everything possible to rob us of our enjoyment of the gospel. Sometimes he shouts, more often he whispers, always he’s conniving and always he’s condemning.
     Then there’s the voices from the future, usually fueling our fears with suggestions like, “You’re not as sharp as you used to be, are you? You’ll probably be forgotten, won’t you? You’ll eventually end up alone, right? Why do you think God would let someone like you into heaven?”
     But then there’s the voice of the Holy Spirit…O, how we praise you for that One voice which transcends and trumps every other voice—the gossiper of the gospel… the herald of our healing… the bearer of beauty… the messenger of mercy… the singer of sanity… the cantor of Christ… God the Holy Spirit testifying with our spirits that we are your bought, belonging and beloved children. How we praise you for the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
     Abba, Father, by the Spirit of sonship, continue to free us from all of our slavish fears—past, present and future. May the Spirit speak so loudly, every dark voice is muted. May he speak so clearly, every deceiving lie is silenced. May he speak so convincingly, every paralyzing doubt is routed. So very Amen, we pray, in Jesus’ tender and triumphant name.