You Won’t Be Led By The Spirit Until This…

The Bible is clear that God desires for you to be led by His Spirit. We see this in Romans 8:14 which says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. We also see it in John 16:13 which states, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak of His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you of things to come.”

However, even though the Holy Spirit desires to guide all believers, each believer must meet certain conditions before being led. This is what I mean.

Meeting the Conditions Before Being Led

1. You Must First Surrender Your Will

One thing I have noticed is that many people don’t get led by the Holy Spirit because they already have their own plans. If you really want the Holy Spirit to lead you, you’ve got to come with a blank slate, a blank page. Let Him write on you. Don’t come already with the made-up ideas of what you want to do.

In Luke 22:42, Jesus was saying, “Father, if it’s Your will, to take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Your, will be done.” That really is the prerequisite. We must be willing to say, “Lord, Your will, not my will be done.”

The Bible says that He fulfills the desires of those who delight in Him. Is it wrong to have plans? No, but surrender is key.

2. You Must Be Willing to Obey

Next, it’s important to keep in mind that while some people come to the Holy Spirit willing to hear Him, they are not always willing to obey Him.

A good example of this is found in the Book of Acts 8:26-27, where the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip and said, “Arise and go toward the South along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert. So he arose and went.” In this passage Philip had just had a revival in Samaria when the angel of God tells him to go on the desert road. I assume nobody was there, but he arose and went anyway.

Be a person who has a willingness to follow through because the Holy Spirit doesn’t just speak to inform. He speaks to command your obedience.

3. You Must Cultivate Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit

Another key condition to being led by the Spirit is being sensitive to the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17). However, in order to be sensitive to the Spirit, you must learn to lower the distractions, quiet the noise, and remove sin from your life that dulls your sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.

Your sensitivity is like a knife. It can be sharpened or dulled. Sometimes, when you’re not sensing the Holy Spirit’s leading in your life, it may not be that He has abandoned you as much as you have gotten dull.

This is where fasting comes in. Repentance with the act of fasting can help you resharpen your sensitivity to the Lord’s leading in your life.

4. You Must Walk by Faith, Not by Sight

Often, when the Holy Spirit leads, you seem to get a bigger picture but not the smaller details. It’s at this point that many people freak out. Instead of acting, some people wait for the Holy Spirit to give them all the details, and then they’re willing to obey. But this is where faith comes in.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith and not by sight.”

Sometimes people are not sure, “Is this the Holy Spirit?” Like Gideon, you know God came to him and appeared to him, gave him clear instructions. He still wasn’t sure. At times, you’ve got to move despite doubts.

This is key for many people. Many miss being led by the Holy Spirit because they want to have a full understanding of everything prior to obeying, but that’s not how the Lord works. Remember that sometimes the Holy Ghost is not going to give you the details, and you’re going to have to step out by faith. But know that as you do, more will be opened to you.

We don’t get more faith because we understand. Rather, we get more understanding because we grow in faith, and the Holy Spirit will guide us.

5. You Must Be Filled with the Holy Spirit

A lot of times, people ask, “So what is the secret of being led by the Holy Spirit?” The secret is actually very simple: be filled by the Holy Spirit.

When you read the Scriptures, you’re filled by the Holy Spirit. When you’re praying in tongues, you’re filled by Him. When you attend the local church, you’re filled by the Holy Spirit. When you obey God, you’re filled by Him.

If you want to be led by the Spirit, be filled by the Holy Spirit first because whatever you are filled with, you become led by.

6. You Must Have a Renewed Mind

In Romans 12:2, it says, “Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

That’s why it’s very important for Christians to understand that they’ve received a brand-new nature, but where the stumbling happens is with the lack of renewal in the mind.

Your mind must be renewed with the truth of God. Why? Because the carnal mind resists the leading of the Holy Spirit. The carnal mind opposes the things of God(Romans 8:7).

Take time to allow the Word of God to renew your thoughts, break down the strongholds, and bring healing into your soul. Only then will you begin to be transformed, and then you step into God’s perfect will

7. You Must Be Planted in God’s Word

Lastly, in order to be led by the Holy Spirit, you have to be planted in God’s Word.

Remember that the Holy Spirit will never lead contrary to God’s Word. In fact, I would say as you get more grounded in God’s Word, you will become more familiar with God’s Spirit because He wrote the Scriptures.

God wants to lead you, and the Holy Spirit wants to be involved. He wants to be your guide in everything in your life, but God’s Word must be a foundation.

Ground yourself in His Word and allow it to be the guide to your path.

Read: Understand This About Your Purpose