Sun 8 Aug 2010
8 Signs You May Have The Spiritual Gift of Discernment
Posted by Helen Calder under Discernment, Prophetic Teaching
[37] Comments
In the early days of our ministry, the Hunk and I would often travel and stay in many places in Asia and throughout New Zealand. It seemed that no matter where we were, my intrepid husband could sail through any situation, but it was a different story for me.
- Staying in a place in Asia where strange spirits were worshipped? I would encounter them in my dreams.
- Ministering in a region or church where there were trials or strongholds? I felt them acutely.
We were often led to wage spiritual warfare or intercede through my sensitivity to the spiritual realm.
The gift of discernment of spirits is the one spiritual gift that has continually presented the most difficulties and challenges to me personally.
Because of my journey, I would like to share what I have learned with others. This article is the first of a series of three articles in which I will cover:
1. Signs you may have the gift of discernment,
2. How to grow in the gift of discernment and
3. How to exercise the gift of discernment in the context of church life
What is the Gift of Discernment?
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good… to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits…All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. (1 Cor 12:7-11)
Discernment of spirits is a gift of the Holy Spirit given to some Christian believers. It is a Spirit-given ability to distinguish whether Divine, human or demonic origins are the source of what is presented—whether it be in an atmosphere, encounter, event, or prophetic message.
What are Some Signs You May Have the Gift of Discernment?
Following are some signs that you may have the spiritual gift of discernment, from my personal study, observation and experience. You may not identify with all of them, but if you do have the gift, you will recognise some of these in your life:
1. Desire for the Gift
As with other spiritual gifts, desire is often the first sign of a gift of discernment of spirits (1 Cor 14:1).
- You may have a longing to see people set free from demonic bondage.
- You may want to be more effective in prayer and spiritual warfare
- You may have a desire for holiness
- You may simply be curious about the spiritual realm.
2. Love for God’s Presence
One of the benefits of having a gift of discernment of spirits is a heightened awareness of God’s Presence and anointing. A true discerner will have a passion for the un-grieved Presence of the Holy Spirit.
This is because—and I will continually reiterate this—the highest use of the gift of discernment is not to see what the enemy is doing, but to discern what the Spirit of God is doing.
3. Sensitivity to the Spiritual Atmosphere
You may be more sensitive to spiritual atmospheres than most other people. In the early stages of developing the gift, you may be affected adversely by the presence of any demonic activity in the environment around you.
The reality is that we live in a natural world and a spiritual world concurrently. In the Bible, when Jacob came across a group of angels, he named that place Mahanaim, meaning ‘double camp.’ (Gen 32:1-2)
Like Jacob realised, we also live in a double camp where there is constant spiritual activity, and discerners have spiritual senses that are attuned to this.
4. Feeling Different from Other People
Most people, even in church life, experience life through their natural senses. However, someone with an emerging gift of discernment of spirits can see and sense things that others do not see.
This ability can result in us feeling different, lonely or misunderstood at times, especially when starting out. It is vital that someone with a developing gift of discernment finds a safe place to journey with others who are similarly gifted and accountable in the life of their church.
5. Unusual Signs
It is not uncommon for someone who is gifted in discernment to experience unusual events or manifestations.
People who are incubating a discernment gift begin to see or feel things that others are not aware of. This may include unusual visions, dreams and sensations that alert them to what is happening in the spiritual realm.
6. Childhood or Pre-Salvation Signs
It is not uncommon to experience things relating to your gift even before becoming a Christian. Our creator-God prepares us for our calling and gifts from conception. Even when a talent or gift is misused, God can redeem it and anoint it for His use to serve Him and love and minister to others.
As a child I ‘saw’ things in the night and as a teenager was sensitive to the spiritual realm, sometimes encountering demonic spirits in my room or dreams. Later, as a fully committed Christian, God redeemed this spiritual sensitivity as a gift of discernment. I know Christians who have a gift of discernment who were drawn to New Age counterfeit gifts prior to becoming a Christian.
7. Ability to Know What Lies Behind a Person’s Words or Actions
Someone with a gift of discernment has the ability to see behind what a person is saying and presenting. You may know whether they are telling the truth or not. You may also recognise if someone is manifesting a demonic spirit and be able to identify what that spirit is.
If a prophetic or revelatory message is brought, a discerner can often tell whether it is anointed of the Spirit or from the speaker’s own heart.
This is not always the case, and as with other revelatory gifts such as prophecy, you will sometimes get it wrong or have incomplete discernment (1 Thess 5:19-21, 1 Cor 13:9-10)
8. Confirmation by Others and Leaders
You may have the gift confirmed through a prophecy given to you. My gift of discernment was identified through prophecy twice (perhaps this was because I was reluctant to accept it!)
However, the bottom line of the presence of any gift is that it is recognised and acknowledged by leaders in the church and that it is useful for its purpose—which is to help build up the church and bring people closer to Jesus.
When you submit what you are seeing or sensing, your leaders confirm your accuracy and your gift begins to be recognised for its effectiveness.
Whenever a gift is used to criticise or tear down a church, person or leader, you know it is being misused, or is simply a person’s hurt, frustration or agenda masquerading as discernment. Because these kinds of abuses are common and have brought disrepute to the gift of discernment, I will take some time over the next couple of posts to share how the gift of discernment can bring value to church life.
Have you experienced any of the above, or any different signs of a gift of discernment emerging in your life? Do you have any joys and challenges to share? I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment in the box below. If the comment box is not visible, click on this link and scroll down.
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Are you sensitive to what is taking place in the spiritual realm? Have you ever been adversely affected by a negative atmosphere?
You may have the spiritual gift of discernment.
The gift of discernment of spirits is a powerful weapon in times of spiritual warfare, and can be of great assistance when ministering freedom to individuals.
And yet many who have the gift of discernment have difficulty knowing what to do with what they are feeling or sensing.
Would you like to develop your prophetic gift?
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‘Grow Your Prophetic And Prayer Gifts’ is a high-value e-book specifically written to help you grow in your prophetic gifts – at whatever stage or season you are on the journey.
Check out our e-books page for more e-books related to prophetic and prayer ministry.
Related Posts:
8 Ways To Grow Your Gift Of Discernment
What Are Some Signs That You Have A Prophetic Gift?
6 Tips For Exercising The Gift of Discernment In Church Life
© Helen Calder 2010 Enliven Publishing
Now on team with David McCracken Ministries
Honey, this is so well written. From our life together I know how tuned you are in this specific gift. I trust that all who read this blog will be mightily encouraged to pursue the gift because (even though its tough at times)it holds one of the main keys to seeing people set free and serving God in our time!!
Thanks for your great insight.
Appreciate this blog on the Gift of Discernment. I work in the mental health field & have been feeling a terrible sense of fear & rejection in the last few months regarding the drama that takes place with the clients on a daily basis. I recently had to take leave from work twice because of the terrible feeling. I felt refreshed both times & did not feel this terrible feeling of fear and rejection. As soon as I got to work I felt it again so strong, and always thought something was wrong with me. But I didn’t know where it was coming from & I had to ask myself if it was an evil spirit in the severe environment that I was in. I deal with the most severe cases of clients who suffer from schizophrenia & multiple mental illnesses. Today for the first time, I had peace and did not feel the terrible feeling at work although I still had to deal with severe attacks from clients influenced by the evil spirits. For the first time I was able to stand firm and establish my ground & not feel this terrible feeling that I had difficulty “shaking off.” I literally had to pray and ask the LORD what it was ’cause it was such a terrible feeling. I got a sense that it was a “spirit of fear & rejection.”
Hi Flora, thank you for the comment. What you say is often so true for those of us who are discerners and sensitive to the spiritual realm.
There are times when we are actually picking up on the spiritual atmosphere in an environment (such as fear) but we mistakenly think it is ourselves. It is so freeing when we realise that it isn’t us and we can step back and put up the shield of faith and counter it in prayer (Eph 6).
I remember when Malcolm used to travel to Asia a lot and every time he came back from one country in particular he would be oppressed for weeks afterwards. Finally we realised it was the place he was visiting (where there had been genocide) and we learned to pray over him when he came out of that country.
Another time we can be affected is when people close to us are oppressed and we can be affected by contact with them, we come away from encountering them and wonder why we feel flat. In those times we need to be mindful to pray too.
You might find the series on spiritual warfare I wrote helpful, too. It starts here:
http://enlivenpublishing.com/blog/2010/03/11/12-signs-of-spiritual-warfare/
Hi Helen–Thank you for the feedbank. It was really enlightening for me and helpful. I will read the series on spiritual warfare. Thank you for making it availabe to me.
You are most welcome, Flora.
I’m happy to share ideas and discuss questions on the blog anytime
Thank you Helen, What a wonderful blog you wrote on us with the gift. There is just not enough taught on this gift let alone on how to use it. Many of us go through life with nobody to help us and like you said, we feel alone and different. I will be teaching about Spiritual Warfare next month and I will be addressing a lot of women who might not know that this is one of their gifts. I want to bring it to light so others might not feel as alone as I have.
Hi Pamela, wonderful to hear from you.
One of the challenges those of us with the gift of discernment face is that sense of aloneness you mention–like you, I know this from personal experience
Keep an eye on the blog in the next few weeks as I am planning to get back on the subject of the gift of discernment and have a couple of posts planned, one on how to grow the gift and another on how to exercise the gift in terms of church life (especially in a warfare context). One of the biggest challenges discerners face is how to express what they are sensing or seeing to Christian leaders, and to others around them who may not have the gift but would benefit from its use!
I pray your teaching on spiritual warfare this month bears much fruit.
(P.S. Have just added the next post on 8 Ways To Grow Your Gift Of Discernment. You can find it here: http://enlivenpublishing.com/blog/2010/09/13/8-ways-to-grow-the-gift-of-discernment/
Dear Helen,
Thank you for such an enlightening article.
I wish to share my experience. As a child a developed a negative attitude towards my grandma little did I know it was for a reason. Years later after I finished uni and left my home country (Kenya) to work, I had vision of a huge snake while praying for her healing. I wasn’t a mature christian then so I did not understand what it meant. It was a year later, a prophecy confirmed that she was a witch. This was also confirmed to my born-again paternal cousins. Another thing I have noticed is that I get nauseated to the point of vomiting when I encounter evil in a person or place. This first happened when I was in uni. During my first date with a guy, I just could not finish the soda I had ordered. i run to the bathroom and vomited. Later I came to find out that he was a devil-workshipper with a mission to defile born-again girls.Also once it happened that I was sharing a house with a buddhist friend. The friend moved out then I moved into her room. My first night in the room, I began to feel and experience the rejection and loneliness in my buddhist friend’s life. I later found out she had gone thru pain.I have had other strange experiences and some of my christian friends tell me that that is not normal.
God bless.
Idah
Dear Idah, thank you for sharing, yes sometimes we don’t understand our responses until we realise that there is something behind them. You may have already done so, but I would like to encourage you to find someone to help you pray through any effects that your grandma’s witchcraft may have had on your life. The nausea may be a sign that you could benefit from some prayer ministry in this area.
It does sound as though you are gifted in discernment as you are aware of things in the spiritual realm, that others aren’t.
How wonderful that you and your cousins have found faith in Jesus in spite of your grandmother’s beliefs and practices to the contrary! God is good
Here are some further thoughts that may help those of you who are negatively affected by discernment…i.e. something you have sense in the spiritual realm/atmosphere or around someone’s life leaves you with a feeling of oppression.
The first base re responding to this situation is always faith-filled prayer in Jesus’ Name. Here are three types:
- preventive prayer, putting up the shield when you know you are entering a situation that may affect you
- dust-off prayer, praying when you leave a situation where you have discerned something or feel oppressed as a result of being with someone who is affected
- warfare prayer, when you discern demonic influence at work
Another reason discernment may leave you feeling oppressed or with other feelings reflective of what you have discerned is that you have a gift of intercession, and need to actually release the burden of what you have discerned to God in prayer.
Having another person agree with you in prayer may be helpful, especially when spiritual warfare is taking place.
Finally, if all of these types of prayer are consistently unhelpful, it may be worthwhile seeking some personal ministry for yourself. Like I have in the past, you may have an ‘open doorway’ of unhealed hurts, generational oppression, and so on that needs to be closed (not a big deal—nothing too difficult for our Father to handle). Once identified, these can be very effectively dealt with in prayer ministry.
Feel free to ask any further questions below.
Wow! This is awesome! I know that God has graciously given me the gift of discernment. So many things that I have seen with my “spiritual eyes” I have been reluctant to share because I know not many would accept it or believe it-for example, Many times I am able to see demons in people through their eyes, also I’ll often engage in Spiritual warfare and i’ll experience a hazy environment-almost as if I’m stepping foot into the spiritual realm, I often feel the effects on my physical body as well-for example I have been ministering to some very troubled people lately and I feel an urge to interceed at random times of the day and when I do I often feel the haziness and sometimes even nauseous. As God cultivates this gift inside of me, I pray that He gives me the wisdom on how to use it. I have felt these things for about 10 years now and I recently have joined a deliverance team and I am witnessing how God wants me to use this gift and I’m pretty humbled yet blown away at God’s infinite power. God bless you all always and May God continue graciously using us for His glory amen.
This was an awesome blog to read. I have questioned this gift for years. After reading this I feel as though I have it, and also know that I have used it wrong and sadly not to the full extent. I have been told I have it and encouraged in it, however it wasn’t until the other day when I asked a person who clearly has the gift and is quite prophetic to help me decipher whether my feeling on something was me or God. Her response was, to me, amazing, she agreed with what my feeling was but said it was not for me to fix anyone, that I needed to pray that the spirit would intervene and stop the lies. It seems so simple, but if I think I have information it never occurred to me to pray about it. She also said to me that although she believed what I had said to be true, she had to pray into what God’s original plan was, despite someone apparently throwing it away. I didn’t understand that until I read your blog, and I think she meant that she had to look for God’s plan not just what the enemy had taken away. WOW! It brings tears to my eyes.
Since I was a child and not saved I used to hear someone calling me, all the time, I would literally say what to my mom and she would say I didn’t call you. Later when I was saved someone spoke over me, and said God says he has been calling you like with Samuel. Next big thing when I was a teen, I can’t say for sure now that it was Satan himself and not some demon, but at that time and even now I believe that Satan himself stood at my bedroom door, I was raised Catholic and really knew nothing about Satan, but I knew and know he stood there, I was so scared all night just waiting for what would come I even called my mom’s friend who I knew worked nightshift to sit on the phone with me, and I told him that Satan was standing at my door and yes he did think I was crazy. (my parents were away at the time).
Growing up I would know things, like I was going to see someone I hadn’t seen in years, or similar items, I used to tell people I was psychic. Later when I was saved I rebuked that. Once as an adult visiting my mom, I slept in her bed, and woke up to being choked by a demonic force. I kept repeating in the name of Jesus be gone, and what seemed like forever it finally left. I called my husband scared to death telling him of the situation. If I feel irritated when someone speaks, like I just want to tell them to be quiet I usually believe its demonic, and in one such instance a person was prayed over at a womens conference and delivered from that torment and the original feeling I had towards her never returned.
The problem is as you can probably tell, I’m not sure that I hear God’s good as much as the devil’s bad. I know there are sometimes when I believe I have an encouraging word to tell someone, but the other side seems to be more often. Anyways thanks for your words, I am going to start praying that I would be open to hear God all the time and know that not all things are for me to share at that moment. Thanks again I know this is ridiculously long.
Hi there Sherri,
well I can certainly identify with many of your experiences, I could have written this myself!
So be affirmed in your gift and also in God’s call to develop and grow you to your fullest potential in your gifts, in your faith and in intimacy with Him. The feelings of uncertainty you have are so familiar to me too, one of the issues I had, was that I’d had so many negative experiences and demonic encounters, that it took a while to break through the lies [that the enemy was stronger than Jesus... when it came to me]. It can be helpful to identify these wrong beliefs, renounce and replace them with God’s truth, but it is most important to simply become more acquainted with Jesus, in intimacy and to catch the truth especially of God’s Father’s heart. I share some of my recent journey here: http://enlivenpublishing.com/blog/2010/09/05/no-longer-an-orphan-how-i-discovered-the-fathers-love/
Wow! I just read through all the posts – I’m 40 now but can remember when I was younger, in my late teens and 20′s that I always thought I had a “sixth sense” about people and situations – only to come to understand that it was a gift of discernment. Growing up, I always lived in the same house – my parents house. My mother was a STRONG Christian but the atmosphere was EXTREMELY volatile – my dad was verbally abusive to her and really really abusive to me. My dreams were most of the time very dark that involved dark black ocean water or death or people possessed by evil spirits or even one common theme in my dreams that I’ve had as recently as last night: my mothers house, me trying to get out of it and an evil spirit doing things to try and keep me there – also, I would like to add on that I’ve felt something running over my back and covers slowly being pulled off me all while still sleep! I say all this to say that I’m realizing that my gift of discernment makes me not just sensitive to things in the unseen about people and situations, but also sensitive to happenings in the spiritual realm that many would just shrug off or not feel at all! My question is: why am I feeling things physically? Is there a reason? Also on a last note, ever since I was a kid, I’ve had many many occurances where I wanted to wake up and couldn’t move and felt like I was about to suffocate – I believe the medical field calls this sleep paralysis but I believe it to be a lot more than that! Even though I’ve had them all throughout my life, I’ve recently started having this occurance yet again – any insight?
Hi Veronica,
I do understand some of the things you have mentioned from my own experience, including the suffocation sensation during sleep, which I had as a teenager (I also believe had demonic elements to it).
These kinds of experiences are common to those of us who have an enhanced awareness of the spiritual realm, such as through the gift of discernment, HOWEVER, I believe that our inheritance as Christians is freedom, including freedom from oppression, and that freedom includes our sleep. Check out verses such as, Psalm 4:8 ‘I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.’ Proverbs 3:24 ‘when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.’
My personal experience is that I have journeyed into freedom in this area–not instantly, but over a period of time as I received prayer ministry, and discovered areas in my life where there were ‘open doorways’ that needed to be dealt with through repentance, comprehending the truth of God’s Word, and so on, and also realised the freedom that was available to me. May I encourage you to pray about this, not accept the physical attacks or sleep disruptions, and seek ministry (sharing with a leader or mentor can be a good thing). Feel free to ask me any more specific questions too. Perhaps the recent re-occurance means that something is surfacing in order for you to enter a greater level of freedom. I love that about the heart and timing of God.
Hi Helen,
Thank you very much for this very informative blog. Sometimes, I asked God why after going thru Holy Spirit baptism, I still don’t speak in tongues. My mentor also told me that maybe i didn’t receive the Holy Spirit. But God spoke to me through His word in 1 Cor. 12, that it is not the speaking in tongue that He entrusted in me, but the gift of Discernment. During my years of service to God with my church now, I’ve seen people from the very start when they decided to serve, that soon, or in the future they will fail. Or I can sense other people’s struggles or their motives. I also have the ability to know what lies behind a person’s word or actions. Sometimes, i jokingly tell my wife that I got this ability from reading a book on how to tell whether a person is lying or telling the truth. People say that I’m good at counseling and judgement and that I can easily detect what other’s thoughts and feelings even before they open up with me. It occurs many times in our church that I see people serving God with wrong motives or not pure and sincere heart, then see them in future will fail or backslide. It always happen that what I see is true. I failed to inform my leaders that I have this gift because of fear of being judged or being told that my information is only based on my own intuition and not from God. My knowledge with the word of God is not that deep and i’m afraid that they will say i am not credible because I don’t really know the whole story of the bible.
Despite that, I believed that I have the gift of discernment and I am praying that God will guide me and show me the right approach of practicing this gift. And also praying that God will use me as a vessel in sharing this gift with other people. I know that I can do this effectively by establishing my faith through the word of God.
This is one gift I don’t think I have … I’m pretty dim about sensing things in the natural AND the spiritual! I will often come out of a meeting at work and others will talk about the bad vibe and I will have been completely clueless!
I did relate though to a couple of your possible signs though. I have been known to feel the lonely thing especially at church. I want to talk about God and what He’s doing but sometimes it feels like all anybody else is interested in is what they bought last time they went to the shops!
The other thing is that I sometimes dreamt (or maybe I was awake?) of demons at the foot of my bed, especially when I was a teenager. I would plead the blood of Jesus and although frightened, would eventually fall back to sleep.
Earlier this year I dreamt a Christian friend of mine was the anti-Christ!!!! What the!!! I am wondering if perhaps it is a sign that she is not on the right track … she does have some different ideas … was God warning me perhaps?
Hi Janet, it can certainly be easier sometimes for those who don’t have a discernment gift–as you say, others feel a bad vibe and you breeze through! As far as the loneliness thing, sounds as though you have a hunger for God that not everyone shares (the beauty of engaging with a prophetic/prayer community in a church is that prophetic people LOVE to talk about God and what He is doing…may be something to consider even if you don’t have a discernment gift, you may just love to pray!). I can identify with the demonic encounters as a teenager, if you haven’t been troubled since, that is a good thing. And the anti-Christ dream? Wow, haven’t heard that before
You may be right about the not being on the right track. Your dream life may be something to be alert about–perhaps more spiritual dreams may come!
Thanks Helen. Yes sometimes it is lonely when you hunger for God – wish it wasn’t so rare!
I have heard from God in dreams before – the most significant being when He gave me the name “Footprints” for the Aussie Christian women’s magazine I was thinking of starting. He even gave me 3 reasons along with the name – how could I refuse!!!
That’s amazing about the Footprints dream, Janet! And look at the fruit of what has happened since then, and how many lives are being touched!
Here’s an article about ‘What to do When You’ve had a Prophetic Dream’ you might find helpful: http://enlivenpublishing.com/blog/2009/09/19/what-to-do-when-you-have-a-prophetic-dream/
Hi Helen,
Its me Chontae again WOW!!!!! Everything you wrote I was like thats me, Helen is writing about me. Every single point you wrote I have and still do experience on a daily basis. I underestimated the gift of discernment really because of a lack of knowledge and understanding I was so focused on prophetic by learning and studying prophetic it would help me (which it will) I just thought the things I experience in discernment were the prophetic gifting but its not. Thank you for showing me the difference in the operation of these two gifts.
I feel so relieved having read this blog. Right off to find your other blogs on discernment.
Blessings
Chontae xo
From New Zealand
Hi Chontae, that’s awesome!
I’m putting all the blog info and more into an e-book on the gift of discernment soon, so keep an eye out for that too.
Say hi to Kiwiland for me, I’m from Auckland and we lived in Tauranga before we moved to Melbourne. Where are you living?
Hi Helen,
Wow your from Auckland…Kiwiland says Hi back and asking when will you be back lol. I’m living in Palmerston North have been back here for 2 years we moved from Brisbane where we resided for 7 years. I was called back home by God (not having given my heart to the Lord yet) and now in the church he called me too. How Great is our God aye.
Well I’ll be watching your Diary and seeing when your home next I feel a divine appointment will happen in this next coming year. Until then chat yah later
Awesome
We used to travel that way regularly on our ministry trips through to the South Is!
I just wanted to say great site…ive been looking everywhere i do now know i have the gift of discernment by all your 8 points…i can sense evil in people there are times i have to get off the bus becuase of this i get a sick feeling im afraid of them, i can go to friends house and feel evil there i leave right away..i have been seeing hearing things since i was young never told anyone until now ..dreams also that i had when i was young are coming true in my life and my family’s life which i dare not tell them ..i actually thought i was going crazy until i know a girl who goes to school with me told me she believes i have this gift because she to has it she told me what i have told her it sounds like i have the same thing but she told me mine seems stronger than her’s ..the only person who can help me is GOD ..i want to find answers to my questions..this gift seems to becoming out stronger now and im older …and i know GOD has reasons for what he is doing and i know GOD will show me eventually what he wants me to do with this GIFT …
Hi Kim,
Yes, I understand what you have been through, it is not easy when you are sensing things that others are not aware of, and it helps when you can finally understand that what you have is a special ability.
I believe God will heal you of the fear associated with some of the experiences that you have had.
Romans 8:15 says,
‘The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”’I pray that you will journey into greater freedom in this area, and know Him as the Father Who heals and loves you. You may find it helpful to find a safe place to receive prayer ministry.
This is really useful. I think I have the gift of discerning of spirits. I have always ‘sensed’ God’s presence. For instance, even as an atheist, I knew that, when I prayed, there was someone listening because I could feel that there was. On the flip side of that, I have also always been able to sense the presence of demons. And they were on my back for a really long time before (negative thoughts) and heavy presence manifestations when I was an atheist. But it wasn’t until my friend heard about all this stuff that he suggested that I have that gift. And then, for some reason, the spiritual warfare increased tenfold. I could even ‘see’ them with my spiritual eye. They wouldn’t leave me alone. I can sense them around everywhere and I’ve stopped sensing God’s presence. It’s like he’s testing me. At any rate, I feel really alone, because my family thinks I’m being deceived or that this is occult influence. I’ve always had this, even after I went to a deliverance counsellor. And I don’t know. I’m really afraid that I’m wrong in some way, but there’s no one, other than my friend, who can confirm any of this. Except me, when I read all of this. It ALL sounds like me. And I don’t know where to go to get advice, or to find help. This is the first time I’ve ever registered that I may have this, and I feel like a newbie. I don’t know what to do with it or what its significance is…
Suggestions?
Hi Corinne,
Yes, it does sound as though you have an ability in the area of discernment. May I reassure you that you are NOT in any way strange because of the things you have experienced. But God’s gifts are not given to separate us from Him or torment us. I suggest taking a two-fold approach, learning what you can about the gift of discernment, and continuing to seek God for freedom from fear. Sometimes there are ‘open doorways’ in our lives that need closing. I think I may have discussed this in the comments above. I recommend prayer ministry, but I know that not everyone has access to safe prayer ministry–this is freedom (deliverance) prayer in an environment that is secure and accountable to godly Christian leadership. Corinne, you are a precious daughter of God and I pray you find the help and encouragement that you need to move forward.
Hi Helen, Just needing a bit of help I have been having dreams for the last month maybe more where mostly every night I sense a change in the atmosphere either a spirit has entered into my room that causes my spirit to go into a deep prayer of intercession coming against it and in every dream I call out to Jesus and peace falls on me. I know I am in my room because I can see myself clearly but sleeping so I must be dreaming right. The other night the same thing happened my spirit antenna was up a felt a change in the atmosphere I called out to Jesus and peace fell on me but this time I decided to stay in this place which felt like the spirit realm or could have been enemy camp not sure but it runs parallel with the physical plane. As I said I stayed for a bit to see what was in this place it was like I turned off my physical eyes and started using my spiritual eyes to see and what I saw was it was like I am looking at my roof in my bedroom but I can see a realm through it, it was full of spirits and darkness this realm runs parallel with ours….In the dream I felt like I was there to look and learn but not sure what I am looking for or mean’t learn and everytime I got scared I would call out to Jesus and peace fell on me. Do you have any thoughts on whats going on here I know I am definitely using my gift in discernment just unsure what I am doing. Thank you for your time Helen much love Chontae
Hi Chontae, that doesn’t sound like very comfortable sleep! I don’t know the background or potential reasons for what could be taking place, but here is what I would do if it was happening to me. I would pray some spiritual warfare prayer and comand any demonic interference with the sleep to cease (I usually get my husband to pray with me in these situations). I believe discernment and intercession from the Holy Spirit has clarity and that from the enemy is cloudy, and also the Bible says that with Him our sleep is ‘sweet.’ Hope this makes sense
Thank you Helen,
So I sat this morning with the Holy Spirit and was reminded of our senior Pastor who has prophesied over me that I will go into the depths of the spiritual realm places unknown to man and take back what was stolen a truth in this realm that was given to my forefathers but lost due to deception and misuse of the gift and so I was wondering if this maybe what he is talking about. I have always been able to go to this place since I was a child and do this but not for this long time of a period it normally will only be a couple of times in a week. This is how my sleep life has always been but as I have grown and matured in Christ I now know how to find such peace in this spiritual realm where there is so much spiritual noise I also have learn’t how to call out to Jesus when I feel a bit scared there. Lately I have been able to walk around in this place and see more because I feel safe knowing Jesus and the Holy Spirit are there with me. I have been in spiritual warefare before in this place but the Holy Spirit intercedes every time and then I feel safe to carry on what ever it is that I am looking for…..I know I am looking for something I am just not sure what…..But will keep praying into it as you say.
Thank you so much Helen for all your help I appreciate this very much.
Much Love
Chontae
Hi Chontae, I am sure the Spirit will give you wisdom as you continue to wait on Him. Perhaps also share with your pastor what is going on, in light of his word for you too. Have a blessed week xo
Thank you Helen appreciate you so much
i feel like i have the gift.i will tell you some of the things and tell me what you think.my brother ask me to come over to his house i said ok i went over there we was talking outside and then we went in.after i went in a strong feeling came over me and i started to say i am just going to go home.but i look over the feeling later that night some things happen between me and him i ended up going to jail.i can read people.thats just some of the things.tell me what you think
Hi Terry, I cannot tell from your comments whether or not you have a spiritual gift, but it is possible that what you felt was a warning that you should have paid attention to at the time.
May I encourage you to read the Bible, especially the New Testament and find out more about a life with God. You can find passages about spiritual gifts in particular in 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14.
God’s gifts are good, and given to help us help, love and lead people to Jesus. For many of us in the journey we experience difficulties and a ‘dark’ side before we really discover God’s goodness and purpose for our lives, and that is certainly true of having an ability to sense what is happening in the spiritual realm. Terry, I pray you receive God’s blessing into your life in a powerful way as you look to Him.
I just found out that I have a gift of discernment. I already knew I was a Seer of God and I wondered what Gifts God had given me. Well I am 20 years old and I have loved God since I can remember but it wasn’t until the age 20 that I gave God the other 50% of my heart. Well of course the evil spirits knew about the anointing on my life and they have been attacking me with the spirit of fear, they wanted me to fear them becaue they feared God’s power in me. I could feel them surrounding me at times, and I would get attacks in my sleep for a week and i would just laugh, but one night they brought the big dogs on me and The Holy Spirit saved me when I said one name…JESUS!!!. Glad to say that after about a month I have learned How to fight back with the Word of God. God was preparing e for this and you know what, I read the scriptures but did not full understand what I was suppose to do with that information, until now. This spiritual warfare had been something else, and sometimes I think I’m just not in the mood for these attacks. It has been tough. I did not like the fear, and anything else the enemy was doing to attack me. It just let me know that I am a threat to them and but God’s word is sharper than a 2 edge sword! After the battle was won, I could sense peace, my faith has grown and i am stronger through Christ who strengthens me. And I am down for God and I will fear not for He is with me and He has given us authority over the power of the enemy in Jesus Name!!!
Hi there Asia, thank you so much for leaving a note. Wow- it does sound as though you have a battle.
It is good that you are learning to stand and overcome, I believe that it is part of our inheritance as believers that we should live in faith and victory and not experience a constant battle in this area. May you be richly blessed as you grow in God, in faith, and in your gifts.