The discerning of spirits is a gift of the Holy Spirit. But what exactly is this gift and what is it for? The discerning of spirits is a gift given to us by the Holy Spirit that enables us to distinguish between good and evil. This gift is especially handy when dealing with demonic forces in the ministry of deliverance for example. It makes you aware of the presence of evil in a place or within a person. It is a spiritual gift. Not everybody has this gift, for God bestows this gift to whom He pleases.
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.” ( 1 Cor12:7-14)
The gifts of the spirits and thus also the discerning of the spirits is given to us for the profit of the Church. By the way, everything God gives us through the Holy Spirit is always for the benefit of the Church, and never for the benefit to enhance our riches in this world.
The gift of discerning the spirits varies in each person. One person as myself for example, can sense evil when this is present. The Holy Spirit often awakens me at night to make me aware that evil is coming or is already present. Because it is a spiritual gift it is something that you perceive within your spirit.
It may surprise you but people who are active within the occult have this gift also. Of course this gift that is active in them comes not from God. It also does not work the exact way as the gift of the Holy Spirit.
People who are very much into the occult do not sense evil as evil. All they can sense through this gif of theirs is that a presence is present. We as Christians are given a much better and higher gift. Our gift makes us aware not only of a presence that is present but of the nature of that presence. In this way we can arm ourselves accordingly and evict that presence out of our lives or out of our homes. You see, Satan always tries to counterfeit God, thus also the gifts of the Holy Spirit. However, he cannot expose himself as what he is, evil, and thus he gives his people the gift in a slightly different manner. Satan uses this gift to enhance his destructive purposes, while God gives us this gift to set us free from evil and its intend.
Usually this gift comes along with another gift, the word of knowledge or the word of wisdom. This of course varies within each person. In my case, it is the word of wisdom. Also the depth of the gift varies from person to person. One person can have this gift while delivering a person and not perceive evil within a room for example. Other people who have this gift can discern the spirits while delivering someone as well as sensing evil within a house. In my case for example, I have this gift always. Let me give you some examples of my own. Satan and his evil minions will usually attack you at night, when you are sleeping. The hours between 3:00 A.M. and 05:00 A.M are the hours in which you are the most sensible to demonic attack. These are namely the hours in which your sleep is very profound and your natural senses low. It is therefore not strange that when he tries to attack me, it is often at those hours of the early morning. One time I was vacationing in Spain. The area is highly Catholic and they worship the Black Madonna. Almost every house has one statue built into its walls, but the hotel where we were staying had not such statue at all. One night while we were sleeping, the Holy Spirit awoke me with a sense of urgency. I opened my eyes immediately and saw a presence very much the same as the Black Madonna’s which are built into the homes there, standing in the room looking at me. I immediately rebuked it and it was gone. I tried to go back to sleep but alas, it was not to be so. Shortly after, the Holy Spirit gave me another warning, and this time He told me that Satan was out there on the corridor looking for me.
Needless to say that I jumped out of bed, ready to pray and ask God for help and protection. All of a sudden I felt such an evil presence near to me, I have never felt before. I covered my husband and myself with the precious blood of Jesus and the Holy Spirit brought into my memory Psalm 91 which I quoted off by heart. I also read aloud Revelation 20 which tells us about the end fate of Satan. Demons and Satan hate that Scripture for they all know only too well what is awaiting them. I struggled for one hour before peace finally set in. I went back to sleep, thanking God once again for His never ending provision.
It is my conviction that the gift of discerning of spirits is given to people who will fight spiritual battles with the evil forces. This gift is imperative if you are called to do this line of work by God. Your very own life may depend upon it. In my experience whenever I feel an evil presence I also get the knowledge of whom it is.
At one point I openly discussed a religious conviction with one person, not knowing that she was heavily involved with the occult. She could also astral project. This means she can travel within the spiritual world. This practice is very dangerous besides the point that it is strictly forbidden for us Christians (Deut.18:10). At night I was awoken by the Holy Spirit and through the discerning of the spirits, together with the word of wisdom I knew it was her. People who are very much involved in the occult cannot stand the blood of Jesus. I applied the blood not only to my husband but to me as well and to the room. She was immediately gone. The gift as you see, is always for the benefit of the Church and for our benefit. We as Christians are to overcome evil with the Word of God and the blood of Jesus. Some of us will encounter evil more often than others. I do not know why this is so, but I know that it is. God has given His provision for those of us who are called to battle against these forces.
Now do not misunderstand me here please. We all are called into spiritual warfare, but what I am trying to explain here is, that some of us are called to battle and fight stronger battles. Some of us will be called into a higher degree of battle. It is therefore imperative that we are equipped with a ‘sensor’ which is called the discerning of spirits.
If you have a story of your own regarding spiritual warfare and your victory over evil forces, please feel not hesitant to share it with us. We love to hear from you!
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