1.  Make a firm decision to pursue the relationship. Offer yourself completely to God.  Meditate on Romans 12:1-2.  This is our blood covenant response to a mighty blood covenant offered to us by God.

 

2.  Take time to listen: You must take in His Word.  Words are blood covenant containers.  The Word of God is Jesus Himself; it is not a book of promises to pick and choose from.  The Word of God should be pursued as a regular and daily relationship skill and should be looked at as listening to your Lord, Jesus Himself.  Ask Him to speak.  The Word is supernatural and it produces faith in the same way natural food produces energy.  Jesus said that He is the true manna that gives eternal life.  Write down what you feel He is speaking.

 

3.  Take time to speak: Your words. Two-way journaling and being gut level honest is an important way to increase your relationship with God.  Write down exactly how you feel.  Honesty with your blood covenant partner Jesus, will cause your sin to go on Him.  You cannot and will not overcome any issue in life without this gut level honesty.  We suggest two-way journaling.  This is a great way to allow the "flow" of the Holy Spirit to speak to you personal and intimate things.  First, get in a quiet place, set your mind on Jesus, and begin to worship Him.  You write down what you want to tell or ask Jesus.  Then write down what you hear in your spirit.  At first, there may be some mistakes, but through faith and practice, He will be real to you.

Ways to discern whose voice you are hearing.

God's voice: Affirms, corrects, direction (truth).

Satan's voice: Keeps us bound in failure with lies and condemnation.

Self's voice, or our flesh: justifies, rationalizes, denies and projects or blames others.

Testing to see if we are hearing God's voice.

Is it scriptural?

Does it glorify Jesus?

Is there a witness in my spirit?

Does it edify or tear down?

Does it produce freedom or bondage?

Ways God speaks to us.

The Bible.  Revelation knowledge through the Holy Spirit.

The Body of Christ: Fellow believers, pastors counselors.  Be careful to not depend solely on this.

Quiet time:  Holy Spirit's voice.  (Psalm 139:23-24, I John 1:9).

Circumstances and situations in everyday life (Jeremiah 32:8).

Accountability Partner:  Often it is wise to have a trusted friend who will be bold enough to hold you accountable for issues in your life.

 

4.  Take time to speak: His Words. The antagonist, Satan and his assigned demons, constantly are on task to come against your effort to relate to Jesus and to overcome.  Only you can resist them.  Jesus gave you the authority and responsibility to speak His Word against them.  God told Joshua in Joshua 1:8, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."

One idea for doing this is:

Read Psalms and Proverbs by the day.  You should read ALOUD five Psalms every morning.  Use the system of the calendar, i.e., on the 3rd of the month read Psalms 3, 33, 63, 93 and 123.  Also read Proverb 3.  In this system the student will read all Psalms and Proverbs every month.  Using this system renews the mind, speaks the Word to Satan, and allows the suffering student to relate his/her emotions to the Psalmist's.  Provisions can be made for months with 31 days, and for Psalm 119.

Also be sensitive to the Holy Spirit Who will give you a Word of warfare for a particular situation.

 

5.  Meditation. Meditation on the Word is very important and extremely valuable.  I quoted Joshua 1:8 above which tells us to meditate day and night.  Psalms 1:2-3 says, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper."

Meditation on the Word displaces and replaces your carnal thinking which is a major feat.  It also allows the Word to get down deep into your heart.  The word meditate is related to a cow chewing her cud.  She chews it, swallows it, regurgitates it, and then starts the process over again, and again, and again.  This will allow the Word to go deeply into your heart, and will give the Holy Spirit an opportunity to speak something personal to you from the Word.

 

6. Fasting. Fasting is an important discipline.  There are many types of fasts, and I will not cover that subject here.  The main advantage of fasting is that it denies the strongest desire of the flesh, to eat.  In doing so one is able to hear the Holy Spirit better.  Remember, the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh, Galatians 5:17.  I have read that when a person is hungry, even his/her natural hearing is better.

7. Obey God. Ask God to give you something simple, something small every day that you may obey.  It may be just encouraging another, it may be not driving down the same street that fed your addiction; it may be confessing your sin to Him.  It may be taking a thought captive, or forgiving someone, or perhaps giving a financial gift.

This is a big thing! John 14:21-23 says that when we obey His Word that He will reveal more and more of Himself to us.  Once you have "seen" Jesus, relationship with Him will no longer be a discipline, but it will be a passionate pursuit.

 

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