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But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16, ESV).
Every skill requires training.
Caitlin Clark didn’t step onto a basketball court and start shooting 3-point shots. Patrick Mahomes practiced—a lot—before throwing touchdown passes. My friend Ray Willis, who is defending his doctoral thesis this Spring, spent years preparing and writing from his research to a dissertation.
And we don’t stop practicing our skills.
At a recent practice session, Caitlin Clark warmed up with 100-point shots, 100 mid-range shots, and 100 free throws. Whatever our skills, they are developed and maintained by practice.
When the Apostle Paul says, “Walk in the Spirit,” he isn’t saying, “Just pray and score perfect 3-point shots against the evil one and your flesh.” No, walking in the Spirit takes practice.
Fortunately, like any athlete training their body, we can train our spirit to follow the Spirit.
How?
The Bible teaches that we have a spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23) that’s connected to God’s Spirit. The Spirit of God communicates to our spirit through conscience, intuition, and presence.
To remember the senses of our spirit, think CIP—conscience, intuition, and presence. And we can train these senses.
Conscience:
God will teach our spirit to stay on the narrow path of His will. When we take a detour, either through ignorance or disobedience, His Spirit convicts through our spirit.
Before I became a believer, I stole money from someone. After my conversion, I felt conviction about my theft. I went to the person that I had offended, confessed my sin, asked for forgiveness, and made restitution.
I then found freedom.
Intuition:
Years back, I had a dream in which I saw Cuba and islands.
I remembered this dream for about five years, and then one day, I was invited to teach discipleship in Cuba. Since there were no direct flights from the U.S.A. to Cuba, our team traveled through the Bahamas (Cuba is one big island, and the Bahamas has many islands).
Because of this dream, when I was asked to travel to Cuba, I knew it was God’s will.
Presence:
God trains our spirit to walk in His Spirit by practicing His Presence. The signatory mark of His Presence is peace. When we sense in our spirit a loss of peace in an action we do or feel that we will lose peace if we make a certain decision…
We are learning God’s Presence.
Let’s take a CIP of God’s Spirit by praying, listening, and obeying His guidance through His conviction in our conscience, His leading by intuition, and peace in His Presence.
If we walk in God’s Spirit, we will make 3-pointers for the Kingdom of God!