Divine Prompting

A big guiding word for me over these recent years has been "Pay Attention."  I have not always been good at doing this and even now with ample years of being told over and over, I still find myself ignoring a lifestyle which I know has been chosen for me.  Another word which is often used for the same discipline is "Mindfulness."  Both words carry us to the same place.  And since mine has been with me now for a long time, I will stick with it.    

Recently, I have come to understand that paying attention is not just about the external things, or the people who show up in my path, but that it relates to what is internal as well.  This is to say it is important to pay attention to what is going on in the spirit which is a part of each one of us.  The inner spirit is where we are told the Spirit of Christ abides and it is where the Holy Spirit seeks to shape our inner being so that it more clearly points others to this Jesus who has called us.  Anyone wanting a refresher course on the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer can start reading the 14th chapter of John and will find important words of teaching in the next few chapters.    

In verse 26 of that 14th chapter we hear Jesus saying, ...the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you."  We need to pay attention to all that is appearing in the present moment of our life, but we need to also pay attention to the direction of the Spirit which emanates from within.  We need to pay attention to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  It is not our knowledge of the way of Jesus, or our determined discipline which keeps us walking in the right way, but the Holy Spirit is constantly offering direction and course corrections as we go.