As we are filled with the Spirit, i.e. submitting to his influence in our lives, he brings to our mind Scripture we have studied, he grants us illumination or understanding on how to apply biblical wisdom to our situation (see John 16 for Jesus’ take on the advantage of indwelling). He also lines our desires up with the word and with God’s will (Ps 37:4). And he providentially brings counselors and leaders into our lives, and dextrously wields circumstances to nudge us forward (as in Caesar Augustus’ timely census).

It’s not uncommon for me to hear of Christians claiming that God led them to this or that by means of a dream or vision or word from the Lord. When I probe what they mean by that, more often than not it’s just their way of saying they had an idea or imagined a scene.

Only occasionally has the person insisted that they literally had a supernatural experience of direct revelation like Paul going to heaven (2 Cor 12) or Peter’s trance (Acts 10). Dismissing those claims as spurious hogwash is fairly uncomplicated (see the cornucopia of articles on this blog by searching “Strange Fire” or “prophecy” or any other charismatic sounding term).

What deserves more leniency is the acknowledgement that the Spirit prompts us and guides us in our everyday lives. After all, those “who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” (Rom 8:14).

Cessationists hold that the revelatory gifts (tongues, prophecies, visions, dreams, etc.) ceased operating when the newborn church matured and the canon was closed (1 Cor 13:2-13). But we can sometimes be annoyingly persnickety about censoring vocabulary that the Bible writers were perfectly comfortable using when referring to the non-revelatory leading of God.

Nehemiah was not a prophet, nor did he have access to one. And yet he acted on his godly desire to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, which he believed was God’s leading. He referred to his desire and plan as something that “God had put into my heart” (Neh 2:12). Even the activity of assembling the nobles was an idea he said God had placed on his heart (Neh 7:5).

Some call it having a “burden for Africa” or a “prompting to donate to a needy family,” or they say “I believe God is leading me to help in this way.” The more cavalier cessationist might even venture to use the licentious phraseology: “The Lord told me to…”

Read More