THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVES US POWER TO DISCERN
Proverbs 8
Excellence and eternity of Wisdom
8 Does not wisdom cry out,
And does intelligence give its voice?
2 On the heights by the road,
At the crossroads of the sidewalks he stops;
3 In the place of the gates, at the entrance of the city,
At the entrance to the doors he cries out:
4 O men, I cry to you;
My voice is to the children of the man.
5 Understand, O simple ones, discretion;
And you fools, enter into sanity.
6 Hear, for I will speak excellent things,
And I will open my lips for straight things.
7 For my mouth will speak truth,
And impiety abominate my lips.
8 Just are all the reasons of my mouth;
There is nothing wicked or crooked about them.
9 They are all straight to the one who understands,
And reasonable to those who have found wisdom.
10 Receive my teaching, and not money;
And science before the choosen gold.
11 For wisdom is better than precious stones;
And everything that can be desired is not to be compared with it.
The holy spirit anoints us and wisdom is poured out on us. He is the spirit of wisdom and knowledge. We find the anointing of the Holy Spirit brings us wisdom that comes from God. Wisdom is to see all reality from the perspective and truth of God. Wisdom discerns the diabolical and abhors evil. The gift of discerning spirits is a grace that comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit in us, from our unity with Him, from our intimacy with Him in prayer. Just as it gives us words of wisdom, science, cure ... etc., it also gives us the discernment of spirits; spiritual gift that allows us to distinguish, examine in other people and in the community what is of God, what is of nature or what is of evil.
Being anointed by the spirit fills us with wisdom. Carefully read the following verses from Proverbs 4 and 8. After each declaration of wisdom, write a short prayer that the anointing of that wisdom will be poured out on your life.
Discernment is the ability to determine what is good and what is bad. The anointing of your wisdom reveals the absolute truth of God - which is true for all peoples, all times and all places. This gift allows us to identify what spirit it is driving or influencing an action, a situation, a desire, a decision to make, something they tell us or offer. Like all spiritual gifts, He is in interaction with other charisms, and is necessary for our daily life, our prayer life and our apostolate.
Gift of Discernment of Spirits in the New Testament
Mt 16.16 - "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!" Jesus glorified the Father, because he discerned that the one who had revealed to Peter who he was, was the Father. Jesus concluded that the answer had not come from Peter's humanity, because "without grace" no one could say that He (Jesus) was the Messiah.
Mt 16:22 - “God forbid, Lord! This is not going to happen to you. Lack of faith, the desire to please fear, brought Satan into Peter's thinking and feeling. Jesus discerned that what Peter said came from the evil one.
Luke 4: 1-13 - Jesus discerned that the suggestions that came to him in the temptation of the desert did not come from God, but from the evil one to spoil the Father's plan.
Our daily life is full of options. Without the wise advice of the holy spirit, you will not be able to discern which direction to take or how to walk in your will.
