2 Samuel 5:23,24
‘Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of the Lord, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees.”‘
This is interesting. David asks, "Lord, are we to fight them?" The answer is, "Yes", but more than that. God gives him military advice.
God answers prayer , but also guides and works with and adjusts circumstances. David will step forth with his army, but God is also on the move and works His will.
We will find ourselves in difficult times in which God will be moving. We are to pray as well. Philippians 4:6 says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." We are to pray in all things. Sometimes we will sense a prompting from God, sometimes not. We move trusting He will guide us.
Sometimes He will give us something specific to do. We may sense it's Him doing the guiding. Usually not. We may get an idea or sense a nudge to try something. Proverbs 21:1 says, "The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases." What's true for the king is true for the commoner. The individual is doing what he (or she) thinks he wants to do. But it could be God doing the influencing.
There is a difference between the guidance just mentioned and the guidance God gives a believer. The first is more general which God gives for His own reasons. The guidance He gives His children is requested and done because He is our Father.
Proverbs 3:5,6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." This is simply amazing that the God of the universe will do this. The all powerful, all wise and fortunately for us, all loving God wants to be involved with us in this way.
This guidance comes in different forms. Sometimes God puts thoughts in our minds unbeknownst to us, sometimes we sense it's Him and we proceed. A third type involves maturity on our part. Hebrews 5:14 gives us some insight, "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil." First off, mature means we've been walking with God for years and have experience with His Word, the spiritual realm and His guidance. The senses aren't referring to our five physical senses, but spiritual ones.
One of the spiritual senses has to do with peace vs. chaos. God is a god of peace. His presence and His kingdom brings it. The enemy and self breed chaos. Philippians 4:7 says, "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." God's peace is as a sentinel around our hearts. When we lose that, our spiritual senses perk up. Usually we did something wrong and need to confess it. We may be encountering evil that we need to watch out for.
If we look at the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5, they can be attached to our spiritual senses just described. Here's the list: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. As we walk with Christ these are a part of our lives. He seeks to work them in us, but they naturally flow from our relationship with Him. As any evil opposite confronts us, our spiritual senses are alerted and we are to pray and diagnose what's going on.
Here's another example addressing spiritual senses. We may feel impatient with someone. We pray for love and patience and attempt to exercise it. Our old nature is where the impatience come from. It wants to be in control. It triggers our spiritual senses and we attempt to do the opposite.
Lord, thank You that You answer prayer and offer guidance. Sometimes it's clearly You, other times we are responding to nudges, other times we do what we think is best and finally You have given us spiritual senses to aid in the process. Thank You, Lord.