How to Practice Discernment Now

how to practice discernment

Why should you know how to practice discernment?

Maybe you skate through life without a scratch. So far you haven’t run into a brick wall and believe your life is just fine without learning a new skill like discernment.

Christian spiritual discernment helps you navigate life when living in a chaotic world.

How to Practice Discernment: Judgments and Discerning Are Different

Every day you choose where to go, what people to associate with, and what you want to accomplish.

In learning how to discern, you rely on God’s Word and His Spirit to reach conclusions. Believe it or not, you can think God’s thoughts with just a little practice. By doing that, you make decisions about situations, people, and everyday events.

In other words, you gain the spiritual insight you can’t get any other way. The importance of discernment in life shows up as you go about your day.

When you discern, you know what to avoid like places, people, and activities. You’ve probably noticed that some people don’t have your best interests at heart. Likewise, certain activities don’t glorify and honor God and there are places you should never go.

Practicing Discernment

Believers overcome difficulties when practicing discernment by asking questions. Here are a few to get you started.

  1. Were you deceived and blamed someone else for letting it happen?
  2. Do you tune in to the Holy Spirit living inside you or is your love and passion for God dull and lifeless?
  3. If you look back 6 months, did you allow people to mislead and guide your steps rather than God?
  4. Do you settle for good enough when God wants better and best?
  5. What’s in your spiritual heart? Do you ever evaluate its condition?
  6. Are you able to determine what teachings by Christian leaders are false or true?
  7. How’s your prayer and worship life, thriving or non-existent?
  8. Do you regularly do your own thing or seek God for wisdom?

Answers to these questions let you know whether you practice discernment or make human judgments. If you desire to seek God with all your heart, discernment fast-tracks your relationship with Him.

How to Practice Discernment

Did you know that God talks to us all the time so we have a fresh infusion of His truth? Most of us don’t discern when He talks because we don’t listen.

Each time we fail to hear God, we hand the enemy our souls and tell him it’s okay to destroy our lives. Oppositely, discernment keeps the enemy at bay. It gives us an edge.

For instance, I grew up on a small farm and Dad owned pigs, chickens, cows, and horses. To administer medicine or inspect the cattle for parasites, he used a cattle nose ring to handle them safely. That device gave him an advantage over them, in the same way, discernment helps a believer avoid evil.

Additionally, discernment combined with God’s love leads your thoughts to build up others spiritually. You can point them back to Jesus, scripture, and the Holy Spirit when they flirt with sin.

When you discern, God sometimes lets you know what He’s doing in your life. For instance, you may notice that God’s Word seems on fire inside you as it communicates truth to your heart.

One of the greatest benefits of learning how to discern is silencing the flesh. Believers keep a steady restraint on the flesh otherwise it rises up to overtake the spirit. By receiving a constant flow of God’s wisdom and His knowledge, a believer stays on high alert to stop the enemy’s tactics.

Practical Suggestions on How to Practice Discernment

You’ll run into fewer difficulties when practicing discernment by using these spiritual disciplines. 

  1. Actively pursue conversations with God about little and big things. He’s never bored with us (I’ll never know why). Don’t wait until a crisis to begin discerning. God is a now God and He wants believers to be now people, to live in the moment with Him.
  2. Draw the Holy Spirit into your prayer time. He knows everything. By inviting Him into your prayers, you expect Him to transform your life through your thoughts and circumstances. Let Him be your internal filter that separates darkness from light and wrong from right.
  3. Delight in God.  What that means is to want what God wants. To know that, believers know scripture to determine God’s nature and character. After that, desires and decisions will line up with God’s will.
  4. Look for unity and run from division. People on the wrong side of scripture usually develop their own false doctrines. The reasons vary as to why. Become a watchman on the wall for anyone and anything that opposes God or has an anti-Christ nature.
  5. Don’t get ahead of God. He gives instructions when we ask for guidance. He has reasons to approach circumstances differently depending on the people involved or other factors. It’s not wise to anticipate what His counsel will be.
  6. Be willing to renew your mind to know what is good, acceptable, and perfect (Romans 12:2) because our minds enjoy taking trips down bunny trails. To make Kingdom of God decisions, we can’t live like the world does and expect to become spiritually discerning believers.

The Importance of Discernment in Life 

The most comforting words God spoke to me were, “I will be right there with you.” A decision that seemed larger than life towered over my head. I could really mess up and knew it. To me, God’s statement meant that if I strayed off His path and plan for me He would let me know.

I also know I’ll fine-tune discernment as long as I have breath in my lungs. I’ll make human decisions void of discernment and some days I won’t even consult God. But my desire is to learn how to practice discernment. The reason?

Being discerning sets me on a straight and narrow course, a path I don’t want to veer from.

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