To be a genuinely powerful guide spiritually is to comprehend the effect our words create, for in Christ they are a two-edged sword, Hebrews 4:12. It requires being totally committed to a genuine walk in Christ.

Power of Our Words

Words are more than just communicating information, for they shape perception and structure thought. They influence reality on multiple levels. Often repeated words become beliefs and repeated beliefs become identity.

Words then are a creative force. God spoke and it was, Genesis 1. When words are aligned with the truth of Jesus Christ, our absolute reference point, they stabilize reality. When they distort the truth, as Satan did when tempting Jesus, Matthew 4, they aim to be destructive. Because Jesus was the Word and spoke the true Word, John 1:1, Satan left defeated.

To speak genuine powerful words we must first know a personal and powerful relationship with the Word, Jesus Christ. As we speak, the depth of that relationship is revealed for where our focus is, that is where our energy is.

Spiritual Guide

When you speak as a spiritual guide, or influencer, you are exerting influence towards the person you are speaking to. You have a heavy responsibility and stand accountable to God for every unwise, or incorrect word spoken. By your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned, Matthew 12:36,37. Be warned, those who teach will incur a stricter judgement, James 3:1.

We must also carefully check anyone who steps into the role of being our spiritual guide. What is spoken, must come from more than one person, as confirmation that it is truly God. The word will also resonate with what God is already doing in your life.

False Spiritual Guides

A favourite strategy of the enemy is to use false spiritual guides. Ones who have no wisdom and frequently speak from a self-inflated ego.

The most dangerous false guides are the ones who use scripture, but ever so slightly misuse them, as Satan did with Adam and with Jesus, Matthew 4. Satan knows the ways of God and the scriptures. He delights to misquote scripture. The work of a false guide is to mislead and destroy the work of God, Genesis 3.

The good man brings out of his good treasure, what is good. The evil man brings out of his treasure what is evil, Matthew 12:35. Words and actions reveal the heart of a man, for as a man thinks so he is, Proverbs 23:7.

Final Authority

To be a genuinely powerful guide spiritually in Christ, the scriptures are the only and final authority. The Word is written on the fleshy tables of their heart, 2 Corinthians 3:3. They have an inner ear that is attuned to hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit. True counsel, given or received, must always be tested by the Word. 

Visions and dreams are valid only when they are scripturally grounded. The words of counsel must resonate in the person who is receiving it because it reflects what God is already doing in their life. You can only move a person one step at a time, both naturally and spiritually. The Word of the Lord to them will be, order on order, order on order. Line on line, line on line.  A little here and a little there, Isaiah 28:13.

God can be the God of the suddenly, but that suddenly is based on an already existing foundation, for the being always exists before the fact. Saul burned for zeal for God, then came the road to Damascus incident, Acts 9. Saul did a dramatic U-turn to become Paul, but it was done on the existing zeal for God.

Soul Surgeon

The wisdom of this world has nothing to offer the heart cry of the soul. To offer life-changing words is to know the power of the I Am that I Am, Exodus 3:15, know the Word of God and to understand human nature. Genuine powerful counsel cuts through the layers of the soul that relate to the flesh and turns the person’s inner eye onto the wonder of Christ.

Too many people look for spiritual counsel hoping for a band-aid, when what is required is skillful surgery. Like a medical surgeon who uses complicated technical aids to guide his hand, so the true spiritual counsellor operates totally dependent on the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

A genuine powerful guide spiritually uses wisdom and discernment. Just as a good medical surgeon uses a scalpel skillfully to effect a good result. The spiritual guide does not act from head knowledge, but from the leading of the indwelling Holy Spirit, John 14:17. The Spirit of truth who leads you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own initiative, John 16:13.

Less is Often Better than More

Too many people use volume of words in an attempt to speak with power. Katherine Kulman was a good example of how to operate in power. She would walk onto the stage but refused to start praying for people until she felt the strength of the anointing. As a young girl she was known for her independence, self-reliance and a desire to do things her way. These same attributes she applied to her ministry, and did it God’s way.

It is better to remain silent than to speak a string of words that do not hit the mark. Be silent and seek the Holy Spirit. Only then, will the words become genuinely powerful and do the work that God desires. The true spiritual counsellor obeys the voice of the Holy Spirit, regardless of the cost. To be a genuinely powerful guide spiritually, or leader, is to be totally surrendered and submitted to God, with no shadows of grey in your speech. For if the bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle, 1 Corinthians 14:8.

It takes strength and courage to be a genuinely powerful guide spiritually. It takes time alone with Him to know the I Am that I Am, Exodus 3:15, and do only what we see Him doing, John 5:19. You live in the ‘Now’ for God is a God of the now. He alone knows the end from the beginning, Isaiah 46:10. He knows what we need before we ask Him, Matthew 6:8.

Know Christ’s Sufferings

To be a genuinely powerful guide spiritually, is to live a real life and encounter real difficulties and fiery trials. To know the suffering of Christ in his or her own life, Philippians 3:10, for through it comes genuine empathy. Above all else you must be devoted to God, and are exclusively and often far removed from the average Christian.

Know the simplicity of fellowship and solitude with God. Be still, cease striving and know that I Am God, Psalm 47:10. It is to live for God to be God in your life and the lives of all you come in contact with.

To Be a Genuinely Powerful Guide Spiritually

To be a genuinely powerful guide spiritually is to speak the word of God passionately from fresh manna that comes every day, Lamentations 3:23. Words that drop like dew in the cool of the day, because of the indwelling presence of God.

Genuine powerful spiritual guides are ones who manifest the sweet aroma of the knowledge of God in every place, 2 Corinthians 2:14. They seek to glorify God, never allowing any glory to themselves, for God is a jealous God, and Jealous is His name, Exodus 34:14.

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Dr. Wendy Stenberg-Tendys is a servant of the Lord who enjoys researching Biblical topics and sharing words of encouragement from the Word of God. She asks the hard questions.

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