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God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24, ESV).
Christianity is a relationship, and those who follow Jesus should be able to hear His voice. Many attempt and fail, many hear wrongly, and others just give up. There are two guardrails to keep in mind when listening to God…
The correct way to worship or follow Jesus has the Spirit on one side of the road and Truth on the other. Following the Spirit without Truth should be avoided, but also Truth without the Spirit leads to difficulties.
Let’s use this image…
The left side of the road is the guardrail of the Spirit, and the right side of the road is the guardrail of Truth. If we eliminate either of these guardrails, we cause damage.
If we have only the guardrail of Truth and no Spirit, we can run off the road. There’s doctrinal purity with no compassion. God’s will often becomes narrowly focused on obedience to our denomination’s perceived interpretations — God isn’t speaking directly, giving life — it’s a dull walk of little relationship with God through His Spirit.
Avoid this …
If we have the opposite experience of no Truth, just the Spirit, we could also run off the road. Without Truth, what we think we hear in the Spirit can easily become “our thoughts,” not “God’s thoughts,” allowing our feelings and passions to direct actions, with little accountability toward fleshly responses.
Avoid this …
As balanced believers, we have both Truth and Spirit; we follow God’s guidance on a safe road that keeps us in step with the Spirit of Life while checking our thoughts and actions against the Truth found in the Bible. In these end times, when religion lacks power and false teaching about the ways of the Spirit prevails, we must learn to walk in Spirit and Truth.
A note: This illustration has been adapted from a diagram in Paul Miller’s book, A Praying Life. One of the best books that I’ve read on prayer and walking in the Spirit.