How do you develop awareness in the spiritual realm of your life?
Discussion question for September 4, 2009.
Much of our life is defined in the physical realm through the five senses. God is a spirit, and we must worship Him in spirit. What part of your life is focused on the spiritual realm? How do you know something exists or happens if it isn’t experienced through touch, taste, smell, sight or hearing? If you were to expand your ability to understand in the spiritual realm, where do you start?
Here is my summary of our discussion.
The things of the Spirit are spiritually discerned. We must have a desire to understand and accept the spiritual realm, that is to be open to experiencing it. Without that we are likely to remain blind to its existence and effect. God is Spirit, and is always operating in the spiritual realm, the challenge is whether we perceive it or not.
The role of faith is important. There is a difference between believing in God as a Spirit versus believing in a specific manifestation of that in the physical realm. For instance, Jesus identified belief as the activating agent in many of the healings He did. A thought to ponder is whether the person would say “I believe in the miracle” or “I believe in You”.
The spiritual disciplines are an effective doorway to go through as a step toward increasing our spiritual awareness. This includes disciplines of abstinence (such as fasting) and disciplines of engagement (such as prayer). In either case the person is prioritizing God and relationship with Him above their other personal desires or affections.
As we explore the spiritual realm, we do not neglect or discount the emotional or physical realms. Proper personhood integrates all three realms. As we diminish the attention on the physical realm we open ourselves to experiencing more of the emotional and spiritual realms. Unlike gnosticism, this is not at the exclusion of the physical realm but in conjunction with it.