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action of the Spirit.” Of relevance to counseling, on them or suggest they pray about a different
He further believes that the Spirit is especially aspect of the issue. When people claim that they
concerned with helping the marginalized and hear nothing, we work with what thoughts went
powerless; His power liberates rather than op- through their mind during the silence, or so-
presses (Welker, 1994). metimes I share my thoughts. In working with
The Spirit also acts in inspiration and illumina- trauma survivors, I ask them to see Jesus in the
tion, guiding us in external and internal truth, memory. They often sense a peaceful presence,
convicting us of sin, and helping us know the and sometimes tranquil imagery, like a field of
mind of Christ (e.g., Mk 13:11; Jn 16:7-11; Acts flowers. My experiences illustrate the multip-
4:8-12; Gal 5:18; Levison, 2013). This action is le manners of divine communication. In the
ongoing. Pinnock (1994, p. 242) states that “re- above section, we reviewed some theology re-
velation is not a ‘closed system of timeless truths’ garding who the Spirit is and how He acts, now
but can continually prove fruitful and confront we need to consider how He speaks and how we
new challenges.” He notes that even Mary re- can best hear the voice of God.
flected upon revelation (Lk 2:19). This balance First let us examine the nature of spiritual com-
between spiritual experience and reason is em- munication. In the Bible, God speaks through a
phasized by Levison (2013), who writes partly burning bush (Exodus 3), a whirlwind (Job 38),
in response to excesses associated with the cha- and dreams/visions (Genesis 28:10–19; 37:5–
rismatic movement. He notes that the spirit- 9, Matt. 1:20–21; Acts 10:9–18). At times he
breath is a reservoir of virtue that needs to be speaks loudly in silence (1 Kgs 19:12). The mes-
cultivated; we need both scripture and spirit, sage almost always relates to guidance for the
both ecstasy and edification, and both inspirati- people of God and/or furthering his kingdom.
on and investigation. It is therefore prudent to be cautious about ex-
In my counseling practice, I have often wit- cessive extrapolation to counseling situations.
nessed the work of the Holy Spirit. But the chal- Nevertheless, the manner of communication
lenge is how we identify this work, which we is varied and imaginative. From a theological
discuss next. perspective, Rudolf Otto (1927), in his classic
work on the “idea of the holy,” notes that divine
Spiritual Discernment experience is mysterious, numinous and non-
I am frequently pleasantly surprised when a conceptual. In more contemporary literature,
patient tells me that I was reading their minds. Dale Allison (1995) claims that divine commu-
Saying the right thing at the right time is nication is always indirect, always ambiguous,
perhaps a result of clinical experience, inter- and always a whisper. Henri Nouwen (2013, p.
personal perception, intuition, a nudge from 182) similarly believes “God speaks in whispers,
the Holy Spirit, or, most likely, a combination signs, and symbols, in a still, small voice that
of these. Saying nothing is very helpful at times, requires theological reflection and spiritual in-
although many people are uncomfortable with terpretation,” and Thomas Keating (2002/2011)
silence. When I ask Christian clients to pray, claims that God speaks through inner impressi-
frequently they fail to wait for a response. Alt- ons, intuitive faculties, and deeper places than
hough God is always more capable than us, He external senses or reason; His first language is
is gentle and respectful, not imposing himself. silence.
I therefore suggest that people spend time in Although these authors may overstate their
silent listening. Often they receive insights that case, it makes sense that the breath of God, the
clarify matters we had been discussing. Someti- water that washes, the fire that renews, would
mes they are reminded of a past experience (of not necessarily speak in rational type manners,
which I had no knowledge) that sheds light on although his message is always sensible. This
current issues. Once God gave a patient home- awareness may help us when we consider how
work! Occasionally they “hear” something that to recognize the Spirit. The word discernment,
seems contrary to my biblical and personal derived from Latin, means to distinguish one
knowledge of the Lord. I will then gently questi- thing from another. The Old Testament uses va-

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