If you have the ability to discern spirits will you always see them?

[other one]

6 hours ago, DustyRoad said:

That's what the Lord did for me as well, brother. You'll notice how I've been free of those things for quite some time now... this is the work of Jesus Christ, not me. 

I know there's scripture which pertains to how we're changed from glory to glory which I feel addresses what happens after we're saved and begin walking this narrow path, brother. It even applies to me! The Lord continues his work and he's changing me just like he promised, one day at a time.

With some of us it changes a little at a time and with others it's just Bam....   there it is...

[TheBlade]

Yes you don't always have to see spirits. And it says spirits not just bad but good and bad. As you asked. its not always seeing. But it will always be for the good to help to point to Christ. " discern ". That is not always seeing. So many times its not.

The gifts praise GOD glory to Jesus the holy Spirit gives He does not take back. He can and does use us so many times in all the gifts as He wills.

Edited January 28, 2020 by TheBlade

[BeauJangles]

2 hours ago, TheBlade said:

And it says spirits not just bad but good and bad.

Unless you are referring to angelic beings, the only spirits existing in an earthly realm are evil. Discernment of spirits are those who are satanic and not heavenly. One could sense something holy, but this wouldn't be what the Apostle Paul was speaking of. That should clarify the matter. 

[TheBlade]

32 minutes ago, BeauJangles said:

Unless you are referring to angelic beings, the only spirits existing in an earthly realm are evil. Discernment of spirits are those who are satanic and not heavenly. One could sense something holy, but this wouldn't be what the Apostle Paul was speaking of. That should clarify the matter. 

lol yeah.. what OTHER good spirits are there? Discern good and bad  not just some evil spirit. I should have said.

Edited January 29, 2020 by TheBlade

[NonProfitProphet]

On 1/2/2020 at 4:06 PM, Figure of eighty said:

I always thought for those that have the gift to discern spirits they either have experiences with the super natural at a young age or they just see them in the spirtual realm. 

 

I wonder can you still discern spirits without seeing spirits?

It can vary... I know of people who see them clearly; I’ve only seen them when I close my eyes, but can not describe what I saw. I am almost always alerted to their presence, if strong and active. I am an empath, so I get very agitated when I am near them because I “feel” them. I’m typically sensitive to certain ones that cause anger, deception, and other similar sorts of symptoms. 

[Figure of eighty]

11 hours ago, NonProfitProphet said:

It can vary... I know of people who see them clearly; I’ve only seen them when I close my eyes, but can not describe what I saw. I am almost always alerted to their presence, if strong and active. I am an empath, so I get very agitated when I am near them because I “feel” them. I’m typically sensitive to certain ones that cause anger, deception, and other similar sorts of symptoms. 

How has god helped you with your empathic abilities?

[NonProfitProphet]

17 hours ago, Figure of eighty said:

How has god helped you with your empathic abilities?

Well, I think He’s prodded me... I mean, “prompted” me to come out of my comfort zone and to gently confront people, lead them into talking, crying, & venting to calm them and guide them back to focusing their emotional energy to either solve a problem, face a challenge, or deal with an inaccurate perception. Sometimes, it can be a way to detect danger for me or my family in a church.

[RarexxRose]

What does it mean when you can see other people inside of other people? 

[MiraculousFaith]

On 1/16/2020 at 11:16 AM, ravindran said:

Discernment is not about seeing something. It is feeling in your spirit and knowing whether something is right or wrong. This is not a resident type of gift (like preaching, teaching). It does not mean a person can have this gift and can discern something every time. It depends on operation of Holy Spirit and when God wants the gift to be operative.

Yes, this is 100% a correct description of this gift. Especially the portion about the timely operation of the Holy Spirit.

Not sure if this comment also refers to "picking up", so-to-speak, on spirits of wickedness, but the same definition still applies. I have heard of people who, perhaps at one point or another, have seen invisible things. I also saw another comment on here that mentioned that the gift is only to discern evil spirits. As far as that goes biblically, I am not so sure.

However, I can confidently say that 90% of what I discern is demonic or fleshly in nature. I can pick up on falsehood vs. God's truth almost immediately in most cases (as in, I can respond to someone with verses already in mind and the truth which reveals the lie which someone believes). I can walk into a room and I will experience odd desires and unusual tempting thoughts, tension/pressure (as if there is a heavy fog or thick cloud in the room), or the movement of entities that are not visible. There have been cases where I also know the operating spirits' titles/names/intentions (for example, "divination", "deception", etc.). These things do not happen all day everyday; I believe it is only when the Lord allows me to operate in this gift on His time. I'm uncertain why He chooses to do this this way, but I am also wonderfully grateful that I cannot see demons--like, really grateful. They do not frighten me at all, but I am thankful for my very mild gifting, as it can be intense enough with what I already do experience.

A note on people who experience their gifting earlier in life: I am a more recent follower of Christ. I came from atheism/agnosticism, and then more or less satanic occultism. I've supposedly, according to my family, had an "imaginary" friend whom they, despite being non-religious and agnostics for most their lives, believe was not imaginary. I don't remember this experience, so I have nothing else to say about that, including any theories. I will mention, however damaging it may be to one's current perception of me, that I was seeking supernatural experiences when I was in my teens out of curiosity. Unfortunately, many of the sought after experiences I wanted were dark ones. It was similar to how I experience these things today, but, in a strange way, very different. I'm not sure how to describe it other than this: They appeared to want my attention long enough to hook me in, but would back off afterwards. Then when I followed Christ, they were determined to strangle me spiritually. In short, things got a lot more intense and real for me as a believer than they ever were as a lost soul.

After lots of praying for God to take what I thought may be a false gift, the discernment/experiences have remained to this day, albeit much more matured now that God's Word has shone on it. I still wonder if that means we can receive them prior to understanding them because we were always meant to have them. Food for thought.

 

[Paul James]

On 1/3/2020 at 10:06 AM, Figure of eighty said:

I always thought for those that have the gift to discern spirits they either have experiences with the super natural at a young age or they just see them in the spirtual realm. 

 

I wonder can you still discern spirits without seeing spirits?

The gift of discerning of spirits is one of the tools in the Holy Spirit's tool box for equipping the saints in the body of Christ.  It is the supernatural ability to discern what spirit a person is of.  This involves being able to discern whether a person is acting according to the Holy Spirit, another spirit, or just in the flesh.

I don't think it is discerning a demon under every bush, as some tend to think it is.   And it is not discerning in the natural that one's mother-in-law has a demon.

But there is a certain TV prosperity evangelist that some have discerned his spirit and are convinced that he is demon-possessed.  This is could be the work of the gift of discerning of spirits.  But I think that is an obvious case, because the guy is a blatant false prophet and teacher.  Anyone with a Bible could figure that out.

But where, in the natural, a person purporting to be moving in the Spirit may seem very plausible and genuine, and may deceive many.  But the Holy Spirit may give the gift of discerning that person's spirit, and it may reveal that he is truly genuine and what he is doing and saying is really of the Holy Spirit, and so it wold be safe to go along with him.  Then again, the Holy Spirit may reveal that the man is working in the flesh and not the Spirit and will need to be corrected and disciplined to spend more time in the Scriptures and in prayer to ensure that he move from the flesh and back into the Spirit.  Or, the Holy Spirit may reveal that the man is being influenced by a contrary spirit that needs to be renounced and removed so that the man is restored to a genuine faith and so be rescued from deception and save others being deceived by him.

No one can say that they own the gift of discerning of Spirits.  The Holy Spirit always owns the gift and distributes it where needed.  But the person receiving the ability has it for that particular situation, and not as a permanent, "This gift is mine to use whenever I choose".   Some have set themselves up as a "ministry" involving seeing themselves as an "expert" in the discerning of Spirits.  I don't go along with this.  I believe that the gifts can pass from one person to another as the Spirit wills, so that the Spirit is always in control of the gift, and not man.  If a man gets up and says, "I have the gift of discerning of spirits", it may be that he is being puffed up with pride thinking he is someone specially called of God to the discerning of spirits "ministry";  when in fact there is no such thing.

It is the same with someone purporting to have a "deliverance ministry".  This is not Biblical, because the casting out of demons is for "those who believe", according to Mark 16.  This means that any of us who may be confronted with a demonized person has the authority to cast it out, and not some "special" or privileged believer.   Therefore, we can all receive the ability to use the gift of the discerning of spirits when and where the Holy Spirit deems it necessary.  This is because being filled with the Holy Spirit, gives all of us the potential to move in any of the nine gifts according to the will of God in any situation we find ourselves in.

Therefore, Biblically, it is not limited to the pastor, but available to all suitably mature believers who are mighty in the Scriptures and men of prayer.