As we learn to recognize the various means by which God speaks to us and learn to activate our spiritual senses, we will grow in the knowledge of this gift.
“But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil,” (Hebrews 5:14).
The gift of discerning of spirits activates through the sense of smell, touch, body sensations, visions, the audible voice of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, dreams, and through many other means.
The gift of discerning of spirits sometimes operates through the sense of smell. A friend of mine received a proposal for marriage. He went to see the girl, and they fixed up the marriage. The marriage ceremony took place beautifully, but the marriage did not last even for two weeks. Sadly, it ended in divorce. It was very heartbreaking for my friend and for all of us. Later, when I spoke to him, he told me how he missed the leading of the Spirit in this case.
“When the proposal came, I went to see the girl. As soon as I entered their house I felt a stinking smell. It was not something natural, but unnatural.” He was sharing that this ‘smell’ was a sign from God that this proposal was from the Evil One. And that is true. Many times we can discern the Evil One through the sense of smell. The problem with us is that we are waiting for something spectacular, and so we miss the tender leading of the Spirit.
We can also discern the activity of the Holy Spirit through various fragrances. God the Father has His own fragrance, Jesus has His own fragrance, and the redeemed have their own fragrance. Mother Mary has her own fragrance, and different anointings of the Holy Spirit have different fragrances. There are different fragrances for identifying the different personalities.
The evil world also has its own fragrances. Those smells are duplicate ones, meant to fool the world. But there are original smells attached to these spirits. Through this kind of smell, the Holy Spirit reveals to us what kind of spirit is in action.
The smell of rotten eggs, human waste, sulfur, unwashed goats, cigarette smoke, and burned dead bodies are some of the smells we encounter in these cases.
The gift of discerning works through seeing and hearing also. Our spiritual eyes open to see evil spirits in people, places, and various situations. They appear in different sizes, shapes, and colors.
Our spiritual ears open to hear from the Holy Spirit. We can hear the Spirit of God whispering to us, “This is a demon,” or, “This is a spirit of lust,” or, “This is witchcraft,” or, “This is a spirit of pride,” or, “This is a spirit of murder,” and so on.
This is another story of how God reveals to us the involvement of the Evil One through the senses of hearing and seeing. A friend of mine went through a very powerful temptation. He used to visit his sister’s house most evenings. She lived a few minutes from his house. There was a girl staying in that same building who used to come to his sister’s house often. A few years ago, he was sharing this situation with me.
“Seeing her, I used to feel very much attracted to her, and I knew I had to overcome this. It was difficult. Days passed away like this. I came to a point where I had to decide whether to pursue this girl or go after God. I made a quick decision: I will go after God. I used to spend a lot of time praying alone, and with the group. So I decided to pray about this. I started praying from 10 pm onwards. It became 11 pm, 12, 1, 2, 3 am. Around three, I felt like a trance, and in a vision, I saw this girl. And behind this girl was standing a goddess, and I heard the name of the goddess… This was their family goddess. Through this vision, God revealed to me the involvement of an evil force.”
The Sense of Body Sensations or Touch
The gift of discerning spirits also works through body sensations. When you are praying for people, you can sense the areas they are bound by the Evil One by experiencing the same condition in your body. As you pray for them, you will find they are delivered. The Holy Spirit will give us the same feeling in our body. When people come to pray, we could feel a bondage moving in their body. By that, we understand that these people have demonic bondage in them.
The Sense of Feeling
Through the feelings guided by the Holy Spirit, we can discern the condition of the person we meet or talk to. We can literally feel the spirit of anger, the spirit of lust, the spirit of fear, the spirit of shyness, the spirit of divorce, etc., in people, when the gift of discerning of spirits is in operation.
The Sense of Taste
As we have physical senses that enable us to taste things in the physical realm, we also have a sense of taste. Through the sense of taste, the Holy Spirit reveals to us both sides of supernatural manifestation. Through the sense of taste, the Holy Spirit reveals to us the presence of God.
“He said to me, Mortal, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it. Then I ate it; and in my mouth, it was as sweet as honey,” (Ezekiel 3:3).
“How sweet are thy words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalms 119:103)
The Holy Spirit also gives certain types of taste to help us recognize the presence of the Evil One. The bitter taste, the sour taste, or a foul taste are some examples.
The Sense of Knowing
Through a simple ‘knowing,’ the Holy Spirit helps us to know the spirits that are involved. We just come to ‘know’ the oppression in the person we are dealing with. We may not hear or see or feel anything, but we will intuitively ‘know’ inside us.
Through the Anointing
Many times when there is a demonic presence, there is also a manifestation of the anointing within us. When the demonic starts moving in a person, the anointing will surge within us. You will sense an unusual, special anointing inside you.
Through the Word of God
The Holy Spirit also brings into our mind certain verses of the Word of God to help us know the presence of the evil forces.
“Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him, no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.” (Hebrews 4:12-13)
Before the Word of God, no creature is hidden. The all-powerful Word can see everything, and He reveals to us through His Word.
Through Dreams
The Holy Spirit can reveal to us the presence of evil through dreams. Many people do get a forewarning through dreams. The gift of discerning of spirits also manifests through dreams. If you have been praying for a certain situation or for certain people, you can expect a dream from God.
We can also discern the presence of evil through the gift of prophecy, through the gift of tongues, and interpretation.
