Discerning of Spirits and hypersensitivity

[angeltrue]

I am sure you do - especially if you actually have that gift. While all believers should (after spending time in the Word and in fellowship with the Lord and each other) start to pick up on stuff that is wrong spiritually, the charismatic gift works like the other revelatory gifts of Word of Knowledge or Word of Wisdom. (and like prophecy or interpretation of tongues) You are given a word or phrase down in your spirit that pops up in the back of your mind.

I have times when the appropriate scripture verse comes to mind - I wish it happened more often.

 

[Dave-W]

I don't usually recall the exact verse but quote from memory. I think it's something that you pick up as one grows in the faith.

Heb 5:12 (NASB 95)
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

(KJV) 14But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

 

[Dave-W]

I have times when the appropriate scripture verse comes to mind - I wish it happened more often.

It takes time. Just keep reading and studying. It will happen more and more.

 

[angeltrue]

Heb 5:12 (NASB 95)
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

(KJV) 14But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

That's it.

 

[Dave-W]

That's it.

Yeah. But note what comes after it - Heb 6.1-3, the list of the 6 foundational doctrines of the New Covenant faith. If you want the discernment you should start with having those points down cold.

Dr Derek Prince (of blessed memory) wrote a 52 episode 1 hour radio show on those 3 verses. It has since been condensed into a book called the Foundation Series.

 

[Far Side Of the Moon]

What would classify as hypersensitivity to the spiritual?

 

[Staj2016]

I recently discovered I have this gift. I have had traits of it my whole life, including picking up on traits of other people, places, and things that no one else picks up on. New-agers and psychics tried to tell me [before I found Christ] I was an ''empath,'' meaning I have extreme ''empathy'', I can feel everyones emotions and thoughts. Anyway, this ''gift'' has caused me severe anxiety and depression for years. When I would go to work, I would get so over-loaded being around people while everyone was just as calm as could be... I would be picking up on everyones emotions and possibly spirits around me so badly that I would panic, often leaving and running out the building. I quit several jobs because I would get so overloaded. I never understood why I would feel like this but I think it is because of discerning of spirits, is that what it is?

Does anyone with this have any advice for how to manage this? I can't ''taper down'' my sensitivity, it is part of who I am.

Has anyone experienced this? What did you do?

I certainly do not agree that you can "feel" people's emotions and thoughts. Maybe you are describing it wrong? Do you mean you are sensitive to the spiritual atmosphere around you? I think many people with the gift of discerning of spirits can walk into a place and discern the spiritual atmosphere and people in there. You may also discern a person's motives behind their words or their intentions. There is so much more to this gift though. As far as anxiety that you feel etc with it, you really need to draw close to God and only he can tell you for sure if it is from him. I have heard many stories before though about people being a little disoriented when their spiritual gifts start to manifest. The Bible doesn't really have clear instructions for how these gifts work exactly. There are principles, but no clear instructions. The Bible tells us to test the spirits too. I do know there is a learning curve with some spiritual gifts such as discerning of spirits and prophecy. Not everybody with the same gift is going to manifest that gift the same way. These gifts are manifested differently though each of us based on our personalities etc. But you should def read some books by "James Goll" if you haven't already. He really can describe things that those of us who are learning to use our gifts may not really know how to explain. It has helped me so so much. He also has a book that just came out called "The Discerner." There is also a book that helped me called "The Seer." You should really check these books out. Christianbook.com is a good source for books too.

 

[ShadowInTheLight]

I had to smile when you described yourself as hypersensitive - that's exactly how I would describe myself. If you can try to listen for "the still small voice" maybe that can guide you.

Not that I always follow that. I'm going through severe medical issues and it has me on overload, but sometimes I've found if you vary your routine God can sometimes give you clarity. I am often attacked by the evil one - it seems more than most I'm unsure why. Maybe because us "hypersensitive" can pinpoint or sense the approach of the evil one more readily.

I'd be interested in hearing the experiences of others with this gift.

Now I'd really like to respond to both the OP and this reply by adding my own experience.


I am not really sure if I have the gift of discernment or not, but I can tell you that ever since I started seeking God my ability to catch "vibes" off people seemed to translate into discerning of spirits. However, I am starting to think it's actually two different things in one like essence.

The only reason I say this is because I have had experience with "negative" energy (most likely demonic, but I can't say I know for sure). I can name several specific occasions and many milder situations where I felt a sense of darkness thanks to something out of my control (usually, I would presume).

I did have the choice of whether to become entangled in it, but I did not understand what was going when I was younger, and was instead fascinated by it and unafraid to explore (I was just typically fearless, and also ignorant of Biblical morality).

Again, I can't say this is a gift of the Spirit for me since it technically happened when I wasn't a Christian (but not outside of me seeking God, I can tell you of being led away from a church prior to coming to faith because of this. The strange judgement calls were absolutely what kept me from falling into a bad place with religion in general).

Finally, the only reason I wanted to respond specifically to this reply was because of the note about having frequent attacks. It does seem that I experience them more than others, but I am not sure if it's perspective and misunderstanding, or if I really do since I used to feed off of the energy (or have this gift). My current thought is that everyone does experience it, but doesn't always recognize it as being spiritual (which does make sense if certain individuals, in theory, have gifts that others do not).

Sometimes I have to calm myself because I become wrapped up in this idea that I'm under spiritual attack (I have a sense at times that something is spiritual in origin). Since making a few Christian friends, I've been, as of late, experiencing it with them as well. Someone will tell me about a struggle in their life, especially with God, and I almost immediately am able to decide what part of it is a spiritual attack. It's like I'm experiencing, seeing, feeling, and hearing the lies and assault disguised as words. The person doesn't even have to believe the "thoughts" are true, I can just tell where it came from (with a reasonable measure of doubt, of course).

Anyway, interesting subject! I'm excited when I see how God uses these gifts.

 

[Dave-W]

What would classify as hypersensitivity to the spiritual?

Good question. Consider this passage:

2 Kings:15
Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.​

The servant could see ONLY the enemy army. But the prophet could see (and asked for his servant to also see) what was going on in the spiritual world around them.

The servant had normal sensitivity (little to none) on things spiritual. But the prophet could see. Some seem to have this ability naturally (hypersensitivity); some have it thru divine revelation and gifting, and yet others seem to get it from demonic divination.

IT seems those with the natural sensitivity are more open and apt to recognize the divine (or the demonic) gifting.

 

[33W]

Ok, so I've stumbled across the his and have some testimonies that could possibly help. I truly believe in the Holy Spirit being our teacher so I try to stay out of teaching, and instead, I mainly give my testimonies. I believe, the Spirit will bear witness if true for you.

I see, hear, smell, feel...a lot. What I have learned, is if someone has NOT experienced any of this, they really cannot help. We DO have the ability to see into the spiritual realm. There is the wrong way (drugs, psychic's, etc.) And there is the God/Christian way...the Holy Spirit...he reveals all to us. What I have learned from my experiences, is I can recognize anything that I have tried or overcame. Anxiety...God had me go to Celebrate Recovery. I didn't know why, but I learned a lot while in there. Before breaking into groups and telling what we all suffer from, I would utmost panic...like I wanted to run out of there and/or breathe into a brown paper bag. Then someone would say...my name is XXX and I suffer from extreme anxiety. I was like, HOLY SMOKES, I was picking up their anxiety! So, the next time I felt that overwhelming anxiety feeling I would pray...Lord, release whoever is here from anxiety. Thank you for the light shining in the dark and the darkness will NOT overtake them . I would pray as I felt led, that this being a place of prayer and IT couldn't stay...whatever at the time. Amazingly, these people started getting better and their symptoms would go away. I NEVER told these people what I felt or what I prayed for them. I did that with a friend once and it got real ugly.

Fast forward to a Christian conference I went to. This guy was a speaker that had.some amazing testimonies. He would go into Wiccan festivals and share about the love of Jesus. The one day, he got up and had severe anxiety. He asked the guy with him, do you feel that?? The guy was like, yeah, I feel like I want to run away. He's like, me too, this is gonna be awesome!! He said, they were feeling "it" and "it" was scared of them coming in.

After hearing that, I was like, shoot, is that what all this is??

So, I will ask God questions and go out, do street ministry (which is basically everywhere I walk and sharing, noticing, caring) and God trained me through all of these people I thought I was ministering to, he was answering my questions and training/preparing me for what I was about to encounter.

I started seeing a couple years back...literally seeing things around people. It is not that crazy. I typically can feel the environment shift and depending on if there is a whitboard, or if I have my glasses on, I will see light forms around them. I've begun to recognize them and can understand what a person is dealing with. Grief is a common one, and I find it interesting that it manifests when the people speak about their dead loved one. Which leads me to the Bible verses about not even speaking about evil (my thoughts are, what we speak about literally causes it to manifest).

Ok for some real and not spiritual. We can literally see gases. Although our eye cannot see them, we can create an environment using a razor where we can see. It's amazing (God led me to this when I was asking what and why I can see). Look up Schlieren optics, it is pretty amazing! Ok, so using these principles presented in a video clip/photography we CAN see, we just need to have tools to see. Well, the Word is SHARPER that any two edged sword. Iron sharpens iron...we also see scriptures about a veil. We also see the servant's eyes opened (veil removed). We also see all over scripture about 'heal my unbelief'. So, to me, anything is possible to those who believe and I believe and so I see. Is there more to it, maybe, but I like to keep things simple...Jesus said a child could understand, so I'm not trying to complicate it.

Back to feeling: I took an Adderall once. I hated it, would never take it again. It soed me up, I felt like I had been running and I couldn't catch my breath. I had to concentrate real hard to talk to people, trying to slow down my words so I wasn't on superspeed. Now, when I get around people taking that drug or certain other drugs like that one (or someone's still in their system( I will get sped up and show those same symptoms. I recognize it and can speak to it.

When we deal with people praying their own will over us and not God's will, I get physically sick. I can't pray, I start gagging. I've learned now to stop and say, no, I Will NOT allow you to affect me or (whoever I am praying with right then). Sometimes it's my kids or husband, that I have to throw in there and who they are going to encounter. Then it goes away and I can pray. We have a business and a lot of times we've encountered on those days people trying to get things for free or something about to go wrong. It's like a warning that someone is trying to attempt something that will harm us and/or ho against God's will.

I could go on and on over the testimonies.

We need to have balance! We need to use the Word and Spirit. Once again, I had to be willing to let God show me everything and just step out and see if something was right or not. He will confirm it if it is true. What I have learned, is you have to be careful who you tell. If you are able to see/hear/feel or are prophetic, a d you come around someone hiding something, they will not want you there. Why?? Because you will call it out and they or it wants to stay hidden. I had to learn this the hard way.

Oh, and I do cry for people. A lot. Which was very hard for me as I grew up not being allowed to cry. Now, when God is involved, it seems like I cry a lot. I get woken up in the middle of the night to pray for people.

Anyways, I could go on and on. Hope this helps! I have been searching for others out there like me, and I truly believe their wrong teaching (unbelief') is keeping them from the full spiritual fulfillment. We are told we are over comes by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. I know others testimonies have helped set me free and mine have helped others. Keep asking God and he will show you, just be open to listening, I .whatever way that will be.

Oh, and I believe empathy and intercessor are pretty much the same. One is the wrong side and one is the God side.

 

[tturt]

If this info has already been stated, sorry but there`s difference between discernment and discerning of spirits. Since it is one of the manifestation of the spiritual gifts, it means that it's from The Holy Spirit. I Cor 12 begins with my fellow believers. Discerning of spirits has a purpose since it`s from Him so we can just ask Him about it when it happens.

One purpose is to discern if it's Godly or not. Sometimes things may sound spiritually ok but we need to ask Yahweh. An example is the young woman who followed Paul and others cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation." What was being said was correct. "...But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour." Acts 16. Maybe Paul tested the spirits as we`re told to do (I John 4).

There is a developing of discernment. As Scripture already posted about our senses exercised to discern both good and evil Heb 5:14. Our physical senses can be used for Godly spiritual purposes. There are numerous Biblical examples such as II Kings 6: "And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."

In regards to feeling what another person is feeling, that`s the way the gifts of healing operates sometimes. An example is just for a brief time, the believer praying may hurt where the person asking for prayer is hurting.

As far as someone experiencing discernment before becoming a believer, "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance." Rom 11. Of course, it won`t be accurate or it'll miss the mark without the leading of The Holy Spirit. Also, as believers if we`re not used in our gift area, the gift potential is still there. But when we cooperate, we can be used.

 

[bèlla]

When I didn’t walk with the Lord my ‘spiritual sensitivity’ manifested in a different way. Which I would designate as supernatural rather than the gift of discernment.

The purpose of discerning spirits is for kingdom work. It isn’t for personal edification. We benefit from its presence but have no say in its dispense or portion.

After I came to faith things changed. I’m not subject to human energy at all and experience the gift through five senses. In the beginning there was more harassment from the evil one. The Lord permitted it so I’d learn to discern the difference. But that isn’t a constant now and I’ve been walking with this for several years.

Empathy in itself is the ability to join someone in their suffering. The form which references energy and empaths is common in New Age and occult circles.

Discernment enables you to distinguish the nature of spirits. Both good and bad. It is common for some to have the gift of wisdom or knowledge as well. They work together.