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Understanding what the Holy Spirit is saying can be a challenge. The Bible says He is your helper and guide through life, but how can you have confidence in what He’s saying? Or even if He is speaking in the first place? Is that voice telling you to study at uni the Holy Spirit? Or when you hear that “she’s the one,” is that Him or just your emotions? Is it possible to develop a way to understand what the Holy Spirit is saying when He speaks?

In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear talks about setting up systems to help you achieve your goals. He writes, “I began to realise that my results had very little to do with the goals I set and nearly everything to do with the systems I followed.” A musician, for example, might have a goal to perform a difficult new piece. Their system involves how often they practice, how they break down and tackle difficult measures, and their method for receiving feedback from an instructor. Their success is determined, not by their internal motivation, but by their dedication to the system they’ve created. If your goal is to understand what the Holy Spirit is saying, you can gain confidence in that by developing a system.

Here’s a simple system to help you:

Listen

We can assume the Holy Spirit is always speaking, so we need to stop and listen to Him. His voice is small and still, so this can take time and patience. Give yourself time and space to intentionally stop and listen to that voice.

Hear

Take detailed notes of when you feel like you’ve heard from Him. Does it line up with God’s character? Does it line up with what the Bible says? Include the date and time as well as the details of what He said; your memory alone can be unreliable. Hold onto those notes so you can review them later.

Respond

Put into action what you feel like He has told you to do. Whether it involves some sort of sacrifice or putting yourself outside your comfort zone, embrace the challenge and trust that God will help you do it.

Review

Evaluate what happened. Was there a positive outcome? Did you or someone else grow because you responded?

Use this system to familiarise yourself with the voice of the Holy Spirit. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and have grace with yourself, as this is something you will learn over time. It’s also helpful to check in with a close Christian friend and go on the journey together. The more you live out this system, the more familiar you will become with the Holy Spirit’s voice.

(John 16:13) “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”

Start today! Prioritise this system into your time with God and see how you learn to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice.

Laura is the kind of person you want as a friend. Always looking to the bright side of life and always checking in to see if you’re okay. She shared a situation where she did just that with a work colleague...

“A friend of mine at work looked really upset so I went up to her and simply asked, ‘Are you OK?’ She looked up at me and her eyes looked a little bit red like she'd been crying, so I just decided to give her a hug – which was actually quite bold of me, especially being in a work setting. The hug led to her sharing about something that she was going through, which then led to a helpful conversation about Jesus.

She opened up to me about a miscarriage that she had recently gone through, and I was actually able to sympathize with her because I've been through something similar myself. She then asked me an interesting question, ‘How does the heartache go away?’ I was able to be really honest with her and said that the pain didn’t necessarily go away, but that my relationship with Jesus has been one way I've found that has really helped me.

Undergoing self-reflection to understand your own experiences (even if you don’t share them directly) is a great way to build empathy for others. Taking the next step and being vulnerable by sharing is a great way to spark conversations that lead to talking about Jesus. Simply sharing your story is powerful because you never know what that simple act of vulnerability can do in someone's life.

I feel like we sometimes overcomplicate things. Being bold and giving something so simple – like a hug, a word of encouragement, asking ‘Are you OK?’ – that can really change someone's life.”

Lis is a passionate Brazilian, visual artist, and mother. After losing her own mother, we spoke to her about the importance of empathy and how God can bring good things out of tragic circumstances...

“I lost my Mum to cancer. Not long after that I found myself in a conversation with a woman who also had cancer. I was still grieving the death of my Mum, but I didn't want to let that pain get in the way of the Holy Spirit's prompt to pray for her. I also didn't want that woman to miss out on everything that God could do in her life.

The dilemma in that moment was how to be empathetic to what she was going through and not be insensitive just because I wanted to talk about Jesus. So I asked an open-ended question to gauge her response: ‘Do you believe in God?’ This was a great question because it gave her the power to direct the conversation and gave me the opportunity to listen and hear things from her perspective.

The question opened up a great conversation. I was able to share about the tangible hope that Jesus had given to my Mum and family towards the end of her life, and in the end, I was able to pray for her!

In Romans 8:28 it says, ‘We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.’ This experience reminded me how important it is to reflect on your past experiences, bad and good, because God can and does use both.

When you remember what God has done, you will be prepared to share when the opportunity comes.

There’s no denying it. Starting a conversation about Jesus can be super awkward. It can come across forced and ungenuine. Your friend might get defensive and you might not know how to respond to hard questions. It can feel easier to avoid the topic completely.

How can you start conversations about Jesus in an easy and natural way?

God has woven ideas, stories, and analogies into our culture that point towards Jesus. They are reflections and refractions of God and our relationship with Him. In fact, you’ve probably already talked about Jesus many times, you just didn’t realize it.

There are many kinds of stories that do this, and we will briefly explore 3 of them here.

GOOD vs EVIL

Stories about good vs. evil have been around since humanity first started telling stories. Star Wars and Lord of The Rings, for example, present a world where there is a clear distinction between the forces of good and the forces of evil. The evil side is powerful, and often the hero is seduced by the power of evil, but ultimately the good side wins.

HERO STORIES

Stories about heroes are very popular. Often the hero is a normal person who is given certain abilities to fight on behalf of the helpless. Their lives are marked with self-sacrifice and service.

REDEMPTION STORIES

Redemption stories connect with us on a deep level. These are stories where the protagonist will be heading down a dark and evil path. Things continue getting worse for them until they hit rock bottom, have a realization, turn their life around, and find redemption.

These narrative concepts connect with us because they are true, and they are true because they are ultimately about Jesus. Think about it. Jesus defines good and evil. Jesus is the ultimate self-sacrificial hero, and all of humanity needs redemption.

As God’s children, we are to live by this command: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).

But how does this help you talk about Jesus?

When you’re having conversations about these topics, ask open-ended questions to explore these topics at a deeper level.

• “Do you think good and evil exist or is it just in our minds?”
• “Do you think our world needs a hero or do we have the ability to save ourselves?”
• “Do you think forgiveness needs to be earned or can it be given freely?”

This list of questions is obviously not exhaustive, it’s just to get you thinking. Always start by asking what they think about it, then share your thoughts and make sure it’s a conversation, not a sermon.

There are trending cultural conversations happening around you all the time. Be aware of these stories in the movies or streaming on TV. Consider how they reflect Jesus and use them as starting points for great conversations.

What stories do you know that could lead into a conversation about Jesus?