I saw this question posted recently in a group I am in:
“My fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, who God has blessed with the gift of discerning of spirits, do you feel things? I find it difficult to talk to people about it without me sounding crazy and at times I feel like I’m going crazy, like there’s something wrong with me. I struggle to work out what is my stuff or other people’s stuff or what I am meant to do with what I feel. Does anyone understand me or experience the same things?”

YES! You are not alone!! 💗

I decided to write out a response to this question because I see it frequently. The person asked if there was a book or something where they could learn how to use this gift of feeling things in the spirit. Unfortunately, I don’t know of a good book on this topic. That’s partly why I started this blog – to share what I’ve experienced to help normalize it for people. And to let them know, You are not crazy and you are not alone – I experience these things too.

So in this post, I’m going to go over this gift of discerning of spirits as it relates to “feeling”. Part of what makes this a bit confusing to discuss is that “feeling” can mean emotional feeling and it can mean tangible feeling – like sensing a presence in your room. Because the feeling gift works both ways, I’ll discuss each one.

Where to start? This is such a deep topic and no one has tackled it sufficiently yet. There are precious few books written on discerning of spirits.

What Do I Do With What I Feel?

Let’s start with what to do because that is usually the first question I hear from people: “I felt __, but I didn’t know what to do about it.” Here’s my 1 step plan: Ask the Lord. When you feel something (whether tangible or emotional), simply stop, pay attention to what you are experiencing and ask, Holy Spirit, what is this? Am I supposed to do something about this? Then wait for a minute or two and see what comes to your heart or mind. Don’t try to figure it out on your own – that’s leaning on your own understanding. If you need to know, God will tell you!

Sometimes clarity will come to you and you’ll know what to do. Sometimes you get nothing. In that case, simply continue on with your day and trust that if it’s important, God will show you more. I specifically ask Holy Spirit because the Spirit has been given to us to lead us into all truth, to teach us things.

When you feel things that no one else appears to feel, you may be tempted to question your sanity. This happens because your soul is trying to interpret what your spirit is perceiving. Don’t let your soul try to talk you out of what you are sensing. You are sensing it for a reason. Just stop and ask the Holy Spirit to show you what to do.

Sometimes you may feel things because it gives you more information about a person or a situation, but you may not need to do anything about it. It’s just information. For instance, today I went to a local farmer’s market. I saw a vendor that was selling pretty rocks, incense, stones with inspiring words carved on them, tea, jewelry and other items. I heard an older lady say, “We are a mind, body, spirit store.” I looked at a younger woman standing behind the table and I perceived her unrest. She was shifting from foot to foot and nervously moving one of her hands. But I felt it first. That’s what made me look up from the table and pay attention to her behavior. I asked the Lord silently inside my spirit whether I should say something to her. In fact, I thought it was ironic that they were selling things promising to give you peace when this woman clearly was not at peace. The Holy Spirit told me not to say anything so I moved along. Later it occured to me that maybe this woman’s unrest was because of demons she may have invited in and they were uncomfortable being near the light that I carry. People who dabble in the spiritual realm using these items often invite guidance from spirits that they think are harmless but later are revealed to be demons with a hurtful agenda.

In case you are wondering if it’s just you, let me assure you – I feel things every day. Everywhere I go I feel things. Do I know what it all means? No. I don’t have to. I’ve learned that in the kingdom of God, information is on a “need to know” basis. If you need to know, God will tell you. If not, just keep going.

So how did I know this was “her stuff” and not “my stuff”? I’ve learned to pay attention to what I am feeling. I was at peace as I was strolling through the farmer’s market. I make it a point to cultivate peace, to bring it wherever I go. So when I felt this unrest in the spiritual realm, I looked around to see where it was coming from. I knew it wasn’t my unrest – it came from outside of me. It wasn’t inside of me.

Feelings on the Inside versus the Outside

There have been times, many times in fact, where I am at home minding my own business and suddenly I feel a negative emotion. It comes out of the blue. I will feel it on the inside as though it is my own emotions. And yet, I was not thinking any thoughts related to that emotion. I wasn’t upset about anything – it just came to me.

What do you do when that happens?

I do the same thing – my 1 step plan. I stop, pay attention and identify what I’m feeling. Then I ask, Holy Spirit, what is this? Am I supposed to do something about this?

It could be an attack of anxiety from the demonic realm – just sent to harrass me. If so, I would pray, “I come out of agreement with anxiety and fear. I command you to leave right now. I cover myself and my household with the blood of Jesus.”

I might ask Holy Spirit if there’s an open door that allowed this attack to enter. If so, I say, “I close every open door to the enemy’s realm and seal them with the blood of Jesus.” If I was the one that opened that door, I would repent.

But maybe this feeling is not an attack. Maybe someone else is feeling anxious or upset. If I am near a friend or family member, I may feel prompted by the Spirit to turn to them and ask, Are you feeling anxious about anything? Maybe this is a word of knowledge as a feeling so that I can offer to pray for them and show compassion for their pain.

Sometimes I don’t get any clarity about who is the one with the feeling so I simply send peace. I might pray, Lord, I don’t know who is feeling anxious right now, but I give this feeling to You. I ask for Your peace to penetrate and saturate this anxiety. I receive Your peace.

This is the role of an intercessor – to bring to the Lord the unrest in the world and release His peace and love to heal the pain that is causing the unrest.

The main thing I try not to do is assume I know what is going on. That would be leaning on my own understanding. Instead, I turn to Him and ask for direction and then act.

If I was not at peace when the feeling suddenly came, it can be confusing to figure out – is this mine or someone else’s? Either way, I simply surrender it to the Lord. I stop and ask for direction. If it was mine to begin with then I certainly don’t want it! Or maybe I was feeling a little off already and this extra emotion was sent to sabotage my day. Still the 1 step plan is my choice of action. I am going to do my best to get back to the place of peace inside and out.

–> I will tell you a secret – the more you get healed on the inside, peace becomes your normal operating environment. Peace and Joy. So when other feelings suddenly come over you, you realize – This is not me! And it’s easier to deal with it. (So pursue inner healing – it’s wonderful!)

As an intercessor, sometimes you may carry an emotion for someone else for awhile. You might feel the heartache of divorce or grief. You might feel the loneliness of abandonment. You might carry a sense of anger over injustice. Keep in mind – you are not meant to carry it for a long time. Keep surrendering it to the Lord and ask Him to lead you in how to release what is needed from His kingdom into the earth – or on behalf of a specific person. He will show you. You will be directed. It might just come as an intuitive understanding of what to do. Just follow His leading.

Feeling Atmospheres

When there is unrest in a nation, you might feel it in the atmosphere. That can feel inescapable! This is very hard if you are a feeler. Sometimes the feeling is only regional. I’ve had times where I could feel so much pressure in the atmosphere around me and I just knew I needed to go for a drive. As I drove out of the area and passed a certain boundary in the spirit, immediately the pressure decreased. A big sigh of relief would come over me and I’d realize it was regional. Often when it is over a large area like that, there’s not much you can do about it other than just endure until it passes. Someday we as a corporate body will have authority to shift the atmosphere over a larger region, but right now, I certainly don’t have that on my own and I don’t know of a local body in my area that does.

Am I Going Crazy?

Last question: How do you know if you are going crazy? This is an excellent question because many of us may feel like we are crazy, especially when no one else seems to sense what we do. First of all, if you are questioning your sanity that’s actually a sign of good mental health. People who have truly lost touch with reality, don’t ask that question. Secondly, find others who have this gift that you can share your feelings with. It really helps to have someone who is sensitive to the Holy Spirit who can validate that what you are sensing is not crazy. The gifts are meant for the body of Christ and having others around you helps you fine tune your gift of discernment. Lastly, ask the Lord. He will confirm to you what is accurate and what is not. You can trust Him. It’s His job to take care of you, including your mental health. 🙂

The main thing is to simply learn to let go of anything you don’t understand. Ask Him about it. Wait for an answer and if nothing comes, just let it go. Don’t get wrapped up in your imagination.

This gift forces you to rely on the Holy Spirit more than anything else! It is vital. You can’t operate in the gifts of the Spirit without relying on the Giver of the gifts! Reading a book or this post might be a little helpful, but God is truly the only one who can teach you how to use the gift He gave you. So press in to intimacy with Him.

I hope this post has been helpful. I am sure there are more questions regarding Feeling in the Spirit. Please post any questions below and we can continue this discussion.

Just as a reminder – you are not crazy and you are not alone. I am a feeler too – there are many of us. We need to stick together. Thank you for letting God move through your feelings – it’s a gift! 🙂💗

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P.S. I just remembered a story about this that might encourage you. One time I was in a small group Bible study at someone’s home and I began to feel uncomfortable. I didn’t know what to do about it, but the tension was increasing. I looked around the room and no one else seemed to notice. So I didn’t say anything. Finally, we took a break and had snacks. I went into the kitchen and someone whispered to me, “Did you feel uncomfortable tonight?” I looked at them in surprise! “You felt it too?!” I asked, kind of shocked. Just then someone else walked in and said, “Me too! Didn’t it feel weird?” Then another person joined the conversation and we discovered FOUR of us had felt something was off but since we all assumed we were the only one feeling it, we didn’t say anything. So keep in mind – you are probably NOT the only one feeling what you are feeling, but most of us have no idea how to communicate about the unseen realm with others and we fear sounding weird so we don’t say anything.