Using Your Natural Senses to Perceive the Supernatural

Hearing

Phone ringing; Knocking or doorbell ringing, but when you answer the door no one is there; Footsteps, but no one there; An annoying sound that I hear a lot is my garage door opening—definitely an attention-getter! Car door slamming. Audible voice calling by name, singing, or even humming. All of these are pretty typical sounds that we probably hear throughout the day. As the Lord sharpens our senses we will be able to distinguish those that are made by Him to get our attention from those that occur circumstantially.

Taste

Sweet, bitter, metallic, sour, sudden thirst. Again, these are ways the Lord is trying to get our attention. These sensations may or may not be related to what the Lord wants to say to us. I have on a couple of occasions had a metallic taste in my mouth; when followed up with the Lord I discovered that He wanted me to speed up something I was doing. I’ve also had a bitter taste, which ended up in intercession.

Touch

Touch of a hand from the Lord or an angel; breeze or wind where no source is evident; abrupt change in temperature or humidity. All these are to draw our attention that the Lord wants to speak to us. I’ve many times felt someone brush up against me when I’m working and often when I’m driving.

Smell

Here are some examples of the Lord making Himself perceivable by scent—roses, musty/moldy, sandalwood, indescribable. Again, since the purpose of the scent is to get our attention, it is not necessary to identify the odor in order to learn its meaning—we simply ask the Lord! For myself I have noticed a pattern emerging in the ways God communicates to me in the natural realm: sirens and flashing lights are to alert me to an attack of the enemy or that I’m vulnerable somewhere; more subtle interruptions are to draw my attention to a specific area of teaching or instruction.