“Holy Nudges”
(Inspired by Article written by Clark Cothern, Discipleship Mag. Mar./Apr. ’08, Issue #164, p. 57-59)
An example of a “holy nudge:”
At one point in my previous ministry in Santa Fe. Tx. I remember getting a repetitive urging to call on a man named Larry who was attending our church faithfully, but who had never actually confessed Christ as savior or submitted to baptism. His name would come to my mind at the oddest moments, and, like the disobedient child that I often am, I ignored it or put it off for several weeks.
Then one day when I was working on the motor of the water pump covering our water well and was trying to make a blind connection to put the pump back together inside the pressure tank (and discovering just how long that task was likely to take,) I shot off a quick prayer that was an offer of a bargain with God. I said, “Lord, this could easily take all day to accomplish, and I’d rather to anything than waste hours on this job. If you will guide this shaft back into its place in the tank, I promise I’ll spend the time I save doing something more productive for you.” Well, on the first try after the prayer, the shaft seated itself perfectly inside the pressure tank and the task was done in less than 5 minutes.
Knowing that God had obviously answered my request in an amazing way, I asked the question, “Lord, what would you like me to do?” That’s when Larry came back into my mind. I said, “Ok, I’ll give him a call right now.” Naturally, he was home and available for me to go visit him that evening.
I went over, and had a long talk with Larry about making a decision for Christ. I would like to say that he was ready to commit, but that wasn’t the case. He was polite, but resistant. I finally urged him to let go of what ever was holding him back and simply fall into the loving arms of Christ. Well, I thought that call was a fiasco, and was about to decide to ignore all further promptings like that when Larry’s wife called me on the phone and said, “Ed, I don’t know what you said to Larry, but I think he is about to make a decision because he’s suddenly become hell to live with, and I can tell he is struggling to make some kind of decision.”
The following Sunday, he walked down the aisle, confessed Christ, and was baptized. Through the years Larry has grown to be a godly man, a faithful member of the former church I served, and a wonderful dad and grandpa. My call on Larry that night after the water pump experience is one of my most memorable reminders of the value of listening to holy nudges. They don’t come my way often, probably because I am generally a poor listener, and more often because I fail to ask God for such promptings, but when they do come, they often provide me with an unforgettable adventure.
Becoming a beneficiary of another person’s “nudge”:
I learned, second hand, about a nudge someone else received designed to benefit me and my daughters and save our lives. I usually walked my girls to school daily because we lived less than a quarter mile from the Santa Fe, Tx. elementary school. We walked down a gravel road and then crossed a bridge over a bar ditch to enter the school yard. One cloudless morning, when the sun was barely over the horizon and shining brightly into the windshields of all east bound traffic on a road we were crossing over, I noticed an old Cadillac coming dangerously close to us. And just as I was about to push my girls out of the way and take the impact of the car, it jerked violently back onto the road way and passed us by. We were shaken, but glad the car missed us, …even though just barely.
The following Sunday, a lady in the church asked me, “Did you almost get hit by a Cadillac last week near the school?” When I said, “Yes.”, She told me that her friend said she had been traveling east bound on the road next to the school. Her wind-shield was filthy and the sun blinded her so badly she didn’t realize she was part way off the roadway. She said, that a loud voice suddenly said “Move over!” and terrified her so much she jerked the wheel to the left and then saw a man and two little girls standing very close to the side of her car. She realized then, that the loud voice had shocked her into overcorrecting her steering and saved her from hitting 3 people she hadn’t seen at all. Being a Christian, the lady said the Holy Spirit had shouted at her and miraculously helped her avoid killing someone. I was glad to hear that the Lord cared enough for me and my girls, to speak directly to a lady at just the right moment.
Biblical Precedent:
The subject of holy nudgings would probably cause some to ask, “Are there any examples of that kind of thing happening in the Bible?” Some examples do come to mind. These are all from the book of Acts and happen after the Holy Spirit’s entrance on the scene and during the early days of the church.
Acts 8: 26-39: Philip was an appointed deacon in the Jerusalem church who traveled around doing evangelistic work. The text says that “an angel of the Lord” told Philip to go south to the desert road going from Jerusalem to Gaza, (vs.26), but a few verses later in vs. 29 the text says “The Spirit told Philip,”Go to that chariot and stay near it.” The Spirit was prompting Philip to have a conversation with an Ethiopian Eunuch working for Queen Candice, of Ethiopia. Philip spoke to the Eunuch, explaining the Old Testament text he was reading as he rode in the chariot, and preached Christ to him. The Eunuch believed and asked to be baptized. And in vs. 39 we read, “When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the Eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.” Luke began this story saying an angel spoke to Philip, but then twice he ascribed the conversation to the Spirit (29), and the Spirit of the Lord (39).” This looks like an example of a holy nudging.
Acts 10:9-23: In the story of Peter on the roof top of Simon the Tanner we notice a noon time vision Peter had of unclean animals being let down in a sheet from Heaven accompanied by an unidentified voice saying “Get up Peter. Kill and Eat.” When Peter protested that the animals were un-kosher, the same voice said “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” The vision was repeated three times (to make it clear that God was opening up the kingdom to include gentiles as well as Jews). And in vs. 19 we read that it was “the Spirit” who was actually speaking to Peter and told him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go with them, for I have sent them.”(vs. 20) This looks like another example of a Holy Nudge.
Acts 16:6-10: We notice that Paul and Silas, on the second missionary tour were “kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.” Because they were being told where not to go, but not being told where to go, they stopped at Troas, and that night Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia calling out to him, “Come over and help us!” Here is another example of nudgings, proddings, prohibitions, and then a verbal call. There are other examples that could be cited, but these three examples are enough to establish the possibility that the Holy Spirit is able to speak in one way or another and make his wishes known.
Learning about Holy Nudges:
How does a person know if the prompting to take action is the Holy Spirit? Sometimes these nudges feel counterintuitive when we first receive them. That may be because we are inclined to protect our pride and call the shots. Answering Holy Spirit promptings takes us out of the driver’s seat, out of the comfort zone, and into a world we may not have experienced before. It may appear to be too "Pentecostal-like" to suit us. But when we get into the habit of actually “walking with Christ,” the Holy Spirit can begin to transform our spirits. That is why more mature believers can respond quickly to promptings that may seem completely outrageous to people who haven’t had much experience perceiving things from the Spirit’s point of view. Others who have shared these kinds of promptings have said “It takes time and practice to discern the promptings and become courageous enough to follow them quickly, without second-guessing.” Discernment is a key word in this process. It takes time and practice to differentiate between the Holy Spirit’s voice and other competing voices that may come from others, self, or even from Satan.
What do Holy Spirit nudges look like?
1. An unexplainable urge: to do something different than you usually do, or say something uncharacteristic for you.
2. A series of thoughts that may come to you (or your wife) as you prepare to speak with someone. These thoughts can assist you in figuring out what to say when you actually get together with a person you are about to have a conversation with.
3. A single word such as a name of a person God wants you to get together with.
4. A picture that comes to mind giving you a vision of something God wants done, or of a godly outcome God wants you to see in your mind.
5. An unexplainable emotion such as great joy or sorrow or passion about something you are beginning to see from a higher perspective.
6. The nudge or prompting may come in a whisper or a shout. Don’t assume it always happens the same way every time.
"This has never happened to me before. Should I seek out an experience like this?" I would have to say that depends on you. If the very idea of an unexplained nudge terrifies you, then you may not be much of a candidate for such an adventure. If you are too logical minded or rational to allow anything “off script” to happen in your world, then you may very well be spared any entrance of the unexpected into your well ordered situation. But if you are open to interaction with the Holy Spirit God has planted into you, and if you invite him to communicate with you in some way and give yourself room to listen to the Spirit’s voice, then such adventures may come your way. James tells us that we have not because we ask not. (James 4:2) I can’t help but assume that God planted the Holy Spirit into the hearts of believers for a greater purpose than for Him just to be there. If he is our teacher, guide, counselor, equipper, comforter, all of that implies some kind of interaction between us and the Spirit God planted within us. If he is within us, surely he was meant to interact with us somehow. Is it possible there is a greater experience of Christ’s presence within us than what many of us have experienced before now? Are you brave enough to invite the Holy Spirit to share an urge with you? I believe he is waiting to do that very thing.
