2 Samuel 23:1-2 — Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.

It occurred to me the other day that I have been writing these pieces for a little more than a year. I don’t remember missing many days. Now I don’t say that every piece has been all that good (I am no “sweet psalmist of Israel”!) — but there has never been a day when I didn’t know what to write about when the time was right. Now this is difficult for me to share in some ways, because it might seem that I am claiming the same kind of guidance as trained and Spirit-filled preachers and teachers. I don’t want to make such a large claim. All I can say is that each day, by the time I come to write these devotional pieces, I know what I’m supposed to write about — although sometimes I have no idea why!
Someone was it Myra?) asked me how long I thought I would keep on writing. I said “as long as the Spirit keeps whispering”. It was just a casual answer, I thought, but I realized — on reflection — that there was more to it than that.
I think I’ve written before about how we discern the will of God. One thing that I’ve come to know is that more often than not, the message comes very quietly. It might come silently as we read the Bible, or as a “heard” voice. Often His will is revealed through circumstances — and sometimes we just “know”.
It happens in the same way when I write. Perhaps a passage in our morning devotions, or an idea that comes from nowhere, or something that happens in the day … the subject is whispered to me.
Part of what came to me today, fully formed, was the thought that it doesn’t just work that way for me. It works that way for you too! You can think of it as the witnessing engine, We’re all witnesses. We all need to know what to say. Give the Spirit a chance and He will whisper the message to us. This shouldn’t be a surprise. The circumstances are not quite the same, but you might remember Jesus promised the disciples “But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” (Matthew 10:19-20)
The circumstances of witnessing might change — a trial, a devotion, or just a chat with a friend — but if our hearts and minds and ears are open, the Holy Spirit will whisper the words!