The healthier your spirit, the stronger the witness it can receive and relate with. We already said God is a Spirit and can only communicate with your spirit. Therefore, the healthier your spirit, the more sensitive it will become to the movement of the Spirit of God.

One way the witness of the Spirit operates is that whatever does not create liberty in your spirit is a constraint of the Holy Spirit against the step you are about to take, for the Bible says wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there’s liberty (2 Cor. 3:17). Paul the apostle was a man that enjoyed this ministry of the Holy Spirit. Acts 16:6-7 records this about him:

“Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.”

The Holy Ghost said no to their moves, not by speaking to them, but by constraining them. Whenever your spirit man is gaged, withheld, rested and choking, be cautious, because it might be the spirit of God constraining you against the step you are about to take. Many are insensitive to this, and still forge ahead anyway. In following divine guidance, you don’t always need to hear a voice from God showing what way to go. The Holy Ghost bears witness with your spirit, and when there is no liberty or release, it means He is placing a check on you or the move you are making or are about to make.

The release of the Spirit is an acid test in the area of the witness of the Spirit. When the great man of God, Oral Roberts visited Nigeria in the eighties, I was one of those to welcome him. As I was about to leave for Lagos I had a constraint in my spirit at the airport in Kaduna, and I told my companion on the trip, “I’m not going on this trip; I have no release.” But he said, “Sir, we have to go. Everybody is waiting there, and we have to be a part of it, otherwise it might be misinterpreted as pride.” Even after I got on the plane, I said, “Can I have my bag please, I’m no longer going.” But again, my companion said, “No sir, please; please, no sir.” So, he forced me to continue on the trip.

Our plane took off from Kaduna, but we were unable to land in Lagos due to bad weather. Rather than take us back to Kaduna, we were taken to Ilorin, where we waited for about six hours. The plane took off for Lagos again, and we arrived at about 5 p.m. Meanwhile, the event we were going for had taken place at 11 a.m. A flight for Benin was scheduled to leave at 5 p.m.

Since Oral kObenin. But at five o’clock, the ted to join them in Benin. But at five o’clock, the Benin flight was canceled. I think the devil then took over a this point, as I said, “We must get to Benin today by all means.” I told my companion, “Get a taxi that will take us to Benin at any cost.” As we put our bags in the car and were about to shut the door, the taxi driver said, “I’m not going again.” I then asked him, “Can you get us to any Benin motor park, as we must get to Benin now?”

We again took off for the Benin motor park, where we got a rickety 504 station wagon car that agreed to take us. But as I was about stepping into the car, the voice of the Lord came to me saying, “If you move one more inch, you’ll be a dead man.” So, frustrated and dejected, we returned to the airport. We took off for Kaduna at 11 p.m. and arrived at 12 midnight. I knew I had been walking in disobedience and had paid for it.

May you not end your journey in frustration. A witness of the Spirit is as strong as the voice of the Lord, so don’t despise it. May be you are about getting into a business, but there is no release in your spirit, but you are still going ahead with it simply because your friend has asked you to. Stop right now; otherwise there will be a crisis.

Maintain a healthy spirit. When your spirit is not celebrating a particular step you are taking or about to take, then watch it, as God may be sending you a signal to stop. I’d like you to watch out for liberty in your spirit in any deal you are getting into. For instance, if you are buying a plot of land, watch out for liberty; otherwise, you may pay for the land but never possess it. Watch out for liberty in your spirit in every step you are about to take, so you don’t keep choking rather than flying…

This text is an extract from the book “IN PURSUIT OF VISION” written by David O. Oyedepo. 
We invite you to read the following article “ACID TESTS“.