If someone tells me that the Holy Spirit or God “spoke” to them or guided them in some way, I am more interested in knowing exactly how that happened, than I am in what was said or done. Many people claim this in a very casual way, others casually accept it as a frequent occurrence.
If a preacher tells me the Holy Spirit told him, very clearly, that he was not to preach what he had prepared, and then told him what to preach. The real story is in the explanation of how that happened, not in the message. I take the comment at face value, a direct communication from God. When you stop to think about it, the Holy God of the universe contacting a person in that way would be an amazing event.
Now, if it is really a normal thinking process whereby a conclusion and decision is reached concerning an issue, then how can that be attributed to the Holy Spirit? Are the people who do this just naming the Holy Spirit for effect and authority?
Of course, it may be a result of a true understanding of your connection to the Life of Christ working in you and your response to that. That spiritual connection is what needs to be taught.
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