How Can We Be Aware of a Nudge from the Holy Spirit?

Meg Bucher Author
Updated Jan 18, 2024

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).

The glass doors to Urgent Care creaked as they stepped aside for us to pass through. As we autographed the sign-in sheet, my daughter’s big blue eyes watered up and followed a distressed lady who entered after us. Back in the room waiting for the doctor, she told me she felt the nudge to pray for that woman, so she did. Her face was triumphant, in recognizing and obeying that nudge from the Holy Spirit.

It was miraculous to me she had the strength to notice anything at all. She’d been awake for over 24 hours, unable to even keep a sip of water in her tummy for more than a few minutes. After she told me of her triumph, she fell asleep so deeply the doctor and I had to sit her up when he was finally able to get to us. She didn’t remember much of our visit, but she vividly remembered the sweet soul the Spirit nudged her to pray for.

What Does the Bible Say about Being Led by the Spirit?

Hebrews 11:1 says “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” My daughter was fully confident in the nudge she noticed because she had just come home from church camp the week before with a fresh message and powerful testimonies about exactly what it meant. In an article titled, ‘The Holy Nudge,’ Ministry Magazine explains, “No experience of God - whether miracle, healing, sign, or wonder - will remove our need to have faith … Between nudges and moments of intense discernment, never lose faith in the Lord God.”

In her childlike faith, my daughter couldn’t wait to experience a nudge for herself. When we seek more of the Lord, we fill find Him. When we are open to the work of the Holy Spirit’s sanctification in our lives, we can experience a fresh filling of the Spirit many times throughout our lives.

The power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christ followers is a supernatural ability to notice and do things we would never notice or do outside of life within the love of Jesus. When we yield to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, really cool stuff begins to happen. “To walk in the Spirit is to walk in new life in Jesus Christ,” Dr. Michael A. Milton explains. “Believers must walk in a new way: in the Spirit.” In his article, Dr. Milton explains how this can be. He lists five practical ways we can accomplish this in our daily lives:

1. Walk away from sin.

2. Walk away from any other supposed ‘way’ to God.

3. Walk towards the truth of God’s Word.

4. Walk towards the light of the love of Jesus.

5. Walk in prayer and total dependence upon the Lord.

There are many passages in Scripture which tell of “nudges” from the Holy Spirit, and the many ways He has led Christ followers. Jesus, Himself, was led by the Spirit into the desert, where He resisted the temptation of the devil. Jesus molded the importance of seeking the Father. He often sought out solitary moments to pray to His Father. “The life we have in Christ we owe wholly to the work of God’s Spirit,” Pastor John Piper explains. “Walking by the Spirit is what we do when the desires of the Spirit are stronger than the desires of the flesh.”

Here are ten more verses and passages which talk about being led by the Holy Spirit. Throughout our lives, we are able to experience as much of the Spirit as we are willing to yield to. It looks different for everyone. There is no wrong way to seek more of God. He wants us to come to Him! He wants to do cool things through us, and for us to experience nudges from His Holy Spirit, which ultimately fulfill our purpose to bring glory and honor to Him.

Photo credit: Crosscards.com

10 Verses about Being Led by the Holy Spirit

1. “But if you are let by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Galatians 5:18).

2. “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God” (Romans 8:14).

3. “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry” (Luke 4:1-2).

4. “Then his people recalled the days of old, the days of Moses and his people - where is he who brought them through the sea, with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he who set his Holy Spirit amount them, who sent his glorious arm of power to be at Moses’ right hand, who divided the waters before them, to gain for himself everlasting renown, who led them through the depths? Like a horse in open country, they did not stumble; like cattle that go down to the plain, they were given rest by the Spirit of the LORD. This is how you guided your people to make yourself a glorious name” (Isaiah 63:11-14).

5. “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Galatians 5:16-18).

6. “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I raise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:7-10).

7. “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27).

8. “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).

9. “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:19-20).

10. “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come” (John 16:13).

Father,

Open our hearts as we study the passages above. Give us a fresh filling of Your Holy Spirit, Father. Nudge us. Move our hearts. Lead our lives.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

Meg writes about everyday life within the love of Christ at megbucher.com. She is the author of “Friends with Everyone, Friendship within the Love of Christ,” “Surface, Unlocking the Gift of Sensitivity,” “Glory Up, The Everyday Pursuit of Praise,” “Home, Finding Our Identity in Christ,” and "Sent, Faith in Motion." Meg earned a Marketing/PR degree from Ashland University but stepped out of the business world to stay home and raise her two daughters …which led her to pursue her writing passion. A contributing writer for Salem Web Network since 2016, Meg is now thrilled to be a part of the editorial team at Salem Web Network. Meg loves being involved in her community and local church, leads Bible study, and serves as a youth leader for teen girls.