It is well with you, my friend. The Bible says that strong meat is reserved for those who, by reason of use, have exercised their senses to discern good from evil. What we call discernment is a product of consistent practice and exercise. One doesn't just wake up and know, "My God, this is my thought, this is God's thought," and so forth.

First of all, it begins with us understanding God's nature and God's character in a very general sense. I mean, a moment where someone will tell you, "Shut up," and you want to say, "Shut up back," that thing that will hold your heart and say, "Don't respond like that."

The moment we begin to pay attention to that voice and obey that voice, the more that voice starts to get stronger and stronger in our hearts. In the beginning, you know, you'll be wondering which one is this and which one is that, but with time, you'll be acquainted with that small voice. It's very hard to explain it in words because these are realities of the inner life.

That small voice will just be coming, little by little, and as you just begin to pay attention to it, it says, "Oh, you should have been more polite." "Oh, why didn't you say thank you?" "Oh, say please next time." "Oh, why don't you just be a bit more generous with that person?"

The more you begin to listen to that small voice, the stronger it starts to get in your life to the point where you'll be surprised at the kind of massive directions it'll give; it can just in an instant say, "Hey, don't do that; turn left, turn right." But beyond that, it's good to say that the Bible talks about how "Do not be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

We have to know that in dealing with God, if you truly spend a lot of time with him and his mind starts to rub off on yours, it will get to a point where it's not so much about, "Oh, God said, buy this yellow shirt or do that." Your mindset has already changed, and to a certain degree, you begin to think the way God thinks. You begin to feel the way he feels concerning a certain matter.

Jesus Christ said, "Everything you see me do is what I see my father do." His feelings became his father's feelings. His thoughts became his father's thoughts. That's where God ultimately wants to get us to. That even my thinking life is in accordance with the thoughts of God himself. But really and truly, it begins with little, little, little practice. We shouldn't wait until a very massive deal or decision before we want to exercise or develop this thing called discernment. It starts small.

This dress that you're wearing, you just feel in your heart, why are you wearing this dress, my dear? Why do you want to pick that particular one? When you start to take note of that, it starts to grow. It starts to grow. It's a very subtle, very subtle voice in the heart. People call it the conscience; that is, the all-knowledge, quote-unquote. It's very subtle. Are you following me? And the more one begins to exercise it and test it out, that voice starts to get stronger and stronger.

But like I said, when we talk about this thing called discernment, it begins with us understanding and learning about God's character through the study of the word and through being exposed to teachings by people who are ratified tutors of the word. Are you following me? That's why we have the Bible. We have the books of James, of John, of Ezekiel, and of Isaiah, people who, to a very great degree, have encapsulated the light of God, that through them, you understand God's nature. And when anything goes contrary to what they have written, you know that this is a red flag.

Finally, we need to learn how to ask the Holy Spirit directly and trust that there will be a response. Are you following me? "Lord, what do you say about this?" Even in prayer, you get my point? But again, it's something that is exercised, right? We are praying, and we say, Father, what do you say about this? God has the capacity to speak to you.

There's a saying I always say: "God speaks back." And you'll be surprised; in prayer, you just make a petition: "Lord, what do you say about this?" And you say, "Lord, minister to me with a thought, with a feeling, with an image." And you'll be surprised; God can just, based on your culture, give you an image of a giraffe. You know, a giraffe has a very long neck, which can mean that you're greedy.

Like in Nigeria, we say, "A greedy person has a long throat." I'm just giving a basic example of how God can begin to talk to you. But we need to understand that this thing called discernment, any spiritual gift whatsoever, needs a lot of practice; it needs a lot of exercise.

So, start with the little things, where something would tell you, "Say sorry," "Say please." "Why don't you just be a bit more generous?" "Go a little bit harder; you can do a bit more than this." "Why don't you take your plate to the kitchen?" "Don't drop it there; why don't you wash it before you leave?" Those little voices—the more you pay attention to them and obey them, the stronger they get, and after a while, it'll be so clear the difference between you and that voice; you get my point? But it's from practice and exercise.

These are things that we're going to talk about as time unfolds. It is well with you, friend.