Wayne Back has done a good job of giving a practical understanding of how the Spirit of God operates in the lives of believers in his book, “Understanding the witness of the spirit” (Back, 1999). Back’s task is difficult in that God does not operate according to a formula or a predetermine blueprint but rather he wants to work in relationship with his people. So we can not say we will always sense this or that when the Spirit of God is communicating with us. It won’t always be the same sensation that we feel. However there are some common experiences that people have which Back writes about in his book.
Back also writes about the more demonstrative spiritual gifts that can sometimes cause people to feel uncomfortable because they are more obviously supernatural. For example tongues, prophecy, gift of knowledge etc. He explains their purpose, how these gifts generally operate and how we can tell if God is wanting to use us in this way.
Each chapter ends with a suggested “action” to encourage believers to seek to hear from God, to use the spiritual gifts God has given them and to mature in their understanding of the ways God’s Spirit works in our lives.
