Prayers for Spiritual Discernment

Blessing Prayers

Prayers below drawn from book by James W. Goll:

The Discerner: Hearing, Confirming, and Acting on Prophetic Revelation

PRAYER: Surrendering Your Senses to the Holy Spirit

Here I am, Lord. All that I am and all that I hope to be, I surrender to You. I present to You my body, soul, and spirit, with all their natural and supernatural senses. May they be useful to You as instruments accomplishing Your will on earth. For Jesus Christ's sake and in His name, amen.

PRAYER: Discernment Through my Seeing

Father God, I worship You with my whole being. Once again I surrender myself to You, because You are my Creator; I love You and I trust You. I extend my hands upward, asking for more of Your Holy Spirit. In particular, I surrender my physical and spiritual eyes to You, and I ask for an increase of Your gifting and anointing.

I ask You directly for the ability to see with new eyes. I want to have visions, and I ask You to help me understand them. As I read Your Word, feed me the food of the mature. Increase the spirit of wisdom and revelation in me so that I can see what You see. I want to be more effective for Your purposes.

By the grace of God, I believe that I will receive an increase of visions, dreams, and glimpses of Your glory. I receive whatever You want to give me, in the name of Your Son Jesus. Amen.

PRAYER: Discernment Through my Hearing

Gracious Father, in Jesus's wonderful name, I present both my physical and spiritual ears to You. I want to be a modern-day disciple like John the Beloved, leaning my head upon Your chest so that I can hear Your very heartbeat. According to Your Word, I ask that You would open my ears every morning to hear Your life-giving words. Fine-tune my discernment so that I can tell Your voice from others' and so that I can distinguish it even when You speak in unusual and unexpected ways.

Awaken my weary heart to hear Your voice. I want to hear Your inspiring and convicting voice for my own sake and for the sake of others. I want to be more effective for Your purposes. I ask outright for an increase of Your anointing on the gift of hearing Your voice. Give me the grace I need to pursue You and to keep listening for Your voice all the days of my life. With gratitude, I praise Your name. Amen.

PRAYER: Discernment Through my Feeling

Father, in Jesus's great name, I surrender my mind, my will, and my emotions to You. I consecrate myself to You, and I choose to watch over my heart so that what comes out of it will flow forth with Your love and benefit others. I give You full permission to shatter any stony places that remain in my heart. Enter into my memories and heal any emotional trauma. Equip me with discernment so that I can lay hold of revelation from You, discard evil, and embrace good. Make my heart burn within me with a knowledge of the truth when I come into Your presence.

I ask You for an increase in the anointing of Your Spirit that rests upon my emotions. Teach me to recognize the signals and flags that You raise through my emotions and feelings. Make my feelings match Yours, and enlarge the capacity of my heart for compassion. Make me sensitive to Your slightest suggestions and quick to obey Your directives.

By Your grace, I believe - help me to outgrow my unbelief. Increase my passion for the things of Your kingdom. Infuse my spirit with Yours so that I can love You fully and recognize the desires of Your heart. For the glory of God, amen.

PRAYER: Discernment Through my Tasting, Smelling, and Other Leadings

Holy Spirit, finger of God, I ask You to touch me today. Lord, make Your written Word come alive to me. Illumine it and make it into a rhema, a spoken and revelatory word. Make me come alive, too. Enhance and heighten my senses - especially where some of them may have become dull - through the gifts of Your Spirit, Your anointing, and Your grace. I want to receive and discern Your revelation in my life. I want to encounter You even if it takes me beyond my intellectual limits and comfort zone.

Help me to discern not only what You are communicating to me, but also the activities of other spiritual and natural focus, to whatever degree will prove useful to Your purposes. Help me to know when and how to share the revelations You give me.

I present myself to You. I lack understanding; help me to trust Your understanding even in the midst of trying circumstances. I lean into Your love. Cause me to cling closely to You all the time. In Jesus's precious name, amen.

PRAYER: Discernment Through my Knowing

Heavenly Father, in Jesus's amen, I present my mind to You. I have learned from Your Word that I do not have because I do not ask You. Therefore, I am quick to admit my need and to declare Your sure supply. I ask for Your divine thoughts and wisdom to be released to my mind. I ask for an increase of Your peace that passes understanding - so that I can relax into a new level of knowing what You want to show me.

I surrender my physical and spiritual mind to the Holy Spirit, and I put on the helmet of hope. I want to effervesce with the life of God. Thank You for giving me a sixth sense, an ability to know that rises above my own capability. By the grace of God, I believe that I am receiving an increase of Your revelation in my heart and mind. For Jesus Christ's sake, amen.

PRAYER: Discernment Through the Testing the Spirits

Gracious Father, I thank You for Your great love. I want to be rooted and established in it. I declare that I trust in Your ability to lead and protect me more than I trust in the devil's power to deceive me. Furthermore, I declare that I have not received a spirit of fear, but power, love, and a sound mind. I choose to honor Your Word by examining everything in light of it and holding on to that which is good. I choose to honor those in authority over me, while asking that You sharpen my own capacity to grow in discernment from the Holy Spirit. Keep my feet firmly on Your path and my eyes clear with Your light. Without You, I am more helpless than an infant. With You, I am victorious over every enemy assault. I pray this in the name of Your Son Jesus. Amen.

PRAYER: Discerning the Spirit of Deception

Gracious Father, in Jesus's mighty name I pray, thanking You for the light of Your Word. I admit my total dependency upon You. Shine Your light on me. If there is any form of deception in my life, I ask Your Spirit to send conviction, revelation, discernment, and freedom. Help me to respond well to You and to extend Your grace to my family and friends. I choose to revoke my alliance with any form of darkness and to step into proper alignment with Your ways. Guard me against further deception. Help me to pierce through the deductive lies of the enemy and grant me wisdom to apply Your truth. I ask that You would do exceedingly abundantly above all that I could ever ask or imagine, and that You would turn everything in my life to the good.

With a heart full of worship, I magnify Your great name. I rejoice in Your wonderful, complete salvation. Amen.

PRAYER: Discernment for Exposing Demonic Influences

Heavenly Father, in Jesus's name, I worship You and enthrone You with my praises. According to Your Word, Jesus came to set the captives free and to declare "the year of the Lord's favor." As an ambassador of Christ, I believe the Holy Spirit has anointed me to be a worshipper of God and a deliverer of men. Once again, I surrender to You all that I am and all that I hope to be. Anoint me with a higher level of discernment so I can know the motivation of the spirit behind an activity. By the grace of God, I believe that I am receiving an increase of Your revelatory ways in my life. For Your kingdom's sake, amen.

PRAYER: Discernment on Staying Out of Satan's Traps

My Father in heaven, may Your Name be hallowed wherever I go as Your ambassador. I ask for wisdom beyond my years so that I can avoid the pitfalls of the enemy. Thank You for exposing his evil plots to my growing discernment. I lay down my mask and rest in Your presence. Search my heart and expose every hidden agenda to Your brilliant light. I give You permission to convict me of any way in which I have compromised with Satan. I surrender my past, present, and future into Your hands, Lord, and I pray for a higher degree of discernment as I walk through my days and nights. Help me to exercise Your kingdom authority and to dislodge any hindrances that block the way ahead. I praise Your name, Jesus, and I thank You. Amen.

PRAYER: Discernment on Creating a Safe Culture of Wisdom and Faith

Gracious Father, I choose not to forsake the assembling of believers. I proclaim that we are better together. Together, we have more faith, more power, and more authority.

I choose to follow the way of love that creates safe places. I proclaim that I have more faith in Your ability to keep me than I have fear of the enemy's ability to deceive me. In the midst of a culture of faith, I renounce the spirit of fear and any past doctrines or associations in my life that may have promoted a culture of paralyzing fear. I rejoice in the cleaning power of the blood of Jesus, and I want to extend to others the good news of salvation.

Father, Your Kingdom has no expiration date! Thank You beyond words for calling me to be part of Your family of faith. Thank You beyond words for calling me to be a resident of Your safe house. In Jesus's precious name, amen.

PRAYER: Discernment of Revelation's Ultimate Purpose

Our Father, in Jesus's name and as a New Testament believer, I want to become part of the living Word of God. Along with others in the body of Christ, I want to become more mature and to surrender my senses to the Holy Spirit. By grace, I want to grow in my discernment of good and evil. I want to grow in my ability to receive Your revelation and to release it to others as You guide me. I want to carry the fragrance of heaven wherever I go and to touch others with Your love. Faithfully, I want to cultivate a culture of honor and to become an ambassador of hope. My greatest hope is to continue with the company of Jesus's disciples who embody the Word of God until I draw my final breath on earth. With a joyful amen!