
Testing the Spiritual: How to Confirm Your Calling and Walk in Absolute Authority
God does not call you to uncertainty — He calls you to confirmation, confidence, and the tested authority of a life that knows what He has freely given.
The spiritual realm is real, and it must be tested — not feared, not merely prayed about, but actively engaged. Most believers have been trained to pray without ever pressing into the limits of what God has placed inside them. But the biblical pattern is clear: God's servants do not only pray — they speak, they challenge, they dare, and they hang everything on the fact that God has called and confirmed them.
Teaching Overview
- The number one way of testing the spiritual — ask God to confirm your calling. Ask God to confirm your calling. Ask God to confirm your calling. Ask God to confirm your calling.
Key Distinctions
| Prayer | Prophetic Speaking | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Petition addressed to God | Authoritative declaration spoken from a confirmed calling |
| How it operates | Asking God to move | Speaking with the expectation that God will back your word |
| Basis | Dependence on God's mercy and will | Confidence in God's appointment and approval of the speaker |
| Limitation | Some things will not move through prayer alone | Words taught by the Holy Ghost activate what has already been freely given |
| Who can use it | Every believer | Those who have tested and confirmed their calling and authority |
| Emotionalism | Spirituality | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Zeal and passion arising from the soul | Movement and capacity arising from the regenerated spirit |
| Source | Carnality — the soul leading | The new spirit God places in a believer at regeneration |
| How far it goes | Limited — the soul can only go so far; it does not actually move | Unlimited — the spirit can test, extend, and produce results |
| What it produces | Sensationalism, unrealistic expectations, frustration | Genuine spiritual authority, miracles, signs, and confirmed declarations |
| Common mistake | Making emotionalism into spirituality | Allowing the soul to lead instead of the renewed spirit |
| Testing the Spiritual | Prayer | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Deliberately engaging the limits of your spiritual capacity and authority | Communicating petition to God |
| Purpose | To discover and confirm what God has freely given and what He will back | To ask God to act according to His will and word |
| Biblical example | Elijah calling fire from heaven; Apostle Thomas and the water; Elijah raising the widow's son | Jesus praying "Father, I know You hear Me always" |
| Result when used correctly | Absolute confidence that God will confirm your word | God moves in response to petition |
| Words of Man's Wisdom | Words Taught by the Holy Ghost | |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Human reasoning and learning | The Holy Spirit directly imparting language and declaration |
| Effect | No spiritual activation | Activates the spiritual; produces definite, precise results |
| Who speaks them | Any person relying on natural understanding | Genuine prophets with a confirmed prophetic vocabulary |
| How they are recognized | Vague, imprecise, lacks authority | Definite, precise, carry a certain charisma and certainty |
| Faith Based on God's Position | Faith Based on God's Choice | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The ultimate faith — knowing who God is, that He has no limits and nothing is impossible with Him | The faith of a person who has been specifically selected and appointed by God |
| Foundation | The character and nature of God — omnipotent, supreme, unchallenged | The fact that God chose this person, even when it makes no natural sense |
| Who holds it | Every believer | Specifically those whom God has called and sent |
| What it produces | Trust that God can do all things | Confidence to operate in calling even without feeling qualified |
| Danger when absent | Doubt about God's nature and power | Wavering about personal identity and authority in God |
Two Kinds of Faith
- There is the faith that comes from knowing God — the ultimate faith — rooted in the understanding that God has no limits, nothing is impossible with Him, and no one is higher than Him.
- There is a second faith that operates on the fact of God's specific choice — when God selects a person, that person must believe they are chosen even when it does not make natural sense.
- A person whom God has called must operate in both simultaneously: faith in who God is, and faith in the fact that God approved them.
"Even if my heart condemns me, God is greater than my heart and He knows all things."
The Greatest Manifestation Requires Accepting Your Calling
- The greatest manifestation of God through a person will come by that person accepting who God has called them to be.
- Many claim titles like "prophet" without prophetic manifestation because they have not accepted what God has already given them — they are still seeking permission to use what has already been granted.
- The extent of prophetic ability is determined by how much of God a person knows, how much of God they believe is in them, and whether they are truly called.
"If I believe what God has called me to be, I don't need permission from Him to use what He has already given me."
Testing the Spiritual vs. Only Praying
- Most believers have limited their spiritual capacity to what is written in Scripture about spiritual gifts — laying hands on the sick, casting out demons — without extending themselves into actively testing the spiritual realm within them.
- Not everything is about prayers. Some things require daring — challenging, provoking, and hanging everything on the fact that you are called by God so that He backs your words.
- There is a difference between praying for something and speaking it prophetically. Some things will not move through prayer — they only move when a confirmed servant speaks them.
"You are praying a lot, but you are not testing the spiritual. You are not testing, can God back my word."
The Regenerated Spirit vs. the Soul
- At salvation, a believer receives not the spirit of this world but a new spirit from God — a regenerated spirit that is designed to influence and transform every area of life.
- Emotionalism, even when directed toward God, is not spirituality — it arises from the soul, not the spirit, and the soul can only go so far; it does not actually produce spiritual results.
- The failure to test the spiritual is directly connected to allowing the soul to lead instead of the new spirit — believers remain in the same condition because they are not influenced by what God has placed within them.
"Most people have made emotionalism to become spiritual, yet emotionalism is not spirituality."
What Has Been Freely Given
- The purpose of receiving God's Spirit is so that a believer may know the things that have been freely given — meaning these things are no longer a matter of prayer or petition; they are already possessed.
- Many believers continue asking for what is already theirs because they do not yet know what belongs to them — like the prodigal son asking for a lamb when everything the father had was already his.
- Testing the spiritual is the process of discovering what God has given freely — there are things that have a cost and things whose cost has already been covered.
"This is no longer a matter of prayer. It is mine. This is no longer about prayer. It has been given to me. I don't need to ask, this is mine."
Words Taught by the Holy Ghost
- There are words that activate the spiritual — not words from human wisdom, but words taught by the Holy Ghost that are definite and precise.
- Genuine prophets carry a prophetic vocabulary and a prophetic language that is distinct from natural speech — their words are certain and they produce results.
- The progression of spiritual maturity moves from casting out demons and testing who has what spirit to comparing spiritual things with spiritual things — measuring how far one can go in the realm God has placed them in.
"Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches."
God Confirms the Words of His Servants
- Mark 16 records that the Lord went with His disciples confirming every word by signs that followed — not only did He confirm His own word, but He confirmed the words of those He sent.
- When God calls and approves a servant, He is compelled to confirm that servant's words — if He cannot confirm their words, then He did not send them.
- Elijah's declaration that there would be no rain until he said so was not based on a direct command from God in that moment — it was based on the authority of a confirmed calling.
"Elijah stands up and says, there will be no rain, no dew, until I say so. Who are you? Who are you? I am the prophet of the most high God. I am an authorized mouth. If I say it, heaven has to support it."
Asking God to Confirm Your Calling
- The number one way to test the spiritual is to ask God to confirm your calling — not merely to feel a calling, but to seek external evidence and irrefutable proof.
- John the Baptist knew Jesus was the Messiah, yet when imprisoned and facing death, he sent to ask for confirmation — and Jesus responded not with rebuke but with signs: "the blind see, the lame walk, the dead are raised."
- The virgin birth of the Lord Jesus was not only a theological necessity — it was a sign to the world confirming who He is.
"Ask God to confirm your calling. Ask God to confirm your calling. Ask God to confirm your calling."
Confidence That Comes from Confirmation
- Divine confirmation produces certainty — when the widow of Zarephath witnessed the resurrection of her son, she declared, "Now I know for sure that you are a man of God."
- Without certainty that God will back your words, faith cannot be sustained — confidence in who you are in God's sight is what makes genuine faith possible.
- God has not called His servants to uncertainty — every person standing before God must be sure of who they are.
"God has no cause you to uncertainty. You need to be sure of who you are every time you stand before God."
Key Definitions
Testing the Spiritual — Deliberately engaging the limits of the spiritual realm within you to discover what God has given you and to confirm that God will back your words — not trying, but pressing into what has already been done through repeated exercise of spiritual authority.
Emotionalism — Zeal and passion toward God that arises from the soul rather than the regenerated spirit; it is not spirituality, produces no genuine spiritual results, and creates unrealistic expectations because it operates from carnality.
Words Taught by the Holy Ghost — A precise, definite prophetic vocabulary imparted directly by the Holy Spirit that activates the spiritual — distinct from words arising from human wisdom, which carry no spiritual power.
Freely Given — Things God has already granted to a called and regenerated believer that are no longer subject to prayer or petition — they are possessed, not requested; the believer's task is to know what these things are.
Confirmed Calling — A calling that has been externally validated by God through signs, evidence, and irrefutable proof — not merely an internal feeling or someone else's agreement, but God Himself backing the servant's identity and words.
An Authorized Mouth — A servant whom God has approved to speak with authority, whose words God is obligated to confirm and bring to pass — because if God cannot confirm the words of His servant, then He did not send them.
Key Takeaways
- God confirms the words of His servants, not only His own word — this means a believer who has been genuinely called and confirmed does not only petition God; they speak and expect heaven to back what they have declared.
- Ask God to confirm your calling with external evidence — an internal sense of calling is not sufficient; God's pattern throughout Scripture is to provide irrefutable signs that settle the matter of identity and authority.
- Emotionalism is not spirituality — zeal for God that comes from the soul cannot produce what the regenerated spirit produces; believers must move from soulish religious activity into genuine spiritual testing and capacity.
- What God has freely given is no longer a prayer request — once a believer knows what belongs to them, they stop asking for it and begin operating in it; the problem is most do not yet know what is theirs.
- Confidence before God is not arrogance — it is obedience — God has not caused His servants to live in uncertainty; to waver about who you are in God is to abandon the life He called you to.
Reflection Questions
- Have you ever asked God specifically to confirm your calling — not through another person's agreement, but through an external sign from God Himself? What has held you back from making this request?
- Where in your life are you praying for things that God has already freely given you? What would change if you stopped petitioning and started operating from a place of possession?
- Have you been substituting emotionalism for genuine spiritual growth? In what areas does your zeal for God arise from the soul rather than from the tested capacity of your regenerated spirit?
- If you were put to a spiritual challenge today — asked to demonstrate the reality of God through your calling — what would happen? Does your answer reveal anything about the current state of your spiritual testing?
- What specific step can you take this week to begin testing the limits of the spiritual realm God has placed you in — not praying about it, but daring to act on what you already know He has given you?
Scripture References
- 1 Thessalonians 5:21 — "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." (KJV)
- Mark 16:17-18 — "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (KJV)
- 1 Corinthians 2:12 — "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." (KJV)
- 1 Corinthians 2:13 — "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual." (KJV)
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 — "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (KJV)
- Acts 19:14-15 — "And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?" (KJV)
- 2 Kings 1:9-15
- 1 Kings 17:20-24 — "And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth." (KJV)
- Matthew 11:3-6 — "And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me." (KJV)
- 1 Corinthians 15:9
Golden Nuggets
"If I believe what God has called me to be, I don't need permission from Him to use what He has already given me."
"You are praying a lot, but you are not testing the spiritual. You are not testing, can God back my word."
"Most people have made emotionalism to become spiritual, yet emotionalism is not spirituality."
"Elijah stands up and says, there will be no rain, no dew, until I say so. I am the prophet of the most high God. I am an authorized mouth. If I say it, heaven has to support it."
"This is no longer a matter of prayer. It is mine. I don't need to ask, this is mine."
"God has no cause you to uncertainty. You need to be sure of who you are every time you stand before God."
"Ask God to confirm your calling. Ask God to confirm your calling. Ask God to confirm your calling."
"There must be a confirmation. There must be evidence of what is being said. It cannot be merely on the surface."
"I want to have absolute declarations that when I say something, it is coming to pass because I know you will back my words."
"Confidence comes from who you are in the sight of God and that facilitates faith."
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