The pain point many of us face is that we treat our walk with God like a textbook study. we think if we memorize enough apologetic arguments or follow a rigid 10-step plan for evangelism, we’ll see the "results" we read about in the Book of Acts. But the truth is, the Kingdom of God isn't a classroom; it's a relationship. When we rely solely on our intellect, we miss the heartbeat of the Father. We end up exhausted, frustrated, and wondering why the "fire" seems to be missing from our daily walk.
The frustration comes when we realize that winning an argument about the age of the earth or the dimensions of Noah’s Ark doesn't actually heal a broken heart. It might satisfy the mind for a moment, but it doesn't deliver the captive. I was sitting in that car, feeling like a failure because I was preaching at people instead of being led to them. I was trying to save the world, but I had forgotten to listen to the One who already did.
But right there in that parking lot, everything changed with a single prayer. "Lord, I don't want to mess up here. God, please show up." The solution wasn't a better sermon or more facts; it was a radical shift into following the Holy Spirit’s immediate, moment-by-moment prompts. In this post, I want to take you through my journey of learning to walk after the Spirit, showing you how a simple "look to the left" or a "GPS misdirection" can lead to more supernatural encounters than a lifetime of structured routine.
<After I uttered that desperate prayer in Jackson, I felt a nudge to just lift my head and turn it to the left. It sounds so simple, almost mundane, doesn't it? But as I looked over, I saw a car parked a few spots down. On the side of it was a sign for a house-cleaning business, but it had a clear Christian message. I felt the Spirit say, "Go talk to her."
I got out of my car and approached the woman inside, whose name I later learned was Tammy Morgan. Within minutes, the atmosphere shifted. We weren't debating theology; we were standing behind our cars in a public parking lot, praising God and speaking in tongues. The Spirit of God just poured out right there on the asphalt. Because I obeyed that small prompt, a divine connection was made. That very evening, I found myself street preaching with Southside Assembly of God, meeting a group of mighty men and women of God I never would have found on my own.
The Limitation of Apologetics
Now, don't get me wrong—I am a fan of apologetics. I’ve spent years studying the evidences of God’s creative nature. I love digging into the 25 to 30 percent of the Bible that is prophecy, which has a 100 percent accuracy rate. I love the equidistant letter sequences and the incredible encoding that shows God foretold history before it happened. Even Isaac Newton, the father of calculus, was moved by But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. (Daniel 12:4 KJV). He knew the encoding was there.
But when you are on the street, or when you are sitting across from someone whose world is falling apart, contemporary apologetics often falls short of demonstrating a person's need for a Savior. Just imagine being on a pier and someone asks, "Do you really believe Noah got all those animals on the Ark?" If you go down that rabbit hole, you might win a debate, but you’ll likely lose the soul.
Compare that to the demoniac of the Gadarenes. He didn't need a lecture on biology; he needed deliverance. He was cutting himself, driven by spirits, just like we see so many teenagers doing today. When he encountered the presence of Jesus, he was radically delivered. He didn't have to go to seminary or study logic to become an effective evangelist. His argument was his life: "I was bound, and now I am free."
The Power of the Testimony
We see this pattern all through the New Testament. The woman at the well perceived Jesus was a prophet when He told her about her five husbands. She didn't stay and argue about the history of the well; she ran into town and said, "Come see a man who told me everything I ever did!" That one encounter saved a whole town. The blind man’s apologetic was simple: One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. (John 9:25 KJV). That is far more piercing than a philosophical discussion on why bad things happen to good people.
One time, the Lord led me and Susan to a pier. In my imagination, during prayer, I saw the pier. You don't know if those images are God until you start walking, right? When we arrived, the pier was nearly empty. I almost chuckled because I’ve learned that when things look "empty" or "wrong" by human standards, God is usually up to something big. We walked to the end and found two fishermen. One was incredibly drunk, and the other was just trying to help his friend. We talked to them, but it didn't seem to go anywhere.
We turned to leave, but as we walked down that long pier, the "groups" started coming. For an hour and a half, we prayed for six different groups of people who arrived one by one. One lady had just lost her father. I’ve lost my father; I’ve overcome that depression through Jesus. I have that testimony. I share more about these types of encounters in my book OPEN YOUR EYES: MY SUPERNATURAL JOURNEY. God orchestrated her being there and me being there at the exact same moment. Every single group said the same thing: "God sent you to me today."
Breaking the Routine
We often try to box God into our routines. We want to meet at the same building, at the same time, every week. But the God of the Bible lived in a tent! The Mosaic and Davidic Tabernacles were mobile. Jesus was always moving from city to city. He told us to start in Jerusalem and go to the ends of the earth. We are called to be mobile.
If you watch Jesus, He didn't have a rigid, one-size-fits-all model. Sometimes He spit mud in a guy’s eye. Try finding a "standard operating procedure" for that in a church manual! He stopped funerals to raise the dead. He crossed lakes just to meet one demoniac. He was entirely led by the Father, saying, "I only do what I see the Father do."
The devil loves to work in the playground of human reasoning. He wants to pull you into the imagination where he can ask, "Hath God said?" But Jesus didn't reason with the devil in the wilderness. He used the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, as he was driven by the Spirit. He knew which word to use because He was following the Spirit’s lead.
Personal Reflections
I had a major encounter with God in 1995 that fundamentally changed my "hope." It moved my faith from a list of intellectual beliefs to a vibrant, living reality. However, even after that, I still find myself slipping back into carnal thinking.
Take my second experience in Jackson. I felt like I was messing up again, trying to talk to people one-on-one but feeling completely out of sync. I dropped my head and just heard two words in my spirit: "VA Hospital." I got excited! I put it into the GPS immediately. I followed every "turn left" and "turn right" until the voice said, "You have arrived."
I looked around and started laughing. I was in an empty parking lot surrounded by closed businesses. There was no hospital in sight. To the natural eye, I had failed. But we walk by faith, not by sight. Just as I was laughing at the absurdity of it, a woman appeared out of nowhere carrying two bags of groceries.
I walked up to her and said, "I'm here to pray for you because you’re the only person here." She looked at me and said, "No, you need to come inside and talk to the director of this radio station." It turned out to be a Christian radio station. Within minutes, I was standing in front of the general manager, preaching the Gospel. That wasn't a result of a routine; it was the result of following a prompt that didn't make sense to my mind but made perfect sense to the Spirit.
I’ve learned that the Spirit will often lead you into situations that "cook your noodle," as I like to say. Look at the Apostle Paul in Acts 16. He tried to go to Asia, but the Holy Spirit forbade him. Think about that—the Bible says to preach to every creature, but the Spirit said "No" to a specific location. Then he got the vision of the man from Macedonia. He goes there, expecting a man, but finds a group of women by the river. It wasn't what he expected, but it was where the power was.
He ends up casting a demon out of a girl, gets thrown in jail, and that leads to the salvation of the jailer and his entire household. If Paul had stuck to his "Asia plan," he would have missed the Macedonian miracle. We have to be willing to let go of our "good plans" to reach God’s "God plans."
Biblical References
The foundation of this lifestyle is found in the heart of the New Testament. Paul makes it clear that our freedom and our power are tied to our walk.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1 KJV)
Walking after the flesh isn't just about avoiding sin; it’s about avoiding self-reliance. It’s about not relying on our own "apologetic techniques" to do the work that only the Spirit can do. When we walk after the Spirit, we are entering into a partnership with the supernatural.
We also see this in Acts 13, where the early church was seeking God with fasting.
As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. (Acts 13:2 KJV)
They didn't just decide to go; they waited until the Spirit spoke. This is the difference between "knowing the text" and "knowing the Author." The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. God is a Spirit, and if we are going to worship Him and work with Him, we must do so in spirit and in truth.
In Biloxi, I saw this play out through my friend Doug Hansen. We encountered a lady named Mary on the pier. She was suffering from infirmities that limited her. Doug didn't give her a tract or a lecture. He simply handed her his keys and said, "Jesus bore your infirmities on the cross. Who's got your infirmities now?" When she grabbed those keys, something radically shifted in the supernatural. She encountered the Spirit of God and was immediately, radically healed. She took off running up and down the pier, praising God and hugging total strangers. That is the "demonstration of spirit and power" that Paul talked about.
Key Takeaways
- Apologetics is a tool, not the goal. While facts are great, they are meant to support the hope that is already in you through your relationship with the Spirit.
- Testimony trumps debate. Your personal encounter with Jesus—how He delivered you or healed you—is far more piercing to the heart than any logical argument.
- Be mobile and flexible. God rarely fits into our rigid, 10:00 AM Sunday morning routines. He often moves in the "empty parking lots" of life.
- Listen for the small prompts. A nudge to turn your head or a specific location name in your spirit can be the start of a divine appointment.
- Expect the unexpected. Following the Spirit might lead you to a pier, a radio station, or a Macedonian jail, but it will always lead to fruit.
Conclusion and Call to Action
Walking after the Spirit is an adventure that never gets old. It’s the difference between a dry, religious existence and a life filled with "Rocks of Revelation." I want to encourage you today: don't just read your Bible—seek the Father who inspired it. Ask Him to speak to you, to give you a "Macedonian vision" for your own neighborhood or workplace.
If you’re struggling to hear His voice or feeling overwhelmed by spiritual opposition as you try to step out, I’ve written a guide to help you navigate those battles called Overcoming Night Terror: Making the Demons Leave. It’s all about taking your spiritual authority and clearing the way for the Spirit to move.
Has this encouraged you? Have you had a moment where a simple prompt from the Holy Spirit led to a miracle? I’d love to hear about it. Please share this post with your friends and family on social media. Like, comment, and subscribe to the blog at ConradRocks.net. Every bit of engagement helps us pour out more revelation to the world!
Until we meet again, dig deeper and go higher.
Action Items
- Practice the "Pause": Before you start your day or head into a meeting, take 60 seconds to be silent and ask, "Holy Spirit, is there anyone you want me to look for today?"
- Share Your "I Was Blind" Story: This week, find one person to tell a 2-minute version of your testimony. Focus on what Jesus actually did for you rather than just what you believe.
- Follow a "Nonsense" Prompt: If you feel a nudge to go to a specific store or turn down a certain street, do it. Observe what happens without the pressure of having to perform.
- Minister to the Lord: Set aside time this week to fast and pray, not for a list of requests, but simply to "minister to the Lord" and listen for His voice, just like they did in Acts 13.
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