“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever.” John 14:16
Hans Christian Andersen tells the story of a prince who wanted to marry a princess but had difficulty finding a suitable wife. Something is always wrong with those he meets and, for various reasons, he cannot be sure they are actual princesses. One rainy night a young woman seeks shelter in the prince’s castle. As she claims she is a princess, the prince’s mother decides to test her by placing a pea, covered by a thick mattress and blankets, in the bed she is given for the night. In the morning she tells her hosts she had suffered a sleepless night, kept awake by something hard in the bed that she is certain has bruised her. With the proof of her bruised back, the princess passes the test, and the prince rejoices. He could barely believe he had found his true princess. It was said that only a real princess would have the sensitivity to feel a pea through such a quantity of bedding. So, the two are married, with a huge wedding taking place in the palace.
This children’s story reminds us that when we were born again, the Ruach Hakodesh came to live with and within us. The Ruach guides and teaches us the things our Heavenly Father wants us to know and to be aware of. We know that much of what Yehovah wants us to know about His will and direction for our lives, the “dos” and “do not’s” for instance, are recorded in the Scriptures, but in addition to what we could term as the “Maker’s Manual”, the Ruach Himself will teach, instruct and guide us in our daily walk with Him. Only as we watch out for, and listen to, the gentle whispers of His voice will we pick up on things like the feeling that something just is not quite right. It may simply be an awareness that something is making us feel uncomfortable with a situation, or the position we find ourselves in. If we learn to be sensitive to His whispers and His promptings, we will develop a sense of calmness and peace that only the indwelling Ruach can bring.