Lessons In Truth - Lesson 6 - Annotation 4
What is intuition and how does faith work with intuition?
4. Intuition is the "still small voice" (I Kings 19:12) of God or the Holy Spirit speaking to our soul (our thinking and feeling nature) giving us guidance. It is direct knowing moving into our consciousness as ideas, without intellectual reasoning.
The knowing to which we have referred as intuition does not come through the usual channels through which we ordinarily obtain knowledge in the outer, such as schooling, observation, experience. However, the "still small voice" of intuition may use any of these mediums. Most of us have had the experience of listening to a teacher or a minister or of reading a book, singing a song, speaking words of Truth and actually "hearing" God "speak" to us through the audible or written words.
"Communion in mind can be said to be without sound. It is the 'still small voice,' the voice that is not a voice, the voice using words that are not words. Yet its language is more definite and certain than that of words and sounds, because it has none of their limitations" (Jesus Christ Heals 33).
Intuition, sometimes called the "inner tutor" or "inner teacher," quickens and illumines the faith faculty and causes it to become activated to good. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17 A.V.). The stronger our faith in God becomes, the more we follow the guidance of intuition, and the more we listen to intuition, the stronger our faith becomes. Faith "is born of intuition" (Emilie Cady Lessons In Truth 6:13). Thus we see that intuition and faith are closely related. In addition to quickening our faith, intuition quickens other faculties, especially the faculty of understanding, which is able to guide us in the right use of our faith faculty in every phase of our life. Without the guidance of intuition, our use of the faith faculty could become fanatical, unloving, and unreasonable.
There is usually a quick response in our feeling nature to both intuition and faith but they are never intended to set reason aside. Rather, intuition illumines the intellect so that our thinking and reasoning are based only on Truth.
Intuition, the voice of God, is not to be confused with conscience. Intuition points out the true way for us to follow; it says, "This is the way, walk ye in it" (Isa. 30:21). Conscience, on the other hand, is the voice of the soul that speaks from experience. It says to us, "Do not do that because it is wrong." Our past experiences, our race, religion, culture, and our associations all determine what our conscience shall tell us.
"The voice of conscience in man calls his attention to his shortcomings and encourages him to do right" (Metaphysical Bible Dictionary 420).
Conscience "warns us when we have transgressed the divine law" (page 48, Metaphysical Bible Dictionary), but it is intuition, the voice of God, that illumines and guides us to the pathway of light.
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Preceding Entry: What is meant by blind faith?
Following Entry: What is understanding faith? Does an understanding faith increase one's power to demonstrate?
