Relational Intuition: God's Provision for Relationships

Intuition is defined as "direct perception of truth, fact, etc., independent of any reasoning process; immediate apprehension. A fact, truth, etc., perceived in this way. A keen and quick insight. The quality or ability of having such direct perception or quick insight."

A lot of people seem to be in the dark about their romantic interests or potential romantic interests. Many times, they can't tell if a person likes them. If a person does like them, they can rarely tell why the person likes them and how the person likes them. If, why, and how.

Both men and women have an intuition, but women are more consciously aware of their intuition than men are. However, God gave both men and women what I call "relational intuition"-- which allows each person "direct perception of truth, fact, etc., independent of any reasoning process; immediate apprehension" about their potential romantic partners. This is so they can choose the right partner(s) and make wise relationship decisions.

Because God created men to lead and a man's wife will affect him most, God gave men a very high level of relational intuition so they can choose a wife who will help and not hurt them. However, most men seem to feel no need to be in touch with their intuition and end up making many unnecessary relationship mistakes as a result. How is your relational intuition? Are you even aware of it? Do you use it, or do you rely on your own reasoning and on your potential romantic partners to tell you what you need to know about them?

All I know is, when people at work complain over and over about all the junk they have to deal with in relationships, it makes me appreciate my life a lot more. I just LOVE being single!

I do have to disagree with you on one minor point though: God doesn't give any group of people, men or women, a radar. You have to stay in contact with God for any of that intuition to work at all. But if you do stay in contact with God, then yes you do have a radar about these things.

(replying to SoC)

Personally, I wouldn't call that a "minor point", but I agree with you.

God can definitely provide us with some insight into another person's heart, BUT there's also the following to seriously consider:

"For what man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knows no man, but the Spirit of God." (I Corinthians 2:11)

When it comes to a relationship between a man and a woman, I don't believe that either the man or the woman should have to constantly plead with God for some insight into the other person's spirit or heart. Instead, the man and the woman need to be freely and honestly sharing such insights with each other if the relationship is ever to work.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again right now...

Take away a woman's heart from me, and you've effectively taken away any sort of attraction from me whatsoever.

If I can't connect with a woman spirit to spirit or heart to heart, then I'm gone because that's who the woman truly is.

Between my own willful participation in all of these "Singles" threads and the constant barrage of love-related songs that I'm force fed at work every day, I honestly don't think that I'm doing my heart any good.

Might be time for me to seriously back away from these types of conversations...

It's never very healthy to get too close to anything for too long. Especially for men, we don't want to focus on romance and relationships. That focus negatively affects and influences women. I'm pretty sure it does even worse to men. A break might do you some good.

I grew up hearing about this womens intuition thing and realising I had been using it since I was a child. Never heard of mens intuition or is that called something else? A gut instinct?
I use my relational intuition the most when it comes to safety. I use my own reasoning mostly when I have doubts about someones sincerity.

Yeah that's why some guys develop a "beer belly." More gut means more gut instinct.

Or so the fat guys claim...

(replying to TheNarrowPath)

?

what about women choosing abusive men as husbands isnt that the same or are these women just stupid.

or is it because women dont really have a choice. But then im sure many couples I know the wife chose the husband or actually proposed.

so you cant say that everyone was seduced into doing something they didnt really want to do.

Alcohol may be a factor lol

In fact, its probably the number one factor in poor judgement.

Instinct and intuition are distinct things. Men and women have both.

A.) Instinct focuses on physical safety. It alerts you that you are in danger or are potentially in danger of physical harm. Your car breaks down one evening on a country road and you have to walk back to the lonely gas station you passed several minutes ago. You see two people walking on the road towards you. It's dusk so you can't see them clearly, but you can tell they're two men. You get the fight or flight thing going, knowing you're alone and have nowhere to run if these men wanted to attack you. They end up saying hi and walking by. What you just experienced was your instinct telling you that you were or potentially were in a physically dangerous situation. Men's instinct functions consciously more often than their intuition because instinct has to do with physical danger.

2.) Intuition focuses on emotional safety. It alerts you when there are signs or red flags that a relationship or interaction with someone is unsafe or is potentially unsafe. You meet a man at a car show (lots of them there). He takes you on a date. When you first met, your intuition started firing as soon as he started talking to you in a romantic way (or when romance vibes start coming from him). He'sinterested in you in a sort of obsessive way, and you notice that he's rude to the waitress. He seems to have a Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde thing going on. His phone later vibrates and you look at the screen. Upside down, you read some girl's name before he rejects the call, turns his phone on silent, and puts it facedown on the table. You decide to block and never contact him after the date. That was your intuition giving you warning signals. Women's intuition functions consciously more often than their instinct because intuition has to do with emotional danger.

Of course, both instinct and intuition can overlap. Also, emotions can and often do overwrite or rewrite what your intuition knows. You might intuit that a man you're romantically interested in is sociopathic or psychopathic and be right, but your emotions choose to believe that he is kind and maybe just a little hurt because of childhood abuse (or whatever). Your emotions overwrote or rewrote the facts that your intuition was picking up to keep you safe.

why would you rely on your own emotions which can change

I think believers can access what God says on the matter at any time and also pray and ask so, doesnt need to be too much psychoanalysing going on.

Theres a place for it. but psychology isnt always accurate and it tries to replace your own self with what Holy Spirit says. The Spirit can nudge you but you have to be still and listening.