From a friend:

The qualities I recognise in a person of discernment are:

– Prayer – a heart and mind that is open to God’s experience in their own life;

– Love – a compassionate heart

– Joy – a lightness of being able to accept their own humanity with humour;

– Peace – the confirmation internally that this is right, even when it is difficult or costly;

– Patience – a willingness to wait and listen and reflect and not rush to offer the first thing that comes to mind;

– Kindness – a gentleness that speaks the truth;

– Goodness – the sense of God’s love being present in the conversation;

– Faithfulness – in walking through the valleys of their own life and seeking God;

– Humility – the realisation that they are not God, nor God’s chosen voice, but another human who offers the soundings of their heart;

– Self-control – a capacity to listen, be still, speak carefully and with consideration.

No one has all these all the time, but at times we can meet someone who for a moment of divine encounter who offers these to us even though they may not know it.

Some have entertained angels, some have been angels.