In several of my previous posts, I have used the phrase, “I heard God say.” It is a bold thing to declare that you have heard the voice of the Lord. While I am confident that I know His voice and recognize when He is speaking to me, it hasn’t always been this way.
I grew up in a Christian home deeply involved in our local Church. My parents were are God chasers, and while friends went on vacations to Disneyland, we traveled across the country to visit revivals. I have many early childhood memories of people placing their hands on my head and praying for God to direct my life and fill me with His Spirit – and He did. I have been very conscious of His constant presence in my life.
Yet, even with this rich heritage, I struggled with feeling as though I couldn’t hear God for myself…. And this made me feel somehow less than other believers.
That all changed the summer after my freshman year of college. After a year of putting my own words into God’s mouth, (YIKES) I armed myself with four things – a new pen, a notebook, my Bible, and a book by Dallas Willard called, “Hearing God.” I set out to hear God for myself.
I learned quickly that there are not those who hear God and those who do not. There are simply those who hear God and those who haven’t realized that they hear Him yet…
…Because God speaks to all of us. One of the sweetest gifts that we receive from the Lord is His eagerness to communicate with us.
Jesus says in John 10:27, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” We see throughout Scripture that man was created to be in relationship with God. God loves us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to restore us into right relationship with Him. But, just like any other relationship, our fellowship with the Lord requires communication… This is not just us praying to God, but an ongoing dialogue between the Shepherd and His sheep.
This conversation doesn’t always happen audibly. While God does speak that way, more often, we feel an impression of the Lord on our hearts and minds. We are spiritual beings, and God often speaks to our spirits instead of our ears. Recognizing this as “hearing God” will change how we listen for the Lord, and make us realize just how noisy our hearts and minds can be.
We fight the noise of our thoughts, family, work, and media… plus any other factors we voluntarily add in… hobbies, television, Facebook, blogs… Our minds are overrun. But behind all of that clutter… in the background of our hearts… the God of the universe is in constant communication with our spirits. He is continually whispering… You are loved. You are forgiven. You are acceptable. You are chosen. You are my mine.
We can begin to recognize the reassuring voice of the Father within us as we learn to hush the chaos of life around us.
But with so much competition for our hearts, how can we be sure that the voice we hear is the Lord’s?
God gave us a beautiful gift for this purpose. The Bible was written to show God’s passionate pursuit of His creation. It is full of stories of men and women who have encountered and communicated with God. They are living examples of what our relationship with God can be like. Just like the greats of the Bible, we can have an ongoing conversation with our Creator too!
It is important in our quest to hear the voice of God that we make sure it aligns with God’s Word. God cannot contradict Himself. So, the voice of God will never tell us to do anything contrary to His Word. The Bible provides a clear revelation of God’s character. We can be confident that the Lord desires to direct our lives through His living Word.
I have found that the more I read His Word, the more familiar I become with His voice. And the more familiar I become with His voice, the more I hear Him speak in my daily life. Psalm 37:23 says, “The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way.” Now, knowing what to do in a situation isn’t so complicated, because I am already following His lead.
Yes. The process of learning to hear God requires patience. But Scripture tells us that God desires to reveal Himself to us… “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:12-13 What an incredible gift! What a way to live life!
Friends, when we learn that it is the love of God that motivates Him to be in relationship with us… When we truly understand that He is good and only has good plans for us… “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 …We can learn to trust Him.
As we learn to trust the Lord, believe that He loves us, and then act based on what we hear Him say, we will be unstoppable! The Most High God. The Beginning and the End. The Creator of all things. The Light and Salvation of the world is speaking to you at this very moment. He wants you to seek Him. He wants you to come with a soft heart ready for His lead! Quiet your hearts, friends…. He is closer than your breath.
Are there any specific moments when you were sure that you heard the voice of God in your life? What did He sound like? What happened as a result of following His voice?
