Hearing the Voice of God 4

 

² But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵ Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” John 10:2-5

Prayer in its purest form is a love relationship with the Father God. It’s an enjoying relationship, not a religious activity It’s the privilege of soaring to the very throne room of the Father to touch His face. Our souls are starved for this sense of awe- to speak and to hear from the living God who loves us and is waiting to share His heart with us.

Intimacy does not exist when our relationship is built on one-way speeches. As I pray to God, I’m fully aware that both of us will speak and both of us will listen. As you practice two-way prayer, listening carefully and humbly, you’ll hear Him speak. And this prophetic interchange is not just limited to verbal communication. You can also expect to encounter Him in various other ways. However, you hear Him, this divine encounter will always do two things: it will change you, and it will give you ammunition for spiritual warfare. As you enter prayer, the Father will not only speak to you, but He will also pray through you. You’ll become one who hears from God in the secret place during your personal alone time with Him.

In the secret place, you’ll discover His heart! This is the time and the place where you’ll be trusted with strategic prayer assignments. Instead of praying, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening,” we more often pray something similar to, “Listen, Lord, your servant is speaking!” Decide today that you’ll take the time to wait on the Lord and listen for His voice.

It is imperative that your tools for ministry include a consistent life of hearing from Him as much as it is with speaking to Him.

“The Lord GOD has given Me
The tongue of the learned,
That I should know how to speak
A word in season to him who is weary.
He awakens Me morning by morning,
He awakens My ear
To hear as the learned.
⁵ The Lord GOD has opened My ear;
And I was not rebellious,
Nor did I turn away. Isaiah 50:4-5

Ask Him for a listening ear. Marvelous revelation and a deep understanding of scripture await those who will ask for it. Linger in His presence and it will happen: you will hear His voice. Our Lord is known as the great “revealer of mysteries”.

²⁹ As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. Daniel 2:29

⁴⁷ The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” Daniel 2:47

And He will reveal so much more when you come to Him with a seeking heart.’

Sometimes people ask me, “How do I know when it’s God speaking and when it’s the enemy? I don’t want to be misled. I only want to listen to the Holy Spirit.” Here are some simple guidelines for knowing God’s voice and discerning when it’s not Him, but the voice of the enemy.

The difference between the Shepherds voice and the enemy’s

Jesus is a gentle Shepherd, and His voice drips with mercy. Jesus does not condemn your personal worth, but satan is a condemning and accusing intimidator.

(satan is one of the devil’s titles or descriptors, so it is lowercased. It means “slanderer, accusers” satan’s actual name is Lucifer, which we capitalize as we would anyone else’s name).

The Lord’s voice is often quiet and deeply internal; but satan’s is intrusive and vulgar.

The Holy Spirit calls and draws us; satan threatens, demands, and drives.

The Lord’s voice lines up with scripture, the enemy speaks lies.

The Lord’s voice will bring a fresh” now” word that will change you and touch you; satan will lock you in the past.

The Lord’s voice is rooted in hope; satan brings negativity or despair that leaves you feeling hopeless.

God’s voice inspires us to love; satan inspires us to criticize others.

Peace comes from God; satan brings anxiety.

The voice of the Spirit will always glorify Jesus; satan glorifies self.

How does God Speak?

We all have a longing to hear God speak to us personally and would love to have Him speak to us audibly. We all want and need divine guidance for our lives- guidance that will teach us the sacred mysteries of heaven and of His word. Hearing Him speak seems too good to be true. You may be thinking, would the living God, The creator of all things actually speak with me? The answer is clearly yes! But there is much we must learn about hearing His voice. We mistakenly think that He must speak a certain way, So we tend to box Him into our religious upbringing and narrow expectations. But when we become childlike in faith and simply listen, God will speak to us. But how is it that He speaks?

He speaks out of our Intimacy with Him

Relationship leads to revelation. Intimacy imparts inspiration. It’s as we seek His face that the direction, guidance, and wisdom come. Why would He want to shout at those He loves? God wants to have our focused, undivided attention so that the mere “look in His eyes” would be enough for us to know and understand His heart and His plans for us.

One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.
⁵ For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.
⁶ And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.
⁷ Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
⁸ When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”

Psalms 27:4-8

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.
⁹ Do not be like the horse or like the mule,
Which have no understanding,
Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,
Else they will not come near you. Psalms 32:8-9

He speaks any way He chooses.

How does God speak? Any way He wants to!

There are countless ways that God can speak to us. So often, we miss the voice of the Lord because we presume, He can only speak a certain way. It’s important to have a

heart that will listen as one being taught. To be a true disciple, we must have an awakened heart, becoming teachable and responsive to what He says.

Your beloved wants to expand your faith to hear Him through new experiences. Although many of the ways that He speaks are subjective and must be properly discerned, it’s still worth the adventure to develop the “listening ear”.

For God may speak in one way, or in another,
Yet man does not perceive it.
¹⁵ In a dream, in a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falls upon men,
While slumbering on their beds,
¹⁶ Then He opens the ears of men,
And seals their instruction.
¹⁷ In order to turn man from his deed,
And conceal pride from man,
¹⁸ He keeps back his soul from the Pit,
And his life from perishing by the sword.
¹⁹ ”Man is also chastened with pain on his bed,
And with strong pain in many of his bones,
²⁰ So that his life abhors bread,
And his soul succulent food.
²¹ His flesh wastes away from sight,
And his bones stick out which once were not seen.
²² Yes, his soul draws near the Pit,
And his life to the executioners.
²³ “If there is a messenger for him,
A mediator, one among a thousand,
To show man His uprightness,
²⁴ Then He is gracious to him, and says,
‘Deliver him from going down to the Pit;
I have found a ransom’;
²⁵ His flesh shall be young like a child’s,
He shall return to the days of his youth.
²⁶ He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him,
He shall see His face with joy,
For He restores to man His righteousness. Job 33:14-26

“The Lord GOD has given Me
The tongue of the learned,
That I should know how to speak
A word in season to him who is weary.
He awakens Me morning by morning,
He awakens My ear
To hear as the learned.
⁵ The Lord GOD has opened My ear;
And I was not rebellious,
Nor did I turn away. Isaiah 50:4-5

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, Hebrews 1:1

We learn from the bible that God has spoken in some of the following ways.

Dreams

Pictures in the mind

Visions

Parables

Trances

The Holy Spirit

Angelic visitation

The Scriptures

Throne room encounters

A voice speaking behind us

Prophetic words

Words in the night

Prophetic actions

Personal inner impressions/burdens

Nature

Signs, Wonders, and Miracles

Everyday circumstances

Animals speaking

Face to face

Through others

Audible voices

Still small voice

Thundering words

Riddles or “dark speech”

Inner voice

Conviction of sin

His burning presence (bush fire)

Spontaneous ideas, thoughts

A settled peace

Closed doors/ Open doors

The counsel of friends

Finances

Unanswered prayer

Why not find a quiet spot today and open your heart wide to the Father? Ask Him to give you specific guidance for the decisions and dilemmas you face. Ask Him to give you ears as one being taught. Begin to praise and worship His name, the name of Jesus. Draw near to Him. Open you Bible to one psalm and read it until it touches your heart. Wait in stillness… and then wait some more. Close your eyes. Let the Lord speak to you. And then when He speaks, make sure you write it down what you hear or what you see. Then respond in humble obedience to whatever He shows you. Here are some passages that will help you begin your adventure:

¹³ “Oh, that My people would listen to Me,
That Israel would walk in My ways!
¹⁴ I would soon subdue their enemies,
And turn My hand against their adversaries. Psalms 81:13-14

Turn at my rebuke;
Surely, I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you. Proverbs 1:23

My son, keep your father’s command,
And do not forsake the law of your mother.
²¹ Bind them continually upon your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
²² When you roam, they will lead you;
When you sleep, they will keep you;
And when you awake, they will speak with you.
²³ For the commandment is a lamp,
And the law a light;
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life, Proverbs 6:20-23

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4

Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. Acts 8:26

²⁹ Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” Acts 8:29

³ About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!” Acts 10:3

⁹ Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; ¹⁰ for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.” Acts 18:9-10

¹⁵ while it is said:
“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” Hebrews 3:15

²² The one whose heart is open let him listen carefully to what the Spirit is saying now to the churches. Revelation 3:22

¹⁰ And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Revelation 19:10

Pray this today:

Lord, I’m ready to hear You speak. I’m ready to start this journey into hearing Your voice and responding to what You say. I give You my heart and my ears. Speak each day as I seek Your face. Help me to tune my heart to hear Your whisper and to follow faithfully what You say to me. I am Your willing servant – Your lover – and I know You speak to me. Give me a listening ear. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

 

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