Day 03 - How to Hear from God
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
Hearing from God can sometimes feel like a convoluted and difficult task, one laced with doubt or muddied by fear. Having turned upon this page you may feel disqualified to hear from Him because of your past or believe that it is only for the pastors to hear the voice of the Lord. Friend, He wants to speak to you. He wants to gently whisper in your ear and speak life into your being. The best part? Being the gracious and knowing God He is, He knew we would struggle with the concept and so He responded by giving us His word - The Word.
Through the Bible, we learn the characteristics and tone of His voice - that He is trustworthy (2 Samuel 7:28), kind (Ephesians 2:7), abounding in love (Psalm 145:8), holy (Isaiah 6:3), pure (James 3:17) and full of grace (2 Timothy 1:9). We learn the stories of His faithfulness - how He extends his mercy to the lost and broken - and the future He has prophesied over us.
Separating His voice from our own can sometimes feel hazy, but we differentiate the two by immersing ourselves in Him through His Word. If someone were to send you a message impersonating your partner, close friend, mother or sibling, you would know because you would hear the inaccuracy of the tone; you would perceive it is not really your loved one sending the message, because you know their voice. In the same way, we learn the voice of the Shepherd through His word and know to follow Him in the direction He calls because we have spent time with Him (John 10:27).
When we familiarize ourselves with the cadence of his voice, we recognize when it’s an imposter, the voice of the enemy, or simply our own human and fallible voice. We know when it is fear talking, ambition speaking, or our own lack of trust, because we can check it against what we know are His words in the bible.
Not only does God reveal Himself to us through his living and breathing word but the helper, the Holy Spirit, illuminates what God is speaking over us as we read, and He reiterates the Father’s heart (John 14:26). Words begin to take greater resonance within us when we begin by asking Him to give weight to whatever it is he wants to give weight to. Not only that, but when we have the word of the Lord written into our hearts and we find ourselves in an unfamiliar situation and are praying for God’s voice of clarity, His Holy Spirit brings forth the words that Jesus has spoken over us at an earlier date (John 14:26). His Holy Spirit penetrates our hearts and reveals to us exactly what we need in that moment.
If you are wanting to hear His voice more clearly, open up the Bible and become acquainted with who He is. Begin with prayer: that His Holy Spirit would both reveal, uncover, challenge and renew, as you delve into His word. Take the time to listen and ponder His words in your heart. Allow your ears to hear.