8 July Spending time with God, hearing his voice (2)
AW Tozer said: “It’s the nature of God to speak.” From this statement we can confidently infer God wants to have fellowship with us and wants us to hear Him, all the time.
How do we hear the voice of God?
- Make it your job/priority to hear God. Jeremiah 29:13(NKJV) And you will seek for Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
- Expect to hear from God. Hebrews 11:6(AMP) But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.
John 10:4(AMP) When he has brought all his own sheep outside, he walks on ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice and recognize his call.
John 10:27(AMP) The sheep that are My own hear My voice and listen to Me; I know them, and they follow Me.
- Recognise the Voice. 2 Timothy 3:16–17(ESV) All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
We hear His voice when we spend time in Bible study and quiet contemplation of His Word. The more we spend intimate time with God and His Word, the easier it is to recognize His voice and Him leading us, in our lives.
Romans 10:17(NKJV) So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
When we align ourselves to the word of God we are not only reading but listening to the word of God. Because God’s character is perfect, the things He speaks will never go against what He has already spoken. The best way to start recognising God’s voice is to read your Bible, and ask Him to speak, and by faith, listen.
God does not only speak through the Bible. He speaks in many ways.
Job 33:14(CEV) God speaks in different ways, and we don’t always recognize his voice.
God speak through people – Romans 12:6-8(NLT) In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
God speak to us through difficult times through – nature, Romans 1:20(AMP) For ever since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through His workmanship [all His creation, the wonderful things that He has made], so that they [who fail to believe and trust in Him] are without excuse and without defense.
- music. God can speak to us through music.
- His Spirit, Matthew 10:20(NLT) For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
God can speak in many other ways. God does not speak to all of us in the same way. Yes, we are all unique. These are not the only ways God speaks to us today. He’s a creative God. He speaks in so many ways. He can speak through dreams, miracles. Our job is wait upon God, then He will speak to us.
Ecclesiastes 5:1(AMP) Guard your steps and focus on what you are doing as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the [careless or irreverent] sacrifice of fools; for they are too ignorant to know they are doing evil.
“Waiting is a very active part of living. Waiting on God, if we do it correctly, is anything but passive. Waiting works its way out in very deliberate actions, very intentionally searching the Scriptures and praying, intense moments of humility, and self-realization of our finiteness. With the waiting comes learning. I can’t think of much I’ve learned that’s positive from the times I’ve plowed ahead without waiting on God.” – Wayne Stiles
I conclude with: “Waiting on God, according to Scripture, is not a passive, vacuous state but rather an active process of asking, seeking and engaging with his Spirit.” – Pete Greig