How to Hear God’s Voice 2

In How to Hear God’s Voice 1, I revealed that God is ever ready to communicate to His children. We saw in the life of Gideon that God is even ready to be completely superfluous in His supply of communication to us.

The problem is not that God is not speaking or not willing to communicate. The existence of the Bible is clear testimony that God seeks to speak to the whole world.

Our Response

The problem is in our response to God’s voice. Many people refuse to read the Bible, or to trust it. People reject God’s Word and so they cut themselves off from hearing from God.

God also puts some things in places that are hidden, so only those who have a heart after Him and will seek Him out will find what He has for them. God does not cast His pearls in front of pigs who will trample them under foot.

If you have a heart to hear from God then God is ready to speak with you. So here are some Guidelines and Protocols to help you prepare your heart to hear from God.

Guidelines and Protocols

Since God is willing to speak and probably speaking to us more than we realise, we need to be open to hearing His voice and we need guidelines or protocols to help us respond appropriately.

The Guidelines I am offering here are: Ask God to speak; Expect the Unexpected; Test the Word; Get Wisdom; Act in Faith; Value the Mundane; and Keep a Kingdom Focus.

Ask God to Speak

If you are not aware of God speaking then ask Him to speak, and ask Him to make Himself clear to you. Ask Him to teach you how to hear His voice.

I have asked God to speak more clearly, when I thought I may be missing Him.

Expect the Unexpected

The issue that takes your attention and which you expect God to speak to you about may be a sideline in God’s grand scheme. Don’t be surprised when God tries to talk with you about something bigger or different to the issues that you are distracted by.

Have an open mind and heart to the call of God and to God’s burdens for things outside your small world of concerns.

Test the Word

God’s principle is that things are to be confirmed by the mouth of two or three witnesses. So don’t rush off as soon as you get some impression. Ask God to confirm the word. Make sure that it lines up with the counsel of the Bible. Run it past your spiritual leaders, to protect yourself from a wrong direction, especially if it involves a significant change of direction or could have serious repercussions.

You also need to be attentive to God’s timing and His big picture plan. Don’t get out of step with the theme or the timing.

Get Wisdom

Having something prompted to you or being aware of something spiritually does not mean you have to do something about it. You need wisdom to know whether what you are sensing is to be a matter for action or prayer. It may be just an observation to file away for future reference.

A Word of Knowledge will provide you with information, but you then need a Word of Wisdom to know what to do about it.

People who are spiritually sensitive may become aware of much more than they need to respond to. The “So What?” question needs to be kept in mind – don’t assume that just because you “know” something it is important for you to do something about it. It may be a “So What?” issue. Get God’s direction about what He wants you to do about what you receive – and what the real issues are.

Act in Faith

Once you know what God is saying and you have confirmed it and received God’s Wisdom, you will eventually have to do something about it. You will need faith to enable you to act on God’s leading. Jesus told Peter to “Come”, but then Peter had to step out of the boat and walk on the water.

Value the Mundane

Don’t get grand ideas about doing the impossible on a daily basis. God has given you many mundane tasks and responsibilities. Value those things. Don’t despise the small beginnings, the parental commitments, the “line upon line and precept upon precept” routines, or the challenge to serve tables and care for others.

Don’t think that hearing from God is a way to escape your daily callings. Those mundane things are what most of life is built on and you must be faithful with your marriage, family, work, ministry and social responsibilities.

Keep a Kingdom Focus

Hearing from God is not about “you”. It’s not a ticket to significance, or to making yourself better than others. We are to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness”. As you hear from God and are led by Him, remember that it is all about His Kingdom and His will. If you start to get grand ideas about yourself then you are out of order. It’s not about your ego, or what you want to do.

Now, Sheep, Hear His Voice

God is ready to build you up, motivate you, comfort you, convict you, lead you, teach you and bless you. So get cracking on the task of hearing His voice.

God is keen to communicate with His children. So it is reasonable for you to hear from Him. In late 2008 I taught on How To Hear God’s Voice, and so I am summarising the key points of that message here to share with you.

Note that a DVD of that message is available. Email me if you are interested.

God Talks

God wants to talk with us and wants us to hear. That may sound ridiculous to you, especially if you have never been aware of receiving anything from God. But it is true, none-the-less. The Bible is full of examples, in both the Ancient Jewish world and in New Testament times of the church age, where God gave direction, correction, instruction, comfort and wisdom to His people.

The very existence of the Bible itself is proof of God’s intention to communicate with all of us. As a Father He wants to instruct and guide His children.

A Few Bible Verses

Look at these Bible truths and see that they speak of God’s communication with ordinary Christians.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” John 10:27

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.” John 16:13

“But the anointing which you have received of him abides in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you will abide in him.” 1John 2:27

Gideon’s Example

Consider how willingly God spoke to Gideon, who was called to lead Israel against the Midianites. First God sent an angel to tell Gideon that he was called to lead the people (Judges 6:12-16). When Gideon doubted the word and asked for a sign. He put a meal before the angel, who caused the meal to be consumed in fire. When Gideon then panicked, God spoke reassurance to him.

So right at the outset Gideon had an angelic visitation, a miracle and God speaking to him. This shows how willingly God speaks to His people.

But that’s not all. God then came to Gideon with an instruction about pulling down his father’s idols, which Gideon did (Judges 6:25-27).

As if that wasn’t enough, Gideon then experienced the Holy Spirit coming on him, inspiring him to call an army together to go to battle.

Then Gideon called on God to provide two separate signs to him, that he was doing the right thing. Gideon put out a sheep-skin (a fleece of wool) over two nights and asked that the dampness of the wool be reversed. God complied.

Then, as a final touch from God, Gideon was told to go to the enemy camp and spy on them, where he heard a Midianite explain that Gideon’s army was going to beat them, because of a dream.

Superlative Communication

Gideon’s case is chock full of communication from God, in a bunch of different forms. And at no point does God seem the slightest bit reluctant to speak, confirm and repeat the proof.

Rather than communication from God being rare and in limited supply it is superlative. God gave Gideon more than he needed and more than we would have thought sufficient.

God went out of His way to accommodate Gideon’s need to be reassured. God is not trying to be difficult.

God is Not the Problem

Our problem is not that God is not speaking, but that we are uncertain about whether what we are hearing really is God or not.

We need to become more confident in accepting what we are receiving from God. We need to tune in to the things God is saying and the various ways that He is speaking to us. We should also be more willing to ask God to speak.

God uses impressions, dreams, visions, promptings by the Holy Spirit, quickening of Bible verses, desires awakened in our heart, open or closed opportunities, peace in our heart, and various other means to confirm to us His will for our situation.

God is Speaking

Since God is speaking and is happy to speak clearly to us, the challenge now is to have the right preparation to be able to hear and act upon what God is saying.

That’s the next part of this message and I will present that in a few day’s time, under the heading, How to Hear God’s Voice 2. In that post I will show you the simple protocols which will help you discern the voice of God. That protocol involves the following steps: Ask God to speak; Expect the Unexpected; Test the Word; Get Wisdom; Act in Faith; Value the Mundane; and Keep a Kingdom Focus.

Go to How to Hear God’s Voice Part 2 by clicking this link: http://chrisfieldblog.com/ministry/hear-the-voice-of-god-2