intimacy with god
Learn To Hear God’s Voice
Learn to Hear God’s Voice – We need to learn to hear God’s voice. It does not come naturally, and it takes time and effort.
Hearing God’s voice is by far the most important part of your prayer & fellowship time with Him. You cannot have an intimate and wonderful fellowship with God without leaning to hear God’s voice and intimately communicate with Him.
The Difference Between Hearing & Listening
There can be a big difference between hearing God’s voice and listening to Him. The Biblical word for “listening” means to reverently and attentively hear God’s voice, with the intent of doing & obeying what you hear God say. Our heart needs to be right with God, with no hinderances to hearing God’s voice. Seeking God and listening to His voice is part of having a humble and reverent heart attitude toward God.
To learn to hear God’s voice and discern His will and plans for you, you will need to spend time with God. You will need to read God’s word, and take the time to meditate on His word. You need to spend time in prayer, and take some time to be still and listen for His voice in your heart.
You can definitely learn to hear God’s voice, so keep at it and don’t give up. God promises us that if we seek Him with all of our heart, we will find Him. Here is what you need to do in order to learn to hear God’s voice:
LISTENING/HEARING IS AN ACTIVE PROCESS
- You need to be willing to make the effort to learn to hear God’s voice, until you accomplish your goal.
- You need to spend time with God in prayer, and read the Bible, and then meditate on His word.
- You cannot learn to hear God’s will without making the effort
- Jeremiah 29:11-13 – “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. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
YOU NEED TO TAKE TIME TO LISTEN
- It takes time to get to know God and His voice. Knowing God is a lifelong process.
- It will not take you a lifetime to learn to hear God’s voice and discern His leading and will, but it will take time and effort.
MEDITATE ON GOD’S WORD AND ASK QUESTIONS:
- What is God saying to you ?
- How does what I sense in my Prayer time, or in my Circumstances, or what Godly People are telling me confirm what I read and hear from God’s word ?
- How can I do / apply / obey/ follow what I am reading & hearing from God ?
ANTICIPATE AND EXPECT GOD TO SPEAK (IT’S THE BIBLICAL PATTERN)
- Hebrews 1:1-2 “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”
- God spoke to many of His people in the Bible, to lead them, or guide them, or teach them, or rebuke them.
- You need to know that God wants to speak to you also, and you should expect Him to.
BE READY TO RESPOND TO WHAT YOU HEAR (WILLING AND OBEDIENT)
- There is a big difference between hearing God’s voice and listening. In the Bible, to listen means to have a humble, soft, and willing heart that is ready to obey or follow… even before you hear what God is saying.
- James 1:22 – “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
LOOK FOR A CONFIRMATION (PRAYER/ CIRCUMSTANCES/ GODLY PEOPLE)
- This is an important step, especially if you sense God leading you to do something to serve Him. Especially if it involves making changes in your life.
- When God was making it clear that He was calling us to sell my business (and house…) and become full time self funded missionaries in Brazil, we were not about to do major things like that without asking Him for confirmations.
- We prayed and asked that God would clearly confirm that we heard His voice and leading correctly.
- God answered and confirmed that it was His will and calling for us to go and serve in Brazil. He confirmed this in several different ways, using our circumstances, what some Godly people were saying, and what we sensed in our hearts during extended prayer times of seeking Him.
- We were absolutely sure of what God what leading us to do because of His confirmations.
- Because we completely surrendered all to God and were willing to do whatever He wanted, God also gave us a very clear vision and idea of what and how He wanted us to do in our missions ministry.
How God Speaks To His People
God speaks through: His Word, your Prayer Time, Circumstances, and Godly people. He will use what you sense in your heart during your prayer time &/or your circumstances &/or what Godly people tell you to confirm what He has been saying through His word. Everything must match up with God’s word.
You need to be careful with trying to interpret your circumstances by themselves, because often times our feelings & emotions and what we think we see going on can be deceptive. Also, you will hear many different things from many different people. Even people in church that mean well can tell you things that do not match what God is trying to tell you, or with how He is trying to lead you. We heard different things from various people at church, and even a pastor, that were contrary to what God was saying to us.
In our next article we will talk about the Essentials To Hearing God’s Voice – the key things you have to have or do in order to learn to hear God’s voice.
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