Hearing God Speak
Most of us, if we are honest, have a longing to hear God speak to us—directly and very personally. We want our prayers answered and our lives touched by His hand. We desire His guidance and His protection. We want Him to use us to touch others. Will He speak? Can we hear?
The truth is God speaks to us in a myriad of ways. Sometimes very gently, quietly, and simply. Other times rather dramatically and forcefully. He wants to speak to us. When we let go of our preconceived notions of how He speaks, when He speaks, and to whom He speaks and simply start to listen anew with childlike faith, we will be surprised at how readily we can hear Him.
Instead of a direct, audible voice, thundering from heaven, God’s Holy Spirit often speaks into our hearts. The Holy Spirit not only speaks, He guides us. He reveals the things of God, He strengthens and encourages us, convicts us of sin, and loves through us. He also helps us pray.
Mark Virkler wrote: “The voice of God, I’ve discovered is Spirit-to-spirit communication, the Holy Spirit speaking directly to my spirit. It is sensed as a spontaneous thought, idea, word, feeling or vision. Thoughts from my mind, on the other hand, are analytical and cognitive. I reason them out. Thoughts from my heart are spontaneous… I’m not saying that every spontaneous thought is the Holy Spirit speaking to us. I am saying that spontaneity is heart level communication.” 1
Author Elizabeth Alvis gives further ways to hear the voice of God. She suggests sitting quietly before Him. Then she recommends:
“Bind the voice of the enemy before you start to pray. Do this in the name of Jesus. Then trust the Holy Spirit. He will lead you and guide you in all truth. Submit your own will and reasoning to the Holy Spirit. Then give Him your undivided attention.
“Often it helps to read God’s Word as you sit. Then with a notebook close by, you might write down what the Spirit of the Lord may speak–even impressions or pictures. Or the Holy Spirit might speak as you sit in the Lord’s presence listening to praise music…God’s voice gently guides and encourages, giving you hope. Satan condemns and brings guilt.”2
Sometimes God speaks to us through Scripture passages. Or through other people or circumstances. Babs says He spoke to her in an unexpected way. As a certified public accountant, she also taught accounting at a city university. One day she got a phone call asking her to move to San Antonio to work for an evangelist.
“I was not interested,” she recalls. “I had a good job. I loved where I lived. But as I hung up the phone and walked into the den, the Spirit of the Lord spoke to me through a Scripture I had memorized earlier. ‘Behold,…new things do I declare before they spring forth I tell you of them’ (Is. 42:9). The phrase ‘new things… I tell you’ was emphatic to me. So I knew I better reconsider. I ended up going. As a result, I met the man who was to become my husband.”4
When we learn the discipline of listening and waiting, we can hear from God, be discerning, and be led by the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Father, it is my desire to become more sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s voice—speaking, leading, and teaching me. Help me to be more disciplined to hear and to respond more quickly. I ask in the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Scriptures: “He who is of God hears God’s words.” (John 8:47a)
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27)
Footnotes:
1.Mark Virkler, quoted in Touching the Heart of God ed. Leonard Lesourd, Old Tappan, N.J.: Chosen, 1990) 201.
2. Elizbeth Alves, The Mighty Warrior, (Bulverde, Tex.: Intercessors International,1987) 69,70.
3. Ibid, 70.
4. Quin Sherrer, Listen, God Is Speaking To You, (Ann Arbor, MI.: Servant Publication, 1999), 29.
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