Hearing God's Voice!

Hearing God's Voice - Are You Ready to Listen?

Hearing God's voice is something we all long for-but did you know that it's not hard to do? In fact, God wants you to hear His voice! He doesn't speak to us through a quiver in our liver or through vibes or mediums. Hearing the voice of God is as natural as hearing your best friend talk to you. What's more, we can hear Him everyday and not just on special occasions or by chanting special incantations. He speaks to us in the natural moments of life. Do you want to hear God's voice? Then you must be ready to listen.

Hearing God's Voice - Why Do You Want to Hear Him?

Why do you want to hear God's voice? That may sound like a silly question, but motives are important in anything we do. The Bible says this about God's Word: "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)

Do you want to hear God's voice? If you do, it's possible you're hearing Him already, for He may be the one giving you the longing to hear Him.

Hearing God's Voice in the Bible

God has spoken to man, and the Bible is His Word, given to us to make us wise unto salvation.

The Bible itself declares, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). In another place, we read: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16).

You may hear people say that the Bible is just a book written by men, but the Bible itself claims to be God's Word! Can we rely on it? The evidence of history, archaeology, fulfilled prophecy and personal testimony over thousands of years is overwhelming that the Bible is, indeed, God's Word. Do you want to hear God's voice? Then read the Bible. Find a good daily reading plan, and stick to it.

Hearing God's Voice through Prayer

When you want to have a conversation with someone, how do you begin? Do you stand in front of the person and hope they will talk to you? That might work, if the other person is outgoing enough, but usually we begin a conversation by opening our own mouths and talking, engaging the other person's attention. It's the same with God! He loves to hear us talk to Him, and it's in those moments that we prepare ourselves to hear the voice of God. Prayer is like saying, "Hello, God, it's me. I believe You created me and that You know way more about how I should live my life than I do. I'd like to get to know You better. Here's what's going on in my life, and I'd sure like Your thoughts on how to handle it. Would You please speak to me about this today?"

In an ordinary conversation, we speak, then listen for the response of the other person. It's the same with God! Once we've prepared our hearts to listen through prayer, we're more likely to hear the voice of God. Does He speak to us through an audible voice? Some claim He does, but usually that's not the case. We may not actually "hear" the voice of God, but He speaks to us in many ways. Here are some of them:

• God speaks through His Word
• God speaks through our thoughts
• God speaks through conversations with others
• God speaks through circumstances

Hearing God's Voice through Jesus

The Bible also tells us that Jesus is God in the flesh. Therefore, if you want to hear the voice of God, you must study and know the teachings of Jesus. Here's how John describes Him: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched - this we proclaim concerning the Word of life." (1 John 1:1). You must also have a personal relationship with Jesus. Have you ever tried to carry on a conversation of any depth with a person you did not know? It doesn't usually go very far.

Shortly before He was crucified, Jesus met with His disciples to reassure them of what would happen after He was gone. He promised them a helper: "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." (John 14:16-17). The Holy Spirit, then, is the fulfillment of the way we hear God's voice!

Hearing God's Voice with the Help of the Holy Spirit

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." (John 14:26). The second chapter of Acts describes the events that occurred on the day of Pentecost, after Jesus ascended into Heaven. Verse 3 says they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, the Counselor promised by Jesus. This unique aspect of God's personality did not come to them as someone they could see and touch, but rather He came to live inside them. That same Spirit is available to you and me today. Are you a Christian? If so, you already have the Holy Spirit available to you. Ask God for a fresh filling everyday, and He will prepare your heart to hear God's voice. His Spirit, that still, small voice inside you, is the One who will remind you of what God said, and help you recognize God's opportunities in your life.

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How We Grow! (In Christ)

"Let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God - what is good and is pleasing to Him and is perfect." Romans 12:2

"God wants us to grow up... like Christ in everything." Ephesians 4:15

"We are not meant to remain as children." Ephesians 4:14

.....God wants each and everyone of us to grow up. His goal is for us to mature and develop the characteristics of Jesus Christ. Sadly today, a lot of us are growing older, but are not growing up. Many are stuck in perpetual infancy, remaining in diapers, still needing to be bottle fed on spiritual milk, never converting over to eating the spiritual meat. The reason is that they never intended to grow.

.....Spiritual growth is not automatic. It takes an intentional commitment. A true want and desire. To grow, a person must make a decision, and a persistent effort towards that decision. Discipleship - the process of becoming like Christ - always begins with a decision. Jesus calls us, and we must respond, as the disciples did back then when they were called by Him.

.....When the first disciples chose to follow Jesus, they didn't understand all the implications of their decision. They simply responded to Jesus' invitation. That is all you need to get started also. Just decide to become a disciple.

.....Nothing shapes or defines your life more than the commitments you choose to make in your life today. Your commitments can develop you or they can destroy you, but either way they will define you. You will become whatever you are committed to.

.....It is at this point of commitment that many people miss God's purpose for their lives. They are for the most part, afraid to commit to anything, and just drift through life. Others make only half-hearted commitments and give in to competing values in their lives, which often lead to frustration and mediocrity. And then, some even make full commitments to worldly goals, such as becoming wealthy or famous, and end up disappointed and bitter. Every choice we make has eternal consequences, so take my advice, choose wisely.

God's Part and Your Part:

.....Christ likeness is the result of making Christ like choices and depending on the Holy Spirit to help you fulfill those choices. Once you decide to to get serious about becoming like Christ, you must begin to act in new ways. You will need to let go of some old routines, and develop new habits, intentionally changing the way you think. This can be done through the study of the Bible, which is the truth, and then the application of it.

.....The bible says, "Continue to work out your salvation, (or victory), with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose."

Notice the two key elements in this verse for spiritual growth. "Work Out," and "Work In."

....The "work out" is your responsibility, and the "work in" is God's role. Spiritual growth is always a collaborative effort between you and the Holy Spirit. God's Spirit works with us, not just in us.

.....The "With fear and trembling" part means to take you spiritual growth seriously, because of the eternal implications.

To change your life, you must change the way you think.

.....Behind everything you do today is a thought or reasoning. Every behavior is motivated by a belief, every action is prompted by an attitude. God revealed this thousands of years ago, before Psychologists, when He said, "Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts."

.....This verse was written to believers, and is not about how to be saved, but how to grow. It does not say "work for" your salvation, because you can not add anything to what Jesus did, and the "Finished Work"of the Cross.

.....Willpower alone can produce short-term change, but it will always create a constant internal stress because root causes of the behavior have not been dealt with. So the change never feels natural, causing you to eventually give up, like in diet, and exercising. Hence, you quickly revert back into your old patterns, not a complete lifestyle change.

.....That is why real spiritual growth starts by changing the way you think. The Bible says, "Let God transform you into a new person the renewing of your mind, through the washing of the water of the word of God." You must develop the "Mind Of Christ" that is within you.

.....This mental shift is called "Repentance," which literally means to change your mind. Technically, you repent whenever you change the way you think by adopting how God thinks- about yourself, sin, God, other people, life, your future, and everything else. You take on Christ's outlook and perspective. This begins when we stop thinking immature thoughts, which are always self-centered, and self-seeking. The Bible says that this selfish thinking is the source of all sinful behavior.

.....Paul worded this perfectly when he said, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, and I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put my childish ways behind me."

.....Today, many assume that spiritual maturity is measured by the amount of biblical information and doctrine one knows. While knowledge is one measurement of maturity, it is not the whole story concerning this. The Christian life is far more than creeds and convictions, it includes conduct and most of all, character. Our deeds must be consistent with our creeds, and our beliefs must be backed up with Christ like behavior. Christianity embodies a relationship, and a lifestyle. We must seek His Face and not His Hand for true spiritual growth, and God has given us His Spirit to help us and guide us, no longer thinking like the world thinks.
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