“My sheep hear my voice” (John 10:27)
Sure I hear voices, but we all hear voices. Not just the natural voices around us – the media, friends, family, neighbors, colleagues. We also have voices inside ourselves. We hear ourselves think, we have sparks of intuition, we remember voices from our past, we imagine voices in our future, and occasionally we get tongue-lashings from our conscience. Hey, it’s noisy in there!
Can we hear the voice of God? Of course we can. Hearing from God is a good thing. But experiencing the voice of God is a matter of faith. He communicates through a myriad of ways — the Scriptures, inspired preaching, and prophetic utterance.
It’s normal to hear the voice of God. We were created for it. Proverbs 20:12 says, “The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The Lord has made them both.” Every part of our created nature is designed to hear God. In Genesis, God walked with Adam and spoke with him. Adam had a relationship with God; there was intimacy and closeness. That same God wants to speak to us not to share information but to share hearts – Him sharing His heart with us and us with Him. Jesus restored God’s heart to our heart, and our heart to God’s heart. Are you listening?
We need to accept that the God who created us is the God who relates to us. When we do, the supernatural experience of communicating with God comes alive! We are all different and God relates to us as we are, speaking to us in ways that are as diverse as our human experience.
In truth, God can speak to us anyway He wishes: a dream, a vision, or a fellow believer. It can be a still small voice during prayer time. It can be an illumination of Scripture that you never saw that way before. Whatever way God speaks to you, let Him. He’s your Father and He wants to speak. Let Him.
The mistake we often make is trying to imitate Elijah in the cave expecting to find God in the dramatic. We seek God’s voice in the fire, or earthquake, or violent wind. Instead, His voice comes as a still, small voice (I Kings 19:11-12). God wants us to seek Him, listen for Him, draw near to His voice rather than getting knocked over by it.
God wants to speak to us as any father speaks to His children. Sometimes we have a barrier: our inability to hear Him. This is why the Scripture admonishes us: “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear” (Luke 8:8). Jesus declared, “My sheep hear my voice” (John 10:27), and the entire New Testament is filled with God continually speaking to people. You know, I think God likes to talk to us!
When God called young Samuel to be a prophet, he did not yet know the Lord nor had the word of the Lord yet been revealed to him. But with the counsel of Eli the priest, Samuel said, “Speak Lord, for Your servant is listening” (I Samuel 3:7-9).
For Christians, the ultimate arbiter of God’s communication is the Bible. All communication that is from God must align with the principles and character of God as described in the Scriptures. This is why John tells us, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (I John 4:1).
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, Scripture clearly says you should be able to hear His voice. Communicate with God in a way that works best for you: quiet time, jogging, fasting, feasting, worshiping, reading the Scriptures, talking with friends, climbing a mountain, writing a song, painting a sunset, tossing a toddler into the air, meditating on the wonders of God’s love. Just remember to test the spirits. “Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God” (I John 4:2-3).
When we can hear from the heart of God, we will then have something worthwhile to say that is from the heart of God.
Activating Prayer
Lord, I believe and declare that I was created to hear Your voice. Give me ears to hear what the Spirit of God is saying to me today. I declare that I am able to hear Your voice speaking to me. I want Your voice to be the loudest voice that I hear among all of the voices that are clamoring around me. I choose to be discerning about the voices that I hear and choose to hone in on Your voice. Enable me to be intentional about listening for Your voice. Lord, I know that You speak to me in a unique way that is customized to me – that is how You created me. Lord, I give You permission to speak to me. You are my Father and You want to speak. I’m listening. Speak Lord, I’m listening. In Jesus Name, Amen!