Learning to Hear God's Voice

Learning to Hear God’s Voice

 

This morning, as I was driving into town, I turned on some praise music and began singing along.  But then very soon a small voice inside my head interrupted my praise time and seemed to be telling me that I should first repent of my sin and then come back and bring my praises to God.  Surprised I stopped singing and immediately thought of how much I hated a couple at my former church. And while I was wondering if that was the sin I should repent of, a voice inside my head assured me that that was it!  I was stunned.  

 

I drove along silently for a few minutes and then started praying.  I told God that I was sorry, and I would try to stop hating this hateful couple. My words sounded good, but I knew my heart wasn’t there with my words.  And God sees my heart.

 

  I didn’t think of my hateful spirit as being so wrong since there were so many reasons to be angry with these ones, I argued.  I reminded God that this couple actively tries to put down Jesus and tear apart the Christian faith.  That this couple goes to church and constantly makes fun of Christians and that I was fearful that they were harming the faith of some of our good friends.  That there was a spiritual battle going on here. (Galatians 5:17) Shouldn’t I try to stop them?  Shouldn’t I get involved?   

 

About this time, a new praise song started playing on my tape deck.  This new song blared out across the car, “The Battle Belongs to the Lord”.  “Listen to those words,” the voice inside my head seemed to be saying to me.  “God, are you trying to tell me something?” I asked.  Was God trying to tell me to leave this battle with Him? 

 

I arrived downtown and parked the car.  And as I was walking in the store the voice in my head just kept on talking to me.  “Stop fighting this battle,” the voice whispered in my heart as I started shopping. “This is My battle and I can take care of it Myself. I have called you to peace.” Is this the Holy Spirit talking to me, or just my active imagination?  I wondered.  God was calling me to peace! What did that mean?

 

But then a heavy peace settled in around me and I felt like a burden was being lifted off my soul.  I was not supposed to keep fighting this battle. It felt good to put my burden of hate down and sink into God’s peace.

 

On the way home the voice inside my head started in again.  “Pray for this couple,” it commanded.  “Bless them and pray that they come to Me.”  I gulped and asked God to help me love and bless this couple that I have so much fun hating. And then slowly I began to feel a bit better about them as I could see them in God’s hands.  I believe God was already helping me forgive this couple and care about them.

 

 Amazing that with God’s strength we can care about people that we can’t care about on our own!  I believe that He gives us strength to do what He asks us to do. I believe that this voice in my head was most likely God who was speaking to me about my sin of hating this couple. And I will obey His command and my attitude towards them has changed.  And I will also continue praying for them.  I have no choice but to obey what I believe God is commanding me to do.

 

 Of course, everything that comes into our minds is not from God.  I have had thoughts before that I thought might be from God and later found out that they weren’t. We can ask God to help us hear His voice in our hearts, so we won’t be missing what He wants to tell us.  But we should check what we think God is telling us with Scripture.  God will never tell us to do something that is contrary to His Word.  We can know that a word is not from God if that word is telling us to do or say something that is against God’s Laws.    

 

The Bible tells us that God wants to communicate with us. God speaks to us through His Word. But He also speaks to us directly. Scripture tells us that His Holy Spirit leads us and speaks to us in our hearts and prompts us in our spirits.  God is not a distant and cold God who cannot be known.  We can ask Him our question and wait for His answer.  He can answer us by putting a strong desire in our hearts. Or speak words into our heart.  Or He can open and close doors in our lives.  Or speak to us through someone else or give us a vision.  

 

The Bible, God’s Word, is alive, (Hebrews 4:12) and His Word feeds our spirits.  That is why it is so important to study and meditate on Scripture.  God’s laws are a sign of His love for us and our obedience to His laws is a sign of our love for Him.  Jesus said: “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. “(John 14:21a)

 

 We won’t keep God’s Word if we don’t believe that the Bible is God’s Word or if we don’t read the Bible. Unbelief or rejection of God’s laws or disobedience of God’s laws, keeps us from being all that God wants us to be and do all that He has for us to do.  We will miss out.

 

 

Scripture says that we must have faith in order to please God. (Hebrews 11:6) And: “Faith comes by hearing, hearing the Word of God…” (Romans 10:17) God’s Word, the Bible is food for our souls. Our precious faith, which is so important to God, grows in our hearts by hearing and feeding on the Word of God. (the Bible) Let’s be on guard and not let anyone or anything take that away from us!

 

 But there are messages God has just for you that you may not find in the Bible.  There are directions for your life that are just for you.  Should you take a certain job or leave a place and go somewhere else?  We need to learn to trust the Holy Spirit to direct us. God may be wanting to speak to you about a decision you must make in your life. Or a health issue. Or lead you to change or repent or call you to peace! 

 

Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit will be our guide, if we let Him. (John 16:13, John 14:26. Psalm 32:8) Are we letting Him?  Are we sensitive to His Spirit nudging us along?  There are many things in our daily lives that we are unsure about how to handle.  But God wants to speak to our hearts and tell us which way to go. 

 

Are we asking for His guidance and waiting for His answers?   Or are we running our lives by ourselves and leaving Him out?  Are we taking God along with us every day and following His lead? Or are we at a place where we cannot hear His promptings to our hearts? If we do not draw near to God, we may not hear what He wants to say to us. Scripture says to draw near to God and He will draw near to us. (James 4:8)  Let’s learn to walk so closely with God that we never miss hearing His voice within us! 

 

“Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’ Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.”  (Isaiah 30:21)  

 

 

 

    

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

 

    

  

 

    

 

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