
God speaks.
We may, or may not, believe that. If you believe in the Bible, it’s message, intent, and purpose, you probably believe God speaks. There are multiple stories in the Bible regarding God’s communication to humanity.
However, today, we don’t seem to hear God as generally as it seems the Bible communicates it. Why do you think that is? Do you think it is even possible for humans to hear God anymore?
I do. Jesus says as much when he is speaking, as John records in the tenth chapter of his biography of Jesus, and saying he is legitimate and trustworthy, not an interloper. He is inviting us to follow and become not only his creation, but his cared for. He says we follow him because we know his voice. I just find few that recognize his voice and follow closely.
Have you heard people say, “I just do not know how to hear God’s voice.” You may have even said it, or are saying it right now inside your head. I get that. We are audible people, hearing people, sense-based people and hearing is one of our senses.
God is not a sense-based human, but a spirit. Jesus said those who give him worth and allegiance do so in spirit and in truth. So, here is what we get from that which aids our understanding – When people were not born again, they had to rely on the sense realm. Now, we have the opportunity, in having the Spirit of God live in us, to be spiritually inclined humans, hearing God as he is – in our spirits.
May I share with you the key components to your hearing God speak to you today? Here is how…
-Expect to hear from God. -Pursue hearing God. -Listen for God to speak.
When Jesus came to earth, he came as ‘The Word,’ or voice of God, in the flesh. So, today, the words of Jesus are our starting point. The Bible is not a static book, but a living and ecstatic book. The Greek language, from which our Bible is translated, has two words for ‘word.’ One is logos, that is recorded or printed word. The Bible you hold in your hand is the logos.
There is a second word, rhema, which is not printed but alive, a living word, spoken, present. It is dynamic, present tense, resonate, and in the case of God’s voice, in our spirit even now if we are born-again.
The New Testament book of Hebrews, a teaching letter to Jewish followers of Jesus, reminds us of a promise centuries before Jesus came to earth through the Jewish prophet, Jeremiah, when it quotes, “I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” This word, residing in us in the presence of Jesus through the Holy Spirit, refers to this rhema quality.
The writer of Hebrews also tells us, “…the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
So, back to the point… How do you cultivate an ear for God’s voice?
First, make sure you are born again and receive the Spirit of God in your spirit, making you alive to the things of God. (Clue, if you centered your salvation experience by walking down the aisle of a church to be forgiven of your sins, circle back and disregard that for the present. It is not the experience Jesus came to give you. Yes, Jesus is the only giver of eternal forgiveness, but that is just a bonus not the central invitation of God into the life offered by him.) If you do not know about what it means to be born-again, or how, simply shoot me a message and I will send you an easy-to-follow guide to spiritual birth.
Second, read the Gospels. In these four biographies of Jesus’ life and mission, you will know his will about your life, your path of following him, and how to hear spiritually. He IS the Voice of God. As you read the written word rhythmically and methodically, you will begin to train your spiritual perception for the rhema word, alive inwardly.
As John records Jesus’ last message before the Cross to his disciples as saying, “You will receive the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit, Jesus said, is your immediate channel to God’s direction, revelation, information, and inspiration. Know the Holy Spirit!
Third, meditate in the Word. The world’s meditation method is quite different from the Bible’s meditation. Meditation in the world system, even non-Christian spiritual systems, is to empty yourself to create room for spiritual influences. The Bible is specific in that it leads us to fill ourselves with God’s presence by considering, mulling, saturating ourselves in his message – Scripture.
As you do these things, you will grow your ‘spirit and truth’ connection to the Word Made Flesh, Jesus, and develop your awareness of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power in your life. You will hear.
Just remember, it is his sheep that know his voice. Become a sheep today. Do not trust a church tradition of walking the aisle or even being baptized apart from being born again. It is easy to do, but you need to know before you go that the commitment it entails is something you really want to do. It is way more than asking for forgiveness. Get ready to hear and hear what the Spirit is saying to his own.
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