- Acts 22:14
God can speak to us in various ways. It is important to know that not all of God's communication is vocal.
A still small voice. Elijah was on the run in 1 Kings 19 from evil Queen Jezebel who ordered his death, after a mighty miracle in which he challenged the prophets of Baal to call upon their God while Elijah called upon his. As a result, God consumed Elijah's altar with fire, and Jezebel's unanswered prophets were all put to death. Despite God's marvelous works, His mightiest prophet was frightened and had retreated into a cave.1 Kings 19:11-13 says, "And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; [but] the LORD [was] not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; [but] the LORD [was] not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; [but] the LORD [was] not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was [so], when Elijah heard [it], that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, [there came] a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?"
A voice in your ear. Isaiah 30:21 says, "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This [is] the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
Conviction by the Holy Spirit. John 16:8 says that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgement. In the same fashion, let's say you were about to say something really nasty to someone. You suddenly either feel a "pulling back" by the Holy Spirit to not say that nasty thing, or you sense the Lord tap you on the skull and say, "Son, that's not nice. Don't say that." The word "to convict" is also translated as "to reprove." We must be humble and accept God's reproof of our actions!
Being led by the Spirit. Romas 8:14 says, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." When you are in a constant state of loving intimacy with Jesus, and you not only allow Him to lead your life, but you are accutely sensitive to the Holy Spirit as howHe desires to lead you, that places you in right relationship with the Lord, such that you are God's little son or daughter! The Holy Spirit may either allow you to sense His urging you in a particular direction, or may even speak to you audibly.
When reading the word, a scripture jumps out at you. In your Quiet Times before the Lord, have you ever found that - as you're reading from your Bible - a particular verse suddenly jumps out at you? There's an excitement, as you say, "Yes! That verse fits exactly my situation! That's my verse!" The Holy Spirit has a way of illuminating upon the Word and opening our eyes to understand its meaning much deeper than what we would understand as a result of an dry, academic theological head-knowledge study that has no application nor pertinence in your life or anyone else's nor has the power to tell a flea to go away? The more you take those scriptures the Lord reveals to you and hide it in your heart, the more God finds you trustworthy to give you more revelation!
These are but a few examples of hearing from God. The important thing is to be open to any avenue through which the Lord choses to speak, making sure that these avenues are holy. For example, God would not speak out of a Mormon or a Buddhist or a Jehovah's Witness, nor would He use the Bhagivad Gita or Upanishad writings, simply because they reject the deity of Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God Himself!
Once in a while, God would use simple things to get your attention. God really touched my heart through a Bambi film in which Bambi had been wounded in his war against the hounds and hunters, and lay on the grass accepting death and defeat. That was very much my situation at one point. The King came and told Bambi, "Get up!" Bambi made a feeble effort, like I had, but gave up easily as I had. The King spoke with a voice full of royal compellation. "You must get up." Had I not heeded to the Lord's prompting through that movie, I might have remained in spiritual defeat much longer than I had been in, and had not arisen in God's mercy, righteousness and grace.
The following are various reasons why we can't hear God's voice. Some of them quite alarming.
Sin and Iniquity. With microwave technology, two buildings could communicate with rooftop microwave dishes - they merely have to be aimed one at the other without any object obstructing their transmission path. Occasionally, a pigeon lands in front of a microwave dish and gets roasted and dies, blocking the reception! The transmitting dish (God) is still fully functional, but we're in no position to receive. It's not so much our sin and failings but more an unwillingness to repent.The difference between sin and iniquity is that sin can easily be forgiven, but the word "iniquity" in the Hebrew means, literally, "to be bent out of shape" - hence the expression that one has a "bent for sin." We have a bent for sin when we love the act we're about to commit far more than getting on our knees and just loving and listening to Jesus. We must pray, "Dear Lord, straighten all the iniquity out of us, that we would be obedient to hear Your voice!"
Preoccupation with the things of the world. Jesus showed in the parable of the sower in Luke 8:7 that some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked the seed. Jesus explains in verse 14, "And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of [this] life, and bring no fruit to perfection."What did He mean? Galatians speaks of the Fruit of the Spirit, each of which are aspects of the Lord's character. When you receive the Word of God into your life, the Word begins a process of creating within us things that are lacking but are needed in order for us to be Christ-like - hence scriptures like, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalms 51:10). The "cares and riches and pleasures" of the world can cause us to not set us apart unto the Lord and allow the Word to affect change within our lives. In the end, we are no more Christ-like after that R-Rated sex- and violence-ridden movie than before we paid an arm and a leg to watch it! So let's examine our lives. Let's look at the things we allow to distract us from keeping our eyes solely on God.
Incorrect theology. One terrible idea nursed by pseudo-theological circles is that God no longer speaks today. In fact, in some theological seminaries, you may raise many eyebrows if you say you hear the voice of God with any clarity at all!
Some denominations maintain that the Bible - the written word of God - is the final authority and finality of all that God wishes to express on the Earth. They also say that you cannot have any revelation in addition to the Bible. These denominations also maintain that Psalm 138:2 says, "... for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name" so the Bible must be magnified above abolutely anything we understand of God!
In all sensitivity, and not to judge these denominations, I must venture to say that some have themselves (rather than God Himself) exalted the Bible even above God's voice! If God were to tell them to do something, they can easily adopt an attitude, "Oh that really wan't God. The Bible says, this...!" and thereby override God's voice and command with their own interpretation of the Bible. That get's kinda dangerous, if you ask me!
Yet, the word "word" in Psalms 138:2 is the Hebrew word "imrah" (Strongs 565) which can also be translated, "commandment, speech, word." In essence, this is the spoken word of God that God Himself is magnifying above His own name - which means that He is a man of His word (so to speak).
Is there any revelation other than the Bible? Let's just say that there is no other recorded scripture other than Canonical scripture. Clearly, God's words cannot be added to or taken away from. But what about revelation? What is it? The word "revelation" in the Greek is "apokalupsis" from which we get the word "apocalypse." It literally means "an uncovering". That means we all have constant revelation of who God is. As we grow in Christ, our understanding of Him increases!
Indeed, many Christians have backslidden; we statistically comprise a significant number of those flocking to the New Age Movement - because we've not been taught to hear the voice of God but have been told to honor a tradition based on dead, dry dogma that has no power.
We need to be both doctrinally strong but be so sensitive to hear God's voice that if He were to speak "I love you!" we would be able to respond to Him and to His heart.
So how do we know it's God who is speaking to us, and that we're not making it up in our heads, or tell whether or not it's the Devil who is speaking to us? The Bible sheds light as to certain properties that the voice of God has.
36 Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.
37 And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt;What a wonderful blessing, that the Lord loved us and our "fathers" in the faith! Above all, Jesus has been rooting for you and praying for you, always encouraging you. For His sake, the Lord comes through on our behalf!
In Revelation 2:15, Jesus tells the Church of Pergamos that He's displeased that some ascribe to the Doctrine of the Nicolatians, which He hates. Nicolas was a man in this era who taught that there needs to be a spiritual elite who does all your penance, sacraments, hears God for you, etc. But recall that Jesus is not seeking for a spiritual elite but that we all come to Him like little children, because if our hearts are not like that of a little child, we cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven!
So how can we better hear the voice of God?
