Some people view hearing God’s voice only as a mystical, ultra-spiritual, unreachable experience. However, Scripture tells a different story. In fact, you can start hearing the voice of God today.
Jesus says in John 16:13, “But when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own authority. But He will speak whatever He hears, and He will tell you things that are to come.”
Because the Holy Spirit is a person (not simply a force), He speaks personally. Better yet, because He knows how He designed us, He speaks in ways we can understand.
I’m often asked, “I know God can speak, but how do I specifically hear from Him about what I’m going through right now?” I want to briefly answer this question with three simple guidelines.
1. Silence competing voices.
In 1 Kings 19, Elijah experiences the power of God through a wind, earthquake and fire, but the Word says the Lord was not found in those wonders. After all that, God personally interacted with Elijah through His still, small voice.
Have you ever conversed with a soft-spoken child in a loud room? It’s nearly impossible. Their soft whisper gets lost in the noise. Often times, the Holy Spirit is like that. Being a gentleman, He speaks to our hearts in a gentle way.
To consistently hear God clearly, we must silence competing voices. Some of those voices may be our own hearts, our religious preferences, media and entertainment and even the voices of people from our past.
Not all competing voices are intrinsically bad, but we should raise the question: Which voice is most important to us? Are we doing what Jesus talks about in John 5:19? Are we prioritizing God’s opinion over all the other opinions in our lives?
2. Really wait upon the Lord.
Acts 13:2 says, “As they worshipped the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'”
In this account, the New Testament apostles and believers heard specifically from the Holy Spirit while fasting and gathering together to worship. While prioritizing the pursuit of Jesus, they heard His voice.
The reason I say you can start hearing the voice of God today is because the Lord responds to those who wait upon Him—those who seek Him wholeheartedly. If you said to yourself, “I’m not going to do anything else today until I hear God speak,” and you followed through with it, I believe He would make His voice known.
Psalm 145:18a says, “The Lord is near to all those who call upon Him.”
I’m not saying you must spend all day waiting. I’m simply making a point: When is the last time you prioritized waiting upon the Lord?
Psalm 34:4 says, “I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.”
3. Simply believe.
What I hope you don’t hear is this: You must do all these things to hear God. The things I’ve mentioned are simply principles. They are not the basis for our relationship with God. Our personal connection with the Father is based purely on what Jesus did for us at the cross.
Hebrews 4:16a says, “Let us then come with confidence to the throne of grace.”
We can hear God’s voice, not by doing enough for Him but by believing that we are justified by grace and through faith.
Continue reading the rest of this article here. {eoa}
Troy Black is a Christian YouTuber, author and prophetic voice. His ministry and life are led by two simple goals: to be obedient to the Holy Spirit and to get the gospel of Jesus Christ in front of as many people as possible. You can find videos and other resources from Troy at troyblackvideos.com.
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