Hearing God's Voice

I was in the kitchen talking to my 7-year old grandson the other day.  He was telling me how famous he is going to be when he grows up.  Lately, he has been obsessed with fame.  So, I had been praying about an opportunity to talk to him about his purpose.

In the middle of our conversation, I told him that God had a very specific purpose for him.  I explained that if he listens to Jesus and does everything that he is told, he will have a spectacular life.  I also told him that people would recognize the supernatural power of God in him and that God would lead him to all the dreams that were in his heart.  He answered me with one question, "Grandma, how do I hear God?"  WOW!  This was more of an opportunity than I had prayed for.   In my opinion, this is the greatest question anyone can ask. When my grandson asked this question, he showed he has the faith to believe that he can hear God.   I also believe Hearing God's Voice is the greatest pursuit we can have while on this earth.

When I think about this topic, I always think about Matthew 17:5 which says "...suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Listen to Him!"  This verse started a quest in my life to master the art of hearing God's voice.  I figured that if God spoke out of a cloud (which does not happen very often in Scripture) and if He used an exclamation point (which does not happen often in Scripture either), I had better listen!  God tells us to listen to Jesus.  How do we do that?

First, in John 1:1, and 14 it explains that Jesus is the Word.  If we want to hear God's voice, the Word of God is written for us to know Him and to guide our life.  This is a great place to start.

It is also clear throughout the Scriptures that God speaks differently to different individuals.  He spoke to Moses in a burning bush, he spoke to Mary through an angel, and He spoke to many of the kings through the prophets, etc.  But it was clear to all of these individuals that God had spoken.  What we need to do is to spend time knowing God and recognize that because God speaks, we need to speak when we pray, but we also need to listen.  As time goes by, we will begin to recognize the voice of God.

Also, hearing God's voice requires patience.  Waiting is part of the hearing process.  It helps to understand that God's timing is perfect.  Ask Him a question and He will answer, but don't expect Him to answer according to your timeline.  Have the faith to believe that He will answer.   We can call the process of hearing God; "spiritual perception."  The more spiritual perception we have, the more we will be given (Mark 4:9).  If  our heart is filled with unbelief, even what we have will be taken away (Luke 8:18).  Think about it this way,  God wants us to hear Him.  He is all powerful.  The word "listen" is repeated in the Bible over 300 times and the word "hear" is also repeated over 300 times.  God is trying to speak to us.  We just need to have a willing heart.

God speaks often in my life.  Prayer is a dialogue rather that a monologue.  God is speaking to me constantly throughout the day; in my circumstances, through the things that people unknowingly say, through nature, through His Word, and in prayer with Him.  Over time, I recognize His voice just like I recognize my husband's voice when he calls me on the phone.  I have heard God's voice so often that I recognize it.

In this generation, where it feels like the future is so unknown and the things we took for granted ten years ago have been taken away, I was so excited to answer this question for my grandson.  I believe that if I can teach him to Hear God's Voice, I will be giving him something more precious than gold or anything else in this world.  There is nothing like the ability to recognize God's voice.  It is the only security that is TRULY security.  So, ask God a question.  And then LISTEN.  It will bring you the ultimate return on your investment!