Hearing God’s voice

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27

What does it take to hear the voice of God? First, you have to acknowledge that there is a God and that He exists. Then you have to realize that He communicates with mankind.

How does God communicate and sound when He speaks to me? The only way to know this is to read God’s Word and learn what His voice sounds like and what He says to us in it. It is a difficult concept that we can recognize His voice when He speaks but with study, it can be done. The fact that the Bible exists proves that God has something to say because He has been speaking through the prophets and His disciples for many hundreds of years.

The “Old Testament” is full of God’s Words spoken by inspiration or directly to those He spoke to in the past. God is still speaking to us today but there is so much noise in the world that it has become difficult for us to hear Him clearly. In the world outside the church, many people don’t seem to care what God says or even believe that He exists in the first place. The problem with this kind of thinking is the time that we are living in. For most people who have never been to church or who just didn’t pay attention when they did, the Bible is a book written by old men long ago with tired history in it and rules that we don’t want to live by anymore.

Did the Israelites listen to God when they were in the wilderness after He freed them from bondage in Egypt? For most of the forty years that they spent in the wilderness all that they did was grumble and complain about their living conditions, the food, the water, etc. God even led them to their Promised Land but when they saw that it was occupied by “giants”, they refused to go in as He told them to do. It was this refusal that caused them to be in the wilderness for forty years.

The voice of God is not terrible nor is it scolding or wrathful, it is loving and caring, like a parent with their child. But when the punishment comes, as it usually does, people want to fuss and complain.

God hears your prayers and in some instances, He answers them. But, He answers them in His time and in a way that is consistent with His will for your life, not because you want a certain thing right now. Sometimes His answer is consistent with what you seek, if your heart belongs to Jesus and you’ve grown in your faith enough that your wants align with God’s, but your answer may not come today or tomorrow.

Sometimes, we would rather listen to “wise counsel” from a friend but if it goes against what God’s Word says it should be discarded. Satan can sound “wise” from time to time because he is a created being and can speak God’s Word as smoothly as anyone but also twist it so that it doesn’t mean what it should. Even your own voice can speak so convincingly that you can talk yourself into things that you shouldn’t, just as Jonah did when he didn’t want to warn Nineveh about God’s judgment.

Studying the Bible from cover to cover is the best way of learning how God speaks and what He desires from us. Why should we study His Word to learn about Him? Because it is the best way to learn about God and His ways. Each time you read His Word, you will glean a new insight into His ways and what He wants for your life. God’s Word is the “living Word” and the Holy Spirit gives each of us wisdom that is meant for us. What I get from it may not be the same thing you get but the Spirit gives us according to our ability and maturity to know Him.