"Speak Lord for your servant is listening" (1 Samuel 3:9)
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27 KJV)
The Prophet Habakkuk knew the sound of God's voice. Elijah described it as a still, small voice heard as random thoughts, impressions, visions, dreams, or feelings (1 Kings 19:12; Hab 2:1). An example of this is when a person feels the need to intercede in prayer on behalf of another. The definition of the Hebrew word (paga) translated as 'intercession' means a chance encounter or an accidental intersecting.
God also told Habakkuk to record his visions and inscribe them on tablets (Hab 2:2). Writing prayers and thoughts in a journal is one of the most effective ways to verify that a person hears God's voice because they can write down what they 'heard' from Him and check if it is in harmony with Scripture (Isa 8:20).
Intimate Prayer
Operating in the power and anointing of God requires a vibrant prayer life. Prayer is no more than having a simple two-way conversation with God. Failure to spend time in prayer is due to a lack of intimate relationship with Him. A person may love and want to learn all about Him and tell others about Him, but many don't spend any real quality time with Him because they don't know Him. It is like a marriage relationship that is struggling. Yet, both people want a good marriage, so they go to counselors and read all the books about having a good marriage, but they don't spend any time with each other to have a good marriage.
Intellectual knowledge about God is not the same as intimate knowledge of God. The head always gets in the way of the heart. To arrive at the place of truly knowing and loving God, a person must first be willing to pray (and live) the Gethsemane prayer, "Not my will Lord but Yours" then they must carry their cross daily because, at any moment, the Lord may require that a particular area of their life be crucified so that they can experience true overcoming resurrection power.
Prayer is nothing more than the internal exercise of love. A dialogue between the person and their Lord doesn't need many words because He knows their inmost feelings before saying them. They pray only for what they desire. Prayer is climbing into the safety of His lap and under the shadow of His wings. It is how we turn away from and release the cares of the world so we can focus on Him. It is the communion of two lovers lost in intimate embrace. It can be done anywhere at any time and requires both speaking and listening.
Pray Without Ceasing
God desires that we "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess 5:17 KJV). He wants us to be in embrace with Him at all times. Intimate prayer comes from the heart, not from the head. The Holy Spirit searches the heart and teaches us how to pray.
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." (Rom 8:26-27 NIV)
The Holy Spirit will show how to ask for all things according to the will of God. When a person moves into the realm of deep intimate communion, they seek only to please and do His will. It will lead them to abandon all self-interests and cast off all selfish cares and concerns as they give up their whole being to Him. He wants them to be content with nothing else but Him alone. As they empty themselves of worldly understanding, fears, and concerns, He progressively takes possession, and their spirit feels the freedom and peaceful serenity that "transcends all understanding" (Phil 4:7 NIV).
When people come and place themselves into His strong and loving arms, He will give them the confidence to release those things that hinder their relationship with Him. They shouldn't wait until they have 'purified' themselves. They will never see themselves as clean apart from Him. Self-examination should always precede prayer, yet He desires to replace them as the examiner of their heart.
The "sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings" and focus like a laser beam on those areas that need to be dealt with (Mal 4:2 NIV). His love will hold them and give them the strength to endure the pain of spiritual surgery as He cuts out the cancerous tumors of self. Then, when they can "take refuge in the shelter" of His wings, He will make them "dwell in safety" (Psalm 4:8; 61:4 NIV)."
God's Voice
"If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me" (Rev 3:20 NIV).
Hearing God's voice requires listening in quiet solitude but that doesn’t mean emptying your mind or take a posture of contemplative navel gazing or maze walking so God can speak to you.
There are a few things that can hinder hearing God's voice. The most significant are unconfessed sin, unbelief, unforgiveness, shame, and fearfulness of God (Psalm 66:18; James 1:5-8; Num 12:1, 20:1012; Mark 11:25; Ex 3:11, 4:13; 2 Cor 5:17, 21; Hos 11:2, 7, 8; 1 John 4:18-19).
Six Steps to Hear His Voice
*L-earn to spend intimate time with Jesus daily. He speaks to people who make themselves available to Him (Mark 1:35). Choose a time to be with Him every day to maintain an intimate relationship with Him. He will never turn away a hungry heart seeking to hear Him.
*I-ndulge in God's Word, the Bible. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you through His Word and meditate on it so you can learn to understand His will, character, nature, and voice. Do this daily, and He will teach you to hear His voice as you make yourself available to Him by reading the Bible and meditating on it daily. This is God's only trusted way (Psalm 119, Luke 24:13-35).
Learn to:
- Read the Scriptures as you would devour the letter of a lover.
- Speak the Word out loud, directing it to the Savior, and begin to contemplate what you are reading.
- Meditate on His Beauty, and "streams of living water will flow from within" (John 7:38 NIV).
"Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long" (Psalm 119:97 NIV)
*S-ilence (Zeph 1:7). Spend time resting in silence before the Lord. This is done as you quiet your heart before Him. Lay down all cares, worries, and expectations at His feet, and ask Him to speak to your heart. In a world full of distraction where we are constantly 'on the go,' we must silently sit before the Lord in prayer and reading His Word because too many voices around us want to influence us.
*T-hank the Lord for His promises that enable us to know Him and to hear His voice constantly. Always keep a thankful heart (Psalm 138:1-3). Prayers of thanksgiving are what nourish the spirit.
*E-xpect God to speak. He is always faithful to that which He has spoken. (Psalm 38:15) Educate yourself in the ways the Lord speaks (See Job 33:14).
He can speak:
- In an audible voice to you, as He did in 1 Samuel 3.
- In an internal voice to you directly into your heart and mind.
- Through the world (See Romans 1:19-20) and through visions and dreams (See Numbers 12:6, Acts 22:17-18).
He may appear before you and speak as in Acts 9, as well as speaking to you through a "knowing" or
impressions (See Matthew 22:18, Nehemiah 7:5).
*N-ever quit seeking Jesus. Never stop meeting with Him. Don't give up if He does not speak to you in the way you desire. He will speak in a way He chooses, and if you are continually quieting your heart and seeking to know Him and hear His voice by studying His Word, He will speak to you.
* !! LISTEN !!
You must never go beyond the Bible or seek someone to hear God for you. You will never hear a fresh revelation not already found in the Bible. Jesus paid the price on the Cross so that every Born-Again Christian can hear Him for themselves. He desires to speak to you more than you want to hear Him. He may speak to you THROUGH a person, but never seek out anyone to hear FOR you or to know God's will for you. He speaks to the Born-Again Christian from within because they are His dwelling place - the Holy of Holies and they have the mind of Christ ((1 Corinthians 6:9; Romans 12:2).
The Bible does not tell us how or reveal techniques to know when God is speaking. In the Old Testament, every time God spoke, it was through an audible voice and never through an inner voice, impressions, or feelings. When a person becomes Born-Again, they receive the Holy Spirit, who takes up residence within them and becomes God's dwelling place, the Holy of Holies. He is the one who leads, guides, and speaks to them.
We must never rely upon our subjective feelings, thoughts, and dreams to hear God's voice. He has already revealed His will for every Born-Again Christian in the Bible. We are to study and learn His will for our lives through His voice found in the inspired and authoritative Scriptures first and foremost. The only way to know whether you have heard God's voice is if it aligns with the Bible and His character and nature and NOT from personal experience.
If you want to hear God's voice audibly, read His Word out loud! Remember, the way God thinks and does things are not the thoughts and ways of fallen human beings (Isaiah 55:8-9). He will never contradict His written Word, and what He says will always bear the fruit of His mercy, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and longsuffering (Luke 6:36; Galatians 5:22).
The way a person proves they have heard God's voice is if they are not rude, self-seeking, proud, arrogant, easily angered, taking no pleasure in evil or keeping an account of wrongs done, and always rejoicing in the truth, and speaking it, bearing all things, believing, hoping and enduring all things (Matthew 7:15-23; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, 14:37; James 3:17).
