Listening to God
Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, if you would listen to Me!
Psalm 81:8
Listening to God
Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, if you would listen to Me!
Psalm 81:8
We can listen and hear the voice of God in his written Word, through the Holy Spirit, from other Christians, and in life circumstances. God speaks thoughts into our minds through the Holy Spirit and we learn to distinguish the thoughts from God from our own thoughts.
Listening to God is like recognizing a familiar voice in a crowded room. Even when our minds are distracted, it is possible to hear God’s voice. We must be quiet in the Spirit and turn our focus to what he is saying. If we schedule quiet times and specifically set them aside for communing with God, we will become more attuned to hearing his words.
Listening to God requires deliberate choice, training, and the development of the ability to control our thoughts. It’s not easy, but it can be done. The more we read the Word the more we learn the language of God the easier it is to recognize God’s voice.
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. (Psalm 143:8) Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 34:10) Starting our day listening to our Lord helps us to follow Christ and serve him throughout our day. Hearing his voice in the morning primes us to hear his voice throughout the day.
No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. (1 Corinthians 2:11–12) We hear God’s voice through the Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit of God knows the thoughts of God, and when we are living in the Spirit, we are in tune to God. The more we read and mediate on God’s Word, the more we will hear his voice. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. (John 16:13)
Today seek to hear the Lord speaking to you through thoughts taken from his Word. Talk to the Lord through prayer and quote his promises that are applicable to your pray. You can be confident that the Lord hears your prayer and he definitely has something to say to you. When you read the Word, talk to God for understanding and listen for his voice.
Prayer: Lord, help me to be still inside and to hear your quiet voice through the Spirit. Help me to recognize your voice, the thoughts that you place in my mind. Lord I long to hear your divine voice. In Jesus name, Amen