Listening to God

How do we hear God speaking to us?

Matthew 11:15 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Deuteronomy 6:4 ““Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

This idea of hearing means to obey. Jesus continues the same thought in His teaching in the Gospels as well as His conversation with John in Revelation.

We hear God by having a willingness to do whatever He says.

If we do not have a desire to obey God, then we will not be able to hear God.

You read God’s Word without a desire to obey and do what He says, you’ll say, “I didn’t get anything out of reading the Bible.” Many people are just looking for happy thoughts, motivational speeches, and proof texts. God’s Word isn’t just a proof text for your arguments; it is His Word to you and to anyone who will listen.

And His truth stands whether or not you want to listen to it.

The most trusted way to hear from God is from His Word — Jesus.

Every word of Scripture is trustworthy. You don’t have to question it and wonder, “Is that really what God said?” If it’s in here, then it is what He said. Now just because it is in the Bible doesn’t mean that God is okay with it. For instance, the Bible contains stories about rape, polygamy, witchcraft, drunkeness, but in none of those occasions is God pleased with these actions. In fact God often highlights the problems that these sins cause.

2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”

Other Ways We Can Hear from God

1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

Before we get into these other ways, we want to set this foundation. If you cannot take what you heard and back it up with Scripture, then you did not get it from God.

Circumstances There are all kinds of variables in our lives. Obviously God gives us free will. But we did not choose where or when we would be born, nor did we choose our parents. We didn’t choose the natural gifts and abilities we would have. There are some circumstances that are God-ordained, meaning He brought them into our lives. There are other circumstances that are God-allowed, meaning we may have gotten ourselves in the mess, but God is allowing it and working through it to teach us. Esther 4:10–14 “Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.” And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”” How is God teaching you or speaking to you through your current circumstances?

Desires There are desires that God places in our hearts, not desires born naturally of our hearts (we have to be careful of those). We cannot just be true to ourselves and listen to our heart. That’s a bad idea. But we can listen to desires that God is placing on our heart. For instance, you see someone at work and notice that something is off. Immediately you have a desire to go and speak with them, but you are not a go and speak to people kind of person. That is God placing a desire in you. This is often what happens with pastors and missionaries when they feel called somewhere. They go to try out at a church or they hear about a people group or a ministry somewhere, and something in them stirs with desire to go and serve. Again, this is where we begin to test desire with Scripture. We spend time in prayer making sure this is what God wants and not just something we want. Acts 16:6–10 “And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” God told Paul no to one desire and gave Paul a new one. Are you keeping yourself open to the desires God is placing on your heart? And are you testing your desires to make sure that they are indeed from God?

Prophecy 1 Corinthians 14:3 “On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.” Some traditions talk about getting a word from the Lord. The problem is that word didn’t really come from the word. It’s an experience based thing. It’s often manipulated for their own benefit. True prophecy as it exists today is you feeling the need to pray for a particular person. If you’ve ever thought or said, “I feel like God has kept you on my mind alot lately, so I have been praying for you.” That would be an example of prophecy today. Or perhaps you’re reading Scripture or you hear a Christian song and you immediately think of someone who is struggling that would benefit from that Scripture, that is prophecy today. If you know that someone is not living as they should and you know that you are uniquely placed in their life to speak to them, God will often give you words to speak and opportunity to speak to them. While this can be called prophecy, most of this is called discernment. This is a unique way that God speaks that allows you to be able to meet the needs of others. Again this is God speaking to you for His glory and for the benefit of others. This is not prosperity gospel hoodoo voodoo.

Meditative or Contemplative Prayer Again, I want to contrast this with some who teach that we’re waiting on God to give us a brand new word outside of Scripture. That is not what we are talking about here. Psalm 46:10 ““Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”” 1 Kings 19:11-18

1 Kings 19:11–18 ESV

And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Sometimes God wants us to be silent so He can guide our minds to the truth. He will do this through Scripture we have read. He will do this by opening our eyes to reality instead of our feelings. He takes a combination of Scripture and our current circumstances and shows us the truth and leads us in the way that we should go. And again, we want to take time to make sure that’s not us leading ourselves, but God leading us.

The only way we hear is by being willing to obey. So are you willing to hear God?