How to Talk with God
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14 For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it.
It is clear from the Scripture that God speaks to us. Yet it says man does not recognize he is speaking. This is the word of God. Though there are many people that say they hear God speaking to them, the Bible says the majority don’t know his voice. That means many that think they are hearing from God, are really hearing from someone else.
Today, for all of those who want to know, I’m going to show you how you can come to recognize the real voice of God, and have a conversation with him.
I will repeat that again:
Today, for all of those who want to know, I’m going to show you how you can come to recognize the real voice of God, and have a conversation with him.
I know many of you are saying, you talk to God every day. I am sure that is true many of you do. But, I am not talking about just talking toGod. I am talking about talking with God. I am talking about having a conversation with God.
There is a difference!
I know many of you pray every day, and many of you pray to God, but many don’t wait to hear what God has to say. Even if he did talk with them, they would not recognize it was him speaking to them. That is what Job 33:14 tells us. Man does not perceive it is God speaking. Why? Because most men don’t know his voice.
God wants to talk with you and not just listen to you just babble on and on, and on and on, and then go on your way. Jesus said
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
In other words, don’t do all the talking!
This message is for those who want to know how to talk withGod; not just talk to God. If you want to know how to talk with God, I am about to show you how to recognize his voice. All you need to do is pay attention. I don’t show you my opinion, I show you the word of God.
First of all, realize that God is always speaking. Jesus himself even said we may not hear him.
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
Notice he tells us that we must first hear his voice and then welcome him into our lives. Then when we hear him and welcome him, he will come in and sit, eat and talk with us. This is an open invitation to all. But as Job tells us, we may not hear his voice. Even though he is always speaking.
This is our problem. Though God is speaking, so many of us don’t know his voice to hear him speaking.
Again, I say: This, is, the problem! Though God is speaking, too many of us, just don’t know his voice to know it is him who is speaking!
And a third time I say it: The problem is, though God is always speaking to us, too many of us don’t recognize/perceive it is him who is speaking.
Now listen, if you want to know how to talk with God, not just talk to God, can you restate the problem in your own mind as I just said it? Say it.
God is always speaking but Many Don’t Perceive It Is him! That is the problem!
Many of us have an acquaintance with God but not a relationship with him to know His Voice!
Many of us know of God but too few of us actually know God!
Many of us don’t know God because we don’t take the time to know him. We want everything done quick and in a hurry. God does not value time the same way we do. He is not concerned about how much time you spend trying to find him. In fact, he wants you to spend time to try to find him. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.
Today, again I am going to show you how you can recognize his voice and have a conversation with him.
It is very simple how you come to know his voice: Close your eyes and listen for moment to the next voice you hear. Tell me who it is.
Ready? Now listen to the voice.
…
Someone is speaking to you right now and they are asking you do you know the voice you are hearing? Do you know whose voice it is that you are hearing speak to you with the mike right now?
Open your eyes:
That should have been easy for you. Whose voice were you listening to? Did you know it was me who was talking? How many of you knew it was me? Of course, you did! Why? You have heard me speak time and time again and you know my voice. You know my voice because you have been listening to me.
How many of you even with your eyes close, would recognize your best friends voice if they spoke to you? Why would you know them when you couldn’t see them? You know the sound of their voice.
The same is true with God. If you spend time with him, you will come to know his voice and when he calls your name you will listen! The more you hear his voice, the more you know his voice.
When you start to spend time with God, you will know his voice from all of the many voices that are speaking around you.
How do you spend time with God?
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
You come to know the voice of God when you spend time in the word of God. This requires time and effort that’s why we are told time and time throughout the Bible to seek the Lord while he may be found.
Now, we understand that God is speaking at all times, but we don’t recognize him because we have not come to distinguish his voice from all of the many voices and sounds that are coming at us. Here is how we can fix that. Spend time in his word!
Learning to Know God’s Voice
There are many voices that are speaking to us every day. We have to learn to know God’s voice and distinguish his from all of the many voices we hear.
To learn this lesson, we are going to turn to the book of Psalms. This is the book of prayers.
The psalmist has many conversations with God. There are times when the Psalmist speaks, and there are times when God speaks back to the psalmist. The Psalms are written to help us to know how to converse with God.
Let us begin with the first Psalms. This is not a prayer, but it is the instruction and an introduction to all of the Psalms. It tells us the key to knowing God’s voice and being able to talk with him.
I will say it one more time. The first Psalm is the key to knowing God’s voice and being able to talk with him and not just talk at him.
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
To come to know the voice of God, the psalmist tells us a person must separate himself from three types of people.
Then he tells us who we should seek to have time with and the results of doing so;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Now let us break this down
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
We are first told to separate ourselves from three types of people if we are going to be able to hear the voice of God.
1) the voices of the wicked,
2) those that are sinners, and
3) those that are complainers.
The wicked are those that we know are just plain evil.
The sinners are those that violate the word of God
The scoffers are those that bicker and complain and criticize and condemn all things and other people over and over.
To begin to hear the voice of God, we must separate ourselves from these types of people. Then, we are to take the time to have our minds affected by meditating on the word of God.
The psalmist then says
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Instead of running with the wicked, sinners and the complainers, this person takes pleasure, takes delight in the word of God.
Policies the very same thing this way
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
You see, when we separate ourselves from these types of people and focus on the Word of God, God transforms us into the image of his son by the power of his Holy Spirit. This is what we were born again for; to be like him.
We are transformed when we take a delight in the Word of God. We enjoy it so much that we meditate on it both day and night. Oh, how I truly wish more people felt this way about God’s Word. If you say you love the Lord, then you need to love and take pleasure in the study of His Word.
Jesus tried to encourage us when he said man does not live by bread alone, but by every word out of the mouth of God. He made a reference to food. Just as we eat every day, we should eat, study, delight, meditate, from the word of God every day!
How many of us do that?
Many people may read the word, but reading is not what we are told to do. Meditating on the word is what are commanded to do; not just read it.
Meditate means to ponder and evaluate what we have read.
To meditate means to go over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, the word again, and again, and again. Thinking about it and what it means. Meditate means to use the mind in evaluating, pondering, rehearsing, reviewing, considering, studying, contemplate, analyze, examine, scrutinize, peruse, inspect, investigate, explore the possibilities and the like on the word of God,
When we meditate, we are taking in God! We are breathing in the breath of God. God is his word. When we breathe in the word we are breathing in life.
Meditation involves memorizing the word.
First before we start any meditation, we are to consider carefully what did the author intend to convey to the listeners?
And then
second, we are to consider how does it line up with the meaning of the entire Bible and the revelation of Christ?
We must be careful not to interject our thinking into the Scripture.
That is the reason God told Abraham to leave his country’s way of thinking, his people’s way of thinking and his family’s way of thinking. He wanted him to separate from those influences so that God himself could begin to influence his mind.
We too have to separate from those types of influences like Abraham. Our nationality, our culture, and our family heritage. These influences are very hard to break! But they must be broken if we are going to begin to hear the voice of God clearly.
You see the Bible tells us
12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
We must be trained a new way of thinking. That comes about only when we separate ourselves from the world’s influences. Because as God says in
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Biblical meditation is not like mindfulness or any type of human meditation. It does not mean to empty one’s mind and think of nothing. Biblical meditation means to fill one’s mind with thoughts of the awareness of God.
Once you determine what the original authors intent was and have evaluated it in line with the Bible then you begin meditating on what the scripture says.
Meditating on the word of God not only affects your way of thinking but it transforms your whole being into the image of Christ. It affects your life because it affects your heart and as a man thinks in his heart so is he.
When a person thinks on the word of God, he is taking on more than just mere words. The word, is God himself and the word provides transformational power to the whole person. When a person thinks and meditates on the word of God they are transformed from a human way of thinking into a child of God conforming to the image of Christ. The word of God is more than just words.the word is God entering at invitation of the person to set up reign in their life.
The word of God is alive
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
When a person meditates upon the word of God the power of the word and the Holy Spirit began to affect a man’s heart that changes his life.
As he reads the word of God again and again, he begins to know the voice of God because God is his word. He begins to recognize God’s voice when he is speaking to him just like you knew my voice when I was speaking to you. Then God promises as you come to know his voice, he will converse with you. He will talk with you.
When you come to recognize his voice, you begin to hear him talking to you at all times throughout the day. Just like a mother can recognize the voice of her child in the midst of a playground of children you will recognize the voice of God in the midst of the day today activities you are involved with in life.
Now are certain benefits that the psalmist points out when you meditate.
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
Stability
Fruit bearing in season
Blessings
A tree planted by streams does well in all types of weather. Even when there’s little rain, it is still well watered. This is like a person that continues to thrive when others are in dry spells and seasons. This is because they have come to know God’s voice and they know what God is saying in hard times. They draw in the water of the word and it becomes part of their life. A water from which they will never thirst again.
This is a person who is well grounded in the word of God.
165 Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.
They drink from a source that never dries up. They are not easily offended like people of the world because they know where their help comes from. They shall not be moved and tossed to and fro by every wind and doctrine of the cunning craftiness of the doctrines of men.
Notice also, it is streams of water, not just a stream but many streams. This means God gives revelation after revelation to a person who meditate on his word.
The more you come to know about God, the more you come to know.
This is like you come to know your ABCs and then you learn to read and when you learn to read you come to know more.
The more you come to know about God, the more you come to know.
Now, I told you it was simple to come to know the voice of God but it will take effort. You must set aside a time day and night to seek the Lord. You must search for him.
29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
You cannot play God cheap. We can’t pursue things of the world more greatly than we pursue God. This applies to every one of us.
How can we pursue a career and not pursue the one who makes our career? If you want to know the Lord, you’re going to have to spend some time studying his word.
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Rightly dividing the word of God requires effort and study but the benefits are tremendous!
14 For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it.
Now, you can talk to God or you can talk withGod if you want. He will talk back to you, but you must first learn to know his voice. You can only do this by giving up all you desire for yourself of things of the world and make the focus of your life to meditate upon his word with all your heart.
Finally, I want to remind you of what Jesus said
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.