The Bible tells us that God speaks to us all the time, and not just through the written Scriptures.
But do we hear him speaking to us?
As with all things of God we have a choice; to believe his Word in faith, or to choose to reject it in unbelief.
Hebrews 3:7-8 says, ‘Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, ’Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts’…referring to the lack of trust and unbelief God was angered by in the Jews in the wilderness, when despite all he had done they could not trust him unreservedly. If the writer of Hebrews speaks of hearing his voice, then God must speak to his people, and they must be able to hear his voice.
Today God speaks in many ways, some of which are through the beauty of creation or by means of ‘impressions’ we become aware of that do not seem to be from ourselves; some receive a clear scripture reference in their mind’s eye to look up. Others may ‘see’ pictures that have depths of meaning when reflected on, or may relate to a specific context. A passage of scripture may seem to stand out, or a passage in a Christian book. His ways are many and varied. One or two have even reported hearing an audible voice…
To hear God speak to us, we need to sit and listen as we would to a friend or family member.
We need to set aside a time in the day to focus exclusively on hearing God speak to us and engage in conversation with him, about anything on our hearts or minds about us or others. This is the essence of prayer; its just talking to our Father in person.
We must ‘choose’ to hear him. To set aside our unbelief that he would speak to us, opening our hearts and minds, our innermost being, to allow him to speak in whatever way he chooses. Practice makes this easier!
I often agree with God at these times that I am listening expectantly, and that I will then write down what comes to mind. I then ask the Holy Spirit to help me discern what is from Him and what might just be me! But any way in which we can practice hearing God speaking to us builds our faith and develops an intensely personal and loving relationship with Him. It enables us to more closely, follow and serve as a disciple, and friend, and to be bold in sharing our faith and more obediently bring in the Kingdom of God. Prayer becomes easier and more joyful as we expect a response as we would in any conversation.
This theme is developed in this Sunday’s readings.
In Joshua 24:1-2, 14-18, Joshua tells the people what he has heard from God. They must each choose whether to serve the false gods of their ancestors or the one true Lord.
Ps 34:15-end states clearly that God hears from and helps all who believe in him and cry out to him in times of trouble.
Ephesians 6:10-20 tells us that we are armoured and protected by God against our enemy the devil, and that we are in a battle, and must pray constantly in the Spirit, not neglecting to be speaking to God always for ourselves and others.
And finally, John 6:56-59 tells us we must abide in Jesus so closely as ‘those who eat his flesh and drink his blood’ and that he will then abide in us; so we can only conclude that in such a close and loving relationship we must of course hear God speak to us, and respond by speaking to him in prayer, expecting things to happen!
Steff Stott.