Hearing God’s Voice…

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to hear God’s voice. It is not incredulous to me that God would speak to His people who have a spirit connection with Him. Nor is it beyond the realm of possibility that God would actually want to communicate with His children. I guess there are some that feel God is way too busy with important world issues to actually speak with an individual. But those folks don’t seem to believe much of anything else anyway. In the Bible God refers to Himself as our Father and every good father wants to talk with his kids. So, I don’t think it’s an issue concerning God’s desire to talk with His children but rather whether or not His children can recognize and perceive His voice. Further if God wanted to talk with us would He make it be something hard for us to recognize? Or are there certain things that get in the way of us hearing Him? I don’t know about you but I am always happy to hear God’s voice and even happier when it is clearly Him. Can you hear God’s voice?

As a launching point, logic alone would suggest that God wants to talk with us. He gave us a marvelous creation with which to be enthralled. If you are paying attention and not too caught up with the affairs of life, everything around you points to Him. The intricate beauty of a flower, the trees, the blue sky, the ocean with its sandy shores, a sunset or a sunrise all are telling you something that is somewhat hard to put into words, but you feel it. The creation is just too vast, too perfect, too varied for you to assign it to a cosmic explosion that happened long ago. The creation alone gets your attention. It beckons you to look a little deeper. It points to something great, something wonderful behind it all. That’s the beginning of the quest as you follow the advertisements. Then, as you thoughtfully consider with that tremendous brain and body that God gave you, you begin to seek out the One behind it all. You come across His Word which is even more perfect and beautiful than His creation and you begin to find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. In His Word you start to learn who He is and what He wants for you to enjoy in this life, with the promise of an even greater future life. You learn how to receive His spirit and from there have a never ending connection with Him. Now He is your Father and you are His son. As His son He wants to talk with you and teach you things. (Don’t most fathers want this for their children?) He desires to speak with you directly. Now I should explain that the number one place He speaks with you is from His Word. His Word is light and living energy. In His Word He is communicating with you. In fact, His Word helps you to line up some parameters about how He speaks with you. Otherwise you would be an easy mark for communications and thoughts that do not come from God. (Many people say and do things reportedly from God that wholly contradict His heart of love and kindness.) This is our starting point.

Once we have a little learning inside our hearts we can now begin to understand that God wants to talk with us directly. The things God tells us are always gentle, easy to be entreated, without hypocrisy and full of mercy and good fruits. God does not say harsh things to us nor does He judge us. You may have been taught that, which serves as a deterrence from wanting to hear from God, but it is simply not true. God is not in the business of screwing you up or causing you to feel less or ashamed even if you have gone far off course. Again error played out in the hands of religion. Instead God wants to help you and me live our best lives. He wants us to understand things and overcome things. He hears the prayers we say and the ones we do not say. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He sees where we struggle and earnestly desires to relieve our suffering in every instance and at all times. When we ask Him questions He answers us. The question isn’t whether or not He hears us or whether or not He will answer us. The question is will we learn how to recognize and hear His voice.

God’s voice is described in the Bible as the “still small voice.” It is called still because it occurs in the quietness of our souls. Often when we find ourselves distraught over some threatening situation, the first thing we need to do is get quiet inside. “The greatest cargoes of life come in over quiet seas” as a great man used to proclaim. To hear God’s voice you have to get quiet inside. Next God’s voice is called small or maybe better lean. It is exactly enough, no more and no less. God is always direct and clear. Often we are the ones that complicate God or try to perceive Him through all of our unbelieving filters we have wrongly learned over time. God is not complicated or confusing. Error is complicated and confusing. God doesn’t add mystery and perplexity, He gives clarity instead. Often we need to get back to what is simple and clear. In order to hear His voice you have to settle down inside and just listen. When you cut through all of the distractions and all of the fears and all of the noise from the world, God is right there giving you what you need. He wants to talk to you, so why not start asking Him some questions.

I started a practice called, “Morning Pages” which is basically a form of journaling with God involved. Almost every morning I get up and begin my day with a conversation with God. In my discussions with Him I endeavor to be completely honest in every sense of the word. I do not sugar coat things nor act as if things are okay that are not okay. I’m honest, sometimes negative and lay it all out there before Him. I ask lots of questions, lots and lots of questions. He knows everything right? And, time and time again He provides me with the clarity I need to move ahead. Often it is immediate and sometimes it takes time. In either case He is faithful to hear me and answer me in some capacity. His voice sounds like my voice inside my mind, but the difference is always obvious after some reflection. It is just the greatest experience and I seek to do it more and more.

Hearing God’s voice has to be the best way to live. Why suffer and stress through life alone when God is right here willing and able to help. He will help you as well. Talk things over with Him and ask Him for His help. Ask Him to teach you and show you how to win. He will. Ask Him about the troubles that plague you and He will give you relief. There is no part of your life that is unimportant to Him. You are His child and like any parent worth his salt He wants to help you. Don’t let the world and its logic talk you out of the purity of your relationship with Him. Don’t let the naysayers convince you God is too busy for you. He desires to communicate with you in every facet and phase of your life. You can learn to hear and recognize His voice. There is nothing better than that!

Just some good thoughts…