If you have gone through our Abide study, you know that we end each retreat with what we call the “Ezekiel Exercise,” in which each participant takes some time to practice abiding in God’s Word. Nearly all of our participants will hear directly from God during this exercise, and it is often a life-changing experience. Many of you have walked away with new insight and a newfound love for God, but perhaps you are wondering how you can continue to hear from God and develop your ability to distinguish His voice from all others. If this is you, you are in the right spot! Over the next few posts, we will be diving into what it looks like to hear God’s voice in biblical and practical ways. As always, if you would like to deep-dive into this topic, please check out our online course Hearing God’s Voice. If you would like to start with a quicker overview, this blog series is for you!
The first thing to address when discussing what it looks like to hear God’s voice is whether or not this is even a possibility.
Can we hear God’s voice?
John 18:37
37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
Jesus says here that everyone who is of the truth listens to His voice. In other words, everyone who desires the truth will hear from Him! This means two important things. Firstly, it means that Jesus is speaking to us continually. It also means that if we listen and seek the truth, we will hear from Him. This is not limited to only the highly spiritual, or those in ministry. Jesus says that everyone who is of the truth listens to His voice.
When you hear His voice, it is important to keep from hardening your heart. What do we mean when we say “harden your heart”? Hardening your heart means turning away from God’s voice, ignoring it, not believing it is possible, or rejecting what you hear. When you reject God’s voice, and thus His wisdom, you by nature go to your own selfish desires and try to work through your circumstances on your own. If you harden your heart and refuse to listen to God’s voice you will end up walking away.
When you walk away and get deeper and deeper into your own self-will, you experience trouble, and this trouble leads you to the conclusion that you will never find any real answers. But God says that when we walk with Him, we get the opposite. His Word is powerful and it gets to the core of your being. When He speaks, real things happen, because He offers real and true wisdom.
So it is incredibly important to hear God’s voice as Christians. But what if God doesn’t seem to speak to me?
We are to open the doors of our hearts to Him.
Revelation 3:20-22
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. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
The answer is actually much more simple than many people first imagine! God is always speaking to us. He stands at the doors of our hearts and knocks. Our job is to open the door. In other words, all you need to do to hear God speak to you is to listen and to seek Him. When you hear Him speak—even if you are doubtful—take the time to listen and ask for confirmation. If you open the door to Him, He will establish intimate fellowship with you. As you dialogue with Him, His voice will become more and more clear to you.
We cannot resolve our struggles and battles on our own by attempting—in our own power—to be obedient to the Scripture. Rather, the victory comes from Him as we join Him in His work by hearing His voice and opening the door to sweet fellowship.
Why is it so important to hear God’s voice?
Let’s go through a few scriptural reasons why God speaks to us, and discuss why listening to Him is vital to our lives as Christians.
1. His Words bring eternal life
John 5:24
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
Hearing and believing God ushers in eternal life, allowing us to escape judgment and to conquer death. There is more to eternal life than simply getting into heaven. He wants us to receive and live the abundant life of the Covenant that He promises. This comes through hearing His voice and receiving the full life of God—which is His best for us.
2. To receive knowledge and wisdom
Proverbs 23:12
Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge.
When we listen to the words of God, we get knowledge and wisdom, since He is the ultimate source of knowledge and wisdom. As you walk with Him, He will tell you all that you need to know to overcome your circumstances and live in the Covenant.
4. To get direction
Isaiah 30:20-21
20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. 21 And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
As you walk through life, you will constantly find yourself at forks in the road. You undoubtedly know this through experience! God says that when we listen, we will ear a word behind us (His voice!) which tells us which direction to take. His direction for us is wisdom. What we can see is very limited, but God sees the whole picture.
5. To experience fullness of life
John 8:51-52
51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’
This is an interesting statement: If we follow Him and His teaching, we will never see death. On the surface, this does not make sense, which is why the Pharisees could not accept it. But death in this sense is actually separation from God. Death is the absence of God in our lives; it comes through a rejection of His voice. When we hear from Him and walk with Him, we will experience life through His Covenant.
It is important to note here that the Pharisees failed to understand this concept because they refused to stay in dialogue and ask questions. Instead of rejecting what Christ speaks to you, stay in dialogue with Him until you can gain the full understanding and application of the truth He speaks.
These aspects of hearing God’s voice only scratch the surface of what He has to offer through this kind of relationship. We will continue to dig deeper over the next few blog posts, but if you are interested in a deep dive into what it looks like to live out a continuous dialogue with Christ, consider taking our online course, Hearing God’s Voice. We are also always here to answer any questions and support you on your journey to walking in the Abundant Life. Contact us here–we’d be happy to talk with you!
