Discerning God’s Voice
Ding Dong…the doorbell rang and I ran to answer it. I knew just what sat outside waiting for me. Iknew for sure as I heard the rumble of the large truck engine. FedEx had brought my package. I had the tracking number sitting in my email and I had checked the status at least a hundred timesthroughout the day. I threw open the door and there it was, a shiny gold package addressed justto me! As I picked it up and held it in my hands I looked just below it and saw another packagesitting there, also addressed to me! This was surely going to be an excellent day. I ripped open thegold package and inside was a manuscript titled “Your Life.” It wasn’t signed but I was sure it wasfrom God. He had emailed me the day before sending me the confirmation number and everything.I knew I would want to spend most of the evening pouring over the details so I set it aside andpulled out my second package. Most likely it was a gift from my mom, or a letter from my brother,but I wanted it out of the way so I could get down to business. I slid open the top and pulled outwhat seemed to be another manuscript. As I pulled it out of the packaging I was devastated, itwas also titled “Your Life” and was also unsigned. With panic running through my brain I quickly flipped through several pages of each book and found that they were similar but some parts wereincredibly different. My heart sank, how could I know which one was from God? Who could havesent this other version? I slumped down in my chair, closed my eyes and prayed.
I don’t know about you but I have begged God, on more than one occasion, to send me a FedExpackage with my name on it that would spell out in clear black and white letters just what path Ishould take, what a certain situation meant, if the guy I was dating was “the one” (that one wasprayed on several different occasions) and the list goes on and on. Every time I made that prayerGod would point me to the obvious spot…The Bible…and I would read and read, pray and pray andstill at the end of the day I would have so many voices inside my head auditioning for a part in mylife. How could I possibly figure out just which one was God?
While God never promises to send each of us a manuscript with the details of our life etched inside,He does promise to have an intimate personal relationship with each one of us individually; andthrough this relationship we will each begin to know Him so deeply that we will be able to discernquite quickly the Voice of God.
Discerning God’s Voice is an acquired skillYou may be one of the lucky ones, like Gideon, and the Lord will send his Angel down to speak withyou face to face. Or one of the not so lucky ones like Jonah and have the Lord throw you into thebelly of a whale to speak to you. Most likely though, you are like the rest of us and searching forclues to hear from God.
How can I learn to hear God speaking to me?
RelationshipGod tells us in the Bible that he wants a personal relationship with each one of us. It is difficult toimagine having a relationship with someone we cannot see or touch but the power of God is so strongit does happen.In Job 29:4 Job speaks of an intimate friendship he has with the Lord and that it graced his homefrequently.
Growing a relationship with God is much like any other friendship. We must spend time with Him,reading his Word, prayer time conversations, worship in adoration and at times simply being still andwaiting on Him to come to you.
Christian FellowshipGod uses human beings to pass his word along to us. We will never know who God could use in ourlives to get His word to us. He may even use us in someone else’s life as well. All of God’s wordis “inspired” which literally means “God Breathed.” Being in fellowship with other Christians will giveyou more opportunities for God to speak through a mature voice to your heart, and possibly evenopen doors for a mentorship or intimate relationship with a new friend.
Being AvailableIn Judges 6:17 Gideon asks God give him a sign that it is really God talking to him.; and Godprovided.We have to be ready and willing to accept God’s Word. Don’t worry if you are thinking that youmay have missed it in your busy life. God will provide many opportunities, more than we can evenimagine, for us to know him intimately.
John 14:26 says "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, willteach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."He will remind us constantly of his desires for our heart. Often times I will have a thought nag atme for days. Sometimes that thought is even physically painful and inside me I know this must beGod.
In your quiet time today try and hear God’s voice speaking to you. Reflect on your life and thecurrent events in it and see if you can find the still small voice of God urging you along. If you arestill unsure spend time asking God to give you a sign that it is really him speaking to you.
Along the wall you will see a string hanging and on a table nearby some supplies. Think about yourquiet time with God and reflect on his voice to you. Spend a few moments and create somethingthat reflects God’s voice to you and hang it on the wall. Maybe others will hear God’s voice throughyour bubble.
“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit,expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.” 1 Corinthians 2:13
Ding Dong…the doorbell rang and I ran to answer it. I knew just what sat outside waiting for me. Iknew for sure as I heard the rumble of the large truck engine. FedEx had brought my package. I had the tracking number sitting in my email and I had checked the status at least a hundred timesthroughout the day. I threw open the door and there it was, a shiny gold package addressed justto me! As I picked it up and held it in my hands I looked just below it and saw another packagesitting there, also addressed to me! This was surely going to be an excellent day. I ripped open thegold package and inside was a manuscript titled “Your Life.” It wasn’t signed but I was sure it wasfrom God. He had emailed me the day before sending me the confirmation number and everything.I knew I would want to spend most of the evening pouring over the details so I set it aside andpulled out my second package. Most likely it was a gift from my mom, or a letter from my brother,but I wanted it out of the way so I could get down to business. I slid open the top and pulled outwhat seemed to be another manuscript. As I pulled it out of the packaging I was devastated, itwas also titled “Your Life” and was also unsigned. With panic running through my brain I quickly flipped through several pages of each book and found that they were similar but some parts wereincredibly different. My heart sank, how could I know which one was from God? Who could havesent this other version? I slumped down in my chair, closed my eyes and prayed.
I don’t know about you but I have begged God, on more than one occasion, to send me a FedExpackage with my name on it that would spell out in clear black and white letters just what path Ishould take, what a certain situation meant, if the guy I was dating was “the one” (that one wasprayed on several different occasions) and the list goes on and on. Every time I made that prayerGod would point me to the obvious spot…The Bible…and I would read and read, pray and pray andstill at the end of the day I would have so many voices inside my head auditioning for a part in mylife. How could I possibly figure out just which one was God?
While God never promises to send each of us a manuscript with the details of our life etched inside,He does promise to have an intimate personal relationship with each one of us individually; andthrough this relationship we will each begin to know Him so deeply that we will be able to discernquite quickly the Voice of God.
Discerning God’s Voice is an acquired skillYou may be one of the lucky ones, like Gideon, and the Lord will send his Angel down to speak withyou face to face. Or one of the not so lucky ones like Jonah and have the Lord throw you into thebelly of a whale to speak to you. Most likely though, you are like the rest of us and searching forclues to hear from God.
How can I learn to hear God speaking to me?
RelationshipGod tells us in the Bible that he wants a personal relationship with each one of us. It is difficult toimagine having a relationship with someone we cannot see or touch but the power of God is so strongit does happen.In Job 29:4 Job speaks of an intimate friendship he has with the Lord and that it graced his homefrequently.
Growing a relationship with God is much like any other friendship. We must spend time with Him,reading his Word, prayer time conversations, worship in adoration and at times simply being still andwaiting on Him to come to you.
Christian FellowshipGod uses human beings to pass his word along to us. We will never know who God could use in ourlives to get His word to us. He may even use us in someone else’s life as well. All of God’s wordis “inspired” which literally means “God Breathed.” Being in fellowship with other Christians will giveyou more opportunities for God to speak through a mature voice to your heart, and possibly evenopen doors for a mentorship or intimate relationship with a new friend.
Being AvailableIn Judges 6:17 Gideon asks God give him a sign that it is really God talking to him.; and Godprovided.We have to be ready and willing to accept God’s Word. Don’t worry if you are thinking that youmay have missed it in your busy life. God will provide many opportunities, more than we can evenimagine, for us to know him intimately.
John 14:26 says "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, willteach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."He will remind us constantly of his desires for our heart. Often times I will have a thought nag atme for days. Sometimes that thought is even physically painful and inside me I know this must beGod.
In your quiet time today try and hear God’s voice speaking to you. Reflect on your life and thecurrent events in it and see if you can find the still small voice of God urging you along. If you arestill unsure spend time asking God to give you a sign that it is really him speaking to you.
Along the wall you will see a string hanging and on a table nearby some supplies. Think about yourquiet time with God and reflect on his voice to you. Spend a few moments and create somethingthat reflects God’s voice to you and hang it on the wall. Maybe others will hear God’s voice throughyour bubble.
“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit,expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.” 1 Corinthians 2:13
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