The question of the ages is, “Does God speak?” The answer is – it depends on whom you ask! Since you are reading my blog, the answer is yes!
Some Don't Believe It
However, some streams in the church don’t believe God still speaks. They believe that stuff disappeared with the apostles. I know someone who thinks that way, and yet, he believes the devil speaks to people. I asked him why God would allow the devil to speak while he remained silent. My friend hemmed and hawed before finally admitting that he does think God speaks, but it’s very easy to get tricked by the devil, and therefore we shouldn’t pursue such things.
It’s true. Anyone who hears God has messed things up a few times as they learned God’s voice. We will not get things perfect every time, but that should not stop you from moving with God. When toddlers learn to walk, they will fall. What would happen if they didn’t get up and try again? They would sit in a chair while a life of walking, running, jumping, skipping, and everything else passed them by while being dependent on someone else for many of their needs. God did not intend for us to stay babies forever
Why Does God Speak
In the scriptures, God calls Abraham a friend. Imagine having an earthly friend that you talk to, but they never talk back. Not much of a friendship.
We all have a destiny. How will we know what it is without hearing the voice of God? We will all face difficult decisions. How do we make the correct one without hearing what the Spirit says? We can make our own choices and ignore God, but if you want to be in step with His purpose for your life, you will need to hear for yourself.
All through the scriptures, we see instances of God speaking to his people: Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, David, all the prophets, Paul, and the list goes on. I used to think they heard God because they were special. Or at least more special than me. My mom heard God, but I figured God only chose certain people to talk to, and I didn’t make the list.
WRONG!
I’ve heard more than one pastor say that God speaks to us every day, and we just don’t realize it. They never explained what God sounded like or how he spoke, they were just sure to point out that he did. Thanks for being so vague and annoying!
Once I knew how God spoke, I found hearing him to be easy. Yay! Understanding what he is saying is another story. That’s where it gets tricky. When I first started, I questioned what I heard – was that God? Does he really want me to do that? And the most often asked question by me was, and still is, “What does THAT mean?!”
Character Development
Maybe you hear God regularly, and maybe you don’t hear anything yet. In either case, I can’t emphasize enough that God wants to develop strong integrity and character in you so that you can hear God correctly.
Someone with a strong revelatory gift can cause great harm to others when they have old wounds and attitudes that they haven’t let the Lord deal with. One of the most important reasons you will hear God is so he can deal with the garbage in your life first. We all have it. We collect much of it from the family we grew up in. I had a good family but still had many things to deal with.
The attitude of your heart will determine what and how you hear. Not every voice that comes along is the Lord’s. Sometimes it’s your own soulish desires, and sometimes it’s the enemy. Learning to discern the origin of what you are hearing is the key!
Until next time under the palm, be blessed!
