A Quick Look
5 Things You Have to Believe In Order to Hear From God
- You have to believe that YeHoVaH exists.
- You have to believe He knows you and desires a relationship with you.
- You have to believe He will do what He has said He will do.
- You have to believe that God, through His Spirit, still “speaks” to people today.
- You have to believe the Holy Spirit speaks to you.
Hearing From God:
Are You Listening?
Usually I have no problem coming up with something to write about.
- I ask the Spirit to clue me in.
- I am “nudged” by something from my Quiet Time.
- I am moved by something from my Bible study.
- I’m asked a question and I seek to answer it.
- Sometimes something stands out from my list of blog ideas.
But this time …
Nothing.
Nada.
Zip.
But then, maybe, just maybe, there was something in the nothing.
Maybe, not hearing from the Spirit in my spirit is “something” after all.
How Do You Hear From God?
1. You have to believe that YeHoVaH exists.
You can’t hear from Someone who isn’t there.
Nor can you hear from Someone you don’t believe is there.
The Creator of the universe reveals Himself throughout the wonders of His whole creation.
20 For since the creation of the world His [God’s] invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. Romans 1: 20 NASB
The Father revealed Himself through His Son (John 3:16), His Anointed One: Jesus the Christ (Yeshua the Messiah).
If your mind is closed to the possibility of God’s existence then you will not “have ears to hear” (Mark 4:23).
2. You have to believe He knows you and desires a relationship with you.
Like the father in the story of the prodigal son, the Father looks for us, seeking a restored relationship.
20 “So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. Luke 15:11-32 NASB
Moses met God at the burning bush (Exodus 3). They began a relationship. God directing. Moses obeying.
3. You have to believe He will do what He has said He will do.
God’s Word is true.
24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 NASB
Will He keep His promises?
9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 NASB
Will He be faithful?
13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. 2 Timothy 2:13 NASB
4. You have to believe that God, through His Spirit, still “speaks” to people today.
In the Old Testament, God spoke to the Israelites through the Prophets.
1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. Hebrews 1:2-2 NASB
Today, God speaks to us through His revelation: the Word, the Bible, which tells of the Word, His Son Jesus.
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NASB
God speaks to us through the Spirit.
12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. John 16:12 NASB
We know we can hear through the Spirit because Jesus said,
27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” John 10:27 NASB.
5. You have to believe the Holy Spirit is speaking to you.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. 1 Corinthians 2:12-13 NASB
But we have to be careful.
Is the spirit we perceive truly the Holy Spirit?
We are to test our perceptions against the Truth. For satan can appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1 NASB
We are to
- test what we perceive against the Truth of the written Word.
- test what we perceive against the teachings of the Incarnate Word as recorded in the written Word.
- test what we perceive against the Truth as understand by other God-fearing believers.
But I’m Not Hearing From God. What Can I Do?
But what if we don’t hear from God?
Like Job, we can call to YeHoVaH; but we may not hear a reply.
20 “I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me. Job 30:20 NASB
Is He listening?
Does He care?
Sometimes the reason we don’t hear is because we aren’t listening for His voice.
Sometimes the reason we don’t hear from God may be because our life is too busy, too noisy, with too many distractions.
Our life may resemble the “third soil” and the cares and desires of the world steal our peace and our productivity.
18 “And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19 but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. Mark 4:18-19 NASB
Sometimes the reason we don’t hear from the Father may be because we want to have our ears “tickled.” We do not want to listen to the Truth; we would rather turn to attractive deceptions and pleasurable falsehoods.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 NASB
But, How Can I Hear God’s Voice (Again)?
How do we listen for, and hear, His voice?
How do we (re)turn to an intimate relationship?
The time-tested way to seek relational intimacy with Jesus, to hear His voice, is through the Spiritual Disciplines.
Such disciplines include the practices of Prayer, Fasting, Study, Worship, Simple and Sacrificial Living, Silence and Solitude, Service to others.
Here are 3 classic books. You can check them out!
- Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster, 2018
- Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney, 2014
- The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives by Dallas Willard, 1999
But What Am I to Do While I Wait to Hear From God?
We wait.
Yes, we are to wait.
1 My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation. Psalm 62:1 NASB
But, also, we are to do, and continue to do, the last thing we were told to do.
Abraham believed the promise for a son for years before YHVH fulfilled the promise. (Genesis 15:4-6)
All things come in God’s time, which may not in the time we desire.
2 So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. Genesis 21:2 NASB
We are to do, and continue to do, the last thing we were told to do.
Sometimes, God gives us only the information that we need for “right now.”
Just Enough Light
“Sometimes only the step I’m on,
Or the very next one ahead,
is all that is illuminated for me.
“God gives just the amount of light I need
For the exact moment I need it.”
“Just Enough Light” by Stormie Ormatian in Just Enough Light For the Step I’m On by Stormie Ormatian, 2019.
We can see where we are (the step we’re on); but we may not see the next step clearly.
To go ahead, to continue, we, like the Priests of the Israelites at the Jordan, need to take a step of faith.
13 “It shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap.” Joshua 3:13 NASB
The Priests had to step into the Jordan River before there was a way through the water.
The Priests had to act.
The Priests had to act by faith, in trust and obedience.
We, too, need to act.
We, too, need to act in trust and obedience. (If it’s the wrong action we will be corrected.)
We are to do, and continue to do, the last thing we were told to do.
What If I Don’t Know What I Should Be Doing?
In other words:
What is the will of God for me?
There is a long answer.
And many books and sermons have been written about it. I suggest you look into the subject.
However, here are some short(er) answers.
A short answer is to obey the Great Commandment:
30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ 31 “The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ Mark 12:30-31 NASB
A short answer is to follow His directives.
8 He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 NASB
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 NASB
16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 NASB
A short answer is to love Yeshua and obey Him.
15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. John 14:15 NASB
A short answer is to do the works that have been prepared for you.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 NASB
A short answer is
- to persevere (Romans 5:3-5)
- to endure (Hebrews 12:1-2)
- to be steadfast (1 Corinthians 15:58)
- to live by faith (Romans 1:17)
- to trust (Psalm 37:5)
- to obey (Philippians 2:12)
5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. Psalm 37:5 NASB
Be assured, that even in the silence God is “doing a good work in you.”
6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 NASB
My Prayers For You
May “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened” (Ephesians 1:18) that you may see the presence of God (Matthew 5:8).
May you have “ears to hear” (Mark 4:9) the voice of Jesus (John 10:27 NASB).
May you have a tender heart to love as Christ loved.
2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. ) Ephesians 5:2 NASB
And, as you wait upon the LORD, be at rest.
7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Psalm 37:7 NASB
Amen.
Blessings,
TLThomas
See also
God Knows You! Do You Want to Know Him?
Copyright TLThomas © 2020