LISTENING TO THE VOICE OF GOD

“Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.” – Isaiah 55:3.

You were created to know God in a deep and personal way. He never intended for your relationship with Him to be distant, formal, or mechanical. He knows you. He has a plan for you that is beautiful, adventurous, and meaningful. God created you to be in fellowship with Him.

1 Corinthians 1.9 says, “God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” The word “partnership” means to share life together. Jesus always lived in close, loving fellowship with His Father. He listened to His Father and obeyed Him completely. On one occasion, Jesus said, “For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing…” (John 5.20). Jesus had unbroken fellowship with His Father and He invites us into that fellowship.

Now, the basis for any fellowship is communication. God wants you to hear His voice and follow Him. You may be thinking, “Does God speak today?” He has always spoken to His people. God spoke to Noah about how to build a boat. God spoke to Joshua and told him to march around Jericho. God spoke to David and gave plans for the temple. God spoke to Daniel with prophecies of the future. God speaks, but are we listening, or better yet, do we know how to listen? The Bible tells us that we must listen and obey God’s voice. Consider the following verses: “I listen carefully to what God the LORD is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people” (Psalm 85.8). “And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3.10). “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!” (Matthew 11.15). Hebrews 3:15 adds, “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.” God speaks, the question is, “Are we listening?”

Learning how to hear God is an even greater challenge. Though there are some instances in Scripture when God speaks with an audible voice, God speaks in less direct ways most often. We struggle with listening to God, often questioning the reality of His presence when we don’t feel like we’re hearing from God. But hearing God isn’t always as hard as you may think.

Hearing God doesn’t have to be a confusing or difficult experience. We can make a lot of false assumptions about hearing God. Have these thoughts ever come to mind when trying to listen to God? While there are many methods to try to hear from God, it’s likely He’s been speaking to you this whole time. The key is to tune your ear to Him.

Discussion Questions:

Have you ever heard God’s voice, or wished you could? In what ways do you think God speaks to us?
Why might it be hard to hear God? Could it be because we don’t expect it, or because we have trouble distinguishing between our thoughts and what God might be trying to say?
How can we practice listening to God? Do you have a regular time to listen to God, or do you do things that you or others have assigned you to do? How can you grow in your listening this week?