God is more than a story in a dusty book. He is much more than a religious building, a doctrine that seeks to explain Him, a painting hoping to capture Him, or a well-rehearsed choir whose songs of Him inspire audiences around the globe. God is alive!
God has never failed me. God will never fail you. I am constantly learning that He is present when I can’t see Him, and that He provides in His perfect timing…always.
Many know that it has been said that God did mighty things in days long ago. The world is filled with many books of such miracles, divine providences, and the direct leading of God in the past. But God still lives NOW in the present!
As you read stories I’ve shared already and will continue to share, you may also wonder how I hear God speaking to me. Do I hear an audible voice? How do I know it is God speaking and not just my own thoughts?
Learning to recognize when God is speaking to me or when it’s just my own thoughts or impressions has been a lifelong journey of growth. And I’m still learning.
Three Principles for Listening & Hearing God
Here are three principles that form the foundation on how I listen for and hear God speaking inaudibly to my mind and heart:
#1: God’s written Word, the Bible, has the highest authority. The written Word of God is the highest revelation of who the real Jesus Christ is (John 5:39). God’s Word tests our impressions, life experiences, and what we hear from God in prayer, as well as the teachings of others (Isaiah 8:20; Psalm 119:105).
#2: God still speaks to His people today. God’s Word says, “Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it, the Lord is His name, Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:2-3 NASB).
God wants to speak to us. He intends for prayer to be a two-way dialogue between us and Him. We pray, we read His Word, we listen, and we read His Word and pray some more. His written Word is the anchor and foundation for how we talk to and hear from God. If we long to hear God more, then we must wait on Him and listen more after we have read His Word (See Psalm 25:5; 46:10). Every time we obey Him according to His written Word, we are better prepared to hear His voice more distinctly in the future.
#3: God wants us to come to Him in prayer with eager expectation. God’s Word says, “In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch” (Psalm 5:3 NASB).
Call to Remember: God Still Speaks & Loves Us More We Think
Through my journey of growing in my friendship with God, I can tell you that I have come to understand that this God who still speaks loves me more than I think He does. I am also just as sure that God loves YOU more than you think He does, much more!
Notice what He says in His Word to you:
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8 (NASB)
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”
Romans 8:38-39 (NASB)
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman \ Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
