Hearing God's voice

17 March 2020

Music seems to be a universal language; in every culture, in every part of the world, music is played, sung, enjoyed, and released into the airwaves.

There are many different ways to listen to music: mobile phone, YouTube, Spotify, online streaming, CD players, cassette tape players, vinyl records, on the T.V.

But one of the most enduring ways to listen to music is the radio.

The radio is an amazing invention when you think about…

There’s all this music floating around us right now, the airwaves around us are filled with music, but the only way we can hear it is if we use a radio and tune in.

The music is here for us all to listen to – but only those who tune in will be able to hear it. It’s a very similar concept when it comes to discerning God’s voice.

God is always speaking, His voice is literally filling the universe, the Bible says in Col 1:17,

“He is before all things and in him all things hold together…”

In Genesis 1:3 we read,

“And God said, “Let there be…” (Gen 1:3)

Those very words, spoken in Genesis 1:3 continue today. Without the eternal spoken word of God, the very fabric of the world would cease to exist – God’s voice is eternal, filling the universe and holding all things together.

And if we tune in, if we pause, if we get quiet, if we lean, we can hear God’s voice speaking to us, helping us, guiding us, leading us.

Jesus said in the Gospel of John,

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.” (Jn 16:12-12)

Jesus affirms that the Holy Spirit will speak to us.

Jesus also said in the Gospel of John,

“…He calls his own sheep by name and leads them … and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” (Jn 10:3-4)

So it’s also the intention of Jesus to speak to us.

These Scriptures spark a great invitation for us to learn how to tune in and follow the voice of Jesus.

HOW DOES GOD SPEAK?

God speaks in different ways, here are just a few common ways:

Nature: We can discern God speaking to us through nature.

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Rom 1:20)

Psalm 19:1-4 from The Passion Translation

“God’s splendour is a tale that is told, His testament is written in the stars. Through the marvels of the heavens. His truth is on tour in the starry-vault of the sky, Showing His skill in creation’s craftsmanship. Each day echoes its secret to the next, Night with night sharing its revelation-knowledge.” (Psalm 19:1-4 TPT)

Genesis 3:8,

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day…”

I wonder if this is why God put Adam in a garden and not in a house? What about you, have you ever tried to hear God outside? Can I encourage you to go on a prayer walk this week? I’ve found that when I get outside I often sense God’s presence and find it easier to pray and hear from God.

The Bible: We can discern God speaking to us through the Bible

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (2 Tim 3:16)

For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Pet 1:21)

I find it a good practise to read the Bible with a pen and notepad close by. I often find that a Scripture will jump out to me and be relevant for what I’m going through.

The Church: We can discern God speaking to us through the community of the church:

Acts 15:28 "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us..."

Cor 14:29 "Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said."

Acts 14:6 "The apostles and elders met to consider the question..."

The main theme we pick up in these Scriptures is that listening for God’s voice is also a community activity. What we hear in private is outworked in public so it’s important we have godly people in our lives that can help discern what God may be saying.

WHY IS IT HARD TO HEAR FROM GOD?

God’s voice often comes at the volume of a whisper. Have you ever found that? Have you ever wondered why that is?  One of the possible answers to this is found in 1 Kings 19.

Elijah had just called down fire from heaven on Mount Carmel and is now spending time with God at Mt Horeb. God’s presence is clearly with him, just like it was when Moses went up to Mt Sinai God to receive the Ten Commandments (Exo 19). We read,

“There was fire, a thunderous wind, and an earthquake, but after the fire came a gentle whisper…then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:11-13) 

The thing about a whisper is …. the volume is low … and you have to lean in to hear it.

I think one of the reasons God speaks softly to us is because He wants us to lean in – to get close to Him.

That’s what God desires – for His children to be close to Him. When we are close to God, when we lean in, we hear His voice. God whispers to draw us close to himself.

For yourself, you may lean into God through prayer, reading your Bible, being involved in outreach. Maybe you lean by pausing in the midst of a busy day and just reflecting of God’s goodness and kindness.

TUNING INTO GOD’S VOICE 

If you look at a radio, one of the things you’ll notice is that there are two frequencies to choose from: AM or FM.  And you’ll also notice that what is played on AM radio is different from FM. The frequency determines what you will hear.

When it comes to tuning into God’s voice, the first thing we need to do is tune into the right frequency.

There’s a great story in the Bible that highlights this principle. In John 10 we read,

“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” (Jn 10:3-10)

A little bit of context will help hear. In the fields of Israel, the nights are very cold and are very dangerous for sheep. There are all kinds of threats: jackals, hyenas, poisonous spiders, snakes, and robber. All of which seek to kill, steal or destroy sheep.

To protect their flock at night, shepherds would corral their sheep into a makeshift sheepfold. These are commonly at the far end of a canyon where a low stone wall created a natural enclosure that would fit a large number of sheep:

The shepherd would lay at the entrance to stop the sheep wandering out and prevent anything harmful from sneaking in.

Now this is key: it was very common for lots of shepherds, with different flocks, to share the same sheepfold at night. You could have over 100 sheep, from 3-4 different flocks all mixed in with one another.

So in the morning, the shepherds would go and stand on different parts of the field and call out their flock using a unique sound or phrase or tune. The flocks would naturally separate themselves out and go to their shepherd.

How do the sheep know which shepherd is theirs? How are they able to discern one shepherd’s call from another? It’s because they are tuned into the distinct tones and timbers of their shepherd’s voice.

In the time of Jesus, there was a group of overly religious people called the Pharisees – they thought they knew God’s voice better than anyone. They memorized the Bible word for word and practised everything it said to do. But for them, they thought God would reject them if they did the slightest thing wrong. And because of this, for them, the frequency of God’s voice was strict, judgemental, conditional, and not very accepting.

But Jesus showed us that God’s frequency is one of love and forgiveness.

For Jesus, and for us, God’s voice doesn’t carry the harsh tones of judgement and rejection – it is full of life, love and hope.

God doesn’t speak to us to condemn us, to reject us, to make us feel unworthy. God’s voice always draws us close to Him.

And that’s God’s frequency: God’s speaks in the distinct tones of peace and love.

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Other articles on this topic: 

Discerning the Call

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Note: If you like to speak to someone about calling, feel free to contact us: https://www.salvationarmy.org.au/comealive/contact-us/