MAY 11, 2022
How to Hear God Speak to You Today
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If you’re a Christian, you have probably wondered or thought about this important question: How can I hear from God in my life?
This is a topic that’s really been on my heart for a while now for a few reasons. First of all, I’m constantly looking to hear from God because, well, He’s God!
As God Himself so graciously puts it in the book of Isaiah:
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9
Simply put, God’s ways of doing things are way better than ours, making it the only sensible thing to do to want to hear from Him about what we should do with our lives.
However, the second reason that I am passionate about how we can hear God speak today is because of the amount of people that I have seen who are being led astray in their desires to hear Him. There are countless people who would call themselves prophets or pastors who are doing rituals, asking for money, or straight up lying to people, all in the name of ‘hearing God speak.’ Those aren’t the ways that we can hear from God in our lives.
So, let’s talk about it: How can we hear from God today?
The Disconnect of Hearing God's Voice
First, I want to talk about the disconnect that seems to appear in the Bible between how people used to hear from God and how He doesn’t seem to speak to us now, at least in the same manner.
When we read the Bible, we see God in the Old Testament appearing in very tangible and physical ways, such as a pillar of fire or a cloud in the sky.
The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
Exodus 13:21-22
Many people also heard from God audibly throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament like Moses, Joshua, Paul, Jesus, etc.
What changed?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t see God showing up in pillars of fire or speaking to me audibly, so what gives?
What changed in the way we hear God speak?
From the Old Testament through to the New Testament, we see God change the very way that He interacts with His people. His approach goes from being very physical and tangible to being more spiritual and personal.
This is an important change to note because throughout the entire Bible, the MO of God is Him continuously saying: “I will be your God, you will be My people, and we will dwell together forever.”
This makes the constant question: How is God going to interact and dwell with His people?
In the Old Testament, this was accomplished through the tabernacle and then later on, the temple. These were ‘holy’ places where the very presence of God would reside so that He could be amongst the people and they could hear from God.
However, we don’t have a tabernacle or temple today, do we?
…Do we?
1 Corinthians 6:19 changes everything in that regard:
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
1 Corinthians 6:19
In Ezekiel, we actually see that God removes His Spirit from the temple and He then decides to put it within us instead.
Instead of God residing in a physical place, He chooses to reside in us.
Instead of God living in a physical place and manifesting Himself to nations in the physical realm, He lives inside of us, bringing us together to create one nation through His Spirit, and we hear from God individually through that Spirit.
Another major change that has taken place is the existence of the Bible.
Today, we have the Word of God at our disposal in hardback, paperback, wrapped in leather, on our phones; you name it.
Yet what we often miss is that these aren’t just words on a page (or on a screen, I suppose). These are powerful words that allow us to hear from God daily. Hebrews breaks it down for us when the author writes:
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12
The Bible, the Word of God, has the power to completely change and revolutionize your life. Don’t believe me? Then I challenge you to read it and see what happens.
It has power! Why? Because it truly is the Word of God that has been given to us for our benefit. It has been given to us so that we can hear from God every single day.
See, the problem that we sit with is that we all want to hear from God, but we aren’t willing to open up our Bibles to see what He has already been saying to us for thousands of years.
God has already said something massive to each and every one of us, but we are missing it because we aren’t opening up His Word to see it for ourselves.
In recent years, we have personalized this idea of ‘God’s plan’. In the process of our culture becoming very individual-focused, we have decided that God owes us a specific plan for each of our lives and that He needs to come down on a cloud and tell us what it is so that we can accomplish it.
Did you know that God has already told you exactly what His plan for your life is?
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20
This is God’s plan and desire for each and every one of us – to go and make disciples of all nations. This is God’s plan for all of His people; the question is whether we are going to take up the cause or keep waiting around to hear from God about something else.
My friends, we have to stop waiting on answers from God that He has already given us.
God gave us His Word so that we can learn from it and hear from Him through it.
God gave us His Word so that we can know who He is, who we are, and what life’s purposes are for now and eternity.
We should be diving into it daily to find out these things for ourselves!
Now, don’t get me wrong, there are things that are not outlined in the Bible that we want to hear from God about.
So with that being said…
How can we hear from God today?
As I’ve said, the biggest way and most reliable way to hear from God today is through the Bible. As the Bible itself says:
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.
Isaiah 40:8
However, there are other ways that we can hear from God that aren’t necessarily through the Bible. They all come back to one main thing: having a personal relationship with Him.
If you’re looking to hear from God about things that aren’t necessarily answered in the Bible, just ask God Himself! It’s crazy to me that you and I have legitimate access to the God of the universe, the One who created everything that we see with a word, but it’s true.
You, right now, can sit down in the quietness of your own heart and have a conversation with God about whatever things you are struggling with right now. You literally can ask God questions and He will answer.
The good thing about seeking to hear from God is that when He answers, we cannot miss it. If God sets out to tell you something, He’ll tell you in many different ways.
With that being said, if you’re unsure as to whether what you’re hearing or feeling is actually from God, just give it some time and ask Him to continue showing you the way.
God will confirm what He is telling you through people, prayer, and even just random events. Rest assured, God will get His message through to you when He desires to do so.
In the meantime, don’t be stagnant! Actively position yourself in a way that is receptive to His speaking and always be listening to hear from God. Remember, God doesn’t always speak in the way that you would expect. Be open to His message in all areas of your life and you won’t miss it.
Also, go out and do what He has already called you to do! We’re all called to make disciples and do our best to live like His Son, so be sure to follow Him in those things while you’re waiting to hear from God.
I promise you, you’ll find more answers in doing His work than in sitting at home waiting for His answer.
After all, why would He give you more to do if you haven’t done what He’s already asked you to do?
His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”
Matthew 25:23