Hearing God's Voice
Not long after becoming a Christian I had a prophetic word given to me about “carrying a latent prophetic gift” – whoa!
I realised this gift wasn’t just for famous people or really ‘good’ Christians if I was also being encouraged to use it too.
God has taken me on an amazing journey so far about how to recognise His voice and His Spirit. He also patiently teaches me how to manage and share what I think He wants to say. I’m so excited about what He’s going to show me next!
Radio Silence
About 5 years ago I was having a challenging year. No major life events or tragedies to speak of but I was in a very unhappy place. I couldn’t explain it because I had no reason to feel unhappy, which made it even more confusing and I got frustrated at myself.
By the end of the year I had been diagnosed with clinical depression and it was suggested I take medication for it. I have no objection to the wonders of modern medicine to treat all kinds of illness but I wanted to try other ways before turning to tablets.
I began a course of counselling and increased my physical activity. I also chose to be more intentional about pressing into Jesus, knowing that true and lasting joy is different from pleasure and happiness. And if joy has a name I needed to be pursuing His name above everything else.
this particular communication from God was filled with hope, healing and humour.
Although I knew where I belonged and where I needed to be I still felt like I couldn’t connect with God very well. Despite having grown in the prophetic during this time, I felt like I was in a bit of a vacuum, not hearing or thinking very clearly. I got bored of hearing myself say to God “where are you?”.
But I chose to continually feed my soul with worship, read His word and surround myself with people who spoke life to my heart. Then, what felt like out of the blue, I was asked to speak about hearing His voice. I thought to myself “are you kidding?!”.
Since coming back into God’s family, it was the quietest period in terms of feeling like I could hear from God. I knew I wasn’t an oracle on hearing God. It felt like God’s phone to me was on silent! But I trusted that He’s always there, always faithful, and even if it doesn’t feel like it, He’s always wanting to communicate with us. And this particular communication from God was filled with hope, healing and humour.
He’d used an invitation for me to speak to let me know that I could still hear Him and that He trusted my voice as His voice.
It’s so important for our prayer life to start with knowing who we are in Christ - it’s the same every day! Our identity is key to conversing with God; as treasured daughters. Not as slaves who bring requests to a master, but as dearly loved children who get to talk and walk with our Father.
Sometimes this will be crying out in desperation, other times will be declarations coming out of faith. Jesus calls us to come Matt 11: 28-30. It is written in James to draw near to God, James 4:8.
These verses explain that the initiative to hear from God lies with us too. God made the first move towards us (Christ crucified!) and has given you the gift of faith but now we must also act to come and draw near. There’s collaboration with God, it can’t all be one way traffic.
The Skill of Prayer
Prayer can sometimes be hard work. After all, we’re talking to an invisible God who, although in lots of ways reveals himself to us, doesn’t meet us in Costa for catch up over coffee. But, like any other relationship, we have to set aside time for it to build and grow.
Jesus himself modelled withdrawing to talk to God, but also he would’ve carried the Father’s heart and known His will as He met and chatted with people.
Developing the skill of praying on the go is key if we want to tune in consistently to Holy Spirit throughout the day.
faith comes into fullness when there’s verbal declaration.
God challenged my understanding of prayer. I used to reason that if God knows what I’m thinking then I don’t need to bother saying it to Him. Plus I would feel a bit loopy speaking to an empty room! But I realised that faith comes into fullness when there’s verbal declaration.
Clarity comes when something is articulated clearly and not confused amongst a million thoughts - which if your mind is anything like mine is a conservative estimate! 2 Corinthians 4:13 tells us that what flows from our mouths reflects what we believe, helping me realise that there is unique communication in speech.
If I want to hear from God I should be expecting to communicate with Him wholeheartedly, sharing my life, my prayers, my hopes and fears with Him continually.
Not Rushing In
All that being said, there is a danger that we can miss the soul (and sole) connection. Often we can be so quick to open our mouths that we forget to stop and listen. In this fast-paced world, where time is our biggest challenge, we can race through our requests, rushing off without having heard the Father’s voice for us. Francis Chan, a preacher and author, poses the question “Am I speaking too much?”.
If I can’t remember the last time I was quiet in my prayers maybe I am guilty of this. Do we marvel enough at God’s wonder and majesty? Rushing into His presence; waiting on Him, wondering at Him and being still before Him. I wonder if God quietly sighs as we rush off, back turned already racing out the door, “but child I have so much more for you”.
I want to be constantly tuned in. Part of my responsibility is to share with God but I also need to carve out time to listen too.
How often to you talk to God? Do you come with a list or are you able to sit and wait on Him? He’s the God who wants to speak to you; are you ready to listen?
