Hearing God Speak

QUESTION: Hearing God speak - Does He speak audibly?

ANSWER:
These days we read and hear all kinds of claims regarding "hearing" from God. How can we know who or what to believe? Does God really speak to people today, and if He does, can we hear Him like we hear anyone else?

While there is no single "one-size-fits-all" answer to this question, we can know God wants you and me to hear His voice. How to hear God is the real question. Just as He has created us uniquely, so He speaks to us individually, even in corporate settings, for we hear Him not with our ears, but in our hearts.

Hearing God Speak - How Can I Hear Him?
While it's highly unlikely you will hear God speak to you out loud, in a big booming voice like Bill Cosby in his "Noah and the Ark" skit, God does speak audibly through teachers, pastors, friends, family members - even songs, events, and people we don't especially like. Are you surprised? God is God, after all, and can communicate with us any way He chooses.

Hearing the voice of God is as natural as an idea that comes into your mind. If fact, that's often exactly how He speaks. A thought occurs to you-something you've never thought of before-and it leads you to some kind of action that either answers a prayer or helps someone else who's in trouble.

God speaks to us in the natural moments of life. Do you want to hear God's voice? Then you must be ready to listen. Here are some preparation tips.

• Know why you want to hear Him. Motives are important. God is not a genie, nor is He Santa Claus. He speaks to those who come to Him in Jesus' name. "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father" (John 14:13). He also speaks to us for specific purposes, as this verse reveals.
  
  
• The Bible says this about God's Word: "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).
  
  
• Consider this: If you want to hear from God, it's possible you are hearing Him already, for He may be the One giving you the very desire to hear Him.

Hearing God Speak - He Speaks to Us Through the Bible
The Bible itself claims:

• "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1).
  
  
• "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16).

The evidence of history, fulfilled prophecy. and personal testimony over thousands of years is overwhelming that the Bible is, indeed, God's Word. Do you want to hear God's voice? Then read the Bible.

Hearing God Speak - He Speaks to Us Through Prayer
When you want to have a conversation with someone, how do you begin? That's just how it is with God. One speaks; the other listens. Here are some tips for hearing from God through prayer:

• Schedule a daily appointment with God.
  
  
• Be ready to listen (hint: that means being quiet!).

Understand that the actual "hearing" may come after your quiet time has ended. It's the preparation of your heart to hear that makes the difference.