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Men and woman throughout the
Bible heard the voice of God and saw visions. There is a
deep hunger within each of us to know and experience the
voice of God. There is a desire to have communion with God
on a daily basis to hear God speak to our heart.
I would like to thank you for
allowing me to share my aggressive search to learn how
to hear the voice of God. The world inundates us with
opportunities to access the spiritual realm, and contact
spirits. The world talks about having "spirit guides" of our
own. These New Age influences have caused many Christians to
shrink back from their heritage, and not hear the voice of
God. Remember, it was the privilege of Adam and Eve to walk
with God in the cool of the evening.
Jesus said, "My sheep can
hear my voice." In Acts 2:17, we are told that in the
last days we would not only dream dreams, and see visions,
but we will be able to hear him. My prayer to God is if
anybody can have this communion, I want it.
Romans 7:1-7 is seldom preached,
but I believe it shares the key to having an intimate
relationship with God that is FRUITFUL.
[Rom 7:1] Know ye not, brethren,
(for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law
hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
[Rom 7:2] For the woman which
hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long
as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from
the law of her husband.
[Rom 7:3] So then if, while her
husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be
called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is
free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she
be married to another man.
[Rom 7:4] Wherefore, my
brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of
Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him
who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth
fruit unto God.
[Rom 7:5] For when we were in
the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did
work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
[Rom 7:6] But now we are
delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were
held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in
the oldness of the letter.
This is a manner of expressing
that when we are no longer married to our ability to keep
the law, then we are free to marry Jesus, as a matter of
speaking. When we are free to marry Jesus, we are free
to come into a union or oneness with him. It is only in the
union where fruit is formed and something is birthed.
So how do I hear God? How do
I know if it God speaking to me? Someone suggested, "If
you think it is God, ask if it is the Lord." How many think
it might be a problem if I have never heard the voice of God
to hear the answer? If Jesus is within me, then I should be
able to hear him! In fact, Jesus said, "I only do what I see
the Father doing. I only say what I hear the Father saying."
So if Jesus is inside me, then I ought to be able to hear
what the Father wants to say.
I had a passion to learn how
to worship Him, like the woman at the well. She wanted
to worship in spirit and in truth. She did not get bogged
down in NOT having a relationship with God. She just wanted
to know how to have a relationship.
In Habakkuk, we find four steps
that are key to hearing God's voice and seeing Him in
vision.
[Hab 2:1] I will stand upon my
watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what
he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am
reproved.
[Hab 2:2] And the Lord answered
me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon
tables, that he may run that readeth it.
This verse is amazing to me.
Notice the verse says I will watch to see, not listen to
hear. This means the prophet could see what was said,
and he could hold on to the vision long enough to write it,
and RUN with it. Certainly Daniel the prophet, and John the
Revelator did also.
One of the most important
things to keep in mind is that we receive like a little
child. How do we become like a little child?
1.
Renounce any fear of hearing the
voice of God, and of Satan's power to confuse me. Sometimes
we may think the power of Satan is stronger. Even though we
ask God for something Biblical, sometimes we are fearful
that Satan can bring confusion and deception.
2.
Would you like to denounce fear
with me? Would you like to denounce the fear of hearing the
voice of God? The word says if we ask our earthly father for
a fish, he would not give us something that would hurt us.
How much more will our Heavenly Father give good things to
those who ask him! Whatever I ask in faith believing, I can
believe and I already have what I say!
3.
Would you like to live with the
well of the spirit springing up within? John 4:4 tells me it
is a spring that wells up within me.
Have you experienced that
flow with the Holy Spirit of God? We live in the
cognitive ability of our mind. We must repent of living out
of what our natural ears and eyes can sense. We must submit
our eyes and ears to God. Romans 6 tells us we must yield
all our members unto God. We are servants to whomever we
submit our members to.
The words of John the Apostle
tells us that the Word of God (the Rhema word) is Life,
and that life is the Light of men. If I have the Life of
Christ, I am free to tune into the flow of the Rhema Word of
God.
All of God's sheep can hear
the voice of God, not just the gifted ones. Even
non-Christians can hear the voice of God. The Bible is full
of stories of people who had no covenant with God, yet they
heard the voice of God.
I would like to share the
four spiritual keys for hearing the voice of God.
1.
God's voice in our hearts sounds like the flow of
spontaneous thoughts. Therefore,
when I tune to God, I tune to spontaneity.
2.
I
must learn to still my own thoughts and emotions so I can
sense God's flow of thoughts and emotions within me.
Be still before God.
3.
As
I pray, I fix the eyes of my heart upon Jesus, seeing in the
spirit the dreams and visions of Almighty God.
Watch what God will speak to you.
4.
Journaling, the writing out of our prayers and God's
answers, provides a great freedom in hearing God's voice.
Record the vision.
These keys will not only work
for me, but for you as well. Practice all of these keys,
not just one or two. These keys are found in Habakkuk 1:1-2.
[Hab 2:1] I will stand upon
my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see
what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am
reproved.
[Hab 2:2] And the Lord
answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain
upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
Habakkuk knew the sound of
God's voice. Elijah knew the sound of God's voice and
described it as a still small voice. I have always listened
to that still small voice, but I was not sure I had heard
it. Passages like this describe the voice of God, and
reaffirms they were hearing God's voice. They were sure
enough that they wrote it down. They were able to make
decisions and run with it.
For most of us, the voice of
God comes as a still small spontaneous thought, vision,
feeling or an impression. It is not a booming bass
voice. It is not audible. At least it is not heard with
human ears. We must learn to discern what is the voice of
God, what is our voice, and what is the voice of the enemy.
Ever pictured someone's face
and had the impression that you should pray for them?
The thought just popped in your mind? Did you hear the Lord
say to pray for a particular person? We generally
acknowledge instances like that in casual conversation. We
might say, "I felt like God wanted me to pray for that
person." That is an example of hearing God's voice.
What does the voice of God
sound like? It is an inner still small voice. It is
spontaneous. It suddenly pops into your awareness. You were
not trying to figure it out. Many times you were not even
thinking about praying for someone, and suddenly a thought
or picture comes to your mind.
The best was we can describe it
is a still small voice or a spontaneous thought or
picture. Many times I receive thoughts, impressions or
feelings that I would not normally experience. Many times
when you hear the Holy Spirit, He is encouraging you to be
more loving and kind, wise or more unselfish than you might
choose. You know that is not your voice, it is the voice of
God. The voice of God is noble.
The definition of the Hebrew
word pagá, which is the word for intercession, is
a chance encounter or intersection. When a thought of
intercession lights upon us, we experience the voice of God!
A thought intersects with our thought process. Therefore,
when I tune into God, I tune in to a God-encounter.
I must learn to still
my own thoughts and emotions so I can sense God's flow of
thoughts and emotions within me.
Be still before God.
I will climb to the lookout
tower.
Hab. 2:1-2 That is an
expression of being still. If Habakkuk was going to hear the
voice of God, he would have to still his mind, will and
emotions. He would have to tune in to those spontaneous
thoughts in a quiet place. He had to still his own mind, and
he had to do it early in the morning before his mind was
crammed with the pressures of the day.
Some Jewish Rabbis set their
clock for exactly 2 hours before dawn because they
believe they can hear God the best in the early morning.
They believe that is more revelation in that two hour
window. That is a helpful hint, but not required.
[Psa 46:10] Be still, and know
that I am God:
You have to be still to know
that He is God. I want to know God and have a relationship
with God. There is a spontaneous flow in the Spirit when we
know that we are connecting with God. I want living water.
I want fresh bread. If anybody can have it, I want it
too!
I must quiet my mind and command
it to submit to the Spirit. There are many ways to quiet
yourself. First of all, one way is to connect with God
through worship in song.
When we still our thoughts
and emotions, we can enter into His divine flow – into
the river of God. That river that wells up within us!
Worship songs help me to position my heart toward my
Creator, and see what He has to say, and to see what He
wants me to see. If my thoughts come spontaneously in a
higher and nobler way than I would normally think, then I
believe my prayer has been answered.
I asked the Lord to speak to
me or show me what He would have me to know. I have
believed. I have bound other spirits and no other spirit can
affect me or speak to me.
Now if you are like me, as
soon as I sit down to pray many other thoughts crowd in
to distract me. I think of all the things I could be doing
with that time. Many of those things are needful things
which should be done. I have learned to keep a pencil and
paper available so I can write these things down in order to
acknowledge them. Once I have given proper attention to that
thought, I can dismiss it.
If I have thoughts of
unworthiness, guilt or shame, I repent. I address the
unworthiness or shame by telling my spirit the truth that
God says about me.
I am forgiven, and totally accepted.
I am accepted apart from my
performance.
I have been given a new future.
And free from the past.
I am not only loved, but God has
made me loveable in him.
I receive the washing of the
word if I study the word, and the word sustains me.
As I incubate the Word of God
in my spirit, I am able to hear God and come into
agreement with Him. Then I to fix my gaze on Jesus. When I
fix my gaze on Jesus, I am tuning my heart to His divine
frequency.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full into his wonderful
face,
And the things of earth
shall grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory
and grace.
When I connect to His glory
and grace, the distractions do become dim. I find that I
am actually conversant with the King of Kings. It is
dialogue with Christ who is inside me.
[1 Cor 6:17] But he that is
joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
[John 15:5] I am the vine, ye
are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the
same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do
nothing.
[John 17:21] That they all may
be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they
also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou
hast sent me.
[John 17:22] And the glory which
thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even
as we are one:
[John 17:23] I in them, and thou
in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the
world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them,
as thou hast loved me.
Are we experiencing being one
with the Father? If we cannot see or hear God, how can
that be oneness? If you become still and focus on Jesus, you
will receive the pure word of God. You will not get a stone
instead of a fish. However, if you are not still, you might
receive an echo of your own thoughts. If you are not focused
on Jesus, you may have an impure flow.
But if you focus on Jesus, still
your thoughts and watch to see what God might say, you will
hear from God. You will hear that God is giving you the
desire of your heart. You will sense the intuitive flow when
you become still before God, and fix your eyes upon him.
As I pray, I fix the
eyes of my heart upon Jesus, seeing vision in the Holy
Spirit.
Watch what God will speak to you.
We have already alluded to this
principle. It is interesting to notice that Habakkuk
recorded the vision. Furthermore, Habakkuk started looking
for the vision as he prayed. He went into prayer expecting
vision. He went into prayer expecting to hear. Habakkuk went
to a special place, and expected to see and hear God. He
determined to open the eyes of his heart and the ears of his
spirit. He decided to look into the spiritual realm and to
see what God wanted to show him.
Have you ever thought about
opening your eyes to look for vision or opening your
ears to hear God? Have you submitted your eyes and ears to
God? God put us here in order to have communion with us.
How do we start? Look. Habakkuk
said he was going to look to see what God might say to him.
Daniel saw visions in his mind. Not only did he look, but he
kept looking.
[Dan 7:1] In the first year of
Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of
his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the
sum of the matters.
[Dan 7:7] After this I saw in
the night visions . . .
[Dan 7:9] I beheld till the
thrones were cast down . . .
[Dan 7:11] I beheld then . . .
[Dan 7:13] I saw in the night
visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the
clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they
brought him near before him.
I also see the same pattern
in the Book of Revelation where John saw visions. He
looked. He kept looking, and he wrote them down. So now when
I pray, I am starting to watch to see what he will speak to
me. I will do what the Father says to do in vision, and say
what the Father says to say.
The name of Jesus is Emanuel,
meaning God with us. Why is he with us? He is with us so
we can receive the divine spontaneous flow of thoughts. He
is present within us. The Psalmist said, Be still, and know
that I am God. God is willing and able to communicate with
us.
As we surrender our ears and
eyes, we watch to see what God wants us to see. Instead of
running in panic or doubt, we believe that whatever we see
is from God. Doubt is an effective weapon of Satan. But
we can believe that God answers prayer and whatever we see
next is from him?
If we believe what we see is
from the Holy One, we can record it. We can run with it.
But do not run with it unless we submit the record to those
who have spiritual oversight for us so they may confirm it
is either is from God, or if we need to pray about it some
more, or that it is not God at all. God continually revealed
himself in the Bible to his covenant people by dreams and
visions. Why would he not do the same for us?
In Acts 2:1-4, God confirmed
at Pentecost that the people could expect to receive dreams
and visions from God. Jesus of Nazareth demonstrated that it
was possible to live out of an on-going conversation with
God – seeing and hearing what the Father wanted done. Jesus
said we would have that ability as well. He said he did
nothing on his own initiative, and we do not have to either.
He said he did what he saw the Father doing. We can do the
same. God is ready and willing to show us and tell us what
He wants done. Christ is in us, and is able to do it.
It is Christ in me, the hope
of glory. It is by the power and presence OF the Risen
Christ that we live the Christian life. It is His power and
His faith according to Gal. 2:20. Christ in YOU, is the
mystery of the Gospel. Col. 1:27
Journaling, the
writing out of our prayers and God's answers, provides a
great freedom in hearing God's voice.
Record the vision.
Whenever we write something
it imprints it upon our mind. It is more likely to go
into our recall memory. It is also better to write it by
hand than to type it, but that is not a requirement. God
told the prophet in Habakkuk 2:2 to write the vision, and
record it on tablets. But the question is, "Has it ever
occurred to you to write your prayers?"
That is not quite the same as
Habakkuk was doing. He was writing whole conversations with
God. Try this: write out the scripture passages you feel God
has put upon your heart, and what it means to you. Then
write out your response.
You will find many examples
of journaling in the Bible. We would not have the Psalms
of David. It was a habit of David. He poured out his heart
to God. Sometimes he poured out ungodly thoughts to God, but
he always came back to agreement with God.
There is a quality which
comes with this practice which helps to escalate the
process. It helps us to come into agreement and
fellowship with God. It helps us to have a pure heart much
more quickly. It is a facilitator to help us tune
into the spontaneous flow of the Holy Spirit, his guidance
and his will for our lives.
Write in faith! Do not quench
it because that will shut off the flow. You can share or
test it later with a responsible person, but do not be quick
to share it with everybody. Some things are meant to be kept
close to your heart, and pondered.
When you doubt, you will
hinder the spirit of God. Doubt will shut you off from
the flow. But come in faith! This is Biblical. There are
strong examples in the Bible. Choose. Choose to continue to
look into the vision actively, and continue to listen.
Do not take yourself too
seriously. Do not be tense or anxious. Enter into the
rest. Stay in the flow. Believe that God has initiated the
flow of the spirit. Write your questions for God. Listen and
look for the answers, and you will begin to receive those
answers. Those spontaneous thoughts will come as fast as or
faster than you can record them.
I challenge you to do all
four steps. Doing one or two steps has not worked well
in the past, and probably will not in the future. Pray in
faith believing that God is the rewarder of those who
diligently seek him. You can journal and stay in faith for
an extended period of time. You can test it later. You
should have people in place who are willing and able to test
those things. They can let you know whether they believe it
is from God, or do not believe it is from God, or you need
to pray about it longer.
Are you ready to step into
the river of God?
Are you ready to yield your ears
and eyes to God?
Are you ready to tune into the
flow of spontaneous thoughts and visions?
Are you ready to watch to see
what God will say to you?
Are you willing to submit to
what God might say to you?
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I will caution to you to read
the New Testament all the way through if you have not
already done so. Make a habit of staying in the Word! You
should know the biblical foundations and boundaries. Make
sure you have a mentor in the area of hearing God who has a
biblical foundation as well.
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