Are You Listening?
Without a doubt I believe that one of the most important things for a Christian to do is to listen to God. Because God’s ways are not our ways and God’s wisdom is foolishness to us, we cannot rely on our own “gut” feeling, intuition, or “common” senses. We have to be tuned into the voice of God (Stephen Furtick of Elevation Church blogs about this here). In my own journey of following Christ, this is an area where I have grown the most and want to grow even more. I am convinced that God wants to speak to us more than we want to listen.Â
- If you are a church leader/planter, this is more important than learning John Maxwell’s laws of leadership, it is more important than learning how to communicate like Andy Stanley, and it is more important than developing Ed Young, Jr.’s creativity.
- If you are a Christ-follower, then this spiritual discipline is just as important as reading the Bible and prayer. It will save you from regret and provide you with a level of “God” confidence like never before.
Here are some things that I have found help me to hear God’s voice:
- Time. Give God time to speak. If I want to hear from Beth, I have to spend time with her and give her my undivided attention. If we rush through a “conversation” with God, we can’t expect to really hear from Him.
- Stillness. God’s voice is usually not “loud” but quiet and comes in the stillness of the soul. This is why David said to “Be still and know that I am God.” {Psalm 46:10}
- Obedience. I don’t think God speaks when we have no intention to obey Him or have sin present in our life.
- In the Word. God’s voice is found in the Word and is always consistent with the Word.
- Direction. God will generall move us in a direction that will honor Him, make Him more personal to us, and make us more Christ-like. God’s voice is usually pretty clear in the following areas:
- CHARACTER:Â God is in the character development business and will speak to us about our character.
- POTENTIAL: God is a God who has plans and purposes for His people. He will call out our potential.
- SERVANTHOOD: God’s people are to take the position of a servant in the world. His voice will call us to humble ourselves, help others, give things away, and serve like His Son did.
- HIMSELF: God will often times teach us things about Himself. He will remind us of His love, grace, and faithfulness. God wants us to develop a relationship with Him.