GOD - DO YOU HEAR ME?
The Art of Listening - Part 1
Spend any time near a playground and you will invariably hear a cry of “MOM!!” or “DAD!!”. Sometimes, it’s accompanied by tears. Sometimes, it’s an urgent cry for help or because there is a skinned knee. Other times it’s a call to look, even if it’s the zillionth time you’ve seen them go down the same slide.
It is rare for a single cry to cause every head to turn toward a particular child. Rather, parents have an uncanny ability to hear their own child amid a cacophony of competing voices.
The converse is true as well: children are attuned to know when their parents are calling to them. My parents passed away just over 13 years ago. Yet I know – without a shadow of a doubt – that if I were to hear my father utter my name, even after all this time, I would immediately recognize his voice.
These examples beg us to consider several profound questions:
Does God hear me when I call to Him?
Do I hear God when He speaks to me?
The first question is easily answered…Yes! There is never a time that God does not hear you. Your request may be an urgent plea for help. You may be filled with overwhelming joy. Or you may have been crying out for an untold number of years with seemingly no response. Just as a parent knows their child’s unique cry, God is intimately acquainted with your voice. Here are a few verses of assurance:
I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and my supplications. – Psalm 116:1
Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the LORD hears my voice. – Ps 55:17
In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice... – Psalm 5:3
God’s silence does not mean He has not heard you!
You do not need to recite certain words in a specific order. He hears everything you utter and knows everything you keep in the depths of your heart. Come to Him just as you are…in brokenness, fear, joy, questioning, sorrow, or distress. Claim these verses, resting in the knowledge that He hears your pleas.
The second question is more difficult to answer. Do I hear God when He speaks? Am I attuned to recognize His voice? People sometimes question whether or not they are hearing from God. The following are a few key ideas to enhance your ability to hear Him speak:
Spend time in the Bible. God has given us His Word so we may know Him. Use it! The more you know what is in the Bible, the more confident you will be both in hearing His voice and in knowing it is Him. Keep in mind that whatever you hear must always be in alignment with His Word. God will never contradict Himself. If what you hear doesn’t match the Bible, it is not from Him.
Take time to listen. If you come to God with a preset agenda and do all the talking, don’t be surprised if you don’t hear anything! It takes practice, but over time you will develop the skills needed to sit in silence and wait quietly for Him to speak.
Meditate on verses or passages you’ve read, or do a word study, writing out all occurrences where that word occurs in the Bible, asking God to reveal what each passage means. Be open and let your mind explore ideas that come to you as you meditate.
Sing! There is something about music that softens your spirit and opens doors that enable you to hear Him more clearly. Some of my most precious time with Jesus has been through times when I’ve been singing praises to Him.
Develop a rhythm for fasting. Let God guide the length of time using fasting as a time for intentional petition. I have often fasted for several days at a time, waiting for the Holy Spirit to let me know when it is time to break the fast.
Make sure your heart is right before the Lord. Iniquity can interfere with God’s voice. Search your heart and confess or repent as God reveals what may be blocking His voice, remembering that “…if I had closed my eyes to my sin, the Lord God would have closed his ears to my prayer.” Ps 66:18, The Passion Translation. Be honest with yourself and God through this process.
God speaks in a variety of ways. It may be a deep inner knowledge in your heart or thoughts that are not your own. It may be through the voice of a friend, or a dream or vision. It may be through a verse that pops into your head unexpectedly. God speaks to each person uniquely and individually. Do not expect to hear from Him in the same way as anyone else. Be open to learning the different ways He speaks to you, cultivating the ability to discern when it is God versus your own thoughts.
Several years ago, I awoke in the middle of the night from a vivid dream with my heart beating in my chest. In the silence of the night, I heard an audible voice say, “Barbara”. God simply spoke my name. It was the one and only time I have ever heard Him directly. Yet in that moment, I knew the voice of my Father. It was one of the most incredibly precious moments of my life - the overwhelming fact that God not only knows me, He knows me by name.
Never forget that God both longs to know you and be known by you
“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord…” Jeremiah 29:12-14a
Maybe today is the day for you to renew hearing from God. He is waiting.
Go Beyond:
How do you hear Jesus? Have you cultivated ways to become intimate with His voice? If not, what can you do to enhance your ability to hear from Him?
“And this is the confidence we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (I John 5:14)
Feel free to share your response in the comments below!
