So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” This is an interesting and often quoted verse, because it connects our gaining and exercising faith in God through hearing from Him in some way. Hearing is an important component of our relationship with the Lord Jesus and our ability to follow His illuminated path obediently. For us to hear God’s voice to u us requires our being a part of Him. Jesus told the Pharisees,
“Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
The other interesting thing about the above verse is the word translated “word” is actually the Greek word “rhema.” This is a word spoken or revealed that we “hear” because we are in fact “of God.” So, what produces faith in us is that voice of God spoken (in some manner) and revealed to us by the work of the Holy Spirit.
The story of Samuel (recorded in 1 Samuel 3) describes Samuel’s first encounter with the living God. As he was lying down to sleep in the temple, the Bible tells us the Lord called to him. He immediately got up and ran to Eli, the priest, and said, “Here I am, you called for me!” Eli had not in fact called him and sent him to go back to bed (and reading in between the lines, “don’t be bothering me anymore.”) The same thing happened a second time when the Lord called “Samuel!” and having gone to Eli, the priest stated again that he had not called the boy, so go back and lie down. The Scripture says,
“Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.”
When this happened a third time, Eli (who was a little slow in acuity) perceived it was the Lord who was calling Samuel. Eli told him to go lie down and if the Lord calls him again, he should reply, “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.” It happened just as Eli had supposed it might and the Lord began to speak to Samuel what He was about to do and what part Samuel would play in His plan. Thus, illuminating the importance of being able to hear and discern the voice of God to us.
Now, before we proceed any further, allow me to establish a fundamental, unchangeable truth regarding hearing the voice of God and responding to it. And that is that anything we think we might have heard from God must fit in the entire cradle of the Scriptures. The voice of God will never contradict or redirect us away from what He has already said (and had written down). But it is true that some things God leads us to do are not specifically spelled out in the Bible. That job decision, finding a mate, determining the right geographical location in God’s plan, which church to belong to, and numerous other matters in our lives where it is vital we know God’s will in the matter. Much like Samuel, God will often call out to us and we are oblivious to His voice, mainly because we are not setting our attention expecting to hear His voice in some way.
James admonishes us under the anointing of the Holy Spirit to “be quick to hear.” We must always have a disposition to “hear” what God is saying to us, so we can respond in obedience. The rest of that verse in James says that we should be slow to speak and slow to anger. As a little bit of a side note, if we will give ourselves to being good listeners and therefore put our mind in gear before we put our mouth in motion, we will find ourselves naturally slow to become anger. If we are going to major on something, let it be hearing.
There are many and various ways that God will speak to us and guide our steps. I must say here that I have never heard God speak to me in an audible voice, but I know many reputable people (people I have known personally and trust their account) who have shared with me their experience of hearing an audible voice and determining it was the voice of God. Having said that, (and I believe each of these people that I know personally), it is a rare event when God speaks to us in an audible voice, the reasons for which are somewhat apparent. For one thing if God just spoke to us audibly all the time, where would we find a place to exercise our faith in God? I do believe we can explore the ways that the Lord might speak to us, and cause us to be more discerning of His voice.
While Elijah was running from Jezebel (another story for another time), he went and hid in a cave after the Angel of the Lord woke him up from his sleep of depression. He went outside looking for the Lord and there was a great wind, an earthquake, and a fire, and yet God was not in any of them. Now, sometimes, God has used each of those events to speak to His people, but in this case, it was the low whisper that God used to communicate with His prophet. For most of us, God’s voice will come in the form of a still, small, whisper in our inner being. This is where discernment and faith comes in. But the more we recognize when God is trying to communicate to us, the more we will be able to know when that inner tug is in fact God’s Holy Spirit “speaking” to us.
And then there was the man Balaam. He tried his best to prophesy against Israel (for payment, nonetheless), and yet God frustrated his efforts each time. One time, when he was going his way, the angel of the Lord attempted to stop him. For some reason, the donkey he was riding could see the angel. It is a said statement that supposedly God’s man could not discern the presence of God’s angel, but a donkey could. Nevertheless, the donkey continually attempted to avoid the angel, and each time Balaam would strike the animal. Then something happened that no one would have expected.
“Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?’”
Even more amazing, Balaam continued to have a conversation with the donkey. Then the Lord opened up the eyes of Balaam and he could then see the angel. So, God used a donkey to communicate to Balaam the presence of the Angel of the Lord. Now, I am not suggesting that you or I would hear a donkey or any other non-verbal animal talk to us, but I am suggesting that the Lord will put things and people in our path to cause us to recognize His path and purpose. And, sometimes, even though they are on two legs, maybe a donkey will be used of God to help us with our direction. 😊
There was also the occasion when Moses was minding his own business when he noticed a bush that was burning, but for some reason, it was not being burned up. It just kept burning. And then a voice came out from the bush that said, “Moses, Moses!” It was God Himself calling out to the future deliverer of the people of God. And He was now calling Moses to go down and represent Him before Pharoah, and to ultimately lead God’s people to the Promised Land. Who would have expected the most significant calling in the future of the people of God to come from a bush that was burning without being consumed? The lesson here is to never limit where and how God might speak to you.
Some other ways that God might speak to you is through other brothers and sisters. Now, this is where you must be discerning and wise. Never do anything solely because someone has given you a “word.” Take that word and put it on the proverbial shelf of your life and see what happens with it. But often a personal word from a caring brother and sister will indeed confirm something that we were already contemplating or considering. I can give a personal testimony regarding that.
When I was nineteen years old, I along with some folks from our local church, were in attendance at a Jimmy Swaggart crusade. I couldn’t tell you for all the marbles that have been lost by formerly sane people, what Brother Swaggart preached on that night. But I can tell you a young man in our church came up to me in the foyer of the civic auditorium, and said God have given him a “word” for me. Now, anytime anyone says those words to me, I brace for impact. He asked me did I ever go to the laundry room and collect the clothes out of the dryer for my mother. I answered in the affirmative. He then asked me if I had ever dropped anything – a sock or a washcloth – or something like that. I again answered in affirmative. He then said to me the Lord would say there is another matter you have dropped along the way and you need to go back and pick it up. I immediately knew what he was referring to, even though the young man did not. I had felt the tug to enter into the ministry and all that involved and had drug my feet in answering that call. I knew it was time and because he offered to me a word that confirmed what I already knew and was wrestling with, I surrendered my will for God’s will and on March of that year, 1974, I became a licensed minister of the gospel. Nevertheless, be cautious of personal words, but do not totally disregard them.
One of the most common ways God speaks to us is through the Scriptures. This can occur when you are doing private Bible study on your own and you see something you didn’t see before, as the Holy Spirit shines a fresh light on the text and then gives you a spirit of revelation (Paul prayed for you to have that in Ephesians 1). You could also realize God is speaking to you from the word of God when someone is preaching out of the Scriptures under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Many, many times while some has been expounding on passages of text from the Bible, I see and hear something (again by the work of the Spirit) of revelation.
In explaining the Parable of the Sower and the Soil (Matthew 13 and Mark 4) to His disciples, Jesus points out the good soil described in the parable that was productive to the tune of thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold, was in fact
“Those…are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit.”
Some would say that God no longer speaks to His people today, but I would beg to differ with that opinion. It is true that a lot of what travels under the name of “thus saith the Lord” are things God would never “saith” at all. But I can’t disregard the truth just because someone has distorted the truth. In 1986, when my wife and I were contemplating whether or not to move our family to Tennessee, I couldn’t find a Bible verse that said that. But through prayer, seeking counsel (counsel never told us to move to Tennessee), we finally determined it was in fact God’s will and direction for us to pick up from having lived somewhere on the Gulf Coast our entire lives and move to the hills of Tennessee. We had to do that believing God would take care of us, even if we had missed God. We had done that once before many years earlier, and so we knew what that looked like. But it was that internal calm, low whisper of a voice that ultimately caused us to totally disrupt our lives and our three sons (at that time), and make the move.
God’s word is spirit and life; God’s voice is powerful and directs our lives into His purpose. We will close with some proclamations regarding the voice of the Lord. Let him who has ears to hear, hear what God is saying to you.
Psalm 29:3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters.
Psalm 29:4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
Psalm 29:5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
Psalm 29:6 He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.
Psalm 29:7 The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
Psalm 29:8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
Psalm 29:9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”