Hearing God

"Prepare plans by consultation,

and make war by wise guidance" 

Proverbs 20:19

How do we hear the voice of God?  In this week's evening discussion at First, we investigated briefly this important question.  I have found some of the discussions afterward extremely interesting.

For the most part folks appeared to have a deep concern for falling into religious emotionalism (read Pentecostalism), which is full of folks who constantly "hear the voice of God."  By and large, our folks at First have grown up and experienced a religious life marked by consistency and solid doctrine.  This is to be praised!  Furthermore, many have experienced folks marked by religious emotionalism.  These folks are far from stable, and what they claim to hear from God is often strange and sometime actually opposed to the clear teaching of scripture.  Folks who have experienced the extremes of this movement do not want to be marked by these traits because they have seen the dangers and pitfalls of "God told me."  Perhaps because of these concerns, they have also never been taught to experience how God speaks to His people.

I think what most of us really want, what most of us really need, is to experience and hear God speak into our lives.  Not in a weird sort of way.  Not in a heretical manner.  But clearly and lovingly.

How do we do hear God's still small voice?  

First and foremost, we need to saturate our life in the Word of God and prayer.  The Word of God is His revealed will for us.  It contains His perfect guidance on life and practice in this world.  If we do not know it, we will often stumble through life like blind men without any guidance.  

Notice I added prayer as part of the first step to gaining wisdom.  Why?  Prayer is a learned discipline.  It is learning how to communicate with God.  Notice I said communicate!  It is not just us bringing a laundry list of requests.  It is also listening.  How do we do this?  I find it is best to talk with God with His Word open in my lap so as I read, God can impress upon my spirit what I need to know or remember.  

How does this work?  Well, sometimes I am dealing with a particular issue- let's say someone who is hard to deal with.  Let's say they were just plain ornery to me!  I cannot understand why they are difficult.  As I am praying about the situation and reading in the Psalms, I will run into a passage on the "wrath of my enemies."  It is like a light coming on!  The Lord impresses upon my spirit that this person is angry.  I pray for them.  As I pray the Lord guides me to pray for their work situation.  As I talk with the person over the next few weeks, I ask, "How's it going at work?"  They tell me about the unfair treatment they are receiving from their boss.  See, the issue wasn't that they were mad at me.  They were struggling.  If I had not taken time to pray about it with the Word of God open, I might have handled it in a totally different manner!

It seems to me that we rarely have the same situation twice.  Yet, we have God's principles and Word that are eternal.  Taking what we know, or what we should know, and applying it is the heart of wisdom.  

What happens when we mess things us?  Please understand that such times need to be times of learning, not times to merely beat ourselves up for being stupid!  Repent, talk with God about with the scriptures open, reflect on what went wrong, and ask for wisdom on living the truth better next time.  There is also no reason to hide from God or to think we need to do some form of "penance" before we can be right with God again.  Repent quickly, believe the gospel, and move on!

A second way to gain wisdom is to find wise people to ask for advice.  In fact, I often hear the voice of the Lord through the mouthpiece of others.  Sometimes, God's wisdom even comes from and through those who are not so wise!  

How?  What I do is try to listen.  Boy is this hard for those of us who like to talk.  It has taken years for me to learn how to do this.  As I listen, I pray for wisdom and the person I am listening to.  I often find that people will say something that brings to mind my thoughts from earlier in the day or week.  They might clarify what I was reading and thinking about from God's word.  Yet, when I hear it, I just seem to know it is the Spirit of God speaking through these folks.

One word of caution, though I could give many.  All to often, listening to wise people is a step which we in the West have particular struggles.  We are so individualistic that we shy away from asking for advice, particularly from people that are wise!  Even if we get it, some of us are so prideful that we will not take it because we did not come up with it ourselves.  In the past few years, I have heard this reasoning more times than I care to mention.  Remember, if the Lord can speak through a donkey, He can use anyone to speak His will! (Numbers 22:28)

We need to know that God has granted some people a special degree of wisdom.  They can cut to the heart of the matter and help us see what we need to do.  As individuals and churches, we need to locate and encourage these people for leadership!  We should search them out and inquire of their opinions.  Make sure they can explain what they are advising as coming from Biblical principles.  Then listen and try to implement what they recommend.  If we do, even the unreflective among us can walk in wisdom (if we will just listen!).

May the Lord help us to grow in grace and wisdom!