|
 My
next challenge was to receive confidence that I was hearing God's voice..
God’s voice is a spontaneous flow that comes from communion with Him as a
life-style, being one spirit with His Spirit. (1 Cor. 6:17, Jn.15) I am a
branch grafted into the vine and His sap flows through me. The Bible
describes God’s prophetic voice as “naba” which literally means to “bubble
up.” God’s voice is like a river within me that bubbles up all through the
day. When I am yielded to Him, it is as simple as taking dictation but far
more exciting because I am taking dictation from the God of the universe!
(It takes no great talent or effort on my part to hear.)
I
know that God may cause me to sense something or see something in the
spirit. For verses about sensing and seeing in the spirit, see
http://www.cwlinc.com/ls.Open-Spiritual-Eyes.htm “Seeing in the Spirit”
is not new age. From Genesis to Revelation God has wanted us to have open
spiritual eyes. I choose to believe that God is pouring out His Spirit on
ALL flesh and ALL will be able to see spiritual visions and dream
spiritual dreams. (Acts 2:17)
My
biggest challenge was to trust my spiritual ears to hear God's voice for
others. The Holy Spirit convinced me that I didn’t have to know
precisely how every prophetic word applied in order to deliver it. I pressed
in to know God and His voice. At first, it was kind of like going from
written letters to E-mail to Instant Messenger. Now, after years of "constant use,"
I can discern Him readily, no matter where I am. I joke and say I have a
“wireless high speed connection” now. Apostle Paul said our spiritual senses
are trained by "constant use;" I began to trust my spiritual eyes, ears and
senses to discern rightly. (Heb. 5:14)
God
often tells us more than He wants to speak to others. Just ask, and He will
clarify what is to be prayed, what is to be shared with leadership and what
is to be prophesied to the receiver. Prophetic words will usually be for
exhortation, encouragement or consolation unless we are leadership over the receiver(s) or are authorized to speak with correction, direction or
reproof. (1 Cor. 12, 14) God will anoint one who is accountable to Him and
to Godly leadership.
My
fulfillment comes as I lay all else on the altar in order to hear God's
voice, His heart and His desires. God fills me with His compassion
and motivation to impart clarity, healing, vision, faith, peace and
the power to fulfill His calling. Prophetic words usually come gently
across my spirit, as a still small voice. They are more healing, nurturing,
loving, encouraging, wise and more knowledgeable than my natural thoughts
are. (1 Kings 19:12)
In
1 Corinthians 14, God commands us to desire spiritual gifts and
to covet to prophesy. I had to attend a “school of the
prophets” (see 1 Samuel) for 12 weeks before I began to have confidence that
I could hear God's voice and that I wouldn’t hurt people! They
didn’t give me a gift but they taught me how to minister in the anointing
and to be accountable.
When I began to see or
sense things in my spirit, I would ask Father
God, "Is that you?" I soon realized that I had been sensing and hearing our Father all
along but I had been grouping all my thoughts together without
distinguishing His spontaneous thoughts in my spiritual mind from reasoning
in my natural mind. Like Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice.”
I
learned to place the Cross of Christ between me and any self-centered flesh
(that I was not aware of or had not finished bringing it to death on the
cross.) I didn’t want soulish attitudes or motivations to color pure
prophetic words. Jesus only speaks the words the Father has spoken to Him
(John 5:19-20) and I choose to submit to God’s voice too.
Yes,
like Jesus, we are only to say what our Father says to say and do what our
Father says to do. God never asked us to “figure out what to do or say” in
our own strength. To do so is to walk after the flesh, instead of the
Spirit. As believers, who have made Jesus Lord of our lives, we have the
mind of Christ because we have Christ in us, our hope of glory. This is the
mystery of the Gospel: Christ alone can live the Christian life - in us
and through us - for God's glory.
Col
1:27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious
riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. NIV
Now I am blessed as I partner with God
to minister words of knowledge, wisdom or
prophetic words that fill the heart of the receiver with a knowing that
their God knows their heart’s desire and He is ready to respond. It was
God’s desire from the beginning to walk in the cool of the garden with His
people, sharing heart to heart - spirit to spirit. We can choose to believe
that we too are one spirit with His Spirit, we are His sheep, we hear His
voice and we obey.
John 18:37b
…. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice. NKJV
How
do you begin? I would suggest that you begin like King David began.
As a shepherd boy, he would get alone, worship God, listen to God's voice
and journal his experiences. We know them as Psalms. He had a
strong passion to hear God's voice. If you will do what David did for even a month, you will notice that
you are becoming a person after God’s heart too. It doesn’t have to be a
long time. God can say a lot in a few minutes.
-
Recognize God's voice as spontaneous thoughts that light upon your
mind
-
Quiet yourself before God, away from distractions
-
Watch to see what God will say to you (look for vision)
-
Journal what God is saying and your response to God
Rev
3:20-21 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and
opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21
To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also
overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. NKJV
If you
would like to host a seminar on "How to Hear God's Voice,"
please contact us and let us know.
Hear our
broadcast series on Hearing God's Voice
Feel free to contact us and share your comments or questions.
|
