What If You Could Hear God's Voice?

Love you all, praying for you,
 
I just love God’s Word, it drops the scales.  Have you ever found it hard to hear God’s Voice?  Have you ever wondered if that was really Him speaking - or just your brain?  Have you ever wished that God spoke with a megaphone or a billboard, instead of that still small voice?  You have to be stiller than the voice, or you won’t hear it.  If you’re talking, you won’t hear it.  If you don’t ask, you won’t listen for it, you won’t hear it.  Sometimes it’s hard to hear the voice of God.  Its not His voice that’s the problem, it’s not even that He’s not speaking…  He is always speaking.  Even in silence He speaks.  The problem with most people, even you and me.  Is the other voices, not His.  Remember when Jesus said how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven? (Mt 19:23) Because the love of money – the root of all evil – had taken root in him.  That’s why God said you will love Me or money – you cannot love both.  You’ll choose one over the other – that’s just the way it is.  Even the rich young ruler – wasn’t required to hear the voice of God by faith, he was looking right at Him, and talking with him face to face.  It’s just that the money voice was stronger than even the audible voice of Jesus, speaking right in front of him.  The other challenge… the older you get, the harder it is to start hearing the voice of God, if you’re not used to hearing it.  That’s why Jesus used a child as an example.  No baggage, no opinions, no doctrine, no background or upbringing, no dogma, no lack of faith of others or yourself to cloud that still small voice.  A child has simple, childlike faith.  If you tell them, they will believe it.  That’s why so many children sometimes until six years old, really believe that Santa comes down the chimney and leaves presents on Christmas morning.  Jesus said, it takes childlike faith to hear God’s voice and do His will.  Most adults hear with headphones on, voice-cancelling headphones.  Their opinion, or a disappointment or injustice they experienced in life that they blamed God for… or the doctrine they grew up with – the list of do’s and don’ts – that they thought was God… when it was just their church or parent or pastor.  If you grew up in church, often the voice of the church is louder than the voice of God.  Often - it’s totally different - like the voice of the Pharisees in your head, or the voices of the world versus the voice of Jesus...  God said He has plans for you.  That’s not just the Bible, that’s a conversation that He has for you and Him!  The way you should go, the way chosen for you, the best way for you. (See the PRISM Topic – Life Purpose and Direction). The plans He has for you – to prosper you, not harm you – to give you hope, and a future!  God first tells the secret weapon – to hear His voice. (Well, pre-requisite, first you have to be saved, receive Jesus as your Savior, and your LORD – without that – you probably don’t even know that He speaks.  Then the secret weapon - Wait in Jerusalem, until the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will receive power.  They already believed in Jesus, or they wouldn’t have been with Him…  Before being filled with the Holy Spirit – I didn’t even know what it was to hear God’s voice.  I knew what it was to read the Bible, but not really hear His voice – speaking to me.  This is the power Jesus promised that His Father would send. The power of the Holy Spirit – isn’t something that makes a church service look different from your old church… it’s something that God gave for you – so you can hear His voice – so God can lead you by His Spirit - to hear His voice – for you!  PiVAT – His plans for you today, and PRISM – His Word for you today, don’t really make sense to our minds without the power of the Holy Spirit speaking into our spirit, and then bringing it to our mind.  The Old Testament picture of the New Covenant (Heb 8:8) that God promised, hear His voice - was the picture of the Pillar of Cloud by day, and the Pillar of Fire by night.  That’s what it’s like when you are filled with the Spirit, and walk in Him.  You hear His voice – you see the pillar move, and you move.   In the new testament a picture of the Holy Spirit was Phillip coming alongside the Ethiopian riding in the chariot who was reading God’s Word, but it didn’t make sense.  He needed someone to explain it to him.  That why God sent Phillip, and that’s why God sends the Holy Spirit – to help us hear His voice, and understand His Word.  That secret weapon can also be used or quenched.  Sometimes clarity is difficult depending on how loud the other voices are.  You can get confused, if your flesh is fed more than your Spirit.   And finally it takes a step of faith.  That’s why PIVAT is so important when it comes to learning to hear His voice.  You meet with Him every day before dinner – to hear His voice, to get His plans for you for tomorrow.  To know it’s Him, it will take faith – to take the step He told you.  You don’t get to hear Morgan Freeman’s voice.  It’s that voice in your Spirit – that you need to follow and then He confirms it.  Often with PRISM.  He will show you by His Word – that you heard what He said in PiVAT before dinner last night.  It happens all the time.  Jesus promised the Holy Spirit will lead you in all truth.  Truth for you – the way you should go, the plans He has for you that He promised to tell you if you will ask.  PiVAT before dinner – just makes asking for His plans for you tomorrow – a habit.  And there’s not a relationship in the world, that doesn’t grow through regular and constant conversation.  Once you are filled with the Spirit, you can pray in the spirit, and it increases the ability of your spirit ears to hear, and sidesteps your natural ears – which pick up the other voices, and desires, and preferences, and traditions.  God says Be filled with the Spirit, pray in the Spirit, ask, and you will receive – His plans for you are part of your daily bread that He promised, just like His Word written in the Bible is.  This is spirit, so only spiritually understood.  The natural mind cannot understand it.  It’s the difference between two kingdoms.  Praying that you will be filled with the Spirit, pray in the Spirit, seek Him daily before dinner, and take that step of faith to obey that still small voice, so He can confirm it through your PRISM Time in His Word, and the many other ways that He makes it so obviously clear.  Remember, if you ask, He will answer.  His plans are definitely ‘according to His will' (I John 5:14), So you are asking according to His will, he definitely hears you, and you can be sure you will have what you asked of Him. He promised, you can trust Him. 
 
Love you all,
dad