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It’s too loud out here.  Too obnoxiously loud.  What do you think?  Can you hear God in all this mess?  I can’t.  Amidst all these distractions?  This craziness?

 

No surprise to me when people keep asking where God is in all this. Years ago, my AA sponsor told me how to answer questions like this.  “Simply say, I don’t know.”

 

Confusing and mind numbing times.  It’s now 2020.   Crises piling up,  exploding one on top of another, in such a short time.

 

Loss of civility, erosion of moral character, political disunity, socialism initiatives, COVID-19, murders, domestic violence, suicides, brutality, riots, a sinking global economy and devastating job losses affect nearly everyone in some way.

 

Some say the decade of the sixties was worse.  Being there, I say no way.

 

Assassinations of a president, a civil rights leader, a senator.  Vietnam.  Was God is Dead really one of the slogans of the day?  Did sex, drugs and rock and roll seem to define our culture?  Seems to me it did.

 

The emerging Jesus Movement.  Helped for a while.   Pretty much got the deep six in the eighties.  But we had a decade to deal with those events.  Today we’re like a ship suddenly hit by a missile.  Threatening to sink us all at once.

 

What can we do?  Again, I don’t know.  So what do I know?

 

I do know is that there is an all powerful God who can help us if we seek him.  I have sought him for 80 years.  So here are a few of my thoughts.

 

A  lot of folks really want to dive into that seeking role right now.  They want to seek him and find him.  To have him speak into their lives.  Some feel they must not be dialed into the right frequency.  Is he really there?  Does he hear me when I talk to him?  “C’mon Lord, pick up.”

 

They pray.  Read their Bibles.  Go to church regularly.  “Hey, I’d like to hear from ya Lord.”

 

Doesn’t seem to happen for them though.  Frustrated and discouraged, they think that God just doesn’t have time for them. Or maybe he just doesn’t care.  They feel forgotten.

 

It might be helpful to be reminded that God speaks to us in a lot of different ways.

 

In October of 1971, after battling alcoholism for many years, I fell to my knees and said what may have been the strongest prayer I had ever prayed.   I pleaded, “God Help Me.”

 

Did he answer me?  I don’t remember hearing a voice.  Yet here I am, sober, coming up on 49 years of uninterrupted sobriety.

 

Did he answer my prayer?  You bet.  He removed me from a devastating lifestyle into a life where I have never had the desire to drink since that day.  He touched a dying soul and gave it a renewed sense of purpose.

 

He did this because he is a loving God, a God who dearly desires his children to live a joyous life to the fullest.  And for me, he did this without me ever hearing his voice.

 

Action can be a powerful, clear voice of its own.

 

Thank you Lord.

 

Have I heard his voice since then?  Sure have.  A lot of those times have been in the solitude of my garage.  But that’s a story for another blog post.

 

Lately I have been thinking about some of the ways God communicates with us and I wanted to share them with you so that you may hear the loving and compassionate voice of the living God more clearly than ever before.

He does speak  to us.  He wants a relationship with us.  He loves us.

 

 

 

Here Are 8 Tips For Hearing God’s Voice

Isaiah 55:10-11 NIRV

10. The rain and the snow come down from the sky. They do not return to it without watering the earth. They make plants come up and grow. The plants produce seeds for farmers. They also produce food for people to eat. 11. The words I speak are like that. They will not return to me without producing results. They will accomplish what I want them to. They will do exactly what I sent them to do.

 

1. Get To Know Him

If you’re not Moses and my guess is you probably are not, then it’s unlikely you’ll stumble onto a burning bush that speaks to you.  But you may get a good pounding on the head like Saul on his way to Damascus.  Worked for him.  Be prepared.

 

Prayer is a powerful way to know him better.  But recognize your intentions and expectations when you ask for his divine revelation.

 

Ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for you in your prayer.

 

Romans 8:26 says:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

 

Read the Bible to learn about him.  There are more than 100 names for God,  some of which mean healer, provider, creator and peacemaker.  Search them out.  Google will love you.

 

Fellowship with the saints.  I’m talking about the saints that surround you in your daily lives.  Your friends, your brothers and sisters in Christ.  Those you know truly love you.

 

My Band of Brothers, my saints, consist of three men whom I regularly meet with to share my life’s ups and downs.  Men that I trust completely with all my secrets and questions about living the life God wants for me.

 

Commune with God in nature. Through nature, one of God’s most beautiful creations, God teaches us, speaks to us, and provides for us.

 

1. The heavens tell about the glory of God.  The skies show that his hands created them  2. Day after day they speak about it. Night after night they make it known  3. But they don’t speak or use words.  No sound is heard from them.  4. Yet their voice goes out unto the whole earth.  Their words go out from one end of the world to the other

Psalm 19:1-4 (NIRV)

 

 

2. Make Time For Him

Okay, so now maybe you’ve made a place for God in your heart.  Now, make a place for him in your day.  I know. I know.  You’re a busy person.  Schedules to meet.  Kids to take to school or to soccer practice.  That lunch date with an old friend.  The washing is piling up.  Where will you find the time to commune with God. 

 

Ask yourself if God is the priority of your heart.  Would you claim a seat  before the throne of the almighty before sitting and viewing Kelly and Ryan?  Or texting your friends?  Can the dishes or the laundry wait a bit longer?  You may need to reevaluate your priorities.

 

Do you have a favorite place to meet with God?  A comfortable place where you can find some quiet time to be alone with him?  It’s nice to have a spot where you can limit the distractions too.  It may  be your desk, where you can sit with a pen and paper, maybe to jot down what God speaks to you.  It may be an easy chair in your den.  Or maybe a closet. 

 

My daughter lives in a small  apartment so she made a closet into a war room where she can commune with the Lord, uninterrupted by any outside noise.  She lights candles, takes a cup of tea in with her and does her thing.

 

Our God is also a portable God.  He travels well.  So take him with you.  If you are driving, you can listen to him speak to you through an audio book, some Christian music on the radio or maybe you just reflect on a Bible verse that is meaningful to you.  God delights in you spending time with him.

 

He doesn’t care where you are or what you are doing.  You can be washing dishes at home, helping your child get ready for bed, driving to work.  A heart-o-gram sent from you to the creator of the universe is a very special thing to our God.

 

I make time for God in my garage.  Usually every night after all the work for the day has been completed, I will spend 45 minutes to an hour, sometimes praying but mostly listening.  I have had some really wonderful encounters here.  But, again, food for another blog post.

 

Form a discipline to give time to God.  Find a place to really get into some quality time with him.  You will encounter the living God and experience the joy and love that he provides us.

 

 

 3. Listen

O Master, let me not seek as much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand.

-from the Prayer of St. Francis

 

In listening for God’s voice, it’s important to ask yourself if you REALLY want to hear what he might have to say to you.  Do you have an open mind?  Can you accept what he might say to you?  Or ask of you?  Do you have an open and receptive heart? Proverbs 23:19 in the NLT says:

My child, listen and be wise:

Keep your heart on the right course.

 

If you can say yes to these questions, then you could be in for a marvelous and a transforming experience. Since God sometimes speaks quietly, often in a whisper, you should try to screen out any distractions, background noise or interruptions. 

 

God wants to be as close to you as he can be.  He wants a personal, intimate relationship with you that allows him to breathe his breath of glory into you.

 

Below I’ve listed some ways of listening that could be very helpful.

 

Practice them and discipline yourself in these methods.  You don’t have to be perfect.  You don’t have to do them in order.  They are helpful suggestions.  You can always ask the Holy Spirit to help you in finding the ways to do them.  He will not fail you.

 

-Be Present

Don’t be so inside your own head with thoughts that are focused on things other than God.  You’ll miss hearing what he is saying to you.  I don’t suggest that you can stop thoughts from arising in your mind.  Don’t even try.  Instead, just let them enter and breeze through and return your focus on the God you are expecting to speak to you.  God is waiting to hear your deepest thoughts.

 

-Learn to be silent

 

Silence can be very uncomfortable for most of us.  We are so used to a noisy world.  People babbling to each other, finishing each other’s sentences, formulating their own thoughts while you are speaking.  How do you silence the noise, the outside noise.  How do we turn down the sound?

 

The Psalmist says in Psalm 46:1:

“be still and know that I am God.”

and in 1 Kings 19:11-14 we hear:

11-13 “So Then he was told, “Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by.” A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn’t to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper.

 

13-14 When Elijah heard the quiet voice, he muffled his face with his great cloak, went to the mouth of the cave, and stood there. A quiet voice asked Elijah, now tell me, what are you doing here?” Elijah said it again, “I’ve been working my heart out for God…..”

 

Listen For The Whisper

 

4. Waiting

In the busyness of today’s world, none of us likes to wait.  We want things to move, quickly, rapidly.  Let’s get this thing done.  I can’t wait forever for your callback.  I’m an important person.  Time is money.  Get out of the slow lane, you idiot.  Where did you learn to drive.  You’ve got more than 15 items in your cart.  Move to a regular lane.  We’ve heard all these.  Maybe even said them ourselves.

 

What if I could learn to be patient and allow God’s timeframe to prevail instead of mine?  God knows, I have asked, “God, grant me patience. RIGHT NOW!”  That tone does not get us very far.  Maybe we need to look at why God makes us wait for him to answer us or to speak to us.

 

God may be transforming us through this waiting period.  We may learn to anticipate what God is pondering relative to our request.  Can we believe and appreciate that his answers will be for our own good?  Forty years in the desert might do it.  Oh Lord, please not that!

 

Maybe God wants us to find ways to make better use of our time while we wait.  If you have been struggling with God’s ways, you might want to spend the time turning back toward him.  Getting involved in some things that  bring all the glory of the heavens forth to all the peoples of the earth.  Maybe returning to your church.  Or you might feel you want to check out another church.

 

In Hosea 12:6 we read:

Therefore, return to your God,

Observe kindness and justice,

And wait for your God continually.

 

Be The Arms and Legs of Jesus While You Wait.

 

 

5. Be receptive

An open mind and a hungry heart can lead you to an encounter with our savior, Jesus Christ. He will bring forth wise counsel and good direction for your life.  He wants to be close to you.  He desires to have you abide in him and him in you. 

 

He will speak truth into your life.

 

But his adversary, Satan, will feed you lies.  So it is a wise man, indeed, who checks what he has heard and determines if it is scriptural and lines up with God’s word.  A good idea is to also check with your Christian brothers and sisters and get their opinion on it.

 

 

I have often thought things I heard from God were good for me.  But through further study of the Bible and the counsel of close friends, I have had to reject some of them as being from a source that could possibly be harmful if I had acted on them.  Verify what you heard.

 

 

6. Expect interruptions

Interruptions may come anytime, don’t look at them as inconveniences. Welcome them.  C.S. Lewis, the great Christian apologist says that there are times when God will use a megaphone to get your attention.  God has something to say to you and he thinks you need to hear it. 

 

Don’t interrupt when he is speaking to you.  I know.  I have tried to talk over him and believe me, hearing God’s booming voice on the megaphone is like an earthquake.  Your body will vibrate.

 

God can and probably will interrupt your life.  He’s sovereign so he can do whatever he wants.  Some of those interruptions may be at the most inconvenient times.

 

Like the Mother’s Day I sat down with my family to celebrate this important day.  As we were getting started, the phone rang.  It was a Colonel, retired U.S Army and he was going into delirium tremens from alcohol abuse.  He needed to go immediately to the Veterans Administration Hospital.

 

The hospital was an hour away from my house and I really didn’t want to do it.  Then my wife reminded me that we were able to celebrate this day sober because of the folks who came to my rescue when I cried out for help. 

 

Isn’t it ironic how God can speak the truth to us through someone else?  So I went.  The Colonel did get better.  I saw him occasionally for the next few years.  The last I heard is that he had died.  Sober.

 

Praise God.  Thank you Jesus for the push on that Mother’s Day.

 

What will you do when God interrupts you?  Will you do a quick check in and say you’ll get back to him on that?  Or will you look on interruptions as a sign of how highly God thinks of you to ask you to do a certain thing?  God will not force you.  Nor will he reject you if you choose to say no.

 

Will you be a person who can plan plans but not results?  Can you make that a way of life?  Remember the old saying that Man Plans and God Laughs.  Do I always say yes?  Ashamedly, I do not.  But I can’t wait to see what God has for me next.  I need to be challenged.

 

How About You?

 

7.  Be Willing To Learn

Be teachable, pursue God with an inquisitive mind and embrace those teaching experiences that he gives you.  If you find yourself not in the willing spirit, then pray to just be willing to be willing.  Sometimes we have to stair-step our way to learn God’s ways.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:9 tells us God can teach us how to love.  

Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;

 

Learn to love?   Really?  That’s a big one.  God can do it but we must be willing and have a receptive heart.

 

Has God ever asked you to do something that has put you outside your comfort zone?  Not a fun place to be in, right?  I can remember that as a part of my job, there were many times I was asked to speak to various groups of people.

 

I was terrified at first.  How can I do this? I have a stammer that has plagued me all my life.  My childhood was one of being laughed at when I spoke, getting into fights to at least maintain some kind of dignity.  Losing most of them only reinforced how defective I thought I was.

 

Today I know that God uses all kinds of folks to get a message across.  I came to see how my non-fluent speech helped others realize that we need not be perfect to be effective.  God grew me through imperfection.

 

One of my favorite sections in the Bible is the Sermon of the Mount.  Jesus teaches so much on how to live a righteous, joyous life no matter what may be going on with us.  The best commentary I have ever read on it is from Dallas Willard in his book, The Divine Conspiracy.  It ‘s found in the fourth chapter and is well worth the price of the book alone.

 

Don’t underestimate what God can and will do for you if he is sought.  His plan is always bigger and better than mine.  I was arrested in 1966 on a driving while intoxicated charge and had to spend some time in jail. While incarcerated, a pastor visited us and shared the gospel with us. 

 

He stuttered. 

 

Wow!  Shook me to my core.  How does he do that?  A lot of the inmates laughed at him but I was right there with him. Every time he had a speech block, it was like God was talking to me. 

 

I listened. I learned.  It wasn’t until 5 years later that God took my desire to drink away from me but I truly believe that some mighty powerful seeds were planted in that lonely jail cell in 1966.  God puts us where he wants us.

 

Later in life I would be given the opportunity to be a state representative for a faith based recovery program and was instrumental in getting the program in 27 jails and prisons throughout the state of Ohio.  God chooses who he uses.

 

Some of the most teachable moments in life are when we are at our very worst, at a bleak period, a time when hope seems lost.  It’s then God beams his light into our darkness and through his encouragement and direction, we find the strength to go on. 

 

A willingness and a passionate desire to know more of him can bring you out of despair and birth you into a life of joyous freedom.

 

Are You Willing To Learn?

 

8.  Rely On The Holy Spirit

1 John 4:1-3

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.”

 

Relying on the Holy Spirit can be a tricky one for a lot of Christians.  How do I know it is the Holy Spirit that is speaking to me?  Might it be an imposter?  A false voice?  Something coming from inside our heads or our feelings deeply wanting to hear his voice and receive his guidance?

 

I often pray that God gives me an attuned, listening and attentive spirit and to be open to the nudging of the Holy Spirit.  I figure to hedge my bets by letting God know I am open and willing to receive his Holy Spirit.

 

Scripture is an important way to know if the Holy Spirit is talking to you.  Check what you hear by referring to the Bible.  Would it come from God?  If not, you may need to question its authority.  Maybe even reject it completely.  The Holy Spirit will never contradict God’s word.

 

Rely on the Holy Spirit to speak the way God speaks, in a quiet, soft and intimate way.  If you hear a loud, booming and condemning   voice, trying in a very authoritative manner to convince that you need to follow his direction,  You would be wise to regard this as a voice not of the Holy Spirit. 

 

God has his way of getting your attention through the Holy Spirit by quieter, more persuasive methods.  Ways that illuminate Jesus and bring your focus more on him.

 

Look to the Holy Spirit as an intercessor between you and God.  Sort of your own personal red phone to the Lord.  Satan does not want to  talk to God.  It would be a losing proposition for him.  The evil one does his best work through you and I.

 

Know him better through his different names.  He is referred to in the Bible by many different names.  These are useful in determining how he functions in ministering to us in our daily needs. Here are just a few that have been important to my faith walk.

 

He is the “helper”.  Before he left this earth to be with his Heavenly Father, Jesus promised he would send someone to be with us.  To many Christians, he is their advocate , the one who pleads their case before the Father.

 

He is the “counselor”, just as Jesus counseled according to the truth.

 

Isaiah 11:2 (AKJV) says:

and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,

the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the spirit of counsel and might,

the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord;

 

He is the “teacher”.  Just as Jesus taught about the coming Kingdom of Heaven, he commanded his disciples to go out into the world and preach this good news to all nations.  After he left, he sent his spirit to be with all his disciples. 

 

We can rely on his spirit to be with us as we move forth in our Christian walk.

 

I am disturbed by the churches that neglect this very important teaching of the spirit.  As part of the Holy Trinity, he indwells us and wants to live in us.  There are just too many instances in the scriptures where the spirit hovered over his people and protected them, guided them and spoke truth into their lives. 

 

There are so many people I know, myself included, who cannot deny the presence of the Holy Spirit of the Living God in our lives.

 

Rely On Him

 

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Corinthians 13:14)