Hearing God Speak

Based on an article by Roger Harper, published in 'Christianity' Magazine.

How often have you thought to yourself, wouldn’t it be good if God could speak directly to me? As you read the Bible, it seems that down through the ages God has spoken to people in very clear ways, so why is it that we don’t feel he communicates with us?

Wouldn’t it be nice if we too could hear God talking to us? Many of us believe that God speaks today through the Bible and through the Holy Spirit. We accept that there is the gift of prophecy which is given to some people. But we don’t often hear Jesus speaking to us personally, except in occasional inklings. I myself have on different occasions encouraged people to listen to God, but how do we actually do it?

Over the last few months, with the help and guidance of my spiritual director I have been discovering that God does in fact talk to us, and that it is possible to hear his voice, and for me it has been a journey of real discovery, which I will share with you.

So how does God speak to us?

Drawing examples from the Bible

Well first of all, lets begin with the Bible. Thinking of the people who heard God speaking to them. Some of the people that come to mind include Moses at the burning bush, Samuel in the Temple, Elijah on Mount Horeb, but there are others.

Now think: ‘Where were these people’? (Pause for responses)

Moses was on the far side of the wilderness, Samuel was in the Temple in the evening. The lamps were lit but the work was all done. Elijah was at the end of a long journey running away from likely retaliation, after defeating the prophets of Baal. The important thing to note was that each was away from home, away from the routine of the day, in an out of way place or an out of the busyness time. And if you examine the Bible, you will notice that the same is true of most of the Bible characters who heard God.

So what about us? How do we listen to God.

1 Be still, relaxed, mentally away from everyday worries.

Just think of these Bible characters. What was in their mind just before God spoke? Moses was looking at a bush burning, or more accurately not burning, and probably thinking “Wow! What?” Samuel was resting, looking at the Temple furniture gleaming gold, with the smoky incense rising in the lamplight. He too probably was thinking a gentler “Wow, that’s so lovely!” Elijah had just seen the dust and stones stampeded by a fierce wind, seen the whole earth ripple before him, seen an impossible fire come out of nowhere. “Wow! What?” was probably the thing he was thinking. Seeing something of the glory of God is common to people in the Bible just before they hear God.

2 Focus on a picture of the glory of God – who is Jesus.

We know that in Jesus we see God’s glory perfectly, the glory of the only Son, full of grace and truth. We relax and look to see Jesus in our imagination. It is easier first to imagine we are relaxing in an out of the way place, and then look round to see Jesus with us there. Or we imagine ourselves in a Gospel story with Jesus.

When God speaks to us, He speaks from the Holy Spirit within us, and not usually from outside us. Flowing as a stream of living water from our heart, thoughts, impressions, pictures come into our minds. (Give illustration of my own experiences).

In James 3:17 it says, “the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” We don’t need to work; instead we receive in faith what comes to us by grace. This gives us the third key.

3 Welcome the Holy Spirit flowing from within in impressions, pictures & words

Faith is important. We need to believe that what comes is from the Holy Spirit. But faith without works is dead or barren (James 2:20). It is important to do something which expresses our faith. In listening to God, voicing or writing down what comes to us is the expression of our faith in action.

4 Write out or speak out what comes

Once we have written or spoken what comes to us, we can then examine it. We can check if it is consistent with Scripture. We can ask other people if they think it is from God. This examination is necessary and important. But if we examine too quickly, we interrupt the flow of the Holy Spirit. First we have to receive in faith. Then we examine, and weigh what has come.

The Scriptural Basis for this technique

The basis for this technique of learning to listen to God, is based on Scripture. In the book of Habakkuk 2:1-2 in the Old Testament it says: “I will stand at my watch post, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what He will say to me, and what He will answer concerning my complaint. Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it.”

You will notice that Habakkuk did four things:
He went to an out of the way place
He looked to see
He expected God to speak
He wrote down what came to him

Habakkuk followed the four keys, and by doing this we can learn to hear God’s voice.

The Questions This Approach Creates

Of course one of the big questions that arises out of this approach, is how can we be certain it is God who is speaking to us, and not just our own inner projections?

This is why testing and discerning what we feel God may be saying to us, is so important. Our primary source is Scripture, God will not say or do anything contrary to what we know of him in Scripture. It is also helpful, when we try to hear God, to have two or three Christians you can trust, who you can share what you feel God may be saying, so they can confirm whether what you have heard is from God or not.

The important thing to remember, is that God only ever wills good for us, and not evil, and therefore when we feel God speaks to us, it will be to build up and encourage.

Listening to God using the four keys is like riding a motorbike. Learning to ride on two wheels means practicing a few simple movements, but doing them all together, while keeping alert. Motorbikes can be dangerous if ridden without care. The four keys are each simple, but it takes practice to learn to do them all together.

Our listening, however, is never to replace our following what the Bible says. Nowhere does Jesus tell us in so many words, to listen to Him like this, whereas He does tell us to obey all that He has commanded. Reading the commands of Jesus and following what He says in the Gospels is more fundamental to our discipleship.

However, having said this, listening to Him today, comforts us, encourages us and strengthens us in this discipleship. And prompts us constantly to wonder at His nearness to us and our dearness to Him.