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Are you in a position to hear God?
One of the challenges of the life of Jesus is to imitate the way he never reacted, only acted. In order to do this he needed to ensure the channels of communication between his Father and himself were open, so that he only ever did on earth what he saw his Father doing in heaven.I have sympathy with those who struggle to hear the voice of God in the midst of the noise, busyness, and complexity of modern day life, but I’ve stopped making excuses. Try we must, because to fail to hear God is disastrous. Listening to God’s voice and having the bottle to do what he says, even if it flies in the face of the gathered wisdom, is the lifeblood of spiritual health and blessing. Look at scriptures like Deut 30:19,20, 1 Sam 15:22, and Rev 3:20 to realise how high the stakes are here. Jesus reckoned that the difference between a wise man and a fool was that a wise man heard God’s voice and obeyed it, and a foolish man heard God but did nothing. So both hearing, (and testing), and heeding, are important.
Last week (19 October), I preached on this. I offered five keys that I’ve discovered that position me to hear my God more clearly. It’s not a definitive list, but it is a starter for ten:
1. Engage in spiritual disciplines:
a. A regular diet of systematic bible reading (His will is in His word).
b. Both personal and corporate prayer
c. Retreating – to focus, process and advance.
d. Listen to good preaching and teaching
e. Journaling – because past patterns can often illuminate present enterprises and future plans.
2. Pursue spiritual intimacy
I’ve noticed that so much of the heart of God is revealed in the intimate place.
a. Become a worship junkie
b. Meditate on God’s word and discover His values
c. Don’t be fazed if He asks you to do the odd ‘daft’ thing.
3. Engage and invest in friendships of mutual vulnerability and accountability.
So much guidance has come my way through other trusted friends.
4. Get yourself around the prophetic
5. Take a good look at what the Holy Spirit is doing in His body.
Ask questions like: “How can we join in with you, Lord,” and “on whom is your spirit working.”
I guarantee if you begin to put this stuff into practice, your problem won’t become revelation deficit, but overload. I now find myself praying about which doors to close rather than which ones to open.
Of course, the clincher is when we put the revealed word into practice. Like Noah who built an arc in the desert; and Esther who confronted a king; and Hosea who married an adulteress; and David who conquered a giant; and Peter, who walked on the water.
The Christian life is a life surrendered to a higher authority. A blessed and favoured Christian loves being under new management. Ultimately, it’s about who’s calling the shots. And to allow Him to do that we must position ourselves to hear before we can heed.