Christian Foundations

This stage of growth involves moving from self perceived realities to learning to hear the Master’s voice.  For many people, the fact that their Creator wants to talk to them is a major revelation.  How do we do this in a practical way?

One of the biggest ‘aha’ revelations is that our Creator and Lord of life wants to walk and talk with us – as individuals.  He still talks to us today.  One of my other blogs is dedicated to this topic: www.hearinggod.mentorsnotebook.com/blog    Come check it out, especially if hearing from God is a new idea to you.

So we continue our topic with Christian Foundations.  We have trudged through being a slave as we enter God’s Kingdom.  We all came that way but we don’t have to stay stuck in this mind-set.  There is so much more!

A. The Big Plan

Right from the beginning, Yahweh wanted relationship with human kind.  We read that He often walked in the cool of the morning with Adam and Eve and ‘missed’ them after they sinned (Genesis 3:8).  Between Genesis and Revelation we read of all kinds of encounters mankind had with this Almighty God (such as Abraham being God’s friend, James 2:23). 

Revelation 21:3+4 puts it this way:                         

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (NIV)

Of course, the biggest encounters mankind had with God, was when He sent His Word (Jesus) to become flesh; to redeem mankind back to Himself (John 1:14) and subsequently, when He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in every believer (John 15:4-7, 26).

B. The Basic Principles in Hearing from God

1.  We must be in relationship with Him.  Obviously, Father God is more interested in relating to His children, than with ‘outsiders’.

2.  We need to be still (1 Kings 19:12+13, Psalm 46:10).

3.  We must want to hear from Him.  If we are not expecting to hear from God, we are less likely to pay attention to the ‘whisper’ that is often Him.

4.  We are not born knowing how to pray.  Therefore, we need to learn how to do it.  Check out the book ‘Dialogue with God’ by Mark Virkler.  A good resource in this area:

5.  We need to practice hearing, for instance, by keeping a prayer journal, asking God simple questions, dedicating special times to hear from Him, etc.

6.  When we are praying to hear from God, often there are multiple ‘messages’ or ‘voices’.  Generally, the first voice is God, the second our mind or heart, the third can be Satan (not wanting us to do God’s will).  Often our ‘voice’ and Satan’s voice are loud and God’s is hard to hear, since He is as gentle as a dove.

7.  The Bible needs to be the First way we hear from Him.  God has already spoken on many topics.  He will not contradict Himself (Numbers. 23:19, Heb. 6:18, 13:8).

8.  When you are asking God to do something for you (petitioning prayer), remember that whatever you ask that is according to His will, will be done.

“Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19 NIV)

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you”. (John 15:7 NIV)

C.  Blockages to hearing His Voice

Another good book in this area is Joyce Meyer ‘How to Hear from God’.  Some of the blockages to hearing from God are the same as for the Infilling of the Holy Spirit:

1. Unbelief that God exists or speaks (Hebrews 3:12)

2. Fear of the Lord’s disapproval – guilt, low self-esteem.

3. No desire to hear from Father God.  The heart is stony and hard, unyielding and uninterested in what the Lord wants to say (Hebrews 3:15).

4. Ignorance that God wants to speak, that it is even possible to hear.

5. Wrong teaching such as:  “It’s not for today.”

6. Lack of discipline, “It takes too much effort.”  (Hearing His voice can be like learning any new skill; it often takes practice and perseverance.)

7. Lack of concentration in a busy world.  The mind is not still enough to hear that quiet voice (Psalms 46:10).  Believers don’t hang on to what He has said long enough to plant it into their hearts (Matthew 13:5-6).

8.  Having the mind racing along, disputing what the Spirit says.  The mind needs discipline and training.

9.  Being preoccupied by concerns of this World.  Jesus commanded us to not be anxious about anything (Mat. 6:25-34, Philippians. 4:6), but to put the things of the Kingdom of God first and then these issues will be sorted out (Matthew 6:33)

10. We didn’t apply what He told us already.  Our rebellion stops us from hearing Him (1 Samuel 15:23).

11. People fear that their loving Father God might ask them to do something that they won’t want to do (Jonah).

12. Others doubt that Jesus is able to protect them from the enemy, a ‘little god’ mentality.

13. The logical mind overrules spiritual thoughts (1 Corinthians 2:13).

14. Pride, self-will or self-reliance:  “I can do it myself.  I don’t need God.”

15. Involvement in the Occult, secret societies or ritualistic clubs – which cause Satan to have legal rights to interfere (Exodus 20:5).

16. Husbands who abuse their wives hinder their own prayers. (1 Peter 3:7).

17. Harsh treatment by our earthly father, so “I don’t really trust God, my heavenly Father, to treat me well.” (Luke 11:9).

18. Feeling the need to perform, to strive to hear Him.  We try too hard!

Another good book in this area is Joyce Meyers ‘

D. Ways to gain confidence we are hearing from God

A third book we could recommend is ‘Hearing God’.  All these books can be found on The Book Depositary or any good book store!

1. Get to know the nature and character of God

Probably the most important way you could know if God talks today is by getting to know His nature and character.  One of the best ways to do this is by reading the Bible through enough times, until you start understanding His ways.  When that starts to happen, then you will begin to read the Bible the way He wrote it.

2. Make sure you have correct teaching

If you don’t believe God speaks today, then Satan will rob you of the gift of communicating with Him.  Unbelief and pride are very hard things for God to break through (1 Peter 5:5).  In fact, painful circumstances are generally the only way God is able to ‘get through’ our pride and unbelief – like the Israelites in the wilderness (Hebrews 3:19).

3. Believe that God wants to communicate with YOU!

We sometimes miss God, since He is a perfect gentleman and will seldom force you to hear Him.  Without expectancy, you will miss God speaking through people or circumstances.

4. Set aside your own thinking and emotions. 

God often ‘sounds’ like our own self-talk.  Emotions and thoughts are important ingredients for decision-making, but only after recognising what God is saying.

5. Really know the scriptures.

God’s written Word is a stable and enduring source of wisdom and guidance.  God will never contradict His own word.  We need to really soak in His Word by ‘savouring’ it, not just reading it to be obedient (Joshua 1:7-8).

6. Be open to sense God and His ‘voice’

A busy mind filled with agitation is deadly to hearing God or spotting His presence.  Hand your worries over to Him (Matthew 11:29).  The Lord is often in the quiet, gentle moments of life (1 Kings 19:11-13).

7. Use your spiritual prayer language

One way to build up your spirit and sensitivity to God is by practicing ‘speaking in tongues’.  If you haven’t done so already, be open to being baptised and continually filled with the Holy Spirit.

Hearing from Our Heavenly Father is essential for the days we live in, especially since there are so many other ‘voices’ or messages around.  We need to know that we hear from Him, and that we have His answers for our issues of life.  Any other voice besides Father God comes from ‘the spirit of this Age’, the Antichrist (1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; 1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 1:7).

E. Some ways to practice hearing from God

1. Work with any barriers in your heart, so that it is willing to hear from God.

2. It is often easier to hear Him in the peaceful times, rather than in the middle of the storm.

3. Find ‘non-threatening’ ways to hear from Him.  Try asking Him for what colours of clothes to wear, which presents to buy or food to get and so on, as ways to practice hearing Him.

4. Learn from others.  How did they learn to hear from God?

5. Keep a journal of what you think He might be saying to you.  Talk this over with mature Christians to get confirmation.

6. Set time aside to wait for Him to talk to you.  In our very busy lives, we can find it hard to discipline ourselves to wait on Him.

7. Read good books, on hearing from God, written by reliable authors.

8. Be open to ‘see’ in picture form as well as hear from Him.

9. Listen for the Rhema (the ‘aha’), as well as read the Logos – the written Word of communication, the Bible.

10. Be teachable, open and honest with God.

 Remember you were not born hearing God.  It’s a skill you have to learn.  To learn a new skill, what do you do?  Practice, practice, allow yourself to learn from your mistakes and practice!

Susanne Fengler, Blog Author

www.christianfoundations.jesus-treeoflife.info

 

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