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How to Hear from God

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Chapter One

The world makes it easy for us to fill our ears with all kinds ofthings that drown out the voice of God and push Him far, far intothe background of our lives. However, the day comes for every personwhen only God remains. Everything else in life eventually passesaway; when it does, God will still be there.

The Word of God teaches that what is known about God is evident toall because He has made Himself known in the inner consciousness ofmankind (see Romans 1:19-21). Each person will someday stand beforeHim and give an account of his or her life (see Romans 14:12). Whenpeople don't want to serve God with their lives, when they want togo their own way, they find ways to hide from and ignore thisinstinctive inner knowledge of their Creator who wants to talk tothem and guide them in the way they should go.

Nothing can satisfy our longing for God, except communion andfellowship with Him. Isaiah expressed well our own hunger for Godwhen he wrote, "My soul yearns for You [O Lord] in the night, yes,my spirit within me seeks You earnestly" (Isaiah 26:9). The apostleJohn wrote, "And the world passes away and disappears, and with itthe forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it; buthe who does the will of God and carries out His purposes in his lifeabides (remains) forever" (1 John 2:17).

Hearing from God is vital to enjoying God's eternal plan for ourlives. Listening to God is our decision; no one else can make it forus. God won't force us to choose His will, but He will do everythingHe can to encourage us to say yes to His ways.

God wants to be involved in even the smallest details of our lives.His Word tells us to acknowledge Him in all our ways, and He willdirect our paths (see Proverbs 3:6). To acknowledge God is to carewhat He thinks and to ask for His opinion. Verse 7 of Proverbs 3says, "Be not wise in your own eyes." In other words, don't eventhink that you can run your life and do a good job without God'shelp and direction. It takes most of us far too long to learn thisimportant lesson.

Even though I sincerely loved Jesus, I went to church for yearswithout knowing that God talks to people. I observed all thereligious rules and holidays and went to church every Sunday. I wasreally doing all that I knew to do at that time, but it wasn'tenough to satisfy my longing for God.

I could have spent every moment in church or in Bible study, but itwouldn't have quenched the thirst I had for a deeper fellowship withthe Lord. I needed to talk to Him about my past and hear Him talk tome about my future. But nobody taught me that God wanted to talkdirectly to me. No one offered a solution for the dissatisfiedfeelings I endured.

Through reading the Word, I learned that God does want to talk to usand that He has a plan for our lives that will lead us to a place ofpeace and contentment. It is God's will for us to attain knowledgeof His plan through His divine guidance. It sounds like a prettyfoundational point, but I believe there are many people who stillquestion whether God really talks to people. And if He does, theywonder:

? Is God really involved on a day-to-day basis in running our lives?

? Does He really want to be involved in all the little tiny detailsof our lives?

? Should we only bother God and expect to hear from Him concerningmajor issues that we can't handle ourselves?

The Bible teaches that God has a good plan for all those who willput their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives. His plan iscomplete in great detail, and it will lead all who follow Him to anabundant life.

But I am convinced that only a few ever enjoy the fulfillment ofGod's perfect plan for their lives because most people don't knowhow to listen to God's leading and follow Him. Instead, they choose(either willfully or ignorantly) to go their own way. More peoplecould walk in the perfect will of God if they would learn how tohear from Him and follow His instructions.

Never hesitate to take what you think are small things to God; afterall, everything is small to God. Sometimes we act as if we think wewill tax God's ability if we ask Him for too much help. I remember awoman who came to me for prayer. She wanted to know if it would beall right if she asked God for two things; if not, she assured methat she would only ask for one.

It is vital to know what God's Word says about His role in yourlife, because it confirms His divine plan to be intimately involvedwith all that concerns you. "`For I know the plans I have for you,'"declares the LORD, "`plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plansto give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and comeand pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and findme when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,'declares the LORD" (Jeremiah 29:11-14 NIV).

EXPECT HIM TO SPEAK TO YOU

Jesus told His disciples, "I have still many things to say to you,but you are not able to bear them or to take them upon you or tograsp them now. But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-givingSpirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, fullTruth)" (John 16:12-13). He also said that the Holy Spirit wouldcontinue to teach us all things and bring to our remembrance allthat God has said through His Word (see John 14:26).

When Jesus spoke these words, He was talking to men with whom He hadspent the previous three years. They had been with Him day andnight, yet He indicated that He had more to teach them. We wouldthink that if Jesus was with us personally for three years, day andnight, we would have learned all there is to know. I think that if Ihad one uninterrupted month with people, I could tell themeverything I know. But Jesus said to expect more because He willalways have something to say to us about new situations we arefacing.

Jesus always knew what was the right thing to do because He only didwhat He saw His Father do. As our Lord, we can trust Him to lead usto the right path every day. He is the only begotten Son of God, butwe are also adopted sons and daughters of God, and we are to imitateHim in all we do. He became flesh and experienced all of the thingswe experience, so He understands our needs. He was baptized in theHoly Ghost, just as we are to be baptized in the Holy Ghost (seeJohn 1:32-33). And He was led by the Spirit, just as we can be ledby the Spirit, because He ascended to heaven and sent the HolySpirit to lead and guide us.

In John 16:13 Jesus continued to explain the work of the Holy Spiritin our lives, saying, "For He will not speak His own message [on Hisown authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father;He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He willannounce and declare to you the things that are to come [that willhappen in the future]."

The book of John offers an extensive study of God's promise tointimately guide us. In chapter 6, Jesus said, "It is written in[the book of] the Prophets, And they shall all be taught of God[have Him in person for their Teacher]. Everyone who has listened toand learned from the Father comes to Me" (v. 45).

God knew we would need help in understanding His plan for us, so Hesent the Holy Spirit to dwell on the inside of every Christian. Heis our Guide, our Teacher of truth, our Counselor, and our Helper.He is also our Comforter, or the parakletos (par-ak'-lay-tos), whichis explained in Vine's Expository Dictionary as one who is "calledto one's side." The term "was used in a court of justice to denotea legal assistant, counsel for the defense, an advocate ... who pleadsanother's cause, an intercessor." The Holy Spirt promises never toleave us or forsake us. We can live the abundant life if we learn tolisten to him. Jesus said it was better for us that He went away,because if He didn't go, the Counselor (the Holy Spirit) would notcome to us (see John 16:7). Jesus was confined to a body just as weare and could be only at one place at a time. But the Holy Spiritcan be in every single one of us everywhere we go, all the time,individually leading and guiding each one of us. In John 14:15-20Jesus explained:

If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands. And Iwill ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter(Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, andStandby), that He may remain with you forever? The Spirit of Truth,Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart), becauseit does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know andrecognize Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be inyou. I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, desolate,bereaved, forlorn, helpless]; I will come [back] to you. Just alittle while now, and the world will not see Me any more, but youwill see Me; because I live, you will live also. At that time [whenthat day comes] you will know [for yourselves] that I am in MyFather, and you [are] in Me, and I [am] in you.

Jesus said that He Himself would come to us and that we wouldrealize He is in us.

EXPECT TO HEAR HIM

Through Christ, and the power of His Holy Spirit, God wants to speakto you on a One-to-one basis, every day. He wants to lead you stepby step to the good things He has in store for you. He cares aboutthe tiniest details of your life. He even keeps track of how manyhairs you have on your head (see Matthew 10:30). He cares about thedesires of your heart. And He wants to reveal truth to you that willset you free from worry and fear.

His plan to share an intimate relationship with you existed beforeyou were even born. The psalmist said of God, "Your eyes saw myunformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] werewritten before they took shape, when as yet there was none of them"(Psalm 139:16).

In the book of Acts the apostle Paul said of God, "From one man hemade every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth;and he determined the times set for them and the exact places wherethey should live. God did this so that men would seek him andperhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far fromany one of us" (Acts 17:26-27 NIV).

Doesn't it stand to reason that, if God knows all of our days andwhere we are going to live before we are even born, it is importantto learn how to hear from Him? Hearing God's voice is not onlyexciting, it also keeps us on the right track.

In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus spoke of a narrow path that leads to lifeand a broad path that leads to destruction, and He told us to stayon the narrow one. If we can discern God's voice, we can know if weare veering off onto the wrong track, and we can make an adjustmentbefore we reap bad results from a bad decision.

Hearing God's voice throughout the day has become a natural way oflife for me since I received the fullness of the Holy Spirit whomJesus promised to send us. The Father will give the gift of HisSpirit to all who ask for Him (see Luke 11:13), and the Holy Spiritwill help us understand the Bible so that we will know how to applyits wisdom to our lives (see John 14:26). I want to say againemphatically that each of us can hear from God and be led by theHoly Spirit daily.

It seems incomprehensible that God could have a plan for everyperson on earth, but it also brings great peace to know that He cantake our chaos and turn it into something meaningful and worthwhile.God's plan is unveiled through an intimate relationship with Him.

If you desire to know God in a deeper way, I recommend that you readmy book titled Knowing God Intimately. In that book, I share ingreat detail how you can be as close to God as you want to be.

GOD OFFERS A LIFETIME PARTNERSHIP

Psalm 48:14 cheered my heart one day. It says that God will be ourguide even unto death! How wonderful to know that we have a guide toget us from one destination in life to the next. Sometimes when myhusband, Dave, and I travel, we hire a guide to show us the best andmost important sites to see.

Once we had the opinion that we would explore by ourselves; that waywe could do what we wanted to and when we wanted to. However, wequickly found that our independent trips were nearly wasted. Weoften spent a large part of the day getting lost and then trying tofind our way again. We have found it to be the best use of our timeto follow a guide rather than wandering aimlessly to find placesourselves.

I believe this example relates to how we are in life. We want to goour own way so we can do what we want to do, when we want to do it,but we end up getting lost and wasting our life. We need the HolySpirit guiding us through every day of our time on this earth. Godis committed to guide us even until we leave this life, so it seemsimportant to learn how to hear what He is telling us.

One of the many benefits of hearing from God is that He helps usprepare for the future. The Holy Spirit gives the message to us thathas been given to Him from the Father. He announces and declares tous things that will happen in the future (see again John 16:13).

We see many instances in the Bible when God gave people informationabout the future. Noah was told to prepare for a flood that wouldcome to destroy the people of the earth (see Genesis 6:13-17). Moseswas told to go to Pharaoh and ask for the release of the Israelites,but he was also told that Pharaoh would not let them go (see Exodus7). Obviously, God does not tell us everything that will happen inthe future, but the Bible says He will tell us of things to come.

There are times when I can sense inside my spirit that somethinggood, or at times, something challenging, is going to happen. Ofcourse, when I sense something challenging is about to happen, Ialways hope I am wrong and that it is just my imagination. But if Iam right then having the knowledge ahead of time acts as a shockabsorber in my life. If an automobile with good shock absorbers hitsa hole in the road, the absorbers cushion the impact for thepassengers so no one gets hurt. God's giving us information ahead oftime works the same way.

I remember many times when God informed me of things in the future.One time in particular was when I felt strongly inside my heart thatone of my children was really struggling with something major. WhenI asked my child about it, I was told that everything was just fine,but by the Spirit I knew something was wrong. Several days later Ireceived some news that was painful and discouraging, but it wouldhave been a lot more difficult had I not had a previous warning.

First Corinthians 2:5 teaches us not to put our faith in the wisdomof men (human philosophy), but in the power of God.

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Excerpted from How to Hear from Godby Joyce Meyer Copyright © 2004 by Joyce Meyer. Excerpted by permission.
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