It's Not that Hard to Hear God's Voice When You Put Yourself in the Right Places

If there were anything I'd love to be able to gift Jesus followers with, it would be the ability to hear God's voice loud and clear. What if we could rise up out of the baptismal waters and suddenly have the voice of God speaking to us audibly.

Wouldn't that be cool?

What if I told you that God made you to hear Him? He did, you know. God created you for personal relationship with Him, and therefore, He who created, you knows best how to communicate with you, even in our broken world.

Do you believe this? God knows how to communicate with you in a way that is so personal and so powerful that you can know it's Him! In these next few blog posts, I'm going to explain how He does this.

First, it's important to recognize that we have an adversary whose goal is to keep you from knowing what I'm about to tell you. He is adamantly opposed to prayer because he knows that it's through a dynamic prayer life that you get to know, experience and trust God's voice. 

God is fully aware that Satan works hard to stop us from hearing His voice, and He knows Satan's schemes. He knows that Satan works against us by creating static in the spiritual airwaves; by causing interference between us and the Lover of our souls, with the ultimate goal of stopping us from hearing the pure and gentle voice of our Good Shepherd.

 He knows that the devil will try to:

• mimic the voice of God,
• drown out the voice of God, and
• shout louder than the voice of God.

 And because he’s doing all that, you’re going to have to put some effort into keeping your lines of communication clear. God will meet you when you come, but He will not drag you from where you are to where He is. He's already gone to the ends of the earth to open the doors to His Holy of Holies, now it's up to us to choose whether or not we want to spend any time with Him there. One of my favorite verses is Hebrews 4:16, 

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 

What a beautiful invitation! If only we would eagerly respond! 

I've been exposed to New Age thought, and one of the interesting ideas that is embraced in New Age is that you can actually go to certain places and position yourself in such a way that you connect with spiritual energies and, in this way, you interact with spiritual forces and powers. One of those places is Sedona, Arizona. People from all over go to Sedona to connect with spiritual forces believed to be accessed through the vortexes there. I found this on the internet:

"In 1987, Sedona was host to one of the largest branches of the Harmonic Convergence – a new age synchronised meditation – when 5,000 pilgrims came to get in touch with the universe at the Bell Rock butte, believed by many to be a vortex."

It's quite human to desire spiritual connection because the God who made you hardwired you to desire relationship and connection with Him.

One of the first things you can do to hear the voice of God is to position yourself in a way that says, "I am ready!" Here are some postures you can take to be most ready to hear God’s voice:

Be still (and know). (Psalm 46:10)

We are so busy that we often can't think straight. Mental health providers urge us to "slow down," and "be still." In the same way, the Psalmist declared that when we are still, in the stillness, that is when we reflect and we know  that He is God. 

There's another Psalm that teaches us how to envision ourselves entering in to the holy presence of God. Listen to these words and consider their meaning, 

"I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart,

I will enter His courts with praise,

I will say this is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice for He has made me glad." 

In the temple, there were gates to be entered and courts to occupy. Only priests could enter into the "inner courts" of the LORD, and only the high priest could enter into the holy of holies, once a year (Even then they tied a string to his ankle in case God smote him while he was in there.). 

To still and quiet your mind and your heart, consider taking several minutes to acknowledge the good things God's done for you and thank Him for them. Just this mental effort will slow your rush and prepare you for His presence.

Then, when you are overcome with the many ways God's been good to you, simply praise Him! Tell Him that it's His faithfulness and His goodness, His patience and kindness, longsuffering and forgiveness that amaze you.

Once you do this, you are ready to meet Him.

Bow down.

I cannot tell you how powerful this practice is. When we humble ourselves to bend our knees and beseech the LORD, we express bodily the desperate dependence we have on God. God honors this posture. He loves it when we understand how big He is and how blessed we are to have audience with Him.

Read the Bible.

This! This is the easiest thing you can do to hear God's voice. God knew that we would need something tangible so He gave us His Word. The Bible is a fascinating piece of literature. Later on in this series of articles you're going to discover (or be reminded) of some remarkable truths regarding the Bible. But all of those things are for naught if you don't take the time to read the Bible yourself. I highly recommend participating in Bible studies and using Bible study books, they will help you make sense of what you are reading. 

Walk, ride, garden, mindless activity that takes you away from the normal stuff.

When you walk, ride a bike, garden or do anything where your mind can "chill," invite God to speak to you. Some of my most powerful insights have come on a jog, walk or bike ride.

Go places where God’s presence is more easily experienced (mountains, ocean, water, beautiful surroundings)

Ever wonder why people flock to the beaches, mountains, lakes, deserts and other beautiful places? It's because our spirits are drawn to physical places where the glory of the LORD can be tangibly felt.

Participate in worship.

 If you've ever participated in genuine worship with authentic worshippers, you know what this is like. God certainly dwells in the midst of our worship.

These are all ways you can put yourself in the places where God speaks. Of course He can speak to you anywhere anytime, but if you put yourself in these places you will be amazed at how easy it is to hear His voice.