Clearly Hear God’s Voice
How to Improve Your Ability to Talk
With the One who Loves You Most
By Brett Ahern
copyright November 2019
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author, Brett Ahern.
Contents
Introduction 4
Please understand 5
Part 1 – Scriptural Understanding
Be Prepared 7
What Are You Listening To? 10
Heart 12
Situational Cleanness 16
Peace 19
Speaking in Tongues 26
Gifts 28
Resonance 29
Exercise Preparation 33
God’s Fingerprints 39
Part 2 - Exercises
What is God’s Voice? 43
Refresher 45
A Word About Exercises 46
Exercises for Improving Your Ability to Hear 47
Previously Covered Exercises 49
Additional Exercises 50
Exercises for Tuning into God’s Love for Someone 66
Conclusion - My Story 67
Introduction
It was a simple enough day. I was preparing for our leadership meeting at church. As a deacon I spent some time in worship and prayer before going. All things addressed, feeling relaxed and at ease, I ended this time by simply asking, “Do you have anything we need to know today?” He replied, “Tell them to prepare for new leadership.” I gulped. Reflected on the likely response and decided to say it. This was too important to hesitate.
At the end of the meeting, agenda completed, the pastor asked us if there was anything else. I shared the above with the group. He thought carefully and replied, “I appreciate your sharing this Brett, but I can assure you I have no intention of leaving any time soon.”
By the end of the week he was called to a church in his home state. By our next monthly leadership meeting we were having his goodbye party.
This Word from God did not change the outcome of what happened. What it did was provide peace as we proceeded, since it was already known to be God’s will. We watched as the pastor’s families’ list of concerns and needs were effortlessly addressed as God paved the way for his departure; just as he did for us to have a peaceful, expectant heart; by speaking this Word to us. I later learned this is one of God’s bigger concerns: guarding our hearts. It’s one of His fingerprints – a way to tell if He is involved and speaking to you.
This book is written with exercises that will improve your ability to hear His voice, as well as Scripture explanations to increase your faith. His fingerprints are the icing on the cake.
This book starts off with Scriptural background, establishing a healthy context to use the exercises more effectively. Most of the exercises are in Part Two.
This book was left in WORD format so you can use it as a personal workbook, adding notes and personal comments as you would like. It is expected that you will honor the copywrite process, beyond your personal and small group use. Contact me for needs that exceed that at brettact2@gmail.com. If you see this on the web site, email me and I will email you a WORD copy.
Please Understand
I’m an ordinary Christian who is increasingly hearing God’s voice. I have few talents and serve in simple ways. God’s voice has been a significant part of my Christian walk, and I’ve learned how to improve my ability to hear it. I wrote this book because I think that’s something we all need.
Not all of this is my material, and I have not personally done all the exercises included. But they are from trusted sources and fit with the disciplines I have done and what I really know and experience.
The idea behind training is to use what you need now to conquer your current limitation. It is not to do more and more stuff. More is not better. Appropriate sacrifices are a sweet aroma to Him. Quality is the issue.
Also note these are just aids for, not a substitute for, the Spirit leading you and guiding you into all truth. Only the Spirit can train you in these things. You don’t need an encyclopedic knowledge on how to hear God’s voice when one fitting concept will take you into victory on your current growth need. So this book is not designed to answer all your questions. You need to improve your ability to hear His voice so that He can answer your questions, as you need them answered.
This also applies if you have big issue theology questions that may affect your ability to follow through on the exercises, like God’s will, your calling, predestination questions. I’m suggesting you proceed as if these are not relevant at this time. Put them aside and give yourself fully to learning to hear God’s voice clearly. This way you can personally hear His answer to these questions as you progress. If you don’t you can easily spend the rest of your life wrestling with these, making little progress in aspects of your core life, too afraid to make an error. The more clearly you hear, the less you will need to fear that.
To clarify, “clearly hearing God’s voice”, does not mean an easy one-way communication pattern. While that is included, you may need to pray to hear, or worship, or fast, or wait… While we don’t always know what the issues are involved in all dimensions of hearing, what this book does is make it possible for you to learn to hear His voice consistently and clearly.
Part 1 – Scriptural Understanding
Be Prepared
When God created the earth He first prepared. We also need to prepare to create in our lives.
The Key to Faith: But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear... 1 Peter 3:15
Why do so many Christians approach the things of God in a haphazard manner? If we approached our schooling, or our business, or even our home life with the same careless attitude, we would fail in all those endeavors. So why do we treat the things of God so casually?
Faith is one of the things of God. It is a crucial element in the life of the believer. Yet, it seems the attitude toward faith is ‘well, I either have it or I don't...maybe it will work this time!' The Bible says, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you will receive. Jesus said to the Father, "I know that You hear Me always!" Was Jesus careless about His faith? What was it about Jesus' faith that gave Him that perfect confidence in God His Father?
The answer is preparation.
God is a preparing God. He took all the time necessary to prepare the universe for the earth, and the earth for man. Then He set man, the apple of His eye, the joy of His creation, His son and daughter, in a perfect garden that was completely prepared for his home.
Jesus took the first thirty years of His life, then forty days in the wilderness, to prepare for three years of ministry to save mankind. During that time He prepared twelve who would take His gospel to the ends of the earth. Then He prepared Himself each day to do the Father's will to the fullest. The Lord is a preparing God.
You and I are to be imitators of God. You and I must be willing to pay whatever price necessary to be prepared to do the will of God. When preparation meets opportunity, miracles happen. The great heroes of faith all focused their lives in fulfilling the call of God upon them. They found that God would prepare them if they were willing to do what was necessary to be prepared. Many people want to blame their lack of faith on others. When you shift responsibility, you become powerless. Don't blame others. Prepare to walk in faith.
You must find that place in Him each day where you are ready to do His will. Don't let life's greatest purposes go unfulfilled in your life because you were unprepared. Sanctify the Lord God in your heart and always be ready...
God's Sabbaths are a reminder to work at entering rest (Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. Hebrews 4:11); ie, prepare yourself to be centered on God’s love purposes, so you can bless others. This is what it means to keep the Sabbath.
A key to quality workmanship is diligence.
Diligence could be described as an active alertness or awareness that by disciplined action gets the right things done at the right time.
“The hand of the diligent will rule, but the lazy man will be put to forced labor.” Proverbs 12:24
“The soul of a lazy man desires and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.” Proverbs 13:4
“The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5
Diligence and obedience to the voice of the Lord bring the favor of God that causes one to become ‘rich.’ Jesus GREW in favor with God and man (Luke 2:52). You can increase the favor of God upon your life as you grow in diligence and obeying the voice of the Lord.
Regardless of the circumstances you find yourself in now you can overcome and triumph as you diligently listen to and obey the voice of the Lord; becoming more diligent in all that you do.
“Be diligent to know the state of your flocks and attend to your herds…” Proverbs 27:23
A man or woman’s gift makes room for them. As you passionately pursue obeying His voice and are diligent with whatever is set before you, favor with God and man will increase in your life, and you will abound with blessings.
It’s time to end failure. The main reason I fail at something is because I try to do it in my own power. I found out my Father is for me and He is not expecting me to do things on my own. I can come to Him with my problem and wait on Him to give me His instruction and strength.
Preparation is a big part of what God responds to. Your personal life must be in order. Sense how relationship with God works with you personally. What in the natural (sleep, food, exercise…) effects it? What makes you the best Christ-filled person you can be? Then you can evaluate situations and position yourself to receive. When you've done your best it's easiest to receive and release into peoples' lives.
Putting on the armor of God is about preparation. The conclusion is - Having done all, stand (Ephesians 6:13). As you enter every situation expect to be used by God. Ask Him to put edifying words in your mouth. Then wait, rest, and look in your spirit. Speak as God's oracle. The Word from God is to build faith and open doors. Then ask if you can pray for them……
All preaching and teaching can be by the Spirit of God. You pray and prepare the message but need the anointing to bring the Word of God forth. Ask and wait for it to come, looking in your spirit for the words to speak. As you begin, you'll feel the flow of the Spirit. Stop speaking when He stops giving you the words.
This is what farmers do: get everything ready and wait for the rain to cause the crops to grow. Agriculture is a core theme in Kingdom dynamics. Rain is a central theme in many verses about blessings. I’ve even experienced this Spirit-outpouring as a rainstorm.
Next we will look at preparing ourselves to really listen to what is going on, so we can HEAR what God is talking about.
What are you listening to?
"If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you." Exodus 15:26
To ‘diligently heed' in Hebrew literally means to ‘hearingly hear.' In other words, to hear precisely with rapt attention, to catch and weigh every word that is spoken. Jesus said that man shall live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). This means the precise word that He speaks to you personally. It's more than reading your Bible, as important as that is. It is the word that the Spirit empowers and breathes to life for you; makes personal to you as He moves upon your heart.
The Lord came to Solomon one night and gave him an extraordinary opportunity. "Ask what I shall give you," He said. Think of what Solomon could have asked for! But Solomon was smart enough not to waste this great opportunity on some mere material thing. He asked for that thing that every one of us needs most, a hearing heart.
“Therefore, give to Your servant an understanding (Hebrew: SHAMA - hearing) heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?" 1 Kings 3:9
“Oh, that My people would listen to Me…I would soon subdue their enemies and turn My hand against their adversaries.” Psalms 81:13-14
Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice.” If you are a sheep of God, a born again one, God talks to you. But there is a difference between hearing and listening! Our physical ears record a continuous explosion of sound all day long…but how much do we really listen to?
“Now therefore, listen to me, my children, for blessed are those who keep my ways.” Proverbs 8:32
“Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the Lord…” Proverbs 8:34, 35
“Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that He have mercy upon us.” Psalms 123:2
Watching is listening to God with your eyes. You are intent upon Him, waiting for a signal as to your next move. You have no other agenda than to obey Him. To get cleansed of ‘other agendas’ requires some real soul searching and the assistance of the Holy Spirit. But the power of the discipline of listening to God makes all the difference in effective ministry, indeed, in an effective life. Sometimes the ‘waiting’ we are doing is because God is ‘waiting’ for us to trash our other agendas, so He can entrust us with the assignment He needs us to do.
What voice are you tuned into? He is such a gentleman He won't speak if we are entertaining other voices.
Someone's personal testimony: One time a couple years ago I went through a stretch where the Father hadn't told me anything about world events or things to pray about, and I asked Him why. He shot back: "You get all your information from FOX NEWS, so why should I tell you anything?"
A hearing heart...a heart that hears God. Have you asked God for a ‘hearing heart'?
The heart is where life’s issues are stored. Now we will consider the heart’s nature, and how it ties into hearing.
Heart
The Word speaks about hearts becoming calloused or hardened. Calluses form from wear or abuse. Some of us get so worn down that we just stop caring anymore. We see so much dirt, so much grief, that we become insensitive to it, in order to survive. Our spirits become so overwhelmed and despondent that we can't hear His voice anymore.
Jesus came to heal the broken hearted! When we come to Him humbly, confessing all that is outside of His will, laying our hearts bare, He takes our crushed, bruised, calloused, broken hearts and makes them new ‘hearing hearts.' Hearing hearts can hear the voice of God!
It was simple enough. I was walking thru the office at work. The thought popped into my mind, 'you should order more motion sensors'. In offices these are used to turn the lights off and on in areas, based on activity. They routinely die and need to be replaced. It did make sense that I had a supply on hand, instead of ordering them as needed. That way I could just schedule an electrician to come out in the next day or two to install it, instead of waiting a week for a part to ship in and then for a hole to emerge in an electrician’s schedule.
But I didn't make it a priority and Monday one died. In our elevator foyer. In the off position, so the lights were stuck in off. We joked about our new mood lighting.
Not a big deal, it took about a week to get the part ordered and electrician in. But we were hosting a national office directors' training for 3 days, which started on Monday. Not the best impression on them for our office director, or myself.
You see, I didn't 'hearingly hear'. I did not take seriously what I've learned from those with significant experience in hearing God's voice: Christians rarely have random thoughts. God rarely speaks 'whenever'; it's usually when it needs to be done. So I did not follow up the 'order more' thought with clarifying questions. I was not diligently paying attention to His hand in my responsibilities. I was not prioritizing the integrity and authenticity of my relationship with Him. I did not have His care and love for me on my heart at the time, so I didn't respond with thanks and wonder at His provision.
Sure, this was a small thing and we can say,' no harm, no foul'. But the small things prepare us for the big things. Soldiers and athletes practice off field for when it matters, in the big things, on field. Avoiding chaos often involves hearing His voice whisper, this is the way, walk in it.
Honoring His Word when He speaks brings us into the honor He is bestowing on us; making our lives, and ministries, more effective. Hearingly Hear what His love is helping you with this moment, and the next, and the next….
It is not worth much to 'listen to our hearts' if we don't first have a hearing heart. Jesus often ended a teaching with the statement, 'hear what the Spirit is saying'. We need to learn to hear the Spirit speaking in the messages of life. This is the nourishment that satisfies, so we are not living malnourished, desperately seeking to consume selfishly. Just like eating healthy empowers our bodies to meet the responsibilities of life with energy, instead of always feeling weak and needing to constantly snack on sugar foods; so, too, healthy spirit-based eating allows us to do the same in how we relate to our environment and life circle.
Then, when you have union with the flow of life going on, 'guarding your heart' is preserving that. Just like it's not selfish to take care of our body, so we can freely participate in meeting the needs in our life circle; it's not selfish to take care of our spirit, so that we have the capacity to give towards others miracle needs.
My experience is that when I am doing this I can also 'ask' in a situation how to handle it. Often the answer back is a quick insight/teaching/statement that sheds light on how loving others with God works in this. Then I am free to proceed in any number of ways to make that so.
We can see this in the tension between Cain and Abel. In Genesis 4 God addresses Cain –
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
God saw what was developing in Cain’s heart towards his brother Abel. He gave Cain a metaphor to expand his view of how life works in these situations, a view he can use for the rest of his life.
God was not trying to stop one incident. He was equipping him to handle his life better. Cain was going to be around Abel for hundreds of years. There would be many opportunities to apply this teaching, especially if Cain didn’t heed the correction at the start of the conversation.
God looks at the big picture. He reveals how things work from this angle. He teaches, we understand and walk in wisdom. He respects how He made us to function, as His image; exercising consideration before He does things.
Another way to harden our heart is to ignore warnings. IF a person does not heed the warning, and insists on listening, or reading, or checking out that which grieves the Spirit and his or her spirit; that person puts a layer of ‘hardness of heart’ on, so that their spirit and the voice of the Spirit become increasingly dull and barely recognizable. 'Sears over' is a reference to scar tissue, which occurs as a deep cut does not heal properly. Lies wound our true nature and must be dressed properly to heal and avoid forming scar tissue. And, we need to be honest about why we prefer that specific lie to dress the wound properly.
It is the same process from Mark 3:1-6 where Jesus asked the Pharisees if it was Okay to do good on the Sabbath.
He was grieved at their hardness of heart, a Greek term referring to the process of stuccoing and whitewashing homes where a layer is applied, allowed to dry and harden; then another layer is applied. Such is a person who does not immediately turn away from something when they perceive, discern, bear witness, or have revealed to them that a teaching, person or web site, is harmful. They will be allowed to go as far as they want in error until they repent.
A person in this condition is consumed by other desires. When people came to Jesus and asked Him questions, and then walked away saddened by His answer; He didn't go chasing after them to help them understand better. It wasn't an information problem. He then usually warned those around Him about the need to be clear about motives and to purify them.
People not living from their hearts become unbalanced. Unbalanced people flock around unbalanced teaching. Like vultures around a corpse, they hunger after deadness. As the apostles said, don't join in their 'feast'. What communion/fellowship do you have with them?
The purpose of a deceiving spirit is to make one think he is right when he is wrong. Check the fruits - God's presence brings joy, peace, light, direction, righteousness and spirit-fruit. Watch for His fingerprints.
Next we look at a short-cut to cleansing our hearts for the situation at hand, to more confidently and effectively hear our Father’s voice.
Situational Cleanness (AKA Ceremonial Righteousness)
Ceremonial righteousness is a reference to the cleansings a priest went through when serving in the Temple, to be ceremonially clean when serving the Lord. This was the way God accepted their presence and service, while also revealing Christ’s future righteousness and how His Body would serve.
In our salvation we are justified from all sin. But we often don’t walk in the sanctification (ie, separation) needed to handle things in priesthood effectiveness. We can do a situational cleansing to transition into that condition, so we have confidence in hearing God’s voice and ministering effectively.
Obstacles to hearing the Lord’s voice are many. Often obstacles resonate with a personal need that we are prioritizing over the other person’s need. While these come from a variety of sources and addressing these needs matter; there is also a process to step out of those needs at any given moment, to walk through a situation with the Lord.
There needs to be a healthy distancing of ourselves from the emotional base of an obstacle to keep us objective enough to hear the Lord’s voice. Often the flesh uses an obstacle to play it safe, and not take the risk inherent in true love. Only the Lord knows the Way to this person's heart, and we need to transition from our flesh commitment to Spirit commitment for that moment. I have learned that some of the Scriptures we use as 'life design' items are also 'situation preparation' items.
John the Baptist's ministry message serves as an example.
Luke 3:4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
Take time to purpose before you enter the situation: Lord, I make my way straight, so it is easy for us to meet and communicate. You have made me worthy to fully walk with you, so there is nothing I lack (no low spots) and there is nothing for me to prove (no high spots). I'll rely on your provision and won't resort to the twists and turns of personal cleverness (crookedness). This will be a smooth walking and talking with You situation. We shall see your salvation work.
I have also used the Lord's Prayer this way.
"After this manner therefore pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory forever. Amen." (Matthew 6: 9--13)
This can be reworded along this line: You are my holy Father in heaven. Your Kingdom needs to function here now, the same way it does in heaven. Please give me the daily bread from heaven, the manna that strengthens me to walk with you now. Forgive me, as I now forgive _____, so that the relational wound can be healed. Then I can avoid temptation, delivered from evil’s traps, abiding in your Kingdom, establishing your power and glory.
It would be even better if we would check in with the Lord each day and eat at His table. We would be able to possess our own souls and avoid runaway emotions. A healthy fear of the Lord, that is, a respect so profound that it orders everything to be right in line with His Word; is the key to avoiding the obstacles to hearing His voice.
We can come to God and be honest and open...no masks, no false sense of self-worth, and no self-sufficient independence. We often fear the exposure that light brings. But we don't have to hide - He is not out to wound us further, but to heal us to be better than before. To restore us to His original design for us, His Pre-Fall creation.
That's why His sheep need to hear His voice (John 10:4). That's why the Spirit continuously proceeds from the Father with fresh personalized revelation, making all truth known to us (John 15:26). Only truth can bring the freedom we need to live fully. That's why the Father will give the Spirit to those who ask, more so than a parent will give his kids food (Luke 11). The multi-faceted Spirit is what we are truly hungering for, but often don't recognize it. You can't have the righteousness, peace and joy of the Kingdom without the Spirit's active work in your life (For none of us lives to himself, and no man dies to himself. Romans 14:7). Only pride would tell you otherwise.
I was in a group of strangers, all participating in a seminar, learning to use more of the gifts of the Spirit. We took turns sitting in the middle, as the rest of us prayerfully humbled ourselves and waited on the Lord for a gift to manifest through us. I kept seeing this guy walk up a sidewalk, towards the door, but not reaching it; over and over again. Was this me or the Spirit? How foolish I would look if it had no connection to him. I took a baby step in letting pride die. I took the hesitant approach: I don't know what this means, but I keep seeing you… Does that mean anything to you? It turned out he was a door to door salesman, who had a growing fear of knocking on doors. This opened a season of ministry by the group. That Word I heard from the Spirit resulted in his life with God being built up.
Decide today, tomorrow, and the next day that pride will no longer steal your life with God. Situation by situation, cultivate the humble and contrite spirit that lives in the flow of His living Word, spoken just the way you can understand it, bringing all truth to life in you and others. Truth's freedom brings powerful peace, so we can live true love. Jesus said it was more advantageous for Him to leave, so He could send the Spirit, so we could live in this reality (John 16:7). Consider what He is saying – the Spirit living in you can do more for you than Me standing next to you. Believe this and pursue it until you are living immersed in it.
Pride dying will improve our ability to discern. And improving our ability to maintain confident peace will multiple its effect.
Peace - God Speaks An Answer of Peace
The key to discerning is gut level honesty. God dwells in your spirit, and He speaks in your spirit. Your soul is your analytical mind, emotions and memories; soiled by the effects of sins, exposure to the world, and the flesh's needs. Your spirit has been redeemed, made alive and made new by the presence, purity and power of God. Sometimes, just recognizing the difference between the ‘soiled’ and the ‘pure’ intention of the thought helps you understand where it’s coming from.
Peace is powerful. In Old Testament Scripture its usually the word, “Shalom”. In Judaism it also became the word for 'hello' and 'good-bye'. The Hebrew ‘Shalom’: wellness, wholeness, abundance.
I come to you in wellness, wholeness, and abundance - hoping all this for you. I leave you in peace, knowing this has become more real to you because of my time with you. In our time together we focused on being an encourager of these things in each other. In our fellowship we are fellows working on the same ship, as we journey across this perilous Life ocean.
Hearing God's voice isn't as complicated as we think. It's in this context of inner rest that peace blossoms as we prefer one another and put the interests of the other ahead of our own; ie, love (Romans 12:10). This brings our body, soul and spirit into alignment: all are one in purpose. This allows gut level honesty to discern as God flows out from your spirit; through your inner man's thoughts, intentions, and emotions; into your words and actions. Without the peace blossoming you won't have Spirit fruit.
When you have this alignment, you can more fully trust the Spirit speaking by natural outflow from its residing place in you. The voice of God is expressed through a variety of thoughts, impulses, words that pop into your mind, glimpse visions, localized feelings.
Likewise, coming to someone in peace, developing and maintaining a peaceful time, and leaving the person in peace is aligning yourselves as one. Gut level honesty can happen between you. "Wherever two are gathered together in My Name (which in Hebrew refers to the person’s nature) there I am in their midst." If you are being authentic with this person, Jesus will be present; bringing beautiful things to life.
“Jesus Christ” means, “God saves the Anointed one”. It’s not just prophecy and identity. It’s also the process by which Jesus lived. He lived in the Anointing so He could carry God’s salvation into every situation He went into. This is also our calling and aspiration.
Please don't take this to mean the people coming together have to be on the same page about this view for this to happen. One person entering a relational situation can bring this to pass. Jesus knew by the Spirit He had a God appointment in Samaria (John 4). It's possible He knew much more, but we don't have that information; so we can also say that may have been all He knew to start with. This is often how the Spirit's leading works for us (obey this and I'll give you more, ie, walk in faith), so it's instructional to look at this event from the context of how this would typically work for us. It helps to look at Jesus as our example in thought and action. As a teacher who disciples people to walk as He walks with God, He probably did it the way we would need to, and not by divine fiat. After all, He emptied Himself of His divinity and took on the nature of a man (Philippians 2:7).
As He approached the situation something out of place occurred – a woman came to the well at mid-day, instead of early in the day, when all the other women came for not only water, but also to visit. For some reason she was an outcast, forced to live outside of the community life. His heart went out to her. Knowing from Scripture God likes to use wells for new beginnings, He initiated an invitational conversation, headed in that direction. But the woman resisted, due to religious animosity. He pushed back against her resistance. After all, it was essential for this God appointment to succeed that her animosity surrenders to Shalom. But she was steeped in her community's theological justification for the animosity. His words fell on deaf ears.
At the end of His flesh resources, Jesus enters humility more deeply and receives a personal revelation about the woman. The voice of God provided Him with a Word of God to disarm her, cutting through and dividing her soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12). There she stood, her spirit naked and exposed, but strangely, not ashamed; clothed by His love. His heart for her blossomed peace in her with the Rhema Word delivered. (I add this from experience: people saying, 'I can feel your love for me', as this is happening). They were now one, in the same peace, and they could let the Spirit produce fruit. Jesus had labored them into Rest. Her belief came to life as she responded to the Word the Spirit gave Jesus, so now He could finish pursuing the reconciliation between her and God that He was sent to accomplish. God gave her an answer of peace to her life quest-ions.
Please don't take this as a specific 'way' to do this. The events in Scripture are often examples of what is possible and the need to do and you can succeed if you do. But the Scriptural emphasis is on the priority of doing this, and the way is open to any creativity you bring to it that advances the process. That's part of being in God's image, following His nature. Create a way where there is no perceivable way and God will participate in the process so that your oneness of heart works together. This is an application of being at peace, actively shaloming the world with God. Like many evangelistic priests before you, you enter your prophetic nature to restore covenant relationship in a wanderer's life.
You may be confused by the notion that the way is open to any creativity to it that advances the process. But often this is how God speaks – to get us to choose the path to take when we hit a fork in the road. And this is why many don’t think they hear His voice. They are listening for something that isn’t happening – a full set of instructions. Usually all you need is – this is the way, walk into it. Isaiah 30:21. They are listening for a step-by-step set of instructions. But all they need is a ‘take this step’. Then the rest unfolds as you go, as any experienced hiker knows.
A different type of example can make clear the acceptable flexibility that comes from unrelenting caring. In college I volunteered in a VA hospital, in the physical therapy department. One physical therapy assistant was also a Christian, and we developed a workplace relationship. After a while I started sensing something was bothering him. In response to my questions he would only reply that he did something God couldn't forgive.
One time I decided I was going to have a conversation with him till we got this out in the open so we could pursue reconciliation with the Father over this. This was serious business. But he wouldn't budge. So I spent the rest of the conversation just playfully tossing him easy catches, which he playfully rebuffed: thoughts, Scriptures and a few ideas from the Lord about forgiveness and God's love for him. The atmosphere shifted, like we were 2 buddies just tossing a baseball back and forth; talking and joking around. And that's what we were doing, in the Spirit. The palpable joy of the Lord was present, we were grinning from ear to ear, as we just danced around his refusal to share and belief he couldn't be forgiven. But we had found a way to peaceably address it, without ever mentioning it. We finished our play time glowing in the Lord. A few weeks later he told me that event broke the power of that false belief in his life, and he was now fully reconciled to God.
Please note this would not have happened if I waited for something to happen. I purposed, I took the step, I exercised the faith, I determined to accomplish this somehow. I exercised unrelenting care. I loved. This is how mothers sometimes handle their children, and it’s the part of God's nature too easily dismissed in our walking in love. This is a practical application of loving the Lord with ALL our heart, ALL our soul, ALL our strength. (Matthew 22:37). And how do we do that? By loving those He loves the same way. Even to the same extent we love ourselves.
Peace is powerful. As you enter, proceed through, and exit a relational situation; make the wellness, wholeness and the abundance of the other your priority. You'll hear God's voice in the mix, working together for good.
For the kingdom of God is not what you consume, but how you consume: in His righteousness, your peace, and the shared joy; all fed by what the Spirit supplies. This is how all Kingdom of God fellowship meals are best flavored with divine favor. Romans 14:16-18
Let’s look at this from another angle. I commented: "Please note this would not have happened if I waited for something to happen. I purposed, I took the step, I exercised faith, I determined to accomplish this somehow. I exercised unrelenting care. I loved. This is how mothers naturally handle their children, and it’s the part of God's nature too easily dismissed in our walk in love."
A pregnant woman spends 9 months of bodily nourishing the growing baby as her heart grows, cherishing the new life she will care for forever. The more the growing baby inconveniences and weakens her physically, the more her heart's resolution grows, overcoming and strengthening her commitment in lifelong cherishing her child. Like an oyster coating over an irritating grain of sand, the symbiotic relationship creates a pearl of great price: true love. Two umbilical cords are working to complete the circuit: the more I nourish you, the more you call me to cherish you.
Connecting makes motherhood so powerful. Bordering on protective 'smother love'; a lasting impression on children that holds their respect and sense of accountability for much of their lives. It's a core component of their conscience. and it’s a deep reflection of God's way with us.
Seeing God's design, reflecting His aggressive love; sheds light on His relationship with Israel and the Church. This informs us how Body life works. And it instructs us in our priesthood evangelism. The consistency of approach in all relationships echoes the truth of the Oneness of the way of God, which is stated clearly in Ephesians 4:1-6.
“So I, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called [that is, to live a life that exhibits godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, and mature behavior—a life that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation], 2 with all humility [forsaking self-righteousness], and gentleness [maintaining self-control], with patience, bearing with one another [a]in [unselfish] love. 3 Make every effort to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the bond of peace [each individual working together to make the whole successful]. 4 There is one body [of believers] and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when called [to salvation]— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of us all who is [sovereign] overall and [working] through all and [living] in all.”- Amplified Bible
Peace is used 7 times in the book of Ephesians. Seven, the number revealing God's completing and maturing, is hi-lighting the teaching. The way of shalom is the mature spiritual life of the Body.
All 7 times use the Strong's #1515 in the Greek, which comes from #1645, which means lite, not burdensome. This grows into #1515: peace, harmony, tranquility, safety, welfare, health; often with an emphasis on lack of strife, or relational reconciliation, as when one has 'peace with God'.
Ephesians 1:2 – To saints, faithful in Christ Jesus, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2:14 – He's our peace, who has made Jew and Gentile one; and has broken down the divider.
2:15 – Abolishing the 'being against each other' in His flesh, creating one new type of man from the 2, thus making peace.
2:17 – Reconciling both to God in 1 Body, thru the Cross, killing the separator and hatred; so we preach peace to both. We have equal access to God, in the Holy Spirit.
4:3 – Therefore walk worthy of this calling: lowly, gentle, patient, bearing each other up in love, succeeding to keep Spirit unity in the bonding of peace, because there's only One in all of us.
6:15 – Equip yourself with shoes ready to walk thru any terrain, prepared to fight every battle to live fully this good news of peace.
6:23 – Paul sent someone to inform them of his activities and comfort their hearts. It was Paul's purpose to send peace to the church, love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. All this work together to maintain this oneness peace, so He can give this closing salutation benediction: Grace be with you all who love Jesus sincerely. So be it.
Reading through these verses as one discourse we see this view arise:
To saints, faithful in Christ Jesus, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He's our peace, who has made Jew and Gentile one; and has broken down the divider. Abolishing the 'being against each other' in His flesh, creating one new type of man from the 2, thus making peace. Reconciling both to God in 1 Body, through the Cross, killing the separator and hatred; so we preach peace to both. We have equal access to God, in the Holy Spirit. Therefore walk worthy of this calling: lowly, gentle, patient, bearing each other up in love, succeeding to keep Spirit unity in the bonding of peace, because there's only One in all of us. Equip yourself with shoes ready to walk thru any terrain, prepared to fight every battle to live fully this good news of peace. Peace to the church, love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with you all who love Jesus sincerely. So be it.
At this point you should have a pretty good idea what you need to pray for yourself to complete a solid foundation in clearly hearing God’s voice.
Next we will look at other interactions with the Holy Spirit.
Speaking in Tongues
Speaking in Tongues increases the ability to hear God's voice: It allows us to hear His voice better, so we mature at a faster pace than the guessing and pain in the trial-and-error process.
How? Jude 20 "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, 'praying in the Holy Spirit,' 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." This instruction is set in an exhortation on how to keep from falling away. We need inner man building up to keep in His love.
In 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 Paul shows us the early church used 'in the spirit' to describe speaking in tongues.
14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
“For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, this is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.” Isa 28:11-12. Quoted by the apostle Paul in his discussion on the role of speaking in tongues in a Scriptural church meeting, 1 Corinthians 14:21.
Like appropriate use in a church service, private speaking in tongues takes you out of your weariness and into rest. This will lead to refreshing in your inner man; giving you peace so that you can hear from God.
Peace and rest go hand in hand. Take the Sabbath rest every week. The great key to being led by the Spirit, to hearing the voice of God, is to have the peace of God flowing through our spirits, souls, and bodies. Everything that God asks of us is for our good. One of the great reasons for the Sabbath commandment is to have rest in our bodies so that we can have peace in our souls, to the end of hearing from Him in our spirits.
Exodus 15:26 ties our health in with our ability to diligently hearken to His voice and obey His Word. Thus, having peace to be able to hear from God becomes essential in daily living.
25 and Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log. And when he cast it into the waters, they were sweetened. There the LORD made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them, 26 saying, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His eyes, and pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, then I will not bring on you any of the diseases I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.” 27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the waters.…
Tongues works along the Sabbath process: labor to enter into rest. I have to constantly choose to not be functioning in the flesh to be about my Father’s business. Whether God’s call at this moment is to respond to a personal, situational, life circle, national or global need; I need to be prepared by being physically synchronized; maintaining a clean heart, peaceful mind, joyful spirit, and a will desiring to serve God. Cultivate the ability to Speak in Tongues privately whenever and wherever; follow thru to the interpretation of the Spirit’s prayer, song, blessing, or revelation. Then, since you are a ready servant, God can simply drop direction into your heart and mind, you can respond with a few clarification questions, and then agree in prayer and action. Only you can decide if your life summary will be you did what everyone does, or did the Father’s business.
Gifts
The gifts of the Spirit manifest as needed (1 Corinthians 12:11 – distributing for the situation of a church service. Later Paul points out anyone can do many of these gifts, but the Spirit needs to direct who, when, how; as the service’s master of ceremonies. 12:31, 14:1, 12-13, 23-24, 26-31). Several require hearing God’s voice to receive (like word of knowledge, word of wisdom, discerning of spirits); most work better with hearing God’s voice.
For example, let’s look at the extraordinary gift of the Word of Wisdom: The word of wisdom is the revelation of the ‘who, what, where, when, why and how' (the 6Ws) of doing the will of God. Consider the instructions of the great prophet Samuel... 1 Sam 10:1-8. Notice the extreme detail of the revelation guidance that Samuel gave to Saul. At 1 point he will meet a man who is NOT leading 3 goats, or who owns 3 goats, but who is CARRYING 3 goats. How do you carry 3 goats? I have no idea. I can see carrying 1 goat, and leading the other 2, but I cannot see carrying 3 goats. Do you see how specific the revelation was? What do you think it did for Saul's faith when he saw the 3 guys, and he was carrying 3 goats? This is the kind of detailed, faith-building guidance that God wants to give to each one of us.
A friend's testimony: One time, as a young pastor, I was helping one of our members start a small janitorial business. As I was driving into town, the Lord spoke to me and said, "Go to this certain street, stop at this particular restaurant, and inquire about their needs for a janitorial service." I drove to the street, went to the restaurant, and did what God said. The result was my member started his business with a contract for 22 restaurants in the local area. God wants you and your people to prosper, and He is willing to give clear, specific revelation to help you accomplish that very thing... remember, the word of wisdom is the ‘who, what, where, when, why and how' of doing the will of God!
Consider what Jesus said about the Spirit and the word of wisdom: But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. John 16:13
I had been unemployed for a while and was now in the selection stage for 2 jobs at the same time. One was a lengthy process, the other short. While going through the steps for the lengthy one I was about to pick up the phone to prepare one of my work references about the job. The Spirit said, 'He's not in the office, you'll leave a message and he'll call you back at lunch time. He'll only have a minute to talk because he's in line at the food court.' That is exactly what happened. Now I knew when he would call and that I had to prepare what I was to say. And, 2 weeks later, when the short consideration process completed, and they offered me the job, I knew to wait for the lengthy job consideration process to offer me the job. Why? Because God spoke to me at that moment, instructed me, encouraged me, and told me He was in this one, working out my future. I had to stand on His Word at a very difficult moment, to say 'no' to a job I desperately needed; to receive the better job God had for me.
It's awesome to be able to make plans with the help of the One who perfectly knows the future and is willing and able to show it to you. Think about that with expectant joy until it overthrows your resistance, replacing unbelief with belief.
Fear is often due to not knowing what is coming, and whether you will be prepared and able to handle it. The Helper, the Holy Spirit, wants to help you with that problem. When we seek His help to remove those obstacles in our lives that keep Him from guiding us, like removing stones from our shoes, we will stop painfully limping and move fast and far. This allows us to be more in-tune with the Spirit, so we can resonate with it.
Resonance
Bruce Yocum writes of this principle regarding our spirit and the Holy Spirit's witness in our heart. Objects have certain characteristic frequencies at which they vibrate. Cause one object (like a bell) to vibrate near another object with the same characteristic frequency (another bell of the same size and weight and shape), the 2nd nearby object will begin to vibrate by itself. That is something like what happens when we hear the voice of the Lord - we resonate with it. Become one with Him, by tuning into His desires for this situation. Then you can resonate with His voice.
When the Lord is speaking in us, no matter what method He chooses, our born-again spirits recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd. Jesus made it clear in John 10 that His sheep know His voice and the voice of a stranger they will not follow. If something is not of God, the born-again Christian will get what is known as a "check" in their spirit - an uncomfortable feeling, often in the pit of the stomach, telling them that something is not right.
As previously discussed, it matters what you are preoccupied with. Whatever you are immersed in will be your priority, and things you hear will ring true to that for you. Politics, health, wealth, prophecy, come out of Babylon focus… wherever your heart is; there you find your treasure. You can't serve 2 masters.
These can be good things – even things God has given you to do. Look at Moses in the wilderness, leading Israel. Several times God wanted to speak with him and made him wait 7 days in silence to be prepared. Leading millions of people is a huge responsibility. He had so much to be preoccupied with! But God knew his mind and heart needed to be fully clear of being task-focused to receive the eternal truths he needed to implement. Day after day, sitting in silence; he could less likely figure out and speculate who was doing what when. His prayers for the daily activities were fading. By day 7 his mind and heart have already given up on the possibilities and were now freshly open to relating dynamically with his God.
In this light the 10 Commandments can be used as a check to realign our preoccupation with the Lord; like John the Baptist’s message and the Lord’s Prayer.
Apply the 10 Commandments to hearing God's Voice: don't have anything else before Me (in My Presence), don't idolize something as your key to success, regard God as able to do all you need (not taking His name as empty and powerless), so you fully Sabbath/Rest in His love, enter His Presence, and let Him parent you. Parents speak so the child internalizes the way he or she should go. The “do this” is put in the context of truth. God often responds to my action question with a teaching, the context needed to make appropriate decisions. This is an experience of love, provision, blessing, security. If you are experiencing this, you are hearing God.
The next five commandments are about core ways our flesh typically handles the world. We each have our strong man approach and need to humble ourselves and renounce it as we walk into this situation. Thank you that I don’t have to (steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, be jealous – naturally or spiritually); because you are my _______.
Clear yourself of the influences of the flesh, the world and the enemy; face Him with a clean heart, ready to hear. You can walk through this process of the 10 Commandments any time you need to hear His Voice. You can repent, renounce, commit, and confess your true heart's relationship with Him. You can prepare to hear your spirit's resonance with His spirit when you need to.
All of this can happen quickly. But when you first start this discipline it may take longer, due to your level of resistance. But with practice you reduce your resistance to hearingly hearing, increase your ability to live from a more ready to grow heart, and cherish your Father's personalized Word for you, instead of resenting it.
We see this with Peter at the Last Supper with the foot washing.
John 13 - 3Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was returning to God. 4So He got up from the supper, laid aside His outer garments, and wrapped a towel around His waist. 5After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel that was around Him.
6He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?”
7Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
8“Never shall You wash my feet!” Peter told Him.
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.”
9“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!”
Indignant Peter tells Jesus no way are you going to wash my feet! It messed with Peter's view of Messiah as Master and how lowly servants were in comparison. But one sentence of the Father's Way spoken to Peter's heart made him do a 180 degree about face on the spot: then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well! See how quickly Peter let go of his false belief and clung to truth? Over 3 years of these experiences prepared him to respond with disciplined enthusiasm. This too will happen for you as this discipline purifies you.
By the way, there is an important revealing of the nature of the Father's Voice here. Jesus spoke to the moment of this situation with Peter. He did not bring in an attitude based on his past failures. And, even though in a few minutes Jesus will tell Peter he will deny Him 3 times before the night is out; there is no hint of rebuke, manipulation or being short with him in this conversation, nor the next. In your beginning stages of learning to discern the Lord's Voice this is an important distinction. The One who joys over you doesn’t have an attitude about you, but the one who despises you does.
One of the reasons people have difficulty with hearing God’s voice is their focus on avoiding error. We can apply the principle of how God's Voice resonates. While this works in any area of your life or blessing others; it is especially handy in discerning truth from error.
Most of the time when a teaching is off-balance the 1st time a person hears that teaching will be the most dramatic and vivid warning by the Holy Spirit - that perception, witness, discernment, revelation about it not 'sitting right' will be the strongest. It feels like a heaviness, a darkness, a grievance in the spirit - that witness, discernment, perception will feel 'heavy' or will feel not peaceful. The Spirit is Truth and reacts strongly to teachings that masquerade in the name of God but are in fact a human wisdom tradition.
Exercise Preparation
A variety of practices to select from to round out your hearing improvement needs.
Intention: We hear what we are listening for. Jesus' purpose on earth is still His purpose on earth – Wherever He goes He does good (Acts 10:38). This is the credible witness of Jesus that people need. Honestly be attentive to your intention as you enter situations.
Presence: Hourly acknowledge His presence, affirm you are never alone, keep yourself in the love of God and choose to be a person of purpose. Learn to be comfortable in His presence without losing the fear of the Lord.
Attention: Asking the source of every stray thought helps you remove personal obstacles that distract you from naturally being in His presence, staying in His love and being on purpose. "Keep yourself in the love of God, looking for the Kindness of our Lord, producing the eternal quality of life." Jude 21. Just like keeping the Sabbath holy, so we can keep ourselves in God's love, by looking for His favor everywhere.
Trust: Aggressively commit, surrender, and transmit all things to Him. Confirm that your heart is clear in this matter and that you have released all that burdens you to Him.
Preparation is the great key. Prepare your heart to trust Him totally today. Old anointings are meaningless. Prepare to be at liberty to be led by His Spirit. This is the context in which He talks to us.
Quality: There is a freedom and release in honestly doing your best. When I do my best I am free to expect His best. This is where we can connect in His Lordship, beyond His redemption. When I don't do my best trust is weak, because I've been dishonest. I've violated several of the 10 Commandments of the love life.
Honesty: Be serious. Stop cheating, win fair and square. Pay the price. Do you really want it? Then really do it!
Developing a 'can do' attitude: Confess Philippians 4:13 throughout the day. Appreciate this as the attitude of one who walks by the Spirit and operates the gifts. Whatever God asks respond in the affirmative – Hallelujah! I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me.
Praise: from a thankful heart opens access to the Lord's fellowship. He speaks volumes in the quiet worshipful stillness of our spirit.
Ps 100:4 - Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him and bless his name.
Heb 13:15 - By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
1 Pet 2:9 - But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; Continually giving thanks is an expectation that calls our hearts into a level of rest about our life’s design. As we see in the 10 Commandments, Rest precedes parenting, which brings the first blessing: a long quality life.
Knowing's power: "Lord, if it is Your will…" lacks intimacy. Kids don't ask their parents this; they know it. Hearing His voice is boot camp; do it and move on to fighting the real war as an obedient warrior.
Way: Hebrew “Derek” means road, ie, a course of action. This includes acting upon the course of action laid out by the spoken revelation. John 14:6, Genesis 18:16-19, Exodus 13:17-22, Deuteronomy 8:1-3, Psalms 95:6-10. We find the way by hearing His voice Exodus 33:11-14, Revelation 3:20-22, Matthew 4:4, Romans 8:13-14, Psalms 77:11-13 The Way of the Lord is the way of the sanctuary. All God’s ways are to increase the possibility and likelihood of our reconciliation to Him. This is why the high priest wears an ephod with gems representing the 12 tribes of Israel over his heart. This is what Father is speaking to accomplish. IF you set your heart to see people as precious gems, near and dear to His heart; you will resonate with His mission and speak to accomplish the same.
Receive: Whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive. Matt 21:22
Receiving from God brings, and increases, your freedom. Freedom enables you to fulfill the call of God upon your life. In any talk of freedom, we must always consider the truth that our lives are not our own, that we have been bought with a price to be the servants of Jesus Christ. So, freedom frees me from whatever would hinder my fulfilling the call of God upon my life.
Your health, or the lack thereof, can enslave you. Lack of money can enslave. Ignorance can enslave. You'll notice that these three things - lack of health, lack of finances and lack of wisdom or understanding - have no direct relationship to sin. In other words, you could be walking righteously and still not have health, the money you need, or the wisdom and understanding to carry out the call of God upon your life. So these are growth areas, and not necessarily repentance areas. God told Israel that their listening to Him would increase their quality of life to the point that the nations around them would ‘wonder’ after the God that was so good to make all this possible.
Emulate the Spirit's nature: Spirit is often described as water in the Scriptures. Like water, it flows to low places. Be lowly in heart. Then you can see, hear, feel, and sense peoples' lowliness, brokenness, captivity and needs. You are being drawn to what moves His heart.
Nutritious Eating: Hearing is an appetite. When we are full we stop listening. The noise level of your environment, the information flow in your life; has real impact on the hunger level of your hearing heart. God speaks continuously, but what is the intention of your heart? What are you looking to hear? Are you abstaining from the junk food that would ruin your appetite for dinner? Dine at the Master's table. It's a Feast!
Praise: A thankful heart opens access to the Lord's fellowship. He speaks volumes in the quiet worshipful stillness of our spirit. Ps 100:4, Heb 13:15, 1 Pet 2:9.
God as Friend: 1 Jo 1:9, Mk 1:25 – Rekindle your fire. Build your relationship with Him. Make Him your best friend. In so doing you learn to trust His voice. Trust comes from frequent heart-to-heart sharing, not occasional 'dropping by' visits. Jo 10:27 – 'know' like in Matt 7:23, means 'to know by experience.'
We need relational manna. Daily approaching Him trains us to learn the certainty of His voice. Make it your lifestyle. Mark 16:17-20 – The Lord works with those with whom He can talk to. You are not ready for the mission until you've been briefed. He can rarely use people who haven't been in active relationship training: being chastened, rebuked, pruned, nourished, blossomed. 1 Pet 2:9. Come home to the elegance of His table and the intimacy of His heart.
The manna instructions of collecting a 1-day supply show us the ever-changing flow of life. You'll need a revelational update today because peoples' choices since yesterday morning changed the flow of events. God has fresh guidance to handle today well, in light of that.
Jesus is Knocking: Pro 3:5 trust includes “confiding in.” We confide because we need direction. Don't be so problem preoccupied that your fears drown out the Lord's direction, advice, teaching and counsel. 1 Pet 5:5-7.
Share your heart and listen to His response. Overwhelming preoccupation with your troubles drowns out the Lord’s direction, advice, teaching and counsel. When we do this, we hold our problems higher than God’s ability to solve them. Preoccupy yourself with God in worship and praise, the incense in the Temple’s Holy Place that allows priests to hear His voice. As Jesus said, when you pray, let your words be few – He already knows you. Trust that, trust His love for you, worship Him until you have the atmosphere of peace to converse in.
Better Hearing: ...casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 2 Cor 10:5 NKJV
Emphasize the Spirit dwelling in your spirit. Let your soul and body be good servants to the Spirit of God who dwells in your spirit. Learn to live out of your spirit. Continually practice 'looking in your spirit' to develop this skill. Ask God to teach you about revelation, and He will, to greater levels, enlighten the eyes of your understanding...
This verse is set in a context of using Spirit tools instead of flesh tools to overcome bad theology in the Body, which is based on pride (vs 4).
However, this verse is also a 'stand-alone' truth: a process that also works on the level of personal application, whether we have pride or pain functioning. Yes, some pain is the sting of wounded pride. Neither can be neglected and must be called out so it can be called into Christ's life.
"Casting down" is 'coming against' the thoughts that hurt or harm you. Some of the Enemy's lies can just be resisted with truth, but a periodic battle pattern in your life on the same topics indicates there's a reason you hunger for this and need to find out what inside of you clings to this instead of truth.
On the level of relational application, "Casting down" is 'coming against' the thoughts that would hurt or harm others if said out loud. Some things are true that would sting others if said. The question is what we do with them. If you don't properly do something about them, then you will improperly handle them. Why? Because the mind always has to reach a conclusion, a resolution; make 'peace' with the thought, ie, come into agreement with it.
If you just agree with something negative about someone, no matter how true; and do nothing about it; you reinforce the idea of your helplessness. Your boldness shrivels, your courage wanes. Your ability to love in all things becomes 'in some things;' and this pattern keeps repeating (because we need to make peace with every behavior change we make, so we justify why this non-love response is okay), continuously shrinking your love, until you are doing nothing that requires God to show up and confirm His love for others working through you. The little bit of leaven has leavened all of your identity. The core features of your sonship no longer show.
So the conclusion you reach will either increase love for the other person, or decrease it. Even these thoughts can be brought into captivity to Christ's obedience. The verse doesn't say – obedient to Christ. Then we could easily make it a battle of right or wrong thinking and accomplish nothing but personal piety.
Instead it says bring it captive to the obedience of Christ: Christ's obedience to the Father to go about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Enemy. When we look thru the Gospels we see Jesus responding to people with compassion, not analysis, which made it possible for things to happen. He also responded to what His spirit read in others' spirits with deep penetrating questions that called them to live in Father's love.
Another insight in this verse – It references Christ, not Jesus or Jesus Christ. His full name means 'God saves (Jesus) the one in the anointing (Christ)'. As you read thru Paul's letters you often see that it is intentional what part of Jesus' name he uses. Here it gives us further insight: 'Bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of one in the anointing.' So we see the teaching is God has an anointing to handle that effectively.
Whether we are addressing a Body need, personal challenge, or a relationship; we need to live in a condition of readiness to bring everything to the Father, asking for His revelation on the matter, and praying thru UNTIL we have the witness of the Spirit that the matter has been properly addressed and things are happening in the Spirit realm to make that revelation reality. In time, as you stick with this discipline, the cycle shortens and you are positioned to see, ask, receive, and do in a few moments.
But all this requires us maintaining our heart and not hiding its issues of life. Do you believe God will send the Spirit in response to your quest? Jesus said He would in Luke 11:13. This is what Jesus does, and what His disciples are learning to do. 'Master, teach us to pray.' His disciples said.
We still do.
God’s Fingerprints
Fingerprints are unique identifiers. They are considered incontrovertible evidence in a court of law; “It had to be you – your fingerprints were all over the place!”
The Bible has God’s fingerprints all over it, and they are clearly labeled in it. They are His character – His unique nature, recognizable in how He acts.
God appears fully in Jesus: “If you’ve seen me you’ve seen the Father.”
This includes revealing God’s new name – Father. It’s the only name Jesus used for God, except when quoting Scripture.
Jesus showed the nature of a real father:
He goes out of his way to always do good.
He fights your enemies.
He preserves your honor and its accompanying dignity.
He forgives you.
He sees good things in your life, and ahead for you; eagerly wanting to help you see them and attain them.
Jesus also teaches about how much Father cares for each one of us –
The rain falls on the just and the unjust - He causes rain to fall and water the good seeds He’s planted, no matter our relationship with Him.
He knows the number of hairs on your head - He loves us so much He knows every detail about us; even things we don’t know. And things that are totally irrelevant to anything, but to Him, because it is about us.
He doesn’t view our problems as just about our sins/errors.
He overlooks everything that separates us from Him.
And Jesus’ sacrifice was more than enough. So He ripped the Temple’s curtain, ending the blockade to His presence, so we can see His glory.
From the revelation of God as a true father, and Jesus’ teaching of clarifying His character; we see a lot of fingerprints of His identity throughout the rest of the New Testament.
These also mark instances of His speaking with us. If you have any doubt if you are hearing His voice, check for His fingerprints. I discussed a few earlier in the book.
I did not go through and create a Scripture list of these. I think you can do that yourself; and you would be better off for doing this personally. It will give you a lot to discuss with Him, and let Him solidify in your heart; so your confidence increases exponentially.
I will periodically include more on this subject in our support emails.
Hint: The Spirit speaks in ways that exemplify the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5.
You can also find these in the Old Testament, especially in the book of Psalms. For your consideration, a note about the Old Testament. Sometimes God comes across as quick to judge, very angry, with extreme punishments.
This type of reading is taking things out of context. Go to those passages that have you believing that about Him. Then backtrack to when these situations arose. Look at the sequence of events God has taken to AVOID this response level. Look into the years that passed from beginning to end, sometimes even centuries.
I think you will then agree with the revelation of God’s name with Moses, when dealing with an extremely rebellious people. Read through Exodus 33 and 34 and you will see what I mean.
Another fact to consider is that God has put a hold on this dynamic of His relationship with Israel. In 2 Corinthians 3 –
7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
God as a loving Father wanting to bring us into a heart-based relationship is focused on a better way to parent. You really need to consider, if you believe God is treating you harshly; why you believe you need to be treated cruelly.
Romans 2:4 - Or do you show contempt for the
riches of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
It is time to accept forgiveness. I highly doubt you would be reading this book, desiring to be this close to God and serving Him so much; if you were as bad as you believe you are. You are made in His image, have received His forgiveness through Christ, have the new nature maturing inside of you, and the Spirit leading and guiding you into all truth.
Don’t hold yourself up to a higher standard than you are expected to be at in this stage of your walk. An apple, growing on a tree, is perfect in every stage of its development. So are you. Accept the way of a loving and understanding Father with his child.
Part 2 – Training
What is God’s Voice?
John 16:13 - "...when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all truth for He will not speak of Himself, but whatever He hears, that is what He will speak. and He will show you things to come."
Guide, speak, show. Only 1 of those is verbal. ‘Guide’ and ‘show’ are communication by means other than words. The scope of the word ‘voice’ has a breadth that encompasses all the ways a person tries to communicate. Consider that a person of few words can have a strong presence, clearly communicating what he or she values.
The following are for your consideration in expanding your vocabulary about the idea of ‘voice’.
Hebrew grammar has no way of indicating what one person may have told another except by quoting. So our, 'He said that he would come', is actually written as 'He said, "I will come."
Ex 6 - 10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”
Jeremiah 18 - 1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.”
This peculiarity of language may explain why divine inspiration is often expressed in terms of conversation, even if no one is there to hear it (Gen 1:1). God's acts are His Word. Sometimes inspiration is treated like speaking. In Scripture we find in many prophets’, “Word from the Lord”, they are conveying a dream; and sometimes label it a vision.
Consider that you are learning to speak a new language.
God as Creator is extremely creative in how He speaks. As Spirit He often speaks in ways our spirits understand, but our souls and bodies are dull to. We need to develop and discipline our whole person to be open to His voice.
God’s voice sometimes walks (Genesis 3:8), shows up in dreams (Numbers12:6-8), wears the mask of dark sayings/riddles (Psalm 78:1-4, Job 33:14-17), gives us impressions (Acts 14:9, 27:10), manifests in feelings (Luke 8:45-46), and can be seen (2 Kings 2:15). Peoples’ testimonies have abundantly demonstrated that God’s voice can function through all 5 senses, with varying degrees of clarity and scope.
And, from the human side, our inner man actions are also as spoken words. You can see this by skimming through the book of Revelation. Look for John’s thoughts, feelings, wondering – all are treated as if He is speaking and responded to; even though they are silent inner dialogue.
This is also why some prayers seem to go unanswered. You may be saying the ‘right’ words, but your heart is saying something else. Which do you think God considers to be what you truly believe? Which do you think He is responding to? Keep this in mind as you learn and apply these disciplines.
With God responding to our hearts, we need to be sensitive to their condition, and open to how the Spirit of God in us is communing with our spirits, so we can clearly hear the Word of the Lord.
Refresher
Before going forward into new territory, a refresher on key concepts we’ve covered that will assist you to do these exercises.
Building your confidence: Believe the revelation you receive. Revelation is worthless if you don’t believe it. Get to know Him so well that when He speaks, you have perfect confidence that it is His voice.
Practice - Ask Him about little things that you can easily confirm, so that you can build your confidence in hearing His voice.
Waiting on God: is not the act of sitting around and doing nothing. The main Greek word for ‘patience’ is hypomone. It means to preserve, endure, patient continuing, patient waiting (Strong’s Concordance). It’s the inner life that shows faith’s character, so people ask how you can do this.
This is a practical application of 1 Peter 3:15 – “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,”
This aggressively resting in His Presence, confident of His love; has been nurtured through spending time with Him. This can be through prayer, worship, meditating on His Word--especially the Scriptures concerning your specific situations--or even sitting quietly, listening for His voice and direction. The door is always open to come and fellowship with Him no matter what our emotions tell us to the contrary.
Proverbs 14:26 says, “In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence.” That fear of the Lord is a place of worship, reverence, and fellowship with Him around His Word and through His Spirit. You are getting your trust into the depths of your being, dispelling all the varieties of doubt. As we humble ourselves and continue to draw nigh to Him, He will continue to draw nigh to us (James 4:8). We honestly don’t know what it takes to walk out this situation properly. But God does. Are you willing to believe to the point He says, “Now you are ready!”?
A word about disciplines
As long as you are maintaining the core elements of an activity, you can modify as you see fit. Please don’t feel like you are failing by not doing it ‘right’. Different things work differently for different types of people. These exercise ‘suggestions’ are for guidance. This isn’t a rule book.
In case you are wondering if God would really participate in these exercises; consider how important this part of your relationship with Him is. His desire is to communicate with you about everything; and you desperately need Him to, even if you don't realize it yet. Once you have enough teaching to build your faith, and a few disciplines to improve your skills; growing your confidence is the next step to doing this as part of your regular relationship and service. He is gracious enough to participate in things you do to come closer to Him. And, building your confidence is something He's longing to do.
Consider how excited parents get when their babies take baby steps. Look at how supportive they are, willing to do anything to help their children progress. And this is only a pale reflection of how God is with us.
So it's time. It's time to fly. The next few weeks can transform your life.
Disciplines for Improving Your Ability To Hear
While you are in a season of developing through disciplines, you can better embrace the process by seeing the richness of where you are now. You are at the edge of all your heart's desires, going forward towards fulfillment. How will you secure this hope, walk it through to its desired end, without letting everything else still your heart's fire?
By taking the time to develop a vision for the disciplines you are adding. I am overcoming …. in me. The outcome of this will be…. I want to be able to walk and talk with God about….. I will be able to live out full Body life by ….. I will be able to serve God in outreach by….. God, I want ….!!!
Make this vision as clear, attractive, and enticing as you can. Make it as beautiful as you need to look forward to your next chance to do it. Delight in how your life with Christ is blossoming through this relationship development with Him.
You may already have a background in a type of discipline like sports, music, education, or a career. Or you may be one of the many who have to push themselves to be consistent at practicing something. If so, the following is for you.
Write down your vision, review it and expand it a few times. Then start reading it out loud constantly – get it in your heart. Let your delight fuel your discipline. Delight creates its own obedience reasoning. Bring your intention to full attention. It's time to walk into your future!
Schedule your disciplines in your calendar. Read your vision every time you try to skip your training-with-God session. If you still find yourself excusing yourself, decide to always choose the 'hard thing', instead of kneeling before the excuse. When you are still wrestling with your flesh to follow Him in something, the 'hard thing' is the way of the Spirit. For you this is a season of the daily crucifixion of the self-life.
We already covered several dynamics in Part 1 that effect your ability to exercise discipline. Review and challenge yourself deeply, increasing personalized truth; until you are fully persuaded that there is no way to a successful life without these.
Preparation page 7
Diligence page 8
Laboring into Sabbath Rest page 8, 27
We also covered several dynamics that reduce our resistance to the unknown; our fear of what our good, wise, loving Father might ask us to do.
If the above are not your difficulties, and doing the disciplines is challenging; going through a season of growth through these topics may be your focus.
Heart Restoration page 12
Hearingly Hear page 10
Desire Management page 13
Purposing Peace page 19
Desiring Gifts page 28
Resonating from Unity page 29
If none of the above are what’s stopping you, and you are just lazy; then learning how discipline works, and how to handle the challenges everyone faces as they choose to exercise a discipline until they succeed is your next journey.
Fortunately, there is plenty of material available for this. I highly recommend the material by Mark Tyrrell, a psychologist with online materials at Uncommon Knowledge.
https://www.hypnosisdownloads.com/blog/self-discipline-techniques
Please note that just because I am recommending his materials for this topic does not mean I agree with all he does. Just like with everything else, we eat the meat and spit out the bones.
Previously Covered Disciplines
Situational Cleanliness:
Prepare the Way cleanse page 16
Lord’s Prayer cleanse page 17
10 Commandments cleanse page 30
Morning Manna page 17
Putting on the Armor page 9
Speaking in Tongues page 26
Thankfulness-based Worship page 34
Additional Disciplines
Understand the Lord is always personally present with you. Your behavior is not a barrier. A real father doesn’t walk away when his child misbehaves. He looks for a teachable moment to make a profound difference in his child’s understanding. That means He may be just walking along, observing, pondering how to use what is already in his child’s world, something he can relate to. His desire to talk with his child increased when the child chose a wrong direction. Appreciate this and you will understand that you can talk with Him and He with you, no matter what you are going through.
Awareness - Condition yourself to be aware of His presence by taking time every hour to stop what you are doing and spend a few minutes focused on Him in thanks, praise, or worship.
Like any discipline, the 'every hour' is not the beginner’s issue, as much as you can do this is. Discipline is a process of building up your 'muscles'. In time you will improve your frequency. Doing the discipline until you can do the 'every hour' is important though, because this is part of preparing yourself to focus on Him when you need to, no matter what type of storm you are in. It's developing the fruit of self-control.
Walking - Go for a walk with the Lord. Sense His presence with you as you walk. Talk with Him conversationally about things that are happening now, and don't presume His answer. The idea is not to try to get confirmation of what you are doing, but to get His input on it.
We all tend to be a bit ‘sensitive’ when someone talks with us about our ‘stuff’. If this is your current difficulty, talk with Him about something else. The Lord and I can talk about any Scripture without me shying away. You may need to start with the world-at-large, then transition to a community level, then family, and then your personal life. It may take a little time of tasting and seeing the Lord is GOOD, before you trust Him with your ‘stuff’.
Focus - This is to clear your mind of distractions so you can hear what the Spirit is saying to you. There are any number of methods you can use to do this.
One was used by rabbis during Jesus' day, to calm down young children and keep them focused on their lessons. Use your finger to write out God's name on a surface repeatedly.
Don't worry that other thoughts come to mind. Just acknowledge their presence and tell yourself you'll address those needs later. Return to slowly writing out God's name, spelling it out slowly in your mind as you do it.
This quiets your mind, slowing it down, so you can hear what the spirit is saying.
Some say this is a practical application of the first few verses of Isaiah 26 – The peace that comes to those who keep their minds stayed on Him.
Some think this is what Jesus was doing when the woman was taken in adultery in John 8. He needed a 'right word' answer to get past the trap the religious leaders set for Him.
When I was living in Jerusalem, in a service I sat behind a man who had God's name in Hebrew on the cover of his Bible. He sat there slowly tracing it the whole time. I didn't understand what he was doing then. After the service I was talking with the elders of the ministry leading the meetings. They said he's been in Jerusalem for a few years, doing plain old street ministry. They were perplexed as to why the church-state alliance portion of Israel's government hadn't coordinated to not renew his visa, so he would have to leave. (In Israel visitors must renew their visa often, for some every few months; for others annually). The leaders routinely expressed in meetings how careful they were to not cross the status quo borders erected by the church-state alliance. This man crossed the boundaries with impunity.
I now understand he was well-disciplined at being Spirit-led, hearing God's Voice at will, checking with the Father how to be about His business before He did anything. All borders are porous, if you know where to look. The Father does. Not just in Jerusalem, but for those around you too. The more we hear His Voice the more we can love the hurting, heal the sick, and raise people out of their deadness into Christ's life.
Body Check - Your spirit is conscious of the spiritual realm and is the dwelling place of God. The issues of life come out of the heart, the spirit of man. As such, it has five senses, just like your physical body. It can see, hear, smell, taste and feel, just like your outer man. It can know, or perceive things, without any apparent use of the senses. Your spirit receives information through your spiritual five senses. You can learn to become as aware of your inner man as you are of your outer man.
Take time several times a day to do a body check; be aware of how the different parts of your body feel. This also has the benefit of being good for your health: becoming more sensitive to tension, pressure, strain, etc. Several styles of exercise teach people to do a body check before and after their routine, to know what modifications they need to do for a safe, yet effective workout.
The point of this is to improve your ability to exercise your self-control of this practice. Being able to tune into your inner senses at will allows you to pick-up on more of what the Spirit is speaking to your spirit, however it is communicating; so you can more fully do God's will.
The goal is to be able to do a body check when you enter a new situation, or a person enters your presence. Sometimes God lets you have a 'mirror' experience of their symptoms to provide you with ministry direction. A lady experienced in this walked into an office, felt a strange sensation on her arm, and asked if anyone was experiencing a problem on their left forearm. A person said yes, showed her a burn, was prayed for in front of her coworkers, and instantly healed. With evidence present, doors opened for other needs to be met.
Another way to do this is by "five sensing". Five sensing situations allows you to both improve your natural and supernatural experience ability. What am I really hearing? Seeing? What are the odors present? What kind of taste does this leave in my mouth? How does this sit in my stomach? How does this make me feel? What types of desires are being stirred in me? Am I being filled or emptied by this interaction? As you answer these questions you can ask the Lord the 6 Ws (who, what, where, when, why, how) to learn what is going on, and what to do.
There is a popular minister I tried to listen to but couldn't. Each time I a got a sour taste in my mouth, which extended into my stomach as bitterness. The 3rd time I asked the Lord why I was having this experience. He told me the minister has a spirit of pride inside him, making his teaching bitter.
Being alert and paying attention to these sensations helps you to be aware of His presence, as well as how you are present and how others are present to this situation. You need to first be aware of what is present to ask the Lord meaningful questions that can provide useful direction in your carefulness and caring for others.
Whenever you are transitioning into a new situation do an initial body check. This is establishing your baseline for what may follow. This way you can be aware of what has changed in your senses, at the point in the flow of events the change occurred. God may give you impressions in your body/soul/spirit. Then as you minister be aware of your total being and be open to changes from your initial body check.
Remember when Jesus was traveling to heal a sick man’s daughter? Along the way, with all these people around Him, with noises, conversations, and distractions; He was staying sensitive to His own spirit-body’s condition. He didn’t know who physically touched Him, but He knew His own substance fed someone else’s. He was aware what happened, when it happened, and asked a question to locate the person so He could complete the ministry she initiated.
Mark 5:30 - And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
Being present to yourself is a key to being sensitive to your spirit, and God’s Spirit.
Detachment - God can be using impressions. This involves a level of detachment, where you are not immersed in, but a step back from, what is happening.
When you read stories you can see this in the narrator’s role. In the objective point of view, the narrator is a totally detached, impartial observer of the action. The narrator is outside the story, with the sense of being an eavesdropper. His role is to clarify the facts for us, so we get a better view of the story’s issue and flow.
We see Jesus exercising detachment when He used intelligent compassion to set free the epileptic boy. In Mark 9 -
20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.
23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
I've found that if I'm moving at the speed of worship before an encounter, I can maintain a low-level inner song or speaking in tongues during an encounter, maintaining the inner space where God and I can talk about what is going on.
This involves maintaining a level of detachment. You are not absorbed in the situation. You are an observer, gathering facts, in detective mode, staying open to the possibilities before addressing the issue. You are guarding your heart by not prematurely committing it to the wrong path of action. You are avoiding the sin of presumption.
You can develop your ability by starting in non-encounter situations. Like when you are doing mindless work tasks. You can also divide work tasks into degrees of required attention, working your way up from least attention to higher levels of attention as your detachment skills increase.
Please note I am not saying you will not hear from God if you are immersing yourself in the encounter. I do immersion hearing a lot. This is about developing both abilities; being flexible enough to serve God in a multiplicity of ways. There are times when you will find one approach isn't effective and switching to the other improves your hearing. As Chuck Smith says, blessed are the flexible, for they will not be broken.
Get Specifics - Acts 9:1-19, 10:19 – Sometimes God moves from vague to specific. Stay with the vague, keep wondering/quest-ioning about it, and the specific will come. We see this in Ananias ministering to Paul. In Ananias' conversation with the Lord, when he first received his instructions does not have some of the details he tells Paul. Along the way he asked the Lord more questions, based on what he was already told. He let his curiosity guide him, and he was better able to minister to Paul because of the increased clarity.
We also see this several times in the Book of Revelation, where wonder opens John to the next portion of the vision. I often handle an initial revelation this way, leading to wonder-full new discoveries.
Heart-to-heart: Pouring your heart out to Him is a sign of trust and expectation, inviting Him to respond. At the burning bush God said to Moses, “Moses, I heard the cries of My people, so I am responding by …..”
Questioning: We would be much more effective if we sought God continually with rigorously asked questions. Ask Him specific questions about everything that you are concerned about and listen for the answers.
Write your questions down and write down His answers. If you get a vague answer ask follow-up questions. The Creator of mathematics understands precision, timing, and effect: He can answer with utter precision. The reason the answers are muddied at times is because there is still too much ‘soul’ influencing our spirits. Fight through your soulish static until you get a clear Word in your spirit.
Promise-focus: Another way to see things - we don't have problems; we have Kingdom possibilities. Take a negative, park it next to the appropriate Promise of God, ask for the revelation of His Provision to make the Promise true; and pray thru until that's real in you and for you. Develop the habit of responding this way and you will find God also speaks this way through you to others.
Path-focus: God can reveal the future for as far ‘down the road’ as you have faith to receive. Build up your faith and ask Him to show it to you, so that you can PRAYpare and be more than a conqueror!
His answers are your personal, 'Word from the Lord'. As such they function in just the same way as the, 'Word of the Lord' in Scripture. They need to go from information, to understanding and into wisdom. Wisdom is the point of manifesting truth in our lives, the developed application.
In Deuteronomy Moses told Israel the surrounding nations will hunger after God when they see the wisdom of His instructions in their lives. Do a word search on wisdom in the Gospels (you can quickly do this at crosswalk.com) and you'll find it is a core defining characteristic of Jesus' life, who is called the wisdom of God. Even Jesus' title as the 'Word of God' comes from the Greek Logos, which means the 'reasoned out plan, blueprint'. When God speaks He is revealing a portion of that plan. That portion is referred to as the Rhema Word of God in the Greek, ie, the living Word of God. God is saying ' It's time for this part of my Plan to come to Life in you.'
So meditate on His answers to your questions. The Hebrew word for meditate means to chew on, like an animal chew on its cud. They chew, swallow, regurgitate and chew again; breaking down the thick cell walls of the grasses they feed on; to extract all the nutrition their body needs. This is how the nutrients are assimilated so, 'you are what you eat.' Likewise, this is how to feed on the Word of God, whether it is personal or Scripture. Let God inform you, bring you the understanding, and lead you into wisdom's effective truth. Chew your Rhema Word until its truth is showing up. This is how we live a clean life in the Lord. I routinely meditate, questing with questions; receiving revelation on a wide variety of things.
Practice this exercise until it’s a natural habit and it will speed up for you, becoming as natural as breathing.
Interestingly, ruminant animals flee at the sign of danger and stop ruminating while in flight. If they are routinely in this mode they become sickly, due to poor digestion, leading to malnutrition. We see living at Rest, in His Presence, making that our high tower of safety no matter what Enemy is in our territory; is essential to consistently asking, hearing, meditating, and growing strong on His Word.
In Psalms 23 David, comparing himself to a sheep (a ruminate animal), says, ‘God prepares a table for me in the midst of my enemies’. To succeed when under attack we need to carry the peace that passes understanding for this situation to feast on God’s provision.
I would recommend developing a plan to 'keep yourself in the love of God'; and a transition to get back into it when you realize you are outside of His Presence. Then throughout the day you can check yourself to see where you are and implement your plan to position yourself better in His Presence. Then you are in the same room with Him and can hear the Word of the Lord.
I had an interesting experience regarding this. At work a new legal secretary approached me for guidance about a mailing. We discussed, settled upon 2 options and she selected one. As she left she commented she would check with the other legal secretaries to see what they would do.
A few minutes later another legal secretary burst into the room, with the first one trailing her. She started going through our shelves for different mailing service materials as she spoke 'energetically', insistent on doing this differently. I just calmly walked through the conversation, mostly listening, patiently going through the process of coming into agreement.
She wasn't interested in this, wanting to affirm her view was the correct one, suggesting we set up a special postage account to make this work.
After they left I called the post office to confirm the facts in dispute, found I was correct; and sent a brief email restating what was confirmed. Later the first legal secretary came back and used the service she first selected.
While there was stress in this burst-in encounter, I did not experience it. I stayed at Rest, handled this gracefully, and followed up properly. There was a steady flow of work, so I put this on the back burner to process later.
As I left work, with nothing on the front burner, this encounter came to my full attention. On my way to the car I reviewed it, didn't see any error on my part; so, I asked the Lord to make known what I did wrong. He said I didn't do anything wrong. I replied, 'Why do I feel like I was vomited on?' He replied, 'Cleanse yourself.'
I thought that's interesting, what does it mean? I felt I should start with worship, and as I did I got the impression that this encounter contained an attack on my identity in Christ. I was being treated as less than one made in His image. The implication was that somehow she was superior to me and demanding I bow to her. There was no interest in the process of peace building, because I was not worth the effort. (Please note this is not how we normally relate, but her occasional default relational style to handle stress: plow her way through at any cost.)
In that light I saw I needed to reaffirm my identity. So I personalized relevant Scriptures and nuggets God gave me based on those, until I felt the uncleanness washed away. My joy was restored.
The side effects of keeping myself in the love of God include a lived revelation experience shedding fresh understanding on a whole dimension of Scripture, clearer understanding about our lives in this world and our lives with God. It came with a fresh appreciation of how the Spirit leads and guides us into all truth. I learned a new way to apply a Scripture as a situational process. It birthed something new to study out, meditate on, and become fully one with.
It's cool how present God is to our lives. It's much simpler to live as the Father's child, at home in His Kingdom, asking for help constantly. It's too painful living as orphans, engaging in street fights, as if unloved and homeless; having to defend our turf.
How important is hearing God's Voice? Priceless. One Word from the Father can change everything.
Study: The process of study is to know and understand, translating into practical wisdom principles that have laser-like focus for powerful cut-through-the-darkness life application. Compressed down to 1 or 2 sentences, they carry for you all the weight of God's glory that your preparation poured into them.
If you develop a 1 or 2 sentence statement, for each truth you find in your studies; as a step-by-step personal inner man journey story; you will have added a great tool in your toolbox for hearing God's voice quicker; with greater clarity and confidence.
So while it's easy to think about wisdom in general terms of life guidance, it's very different to use it as a process for applying in the situation you are entering into.
Take time to prepare before walking into a situation. Doing this consistently improves the quality of how you handle things and the quality of the results. Taking time to prepare past the flesh, into the Spirit, allows Kingdom life to be present in the situation. That's a real difference maker!
You can use your study gems as an easy-to-use meditation you can chew on as you have time throughout the day.
It can be used as a consecration sacrifice-prayer as you enter into challenging situations.
And you can use it as a personal proclamation when you are pushing through something in your flesh that's trying to hold you back when you need to go forward in the Spirit.
This kind of discipline gives you confidence, focus and nourishment to live to the best of your maturity when you need to hear God's voice and heed His call in a relationship, situation, or to minister to someone's need.
Boundary stretching: Put yourself in a position where the Spirit needs to show up somehow. Do this consistently, increasingly, until it is your lifestyle.
I’m not suggesting take reckless steps prematurely. Just develop the habit of finding a way each day, if possible, to test your hearing His voice.
In college I went to a barber school for haircuts. Once the student barber commented that she was doing something out of order. I commented, “That’s step five. You can’t do that yet.” Her jaw dropped open and she was stunned that I knew that.
I did not ask God to give me something. I just spoke what came to mind in the conversation. If I’m right an opportunity opens up; if I’m wrong I just stand corrected.
I'm challenging you to test hearing His voice in safe way, ie, ways where the outcome doesn't matter. This builds confidence.
At a company picnic I participated in a, 'guess how many tiny items are in this huge jar game'. At the time I was increasing my confidence in my ability to hear God's Voice. So without trying to figure it out I just asked Him. A number popped into my head and I wrote it down. I won; it was the exact number.
Since it didn't matter to anyone if it was right or wrong it was a safe test to run. You are ready to do this. For the next few weeks daily find creative ways to perform safe tests, so you can build your confidence in your ability to hear God clearly.
To jump start your thinking, possibilities include:
When you meet a stranger ask God to tell you something about him or her. Then find a way to ask questions to confirm that.
Do you have typical questions you ask your kids, spouse, friends, relatives, and others when you see them? Ask God the questions first, hear the answer, and see the degree of match you get when you ask that person. And if you would ask the person clarifying questions to that kind of answer, ask God those follow up questions. You can deepen the depth of your comfort level.
When participating in any type of religious group activity take time to pray for it first. Worship until you are beyond speculation and at rest. Wonder about the meeting, receive revelation, and just start praying what you get. To cover more ground; without speculating, wonder about the different parts of the meeting. Then ask God if there is something else you should pray about it. It might be fun to make a check list of the specifics and check them off during the meeting as they occur. A great way to pay attention, be receptive, and increase your awe as your confidence grows with every confirmation.
When others are publicly praying, internally pray with them. I find a surprising amount of similarity occurs this way. I've noticed the dissimilarity can be one of us has an agenda, isn't being sensitive to the Spirit, or isn’t in the flow of the Spirit at this point in the service.
Do a conversational Bible study with God. Ask Him for a verse, then ask why this passage and let Him guide you through it. When you feel like you are done look over it again; see more details you haven't covered, wonder how those fit with what He's already shown you, and see what He shows you. Reflect on the wisdom He's given you and then ask about the application. After all is said and done ask Him if there is more application for you at this time. Now pray this, from a position of rest, allowing the Spirit to expose more personal connections, to better graft this passage into your inner man.
Questions can be about who, what, where, when, why and how. There are many safe things you can ask for information about throughout your day and find ways to confirm them.
Revelation growth: Stretch beyond your comfort zone when ministering. Ask the Lord for more than He has given you. Use this 'extra' in a testing way until you grow into this level of revelation. For example, 'I'm getting the impression/see a picture of/I'm hearing… does this mean something to you?'
Walking blind: A word from my mentor in the Spirit's gifts - As the Lord Jesus was teaching me to be led by the Spirit, He would take me on long walks through the woods at night with no flashlight or torch. As my physical senses became useless, I had to lean on the inner leading of the Spirit even to move right or left. He never let me stumble, fall, or become lost or disoriented. You see, if you will set your heart to learn the things of the Spirit, and quit ‘messing around,’ He will teach you and train you personally. You will hear His voice, He will know you, and you will follow Him as easily as a trusting sheep follows it's Shepard.
Please note this is not a beginner’s exercise. You need to know that you are getting these types of leadings before you step into a risky training exercise.
Risks are the next logical step in your training, not ‘leaps of faith’.
Praying through: From my mentor - The old Pentecostals used to talk about ‘praying through’…in other words, praying until the glory came. They knew something about God that many of us have missed! Someone once taught me that you really haven’t prayed until something comes out of you, until something gets released out of your soul into the waiting arms of the Father. You see, until you release it, you are still holding on to that thing! God can’t fix it until you release it. You are not at Rest until you are confidently smiling whenever you think about what previously stressed you.
One or two nights of missed sleep in prayer are better than months of the torture of worry…
To clarify, this is not the only way to do this. I had a dire straits situation destroying my family. I was at the altar at the end of every service, crying out to God. Week after week. It got to the point that an experienced Christian in our church took me to see the pastor, to get support for the idea that I needed to stop and move on in faith.
I explained to her that I was still searching my heart, to make sure that all that was in me that created this situation was cleansed out. That nothing remained, and I could be clear in this matter. When I was clear I experienced a heavenly realms justice event, that turned everything in our favor in 24 hours.
2 Corinthians 7: 8 Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— 9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
Since then I’ve learned verse 11 can be taken as a step-by-step restoration plan. Earnestness is eagerness to clear ourselves of all future wrongdoing in this matter. That means we have to become indignant at this behavior, being alarmed when it occurs anywhere, longing to see people set free from its grasp; ready to see justice prevail in these matters (Justice in Scripture refers to a social dynamic of conditions that allow people to do right). This is how we prove ourselves fully repentant, to the point of restoration of having God’s heart in this matter. Then we can guide and support peoples’ overcoming in this matter, because we have already walked this path before them.
Seesaw method: Increased sensitivity to your senses and feelings increases hearing experiences. The mind functions as a see-saw, going back and forth between your inner man and the world. Learn to better control the process, so you can shift your attention when you want to and look in your spirit as need be. God wants to communicate directly, not have us guessing at 'signs'. Jo 16:13, 1 Cor 2.
You can look at people, wonder and look in your spirit. 'Sense' what's going on and ask the Spirit clarifying questions. Often you 'know' in your spirit what is going on and the Spirit of truth bears witness. This creates ministry opportunities.
Acts 14:9 – “The same heard Paul speak: who steadfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,”
When you look/listen with your spirit, it often starts internal, vague; a perceiving. Keep questing and it becomes clear, detailed. Your desire to Love needs to outweigh your fears; so that the Spirit can equip you with what the situation requires.
The shift occurs by turning your thoughts from external to internal, a quieting of the mind. Make space for God to participate.
Shifting to spirit sensing is like when you look at people but are not really 'there'. Your mind is elsewhere, focused on what you feel in your spirit. Paul 'locked his eyes' on someone, a focus in the natural that allows our inner man to tune in to the person's needs. Get to know your spirit man processes well.
Work at it: But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit… Jude 20
Effective body building requires going beyond your current ability, exceeding your current comfort level. You must endure the pain of real work. Most people never exercise the gift of the Spirit long enough until it really becomes effective in their lives. Speak in tongues (this verse is about speaking in tongues: 1Cor 14:14-15 shows the early church defined 'prayer in the Spirit' as speaking in tongues, assessable to all with the Spirit) long enough to be built up. Exceed your current ability consistently to minister beyond your present ability.
My mentor in the gifts explained that on a mission’s trip he reached the point of being so tired that he just sat under a tree for a whole day, speaking quietly in tongues. The next day in a service he talked with a boy who came in with a twisted leg, barely able to walk. Instantly full of faith he grabbed the boy’s leg, gave it a few twists and it was fully healed.
Get beyond what you are used to in time with God to go beyond what you are used to in your time with others.
Listening keys: My mentor's testimony - I used to take my dog out to pray with me until I realized that God seemed to be ‘jealous’ of my dog. Too much of my attention was being directed to the dog, rather than to the Lord. God wants your undivided attention, which is why you should listen to Him when you are alone and undisturbed. Turn off your cell phone! Get unhooked and unplugged.
‘Open-ended time’ means that you will give Him all the time that He wants until He releases you. This is a hard one for most of us because we haven’t really surrendered the lordship of our time yet. Discipline yourself to stay in His presence until He releases you. He knows your obligations and will take them into consideration – better than you can!
If you have hit a plateau and are not bearing fruit, you need to get back to the simple discipline of listening to God. He has joy…He has answers…He has all kinds of fun things to talk to you about, if you will take the time to listen.
Just like studying, approaching God for revelation by His Spirit can be done improperly. Both produce junk results. This isn't an either-or life, it's this and that together. We need both disciplines working well. Both have limitations, needing each other to produce the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; whether in matters of theology or peoples’ lives.
Spirit-led Prayer: Jude 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit (ie, speaking in Tongues),
When you are faced with a crisis, you can tell the Holy Spirit, “I don’t know how to pray about this problem. I have done everything I know, but I don’t seem to be getting my breakthrough. Help me pray, Holy Spirit.”
As you pray in the Spirit, you will feel like there is a prayer going on within you. Flow with it until you feel a release. You will feel peace, the burden lifting and a note of victory inside you. The Holy Spirit will assure you that everything is going to be all right or He will prompt you to do something. Praying results in hinderances removed or patience provided, or answers revealed.
Getting your requests answered: 3 possibilities presented by insightful leaders.
1) One area we should continually seek enlightenment from the Father is wisdom. We know Jesus has been made unto us Wisdom. We know Proverbs says "Wisdom is laid up for the just", so for me at least, it's a matter of merely putting my desire for wisdom on what I call 'the front burner' of my prayer life (I Cor 1: 30; Prov 2:7) – Kevin Porter
2) I'm not pounding the gates of heaven since He lives in me...I'm merely presenting x issue to Him inside me and pondering what He may answer. I would describe my process more like down inside of me, in my heart, in my spirit...staring into the eyes of the Father not moving my gaze until He answers. Like 2 friends at dinner when one is waiting for an answer and while continually locking eyes, giving them the time to contemplate that answer. – Graham Cooke
3) "One thing I've learned after years of chasing after God's heart is that He is whatever you long for Him to be in your heart. Your heart actually cries out for Him by name without you even knowing it. Every fact of his character and personality is written in our deepest desires if we're completely honest with ourselves. The problem is that most of us have lost touch with our longings clear back when we were children. People trust more in their learning then they do in their longing. Having the guts to believe in what you long for is everything. Few people have the guts it takes to do this." - Darin Hufford
Practices in tuning into God's love for someone:
We unconsciously form all sorts of assessments about people, many as soon as we see them. Whether or not they are right is not the issue. We need to be able to see that person beyond our assessments – the way that God sees that allows full love for the person.
Here are three exercises that can improve your ability in this area.
Go into a public place where you can see people in a relaxed environment.
Pick someone, open your heat, and 'feel' for them.
Trust your spirit to be in touch with the person and the Spirit.
Imagine the person alone, crying; because he or she is lonely.
Feel your heart go out and surround him or her, 'hug' and meditate on that one person: study his movements, expressions, etc and fall in love with him.
You will begin to see intimate things about that person, ie, his heart. You are being led by love.
Look at a person and imagine him as a baby.
Consider how his parents looked at him and cared about him.
Wonder about what happened in his life to bring him to this place.
The Spirit fills in the gaps and preps you to minister in love.
Part of my Story
I am sharing this with you to increase your hope, not increase your struggle.
I received Christ as a teenager. This led me on a quest – I wanted the same type of things happening in my life that I read about in Scripture. I went through a variety of groups, winding up in Israel in a home fellowship led by an Old Testament style prophetess.
Her son taught on Sabbath morning. He was taking us through the stories of Israel’s formation in Genesis and showing how each was prophetic of how Israel’s history unfolded.
It was amazing teaching at a level of insight and revelation I had not been exposed to before. I determined that I too would be able to understand Scripture and teach this way.
I started at Genesis 1. I read it each morning, waiting for God to open it up to me on this level, vowing not to go further until He did.
I read Genesis 1. Every morning. For months.
Meanwhile, in other areas of my walk, God was taking me through an odd sequence of Word studies in Scripture. They seemed disjointed at the time, not related to anything – not even each other. But I already had plenty of experience in His guidance in this area of my life, so I followed as directed. He kept me busy with the Concordance.
Each evening I was spending an hour in worship, praying about the things, people, and situations I saw during this time. This was part of the training in this home fellowship.
I also read a book on abiding in Christ and took its practices to heart. Literally. I vigorously insisted that I would not accept any negative thought or concept to dwell in me. I pushed them out as soon as they arose.
I went to every meeting we were involved in, rain or shine. Often walking an hour just to get to my ride.
I was doing all I could in the situation to follow the Lord’s direction, the teaching I was receiving, and the opportunities to be exposed to the Spirit’s work personally and corporately.
And then the Lord led me to do a 1 meal a day fast. This lasted for 6 weeks, and then it happened.
In our Wednesday nights worship meetings we stood in a circle, doing freestyle worship. The leader said, ‘The way is open to those who want to come up’. Without a thought I found myself standing before Christ’s throne.
I continued to worship Him. As I did He poured waves of the Spirit over me. Once I stopped, opened my eyes, looked around, closed them and went back to worshipping Him. The waves continued.
I was free to do this as long as I wanted. After a while I felt satisfied and just stopped. Nothing else out of the normal routine happened that night.
The next morning I woke up, sat down to read Genesis 1, and as soon as my eyes hit the page there was a cloud burst of the Spirit in my room. I ran around like a giddy kid, trying to catch all the truth that was pouring down all around me. I literally ran around holding out a make-believe bucket, laughing my head off with the joy pouring out from me with all the new revelation I was experiencing.
I was in this condition for a month. Instantly able to be in the Spirit, amazed at how everything around me was stuffed full of teaching, joy unspeakable full of glory. Able to pray instantly and see rapid answers.
I do not believe it needed to stop. But the Enemy knows our weaknesses and was able to create a situation that brought me back down to earth.
I can still worship as I wonder about a topic and receive rich teaching. But I don’t need to, because I can also just start meditating on something and it quickly opens up new insight. My view is that something needed to be released in me to allow this dimension of my spirit to be available to God’s Spirit. This process was my personal breakthrough strategy, coordinated by the Holy Spirit.
I don’t see this revelation level as superior to other revelation levels. I require everything to be in line with Scripture, because any gift can be warped by our flesh, the world, or our enemy. I now understand this transformation to be an application of what Paul prayed for the already Spirit-filled Ephesian church, which was operating in the gifts, at the time he wrote Ephesians.
Ephesians 1:17-20 (NIV) - 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[a] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
I’ve walked in this gift for decades, and it has been invaluable to me personally. It’s been a strong part of my teaching gift in the Body.
I do not know what you are looking for in your walk with God. You got this book to clearly hear God’s voice for your life and ministry. This portion of my testimony shows that hearing His voice clearly and following its leading can take you to places unimagined.
May you make the decision, determine to see this through now, and exercise the persistence to see it through to the end. My prayer is that you will utilize the materials in this book to hear His voice clearly and walk into your new future, one your Father knows you have the capacity for.
Amen