Listening to God’s Voice

Photo by: Pexel – Pexel-pixabay-46235

There isn’t a day that goes by that I speak out to God and then yearn to hear His voice to guide me throughout the day.  It is human nature to expect someone to respond to you when you speak to them. When we don’t hear God’s voice, that is when the enemy places a lie in your mind to get you to believe that He doesn’t care about you, He doesn’t love you, or He just doesn’t exist.

In the year 2005, there was a popular movie that was released called “The March of the Penguins”. I was deeply moved by the movie and the life of penguins living in Antarctica. During the coldest time of the year, the temperatures go as low as -40 degrees Celsius, and the sun barely shines. The male penguins all huddle together squatting over a single egg that their female mates laid earlier.  The females march away in a northerly direction to find food while the males stay behind. The winters at antarctica lasts for months and the males go without food while their female mates are away. When the sun starts to shine, the female penguins can be seen in the far distance, and you can see a single line of female penguins marching back to the Penguin pack. The eggs have already hatched, and the baby penguins (chicks) are fed from their fathers from the food stored in their stomachs. When the mothers come within range, they begin to call out to their mates. When the males hear the females, they start calling back to the females, but they don’t move away from the baby chicks because it is still very cold.  So, among the thousands and thousands of penguins, the female finds their male mates and walks to them. Why am I telling this story? Because it is about listening to the voice of whom you belong to.

When your mother calls you on the phone, do you ask, “who is this?”  No, you immediately recognize her voice. Why? Because you grew up hearing her voice. You lived with her. You dwelled in the same living area when you were a child.  You could be way on the other side of the house or playing outside with your friends, but when she calls your name, you immediately know her voice. By the way, if you are a millennial or generation Z, there was a time when we didn’t have iPads, tablet computers, are cell phones.  We actually went outside and saw our friends face to face instead of talking to them via text messages.  Here is the point I am trying to make. You know the voice of whom you spend the most time with.  God is the same way. The more time you spend with God, the more you will learn to recognize His voice. 

So how do you hear God’s voice?  And when He speaks, how do I know it is Him speaking to me? The answer is not as complicated as you think.

Psalm 46:10 (NKJV) “Be still and know that I’m God.”

You need to be available for God. Do you spend quiet time with no TV, no cell phone, no computer, and no other people around you? Do you have a set time daily where just you can be alone with God? If you do spend time with God, are you in a hurry? Are you doing all of the talking, giving Him your list of needs, or complaining about stuff that bothers you? Please don’t misunderstand that we should go to God for ALL of our needs.  He wants us to call him whenever we are in trouble. But there are times when we need to listen to God. We forget that listening to God is not talking. I had to learn how to listen to God’s voice. Don’t wait until there is an event so big in your life that you finally go to God with your need, then wait to hear from Him.  Here is my favorite; after you have done everything you know to do, THEN you go to God in panic mode saying, “Lord, I don’t know what to do!” God is probably saying, “Really? Oh, now you come to me last huh?”

If you read the entire 46^th chapter of Psalm, you will read about turmoil. The chapter starts by saying that God is our refuge and strength. He is our help in trouble. The rest of the chapter describes the awesomeness of God, and near the end of the chapter, we are reminded to get quiet and remember and recognize the awesomeness of God.  To say it another way, “Get your eyes off yourself, get your eyes and mind off of the distractions that are around you, focus your mind and spirit on God, then you will hear from him.”

When I started spending time with God daily, I learned that God speaks to me all the time. There are four areas that God uses to speak to you:

1. Directly to you – Psalm 46:10, Psalm 91 “He who dwells (spends time) in the secret place of the Most-High shall abide (live) under the shadow of the Almighty.”
2. Through His Word (Bible) – Psalm 119:105 “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path.”
3. Through others – Hebrews 10:25 “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”
4. Through His Creation:
   • Proverbs 6:6 – God uses Ants to teach us about laziness and using Wisdom to plan.
   • Matthew 6:26-34 – God uses Birds to teach us not to worry.
   • Psalm 1:3 – God uses Trees to teach about strength when you are connected to the right source.

If you are struggling to listen to God, it isn’t because God doesn’t want to talk to you.  Ask yourself these  important question, “Am I making time for God on a regular basis? Am I being quiet to recognize his voice? Am I making room in my life for God? Do I have unconfessed sin or unforgiveness in my life?”  Trust me, I have asked those questions to myself and got seriously humbled.  God is waiting to spend time with you. He wants to spend time with you.  God isn’t mad at you, ready to throw a lightening bolt at you.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NLT) “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”

So what are you waiting for?

Be Blessed 😊

Ron Cobbs Ministries © Copyright September 7th, 2024, All Rights Reserved