Jan 9, 2013

Yes, You Do Know It



 
The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars ... The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning. The voice of the Lord shakes the desert; the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in His temple all cry, “Glory!” Psalm 29:3-9
 

If you belong to the Lord, you DO hear His voice. If you didn't, then there would be no reason for the enemy to try to convince you that you don't.

Don't listen to the voice of confusion, it's NOT of God. God is the author of peace, the peace that passes understanding. BELIEVE that you hear God's voice ... by faith. Don’t just have selective hearing, when it’s something you like it’s Him and if it’s something you don’t like it’s the enemy, it doesn’t work that way.

Be careful about these “still small voices” that we hear in our heads and our hearts. We need to be sure that it is God that is talking to us. Sometimes our flesh and even the devil will put thoughts in our heads that are not of God. You can usually tell if it’s actually God that’s talking if the thing that He tells you is in agreement with the Word of God. He doesn’t go against His Word.

The gatekeeper opens the gate for Him, and the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” John 10:3-5

Elijah described God’s voice as a still, small voice (I Kings 19:12). God does speak with an inner audible voice at times. However, I’ve found that usually, God's voice comes as spontaneous thoughts, visions, feelings, or impressions.

God told Habakkuk to record the vision (Habakkuk 2:2). This wasn’t an isolated command. The Scriptures record many examples of individuals' prayers and God's replies (i.e. the Psalms, many of the prophets, Revelation). Journaling is the writing out of your prayers and God’s answers. I call the process "two-way journaling," and I’ve found it to be a catalyst for clearly discerning God's inner, spontaneous flow, because as I journal I’m able to write IN FAITH for long periods of time, simply believing it is God. I may write a prayer of thanks or something that’s weighing heavy on my heart, and then I’m still before the Lord to see if He wants to respond back to me. He ALWAYS does.

When you pray, He answers. Expect God to talk back to you. Answers and responses may come at a time other than when you’re praying, but they do come.

Things that will help give you discernment for God’s voice - Spend time with Him. Be still before Him. Focus on Jesus. Get in the Word. Listen. Journal. Repent when you sin. Shake off offenses and pray for those who despitefully use you. Get to know God and be obedient.

Yes, you do know it …God’s voice that is … believe you know it.

Father, I pray that You give us the faith to believe that we hear from You. Help us in turn to be obedient when You ask us to do something. Help us to ignore the voice of the enemy. Speak words of comfort, peace and edification to our hearts to give us encouragement to continue on. In Jesus’ name, amen.