Does God still speak to each of His people today, or only in the accounts written in the Bible? Since we became Christians, we have been doing our best to grow steadily in Christ and walk closely with Him daily. We have been eager to know what it is like to hear His voice and carry on an intimate conversation with Him in every season. But at some point, we become confused as to whether we are doing it right or not. While some of our fellow Christian believers say that, if we listen closely, God will speak to us directly just as He did in the Bible; others may insist that God’s word can only be found in the scriptures, such that what we consider “divine messages” are completely untrue.
What must we think about these? What helps us to hear God’s voice? And what gives us the confidence to know His thoughts and lead us?
1. Pray to hear God ABOVE the noise
We have daily battles of busyness and distractions, not to mention the emotional stresses that include exhaustion, depression, fear, anger, grief, and anxiety, to go through. And the enemy loves to trigger these emotional chaos in us to keep us separated in our walk and fellowship with Christ. He tries to overload our days with distracting noises in his attempt to get us to tune God out.
Since most of us are afraid to face our thoughts alone, we get to avoid the quiet and solitude as much as possible. We keep ourselves away from peaceful fellowship with the Lord, our Savior, because we are fearful that we may fall short without the “stuffs” we think would qualify us. We are even afraid of what God might say or ask when we sit long enough to hear Him speak. We became unsure of how to handle such sacred responsibility of being still and knowing that He is God (Psalm 46:10).
Almighty Father, our Creator, we praise Your greatness and supremacy in this place. No other gods are mightier than You! We choose today to humble ourselves before Your throne and ask to silence every distraction the world tries to create to keep us from worshipping and depending on Your power. We also give thanks to Your promise that You will never leave us nor forsake us. We receive these blessings, through Christ, Amen.
2. Pray to learn how to actively LISTEN
It is a blessing to hear God’s voice for His words bring life. Not only did God speak the creation into existence, He also sustains life by His words as written in Hebrews 1:3. While others may find it difficult to believe, He still speaks to us today through “gentle whispers” (1 Kings 19:12) to create and renew life within and around us. When He speaks, we are assured to get comforted, corrected, and guided. And we know that He does this because of His unfailing love and His desire to have an interactive and intimate relationship with His people.
So as the Psalmist prayer, we also pray: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:1-3).
Dear Lord, we praise You for allowing us to experience peace in this busy world. Your peace allows us to focus on Your voice and contemplate on them to evaluate our current relationship status. More than anything this world can offer, may we desire to have a righteous soul, pleasing before Your kingdom. Amen.
3. Pray for the FILLING of the Holy Spirit
As Dallas Willard puts it into words, hearing God as a reliable, everyday reality for human beings with good sense is actually possible. He adds that a conversational relationship with a Supreme Being is intended for those who are devoted to bring glory to God and partakers in the advancement of His kingdom. It is for the followers of Jesus, who have no higher preference than to be like Him.
The natural response of an intimate relationship with God includes regular experiences of hearing His voice. A conversational relationship with God must be interactive and helps us to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and to have the mind of Christ about everything we do.
Holy Spirit, we acknowledge Your divine presence during this time. We ask of You today, that we may learn how to listen to God’s divine whispers and be filled by His presence. Your leading will keep us from rebelling against His will and we recognize His lordship in our lives. May we become more like Jesus everyday. Amen.