How to Hear From God

Most people tend to live on the shallow surface where our
physical senses, thoughts, feelings, desires, and emotions
are constantly being stimulated by worldly, carnal, fleshly
ways. Because of this, we are not able to hear from God and
be led by His Spirit, leaving ourselves wide open to fall
for the many deceptions of the devil.

We want to hear from God so that we may be led to pursue the
right things. Unfortunately, there are always four voices in
every ones head at any given time; God’s voice, the devil’s
voice, other people's voices, and the voice of our own
flesh. So, how are we to be sure to hear from God with all
the noise going on?

It really is very simple. If we want to hear from God, we
need to shut up the other three. So, how do we do that? The
first step is to distinguish each voice so that we know what
we are up against.

1. The most obvious voice is our own and it speaks to us in a
variety of ways. It is always telling us what we want, what
we think, and what we feel. The Bible refers to our mind,
will, and emotions as our "flesh nature."

2. Another voice that clamors for our attention is the voice of
other people. They are usually telling us what they want,
what they think, and what they feel.

3.The third voice is the voice of the devil. He is very
subtle and speaks to us through worldly ideas and viewpoints
that he has injected into other people.

4. The fourth voice is the voice of God and He speaks to us
in our spirits. He does not speak to us in our minds.
Unfortunately, that's where most of us spend most of our
thought life. Again, the Bible refers to this as "the mind
of the flesh" (Romans 8:7, AMP).

These are the four voices that we constantly hear and which
voice we obey is based on our ability to discern. Obviously,
we want to obey the voice of God if we are going to enjoy a
successful life because the Bible tells us that we must be
led by the Holy Spirit.

So, how do we hear from God and be led by His Spirit?
Two critical ways... by getting into His Word, and by
quieting the other three loud voices screaming for our
attention.

When we can get into the Bible, and find some peace and
quiet, we will be able to hear that one still, small voice,
which is the Holy Spirit of God, wanting to lead us in the way
we should go.


How then do we quiet these other voices and find some peace
and quiet?

First of all, the devil is easy to shut up. Psalm 22:3 says,
“But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of
Israel." Satan will have to flee when we begin praising God
because the Lord inhabits the praises of His people. The
devil is not gonna stick around while you shout “Hallelujah”
to the Lord.

Just shout out your praise to God. Praise Him for who He is,
praise Him for what He has done, praise Him for His
promises, and praise Him because He deserves it. As you are
praising God, you will not hear from the devil.

Other people's voices are also easy to shut up. All we have
to do is get away from them. I realize their tapes continue
to play in our heads, but if we can get alone somewhere and
just focus on God, those tapes will stop, at least
temporarily.

Our flesh is the more difficult to control because it never
can get enough and is never satisfied. It is also the most
difficult to control because it is extremely self-centered.
Even still, Jesus said, ”Deny yourself and follow me” (Mark
8:34).

Your flesh doesn’t want to follow Jesus. That would mean
having to give up many things. It doesn’t matter. We are to
crucify the flesh (Galatians 2:20). It's just a decision.
When you quiet the evil triplets, the devil, other people's flesh,
and your own flesh, it will be much easier to hear from God. Now,
that does not mean you will hear an audible voice, although you
may, but not likely.

God speaks in many different ways. Jesus said, “My sheep
hear my voice and they follow me” (John 10:27).
Clearly, before we can know God’s voice, we must be like
sheep. What are sheep? Only the dumbest animals on the face
of the earth. We must become like dumb animals, knowing
nothing (in and of ourselves), being completely dependant
upon God. This goes back to crucifying the flesh.

When we hear from God it can be something from His written
Word (logos), or it could be His audible voice (rhema). We
can also get His rhema Word spoken through a friend. Or, it
can be nature, convictions, open and shut doors of
opportunity, and the most likely, internal peace.

One way you will not hear from God is through your emotions.
Emotions are dangerous ground because they are never
consistent. They’re up one minute and down the next. You
can’t make important decisions based on something so
erratic.

Many times, you will not get a definite answer on something
specific. The Bible tells us that we are to live our lives
by faith. We are to step out and try things that we feel God
is leading us to do. Maybe this will work, maybe that will
work. We just have to step out see. “In the morning sow your
seed…For you do not know which will prosper, either this or
that, or whether both alike will be good” (Ecc 6:11).
One thing is for sure, “The steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord” (Psalm 37:23).

Trust God for direction as you take steps of faith toward
what you feel He is calling you to. It won't be long until
you know for sure whether it was really Him or not.
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[size=12][size=12][size=12][size=12][size=12][size=12][size=12][size=12][size=12][size=12][size=12][size=12][size=12][size=9][size=12][size=12][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size]
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