John 10: 4-5: And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.
Over the 16 years that my husband and I have been married, I would estimate that we have spoken millions of words to each other. Some have been informational, some have been directional, some have been purposed to probe the heart, and some have been revelatory. But every word, for better or worse, has been part of the picture of our marriage. Some of the nitpicking and critical words I wish I could take back. Other words, like words of encouragement and praise, I am trying to say more often. But each and every word has been a brush stroke on the canvas of the marriage we now have.
This is true for every relationship. Our words are powerful and have the ability to create or tear down, offer peace or instill fear, give hope and direction or confuse and distract.
The power of words originated with God. God created everything seen and unseen with words. He could have used thoughts or He could have used His hands. But He chose to speak everything into being.
And God still speaks. He hasn’t changed over time, as many falsely teach. He upholds the words He has already spoken and He speaks new fresh things to his children. He tells us in John 10:4-5 that his sheep hear his voice and the voice of another they will not listen to or follow.
But maybe you’re like so many people I have spoken to over the years who say to me, “I can’t hear God. I pray and I don’t hear anything. I read the Bible and I don’t hear anything. Maybe I am just a person who just can’t hear God.” Does that sound like you?
Well, the truth is that every child of God CAN hear the voice of God. But just like you don’t recognize the voice of a stranger until you know them well, we often have a hard time differentiating the voice of God from all of the other voices in our lives until we have cultivated a closer relationship with Jesus. So for those of you who feel like you’re deaf to God’s voice, I encourage you to take time each day to read the Bible and to worship.
If you don’t know how to do either of those things, I have put a link below and some suggestions for worship music to get you started.
When I first started working at my company, I had two new bosses. I didn’t know them from a hole in the wall. So if they called my extension, I didn’t know who I was speaking to unless I looked at my phone to see the extension that was dialing me. But now, I can hear them coming down the hallway and their voices stand out to me above all the others…because I have become familiar with them.
Knowing our heavenly Father’s voice works the same way. He longs for us to become so acquainted with His voice that when we hear Him speaking, our hearts leap within us because He has faithfully demonstrated His goodness, His mercy and His wisdom to us. Don’t let yourself be robbed of the amazing privilege of hearing the God of all creation speak to you for that is where you are changed, healed and strengthened. We will never be all that we have been created to be without the Word of the Lord in our ear, in our heart and in our mind.
Now you:
- Do you want to be able to hear the voice of the Father speaking to you more clearly?
- Do you want to know His voice above all others and be able to filter out the voices that contradict the voice of your Heavenly Father?
- Get to know the Father and the Son through reading the Bible and through worship. As you put yourself in a position close to God, you will begin to hear more clearly and to differentiate His voice from the negative, distracting voices all around you. Over time, you will begin to notice a confidence rising up in you and an excitement when you ‘know that you know’ that the God of all Creation just spoke a personal word to YOU!
The link first link below is for the YouVersion Bible app. On this app, you can choose Bible reading plans that will help you navigate your way through certain topics and see what God has to say on those topics. I also recommend reading one Psalm and one chapter of Proverbs each day whether in the morning or at night.
And you can also worship for free by watching YouTube videos by great worship artists such as Hillsong in Australia and Elevation Church in North Carolina.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UruRQwI8pRE?rel=0&w=560&h=315%5D
Thanks for sharing, Cecily! I love the You VERSION Bible app, and Elevation is one of my favorite worship teams. Steven Furtick delivers some amazingly, powerful teachings. God Bless!
~Brenda (Watson) Auffrey