I remember sitting down in a meeting one time and was asked if I could have anything from God, what would it be.
I secretly had two desires, the first – to actually HEAR His voice and know that it was Him. The second, was to be used to bring God’s healing to others.
I believe the foundation of these ideas were planted by Him. They were pure ideas and ones He absolutely wanted to partner with me in.
How did God reveal His voice to me personally?
About 6 years ago, I found myself in a time of severe ill-health and spent many months not being able to walk straight or upright, without falling over. I couldn’t concentrate for any length of time, which made reading impossible and writing difficult. I often sat on the deck out the front of our home for most of the day, just soaking in the vitamin D.
Initially I just sat and watched the day go by. As time passed, I began to write a few words in my journal. Then I was able to write more, and as I wrote, I noticed that I began writing words that started out about the problems and the woes, then turned at some point, ending up being encouraging and life-giving. I wrote down the thoughts that came flying in, this helped to process the trauma and also reveal God’s voice to me from within the pit.
It wasn’t until much later, that I realised this was a powerful way God was actually speaking to me. I read back over my letters to Him, and I found Him giving me songs, verses, ideas, encouragements, prayers for others and I began to finally realise that I had indeed been hearing His voice all this time. He had been speaking, it’s just I hadn’t tuned in to encountering Him in this way.
It was only when I realised that whenever I heard something that reflected His personality to me, these were the times when I was being spoken to by Him.
This opened up a whole world of communication with Him. It meant I could hear Him through, ideas, thoughts, dreams, others, His word, my kids, a song, nature, feelings, senses, emotions, physical things, relationships…and the list goes on and on and on….countless numbers of ways that God could speak to me.
Can I encourage you……..You do hear God’s voice!
He speaks in a language that we understand.
It often sounds like my own thoughts, but when I realise how good and wise and uplifting they are – even when I am flat and lowly…I realise that He speaks in a language that is familiar to me, because He wants me to understand.
He wants me to hear Him. He wants me to connect with Him.
The question is not really, Is He speaking?
It’s How is He speaking to me?
HOW DO WE RECOGNISE GOD’S VOICE:
There are countless ways that God speaks to us as His precious kids…our job is to search, to open our eyes and heart. Here are some questions that might help trigger just some of the ways God can speak?
- Where do you feel most peaceful?
- How do you receive love best?
- At what times and places do you find yourself actually stopping and catching your breath?
- What inspires you?
- Does nature/creation speak something to you?
- Where do you find yourself feeling most yourself?
- What helps you to release the brain clutter and allow yourself to just be?
- Which sense, sight, hearing, touch, smell or taste, seems to speak to you at a deeper level?
- As a child, what did you do for fun? What times were you most happy? (this can give clues for some people)
- Ask God for revelation of how He wants to speak to you today, then look out of Him.
GOD’S VOICE ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS REFLECTS HIS NATURE
Is it full of love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, does it sound wise, does is align with God’s word? Is it uplifting, gracious, generous, life-giving, life affirming, warm, affectionate, tender, full of grace, is it just, forgiving, accepting, joyful, fun, creative, loyal, redeeming, clean, fresh, wise, hopeful, secure, comforting, drawing you in closer, does it feel like love walked in and gave you the most fulfilling gift ever – it’s these kinds of attributes and traits that God has shown me what He sounds and feels like. (this is by no means an exhaustive list, I am learning that His character will be something I will always be discovering more about)
I am so thankful for Him and the way He isn’t content in being silent when it comes to speaking to us. It does require a certain amount of God awareness in us…which might look a little different for different people. For me, it is in the quiet, by myself, not distracted, it’s the place where I choose to just sit and be.
I am still before Him. And then I wait.
Sometimes I begin to worship Him, I tell Him how much I love Him. I give each thought to Him as they fly in and just wait for something that sounds like Him to come. It doesn’t take long, but for me anyway, it took some getting used to (the stopping bit that is. lol.)
Just lastly, I want to encourage you that as you begin to hear His voice and become confident in hearing Him in one way, He often desires to branch out and reveal a new way to hear Him. This can seem a little confusing at first, but as we embrace not our comfort, but the mystery – then life becomes an adventure of journeying with Him. I believe He does this so that we can remain humble and connected to His awesomeness, rather than relying upon our own.
Go and discover what way God is speaking to you, He is ALWAYS saying something to you. I wonder what it is today?
Oh Father,
Thankyou that you are always speaking to us.
Thankyou that you desire relationship and intimacy with us in our lives.
You long for us to partner with you and live to our complete purpose in our beautifully designed wiring.
Please show us today, how you wish to speak to us today.
Open our ears to hear you clearly.
Open our eyes to see you more dearly.
Open our hearts that we may know you more intimately.
Open our minds to know you more deeply.
Amen. xxxxx