I went and made a podcast to post on the first and third Thursdays of the month, and then March went and had a fifth Thursday, so I was faced with the dilemma of whether to take a week off or to post an extra episode. I decided to record and share this episode because it is about a topic that is paramount when we talk about the idea of plowing up our unplowed ground: Hearing the voice of God. It’s a little longer than the usual episodes, but we’ll be back to the shorter ones next week!
Throughout the previous episodes and in the coming ones, I refer to hearing God’s truth, receiving God’s healing, gaining God’s insights and wisdom. But in order to do that, we must be able to hear His voice and to recognize Him when He speaks.
That is what we are talking about today. We are talking about the reality that God still speaks, some of the main ways that He still speaks, and a few practices that I’ve found helpful in positioning myself to hear from and respond to Him.
You don’t have to incorporate all of these practices or do them all daily. They are simply suggestions of activities that might freshen up your time with the Lord and help you to position yourself to practice hearing from Him.
Invite the Lord into your Scripture reading:
In addition to your regular study of the Bible, ask the Lord if He has a specific passage of Scripture that He would like to speak to you through. When and if you have an impression from Him about what to read, ask Him what He has to say to you through His Word as you read it.
Meditating on Scripture Activity:
This is a way to reflect on a specific passage of Scripture and to specifically invite the Lord to speak to you. This is not a replacement for Bible study but is an additional tool for engaging with the Lord in His Word.
This Scripture Meditation Handout will guide you in this activity.
Kathy Phillips has a helpful explanation of the same activity, and she also has recordings of several Scriptures that you can listen to as she guides you in this meditative prayer: Kathy Phillips Website.
Journaling:
Unlike traditional journaling, which would involve sharing your thoughts with the Lord, this practice invites the Lord to speak to you. You will ask the Lord a specific question and then invite Him to speak. Begin writing what you sense Him to be saying. I often do this in the first person, as though the Lord Himself was actually writing. Don’t try to process what you sense Him to be saying until after you are done writing. When you have finished, read back over what you wrote and weigh it against the truth of the Bible. You can also invite a trusted friend to read over your journal and see if they believe it sounds like the Lord.
**Remember that nothing we hear will ever be out of alignment with the truth of the Bible. Scripture has ultimate authority as far as what God has spoken, so if we ever sense Him to be saying something that is counter the Bible, we can be sure that we have heard Him incorrectly.
