The Secret To Hearing GodSample

DAY 4: Hear Here

“I just want to hear from you, God.” 

Probably for many reading this devotional, that is our heart’s cry. We read in the Bible of His wonders. Of burning-bush appearances, of fantastical visions, of whispering voices in the night and stone-rolled-away appearances in the morning. We imagine the miracles. The dead rising, the open eyes of the blind, the broken healed – and we wish those same marvels for ourselves and our hurting loved ones. 

Deep in our core, we long for the same chance as the characters in the Bible had - to see the signs in person with our own eyes. And then finally, unequivocally, marrow-deep, to believe.

If you long for all that, then hearing is good place to start.

We all are capable of making ourselves heard in a variety of ways. Sometimes we shout and other times we whisper – and everything in between. Of course, anyone who has ever had a mother knows much can be said with silence!

Undoubtedly, the Bible is God’s primary method for communicating with his followers. Through the Bible’s countless stories, it is evident that God frequently communicates with us beyond verbally. Ways like:

• Internal Intuition (like a sense of peace over a situation) 
• Through dreams and visions (e.g. Daniel, Peter, Paul, etc.)
• Circumstance (opportunities opening and doors closing)
• Through the wisdom, concern and advice of others

Well established in this devotional is the fact that Harriet Tubman heard from God. But sometimes God spoke to her through the wisdom of those around her. In one sequence, amplified in the film’s stirring trailer, Harriet gets critical advice from her pastor on how to escape undetected as a runaway. Absent that wisdom, she surely would have been caught and hanged. Without question, Harriet would say that God spoke to her through that minister.

If there’s one thing Scripture makes clear, it’s that God speaks to us in innumerable creative ways. In the Bible, God has chosen to speak through kings and peasants, prophets and prostitutes—He once even spoke through a donkey! So why are we limiting ourselves to just an audible voice? Most importantly, wherever we are, we are also promised His Holy Spirit presence. 

So we should be straining to hear…right here. 

In our first lesson, we learned the importance of a Posture of Preparation for hearing God. The second was to have an Attitude of Attentiveness. Our third lesson was to develop our trust that with God, the possible is never impossible. Our final lesson is to remember that God is ALWAYS speaking to us – through the miracle of His creation, through the Bible, through the wisdom of those we trust and through the audible and inaudible power of His Word and Spirit.

In your prayer time today:

• Take a Posture of Preparation and say “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
• Ask God to give you an Attitude of Attentiveness, “Lord, make my heart willing to hear You.”
• Cultivate a heart that believes in the Possible Impossible, “Lord, teach me to rely on Your miracle power.”
• Finally, ask God for the ears to Hear... Here. “Every moment and everywhere I go, Lord, allow me the privilege to hear You and the courage to obey Your command.”