The Power of Solitude: Hearing the Voice of GodSample

Day 1: Why we need to hear from God

The most important voice in our life is the voice of God, but sometimes, His voice gets drowned in the echo chamber of other inconsequential voices and opinions around us. In a world where most seem to be saying so much of nothing, and often the loudest voice appears to be the most relevant, prioritizing the voice of God becomes sacrosanct to an effective, functional, and healthy Christian life.

When we overly depend on external voices or views on critical issues in our lives, it is often an indication of our communication gap with God. God still speaks; we only have difficulties hearing. A progressive Christian life is not only predicated on logic, common sense, and rationale. We need God and divine guidance. There is always more to life than meets the eye.

When we no longer hear from God or feel his presence, something else fills the vacuum. Some turn to drugs and various kinds of rituals or different metaphysical activities. As a child of God, we have an innate craving to hear God speak to us, but this craving is often suppressed as a result of sin. When King Saul no longer heard from God, he consulted a medium/sorcerer.

1 Sam 28:5-7 NIV " When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.”

“There is one in Endor,” they said."

The problem is that sin often creates a gap between us and God, and without repentance, the chasm becomes too wide and difficult to bridge. The price we pay for sin is the difficulty of hearing God. It creates a fog in the communication line. His voice gets distorted with other noises around us. The frequency and reception get jammed with seemingly sound reasoning and opinions.

Prophet Isaiah puts it this way. "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." Isaiah 59:1 NIV

Hearing from God is not rocket science, but sin crowds our minds. God still speaks; we only have difficulties hearing.