The Always GodSample

THE GOD WHO SPEAKS

Sometimes we don’t need to speak to God as much as we need him to speak to us. Now you might be thinking, I’m listening, so if God is speaking, I don’t get it.

Every time you open God’s Word, you can be sure he is speaking. I like to tell people, “When we read the Bible, the Bible reads us.”

The Bible is not an ordinary book: “The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

Paul wrote to Timothy, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

I’m so grateful that God invites us to pray to him and gives us his Word as a sure way to hear his voice. But get this: God gets even more up close and personal through his Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit’s role is to glorify Jesus by taking what he has said and enabling us to understand and obey it. This is why the Bible calls him the Spirit of truth and our Helper. Jesus taught his disciples: “When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.” (John 16:13–14)

It’s important to remember that what God speaks through his Holy Spirit will never contradict his Word. They will always align.

Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase the still small voice of God. This is the Holy Spirit. Don’t be fooled, though: the still small voice is often louder and clearer than any audible voice you have ever heard.

God speaks to us through multiple ways: creation, conscience, circumstances, prayer, Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and wise counsel. In which of these ways have you experienced God speaking to you? In which of these ways do you rarely experience God speaking to you?