Stewarding the Gift of ProphecyShembull

Day 2 - Training our Senses

Hebrews 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to distinguish between good and evil. (NASB)

God speaks through our senses. He speaks through His written word. He speaks to our spirits. He speaks through pictures in our minds. He speaks through dreams. He speaks through other people, and the list could go on.

His written Word should be the starting place and the foundation as we learn to hear His voice. In light of this, He also asks us to have our senses trained so that we can discern if it’s Him speaking, if it's our voice, or if it's the enemy.

The word senses is from the Greek aisthétérion (ahee-sthay-tay'-ree-on), which means "organ of perception."

God is telling us to soak our "organ of perception" in the presence of God so that we can know when He is speaking.

Let’s dig a little deeper, though.

The word for training in this verse is gumnazó (goom-nad'-zo) - train by physical exercise; in the wildest sense. As with an ancient Greek athlete in a sporting event; (figuratively) to train with one's full effort, i.e. with complete physical and emotional force.

We get our English word gymnasium from the Greek word gumnazó. We are told to put intense focus on learning to hear His voice and understand the phonetics of how He speaks. In this pursuit of learning to hear His voice, we grow in grace and maturity as we learn to be obedient in any circumstance.

Now let's take a look at what Jesus says in John 10:27 – “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (NASB)

If we don’t dig a little deeper into this verse, we can end up with a limited understanding of what God is communicating to us. The word for voice in this verse means so much more than you may think.

The Greek word for voice is phóné (fo-nay') - the idea of disclosure; a tone (articulate, bestial or artificial); by implication, an address (for any purpose), saying or language -- noise, sound, voice. A sound, noise.

We get our English word phonetics from this Greek word phóné. Phonetics – the study and systematic classification of the sounds made in spoken utterance, the practical application of this science to language study.

The Bible tells us that as followers of Jesus, we should know how He communicates, and we should understand what is being communicated and be ready to follow His directives.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, soak my senses in Your presence so I can better know Your voice.