Hearing God’s Voice Today
Do you hear God’s voice in your daily life? Do you believe that God still speaks to people today like he did in the Bible times? Jesus described our relationship with Him in John 10 as being like sheep that recognize the shepherd’s voice:
My sheep listen to my voice. I call each one by name. I lead them out and they follow me because they know my voice… I open and close gates for them; they come in and find safe pasture and they go out with me in the path of righteousness. I give them life – my life, real life from God that is abundant and eternal… I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me — just as the Father knows me and I know the Father (John 10:3, 9-10, 14-15, my paraphrase).
The ability of animals to recognize the voice of their master or mistress is a remarkable fact! And Jesus uses this to encourage us that we can hear his voice.
Have you heard the story of Charlie Frank and his elephant Neeta? It goes back over twenty years. Frank raised her from birth, training her to be a circus performer. When he retired he gave her to the San Diego Zoo. After 15 years of being separated Frank visited Neeta. He was 100 yards away from her and he called to her and immediately she came to him and performed her old routines on his command.
“The Three Lights”: a GPS Navigation System
To hear God’s voice consistently we need to be like the elephant Neeta who developed a relationship with her Master, like the sheep who follow the good shepherd.
The ancient wisdom of God’s people is that he guides us by using three lights. Together the three lights form a GPS Navigation System. Do you have a GPS in your car? I do and I love it! When I’m driving someplace unfamiliar I easily get lost. I love having a GPS that knows where I am and tells me where to go to get to my destination.
God’s Word (Bible)
Above all we need God’s Word to guide us. The Bible contains the authoritative and inspired words of God. God uses the Bible to speak to us and everything he says to us is consistent with what he’s said in the Bible. As we study the Scripture and let it lead us into prayer God leads us in the path of life.
This is one reason why it is so helpful to memorize Scripture. Then as we’re going about our lives we can call it up for meditation and prayer. And God can bring just the right words from Scripture when we need them.
Providence (Circumstances)
The second way that God speaks to us is through his providence. God is the sovereign Lord and he uses circumstances in our lives to open and close doors for us. The providence of God includes all of our circumstances, even the bad things that he didn’t want for us, but allowed, because of the freedom of choice that others and we have.
Spirit impressions (thoughts from God)
The first two aspects of our GPS Navigation system are objective, external realities. Though God’s Word is a spiritual reality, we have it written down in black and white and every word has been authorized by God and preserved for thousands of years. And Providence or circumstances are visible to us all around us: they are physical reality.
But the third part of our GPS, Spirit impressions, is a subjective, inner reality. The Holy Spirit living, breathing, and speaking to us is real, but we normally don’t see or hear him with our physical eyes and ears like we can our life circumstances and the words of Scripture. God speaks to us by his Spirit by giving us impressions in our mind and heart. John calls these Spirit impressions an “anointing” and encourages us to learn to place confidence in the Spirit as our inner teacher (1 John 2:27).
Give it a Try!
Our confidence in hearing God’s voice grows as we practice relying on God’s Word, Providence, and Spirit impressions. To practice is to experiment. Ask God for wisdom about a decision you need to make – don’t start with a major, life altering decision, but something smaller. To help you hear God’s guidance turn on your GPS and spend some time in listening prayer.
When you sense what God might be saying take the hand of Christ and step out in faith. See what happens. Then talk and pray with a godly friend and learn from your experience.
Soul Transformation Resources
There are other spiritual disciplines that you can practice to cultivate an intimate relationship with Christ and to become familiar with his voice. A few that have especially helped me and those I minister to are:
Sign up for our new Soul Shepherding Blog which features a prayer exercise in a short e-mail 1-2 times per week.
Let’s be friends online: I post a ministry update and an abiding prayer daily on my Facebook and Twitter .
You can share the Christian Soul Care Devotional with your friends.
William Gaultiere, Ph.D. is a Psychologist specializing in “Christian Soul Care” since 1986. Bill and his wife Kristi (a Marriage and Family Therapist) have a donor-supported ministry to pastors and leaders called Soul Shepherding. In counseling, spiritual mentoring, seminars, and retreats Bill and Kristi help people to connect deeply with Christ in ways that facilitate soul transformation. At Bill and Kristi’s webstie, SoulShepherding.org, you will find articles, prayers, and pictures to nourish your soul in God.
William Gaultiere, Ph.D. ~ Soul Shepherding, 4000 Barranca Pkwy, Suite 250, Irvine, CA 92604 ~ http://www.soulshepherding.org/ ~ 949.262.3699 ~ or go to the Contact page on the Soul Shepherding website.
William Gaultiere, Ph.D. & Kristi Gaultiere, Psy.D. ~ http://www.soulshepherding.org