He who has ears to hear, let him hear! (Matthew 11:15 (NKJV))
Many of us want to hear God speak to us. We want to receive a personal message from Him. Yet, we are often unwilling to slow down in our day-to-day lives to spend time with Him in His Word, the Bible.
God can speak in unexpected ways
God will sometimes use extraordinary methods to get a person’s attention. He can use unusual circumstances so you will listen to what He wants to tell you.
- God used a burning bush that wasn’t consumed by the fire to get Moses’s attention (Exodus 3:2–4).
- He got Balaam’s attention through a donkey (Numbers 22:26–34).
- And He sent a wind that was so strong it “tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces” to get Elijah’s attention (1 Kings 19:11 (NKJV)).
But He doesn’t usually speak to us in those ways.
God also speaks through people
Other times, God uses others to get your attention. For example:
- Have you ever felt exposed during a sermon, wondering if your pastor had bugged your car so he could hear the conversation you had with your husband on the way to church that morning?
- Or have you had a time when the Holy Spirit prompts you during a Bible study or teaching, telling you, “That was for you!”
We like those times when we know God has spoken to us through another person. It doesn’t feel like work when you hear from Him in those times. It’s a blessing to get a word from the Lord through your pastor on a Sunday morning.
God usually speaks through the Bible
Yet, we don’t have to wait for those special times. We can hear God speak to us every day. God wants to tell you things. And the primary way He does that is when you spend time with Him, praying and reading through His Word.
The Bible is alive and powerful (Hebrews 4:12). It’s not just a bunch of words that men wrote down thousands of years ago. The Bible is literally God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16). God will speak to you through His Word when you take the time to listen.
If you regularly take time to read the Bible, it can be tempting some days to read through it quickly. In those times, you open the Bible to the designated place you want to read. Then you read it. Close it. And you’re done for the day.
You may even feel good about yourself, thinking, I did my devos today. I did what I was supposed to do. Now I don’t have to do anything else until tomorrow. I can move on with my day.
But if someone asks you later that afternoon what you read, you would probably have to think about it to remember. Okay, I’ve been reading through the Book of John. I think I’m in chapter four. What’s in chapter four? In other words, you have no idea what you read.
Slowing down to hear God’s Word
But what if you approached the Bible differently each day? Instead of reading it quickly and proclaiming that you’re done, what if you sloooooooowwwwww dooooowwwnnnn.
- Start your time with God by singing along with a worship song you really like, preparing your mind to hear what God wants to reveal to you.
- Pray and ask God to speak to you as you read His Word. Ask Him to help you focus on what He’s saying. Tell Him about your desire to hear from Him.
- Open your Bible to wherever you’ve been reading. Read a verse or two. Then take time to think about it. Meditate on the words.
- Ask yourself the who, what, where, when, why, and how questions. For example, you could ask things like: Who is speaking? What is happening? Where is the speaker or the one being spoken to at the time? When was it? Why is something happening? How does it apply to your life? Does it say anything about God – His character or nature or something He’s done?
- Take the time to ponder the things you’ve discovered and to listen for God’s voice.
The Holy Spirit may want to teach you something about your amazing God – about what He loves or what He hates; about who He is and the awesome things He has done. He may want to prompt you and give you guidance about a question you have. The Holy Spirit may tell you to stop doing something you’re not supposed to do. Or He may just want you to learn about how someone in the Bible responded to a particular situation.
So, slow down. Take time out of your day to spend quality time with God. Talk to Him and listen so you will hear what He wants to say to you as you walk by faith with Him.
Photo by Simon Wilkes on Unsplash
Such a timely message that I need constantly. Thank you for allowing Holy Spirit to speak through your words!