He who belongs to God here’s what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God. John 8:47
Do you know when God is speaking to you?
A critical point in our understanding of experiencing God is knowing when he speaks. If we don’t know when God is speaking, we are in trouble at the heart of our Christian walk. God speaks through the Holy Spirit to reveal himself, His purposes, and His ways. God speaks through the Bible, circumstances, the church, and other believers.
In the Old Testament, God spoke to His people through angels, visions, dreams, the use of Uris and Thummim , symbolic actions, gentle whisper, and miraculous signs. It’s not the how he spoke to His people that is important , but that he spoke to them and they knew what he is saying is what is important.
When God spoke to His people, they knew what Hod was saying. There are four factors used each time God spoke.
1. When God spoke, it was usually unique to the individual. For example, Hod used a bush to speak to Moses. God didn’t use a bush with anyone else. He wanted this experience for him and Moses. God wants to be personal with each of us. Our experience with God will be unique to each of us.
2. When God speaks, the person was sure Hod was speaking. Moses trusted that he had encountered God. He trusted God, obeyed God, and experienced God. When Gideon lacked assurance, Hod graciously revealed Himself more clearly. When Gideon realized he was seeing the angel of the Lord, he knew he had heard God.
3. When God spoke, the person knew what God said. Moses, Abraham, Noah, Joseph, David, and Daniel knew what God was speaking to them about. They knew what God was asking of them.
4. When God spoke, that was the encounter with God. The people in the Old Testament realizes that how God spoke to them was their encounter with God. When God reveals His truth to us, he uses whatever means so we have an encounter with Him.
When God God uses any of these factors, we are experiencing God’s presence in our lives. We need to know that we can’t be guided by experience alone. We can’t be guided by tradition, a method, or by a formula. In order to know God and experience him, we have to know his will and voice. It will take time and effort to cultivate a love relationship with Him!
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for building a relationship with each of us that is unique to you and each of us. I pray that we will take the time and make an effort to know how you are speaking to us and that we will know your voice.
In Jesus Name
Amen
