Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Talk Tuesday-How Do You Hear The Voice of The Lord?

I have often heard Christians say, “God spoke to my heart.” I could remember being confused by this as a much younger Christian, yet as I journeyed with the Lord I began to understand. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me,” John 10:27. “15 If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth,” John 14:15-16. As a young christian, I had a passion for reading the Bible. I would sit and spend hours reading, then silently meditating on what I had read. It was as though some invisible force was connecting my heart to the words, and the words were challenging, shaping, moulding, correcting and transforming my heart. “For 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; “26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you,” John 14:26.

Let me share a personal experience with you. It was my turn to lead worship last Sunday at church. As I was going through the list of songs, I asked the Holy Spirit to help me choose. He brought to mind a hymn, 'Great Is Thy Faithfulness'. I had never personally done that hymn in my worship set before, but I complied. Worship was anointed and sweet. Together as a congregation we sang, “Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with Thee. Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not. As Thou has been, Thou forever wilt be.” Now as we got to the chorus, the truth of the words became palpable in the sanctuary, “Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see: All I have needed Thy hand hath provided, Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!” All day I kept humming that song.

Since then, I have continued to experience an ongoing trial. As I woke up this morning, the first thing I heard was the song, echoing in my heart. As I proceeded to do my homework for my course on Spiritual Formation, which I am taking at seminary, I opened up my workbook to today's exercise. We are required to read the entire Book of Lamentations...and there I saw it! “Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness,” Lamentations 3:22-23. Section c) of my workbook states, “The following songs have been inspirational for the people of God throughout past and present generations. As you read (sing) these songs try to discover how they speak into your life today,” (Re-Connect, Spiritual Exercises To Develop Intimacy With GOD by David Sherbino, p.69). Below, in my workbook, was the song, 'Great Is Thy Faithfulness'!

Now some may attribute this to coincidence, but for me, it is the voice of God! The Holy Spirit led me to that hymn. The Holy Spirit began to work its truth in my heart through music, and today, through the reading of the actual scripture. As I sat to do my homework, I stopped in my tracks and stared in amazement at the words before me, 'GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS, LORD UNTO ME!' Now I can continue to walk through my trial with the peace that God's faithfulness will bring a blessed result.

How do you hear the voice of the LORD? How do you know it is He who is speaking, and not another? Please click on the comments link below to share your thoughts with the BGO Community of believers. We love hearing from you!

5 comments:

Farah said...

"Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening", prayed Samuel, the young boy who did not recognize the Lord's voice because he had never heard it before.
The Bible is definitely the first place where we begin to recognize and hear God's voice. I stand amazed at the countless verses that continue to jump off the pages, speaking truth, encouragement and hope to my heart. Then, there is the Holy Spirit, who brings them to memory just when you need them. And another place no doubt -music. Christian songs are a great reminder of the written Word. I would also have to admit that God speaks through other people and situations. Your posts have become the means through which I hear His still, small voice because they're grounded in the Scriptures and are Spirit-led. Having experienced God's faithfulness in my life, especially lately, I, too, must sing, "Great is Thy Faithfulness!"

Blessings to you!

Anonymous said...

That's a beautiful story Natasha and a wonderful affirmation of God's love!

I have heard that you know when a message is from God, when it lines up with scripture. I haven’t heard anything spoken to me that contradict scripture (thankfully).

I do know that God always wants my heart to be open to him, humble, malleable, fillable.

I haven’t heard God’s voice audibly, or even know the precise moment when I ‘know’ but that certainty in my soul (my gut?!), I know it comes from the Lord. I do know it always seems to come as answer (not necessarily the answer I wanted) to prayer... when I’m seeking Him for guidance and then everything just seems to point in a particular direction. There’s a certain repetition that comes. That’s how I know it’s from God.

For example I may hear a message with the same topic or scripture (that seems aimed right at me), and I’ll hear it in different areas – one from my devotions, at church maybe, or a topic amongst friends or WDCX radio.

Another time, I had started to feel so alone, and questioned God ‘where were all the other Christians in this world?’ I felt so isolated at the time, with none of my family in the faith, few Godly friends at that point then and no one to talk to. God did the most wonderful thing! In the weeks following the purchase of my home, I had God encounters with the most unlikely of sources: service people. Every service person that we hired just happened to be a God-fearing, living for the Word born again Christians! I was amazed. It was the plumber, the locksmith and the home security company. I knew God sent them as affirmations of His Love :)

Natasha said...

Farah,

You are so right! God DOES also speak through other people and situations. Thank you for sharing with us at BGO so faithfully!


Anonymous #1,

What you say is so true! Whenever the Lord has spoken a word into my heart, He will often repeat it a few times through various different mediums. This reminds me of the story Gideon in the book of Judges, chapter 6. Gideon put out a fleece before the Lord, asking for more than one confirmation. In 1 Samuel Chapter 3, Samuel heard God call him 3 times.

May we always listen as the Lord calls and speaks to our hearts.

Thank you for sharing and encouraging the Body of Christ!

Natasha said...

How do we know which voice is from GOD?

I think that anything we hear that is contrary to God's Word, is not from Him. We are warned in the New Testament:

1 John 4:1-3
"1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world."

2 Corinthians 11:14-15
"14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness."

Matthew 24:24
"24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect."

The caveat is that every message we hear must line up with the Word of God.

Any more thoughts on this?

Anonymous said...


As usual I am blessed by your BGO post! Sometimes I may be going through a trial, seeking God in prayer for direction, confirmation or purpose and the HOLY SPIRIT will drop a song in my spirit which touches the very heart of my issue(s). At other times the LORD will take me to a particular Scripture which will speak to my situation. There are times I will say to the LORD:" At other times,the prophecy at Prayer Meeting speaks speaks directly to my situation. Then there is that still small voice deep within my spirit that brings the answer with a kind of inexplicable peace. GOD speaks to me in so many amazing ways. May GOD be praised!