I always considered my dad to be very wise.
He was a gentle man but also a man of strength. He had integrity and a calm, quiet support that made me feel loved and protected. He was someone others looked to for good advice. He was someone who wanted to help.
It was because of this that I craved relationship with him. It was in communicating with him that I discovered his expectations of me, his view of circumstances, and his guidance as I navigated life. After he passed away, there were many occasions when I wished I could ask him a question, have him tell me what to do, or just run to him for comfort.
For a long time, I looked at prayer and Bible study as a one-way street. I read. I studied. I prayed. I determined what the scriptures must mean based on my own intellect, then I made my own decisions and went my own way. I didn’t know how to listen. What a game changer it was when I realized that my heavenly Father could be just as real, and just as available, as my dad always was.
Hearing God’s voice is something that I needed to seek, to discover, to practice, and then to submit to and obey. In hearing Him speak, I find out who He is, who I am, what I was made for, and how to get there. It is a weapon of spiritual warfare that I can use to battle the enemy of my soul. It is where I find grace, mercy, joy, peace, and love.
He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. John 14:17
When you accept Jesus and invite Him in, you get your very own guide – the Holy Spirit – to live inside you and show you your very own glimpses of Truth. The Holy Spirit is a part of the Holy Trinity, part of God Himself. His job is to teach you, and His insights will reveal the Truth aligned with His Word.
There are many ways that we can hear from the Lord through the Holy Spirit.
- He can speak to us by whispering to our hearts during prayer.
- He can speak to us through our circumstances.
- He can speak to us through other godly witnesses.
- He can reveal Himself through His creation.
- But the primary way that He speaks is through His Word.
The Lord has glimpses of truth to show each one of us. But how do we see them? How do we hear Him speaking to us? How do we figure out how a passage of Scripture applies to our lives?
Or maybe you don’t know where to start.
You can start by simply asking the question, “Lord, what do you have to reveal to me through these words today?”
When we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, He brings those words to life in a whole new way. Words we may have read many times before suddenly light up with a new meaning for us. This is one of the ways you can hear God speak.
However He chooses to speak to you, learn to know the Shepherd’s voice. Seek His voice, discover how you hear Him best, practice listening, and then submit to Him and obey what you hear. Let Him comfort you, guide you, teach you, love you.
***For more encouragement like this, check out Diane’s book, Glimpses of Truth: Hearing God’s Voice in a Noisy World. Click here to order your copy.
Diane Goetz
Diane Goetz lives in Greencastle PA with her husband, Chris, and their 3 dogs. She also has a conglomeration of horses, cows, barn cats, and chickens to care for at the family farm. Her daughter, Melanie, is grown and living in Kennett Square, PA.
Diane has a heart for women’s ministry and writing to encourage women to know Jesus personally, to experience His grace, and to learn to hear His voice. She has been called to encourage, empower, and equip women to experience healing and freedom, to pursue truth, and to realize their true identity in order to be filled with the joy, peace and love of Christ.
You can read more from Diane on her personal blog, or on her Facebook page, Grace Overflowing.
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