When God Speaks Are You Listening?

My Utmost For His Highest

“Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision.” —1 Samuel 3:15

“God never speaks to us in dramatic ways, but in ways that are easy to misunderstand. Then we say, “I wonder if that is God’s voice?” Isaiah said that the Lord spoke to him “with a strong hand,” that is, by the pressure of his circumstances (Isaiah 8:11). Without the sovereign hand of God Himself, nothing touches our lives. Do we discern His hand at work, or do we see things as mere occurrences? Get into the habit of saying, “Speak, Lord,” and life will become a romance (1 Samuel 3:9). Every time circumstances press in on you, say, “Speak, Lord,” and make time to listen. Chastening is more than a means of discipline— it is meant to bring me to the point of saying, “Speak, Lord.” Think back to a time when God spoke to you. Do you remember what He said? Was it Luke 11:13, or was it 1 Thessalonians 5:23? As we listen, our ears become more sensitive, and like Jesus, we will hear God all the time.”  CHAMBERS

Listening for God’s voice.  Do you believe that God would speak to you? Well more directly, do you believe God speaks to anyone? Or was that just for people in the Bible?  Have you thought about the fact that you are Paul’s brother or sister in Christ?  Does a father speak to his children?  Do you think of God as your Father or as God who is benevolent toward you now that you are a Christian.  What you think of God will determine whether your are willing to consider listening for His voice.  

John 17:20-23  “I (Jesus) pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” 

God intends that you have an intimate relationship with Him.  Why would He be silent. In Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby says that God speaks by His Spirit through prayer, His Word, other believers and circumstances.  But we have to be listening.  Have you ever said “I am sorry, I wasn’t listening”?  Or has someone said to you “Are you listening to me?”  If you want to hear from God, you need to be listening.  God has something to say to you! ELGIN