God speaks, and you can hear Him (Part 1)

There are many ways God speaks. The English word means “to produce words by means of sounds; talk. To express thoughts of feelings to convey information in speech or writing. To convey information or ideas in text.” (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition)

According to blueletterbible.org, the Greek word for speak is lego, and a few definitions are: “to say, to speak, to make plain, to think or say within, exhort, unfold and explain.” 

As we can see, there is a bit more depth and nuance to the Greek equivalent. I will call upon some of the Greek definitions as we explore how God speaks to us. I have ministered in a few different parts of the world, but mostly in the Western world. Because of this, I am most familiar with the Western church cultures. Many times, we lay our culturally discipled mind over biblical words and contexts, so sometimes we miss the depth and richness of the text. The word “speak” can be so familiar to us we may take at face value we know what it means. This penchant can rob us of the joy of experiencing all God has for us in His Word. We need to invite the Holy Spirit to join us and guide us in our bible reading times. He will highlight words to us for us to explore and dive into, and He will help bring deeper understanding to us as we encounter His Word. 

Most Americans regard speaking as vocal and audible. I wrote a book called Belief Rehab: You are Enough. In this book, we talk extensively about hearing God. Since writing that book, two of the most common questions I receive is “How can I hear God?” and “How can I be sure it’s God?” I believe we hear God far more frequently than we realize, because we expect to hear Him a certain way: vocally and audibly. Because God speaks, makes known, makes plain, describes, unfolds, and explains in ways we are not skilled to receive, we miss recognizing its Him. God can be quite subtle. Sometimes He speaks loudly, and sometimes He speaks very softly. I believe He speaks loudly much less frequently than He speaks softly. We must grow skilled in hearing that soft voice.

God Speaks. You Can Hear Him.

He designed us to be interconnected with Himself

In the 17th chapter of the Book of John, Jesus prays out loud for those surrounding Him to hear. He describes the interconnectedness He desires for Himself, Father God, and those who follow Him (us). “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” John 17:20-23 NKJV

John also records Jesus teaching about the purpose of the Holy Spirit. Jesus teaches, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” John 16:12-15 NKJV

In each of these passages, Jesus reveals His heart for His church, His followers, His co-laborers, His brothers and sisters. Jesus, Father God, and Holy Spirit work together as one, and they labor for us to be one with Them. Jesus reveals He has many things to say and He will continue to speak to us through the Holy Spirit. However, the Holy Spirit will not speak some new message to us, but He will (like Jesus) only speak what He hears, only speak truth, and He will tell us of things to come. All that Jesus died to lay hold of, Holy Spirit will lead us into. Everything Jesus has is from the Father, and Holy Spirit will take from those things and declare them to us. The interconnectedness and interdependence that distinguish the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit should also distinguish us, as His family.

God speaks to us internally

God speaks and makes Himself known internally as thoughts, impressions, and ideas. Jesus said He had many things He wanted to share, but He couldn’t then. I believe He shares some of those things now, with us. As we invite the Holy Spirit into our lives, we should expect to experience inspired thoughts, ideas, and impressions. After all, we “have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:16 NKJV

God knows how to make Himself known in the mind and spirit of His children. Sometimes I call it harassment. He just won’t let things go, sometimes. A few weeks before I was installed as the senior pastor of The Journey in January 2020, I was thinking about what my first message as senior pastor should be. I had been associate pastor for a little over 3 and a half years, so I had preached many messages there. I had an idea that I should have a foot-washing ceremony for my first Sunday Service. The idea came as an internal impression. The problem was, I tried to move on from that idea to see if I could come up with other ideas, but the Holy Spirit wouldn’t let me. Every time I thought about my first message, that was the first thought that came up and it wouldn’t leave my consciousness. I tried to argue with God about it. I asked if He was sure about 100 times. But He was persistent. I knew He wanted me to do it because He kept harassing me. I really didn’t want to do it, and I had 100 excuses. I didn’t want to make people uncomfortable. I didn’t want to be weird. All these excuses came up, but as I prayed about it and talked to the Lord in our private time, I realized He was asking one question. God wanted to know if I would be obedient. While leading His church, would I listen to Him and do what He says?

I never heard an audible voice. I just knew from the strong thoughts and impressions that surfaced every time I thought about my first service as senior pastor. In fact, I had a very strong impression that my decision then would set the tone for the entire time I served that church as pastor.

Following Jesus requires us to hear Him and obey when He speaks softly.

Hearing God’s soft voice often sounds like your own familiar internal voice. I believe this is one reason we don’t realize we hear Him. Is it me or is it Him? I think the answer is yes. The voice is you and Him. We have the mind of Christ. He is interconnected with us through the Holy Spirit. When He speaks, it feels like your own thoughts, ideas, and impressions, but it’s like He leans on them with His own weight. Imagine being inside a tent when you’re camping. Inside the tent is your own thoughts, but when someone from the outside leans on that tent, it changes the shape slightly. It bends and folds according to that outside pressure.  You could get up and go push the tent back to the shape you want, or you have the choice to allow that outside pressure to modify the shape. Really, it’s not unlike the potter and the clay analogy from Jeremiah 18. The clay gets shaped into its most wonderful and beautiful form by submitting to the potter. The clay can never shape itself.

God’s ideas introduced into our imaginations

As we can get used to recognizing when God exerts His pressure upon our own familiar internal voice, we can also recognize when He introduces ideas to our imagination. In my brain it fells similar to a shooting star. An idea flits across the corner of my mind, and I get to choose whether to grab hold of it or not.

A. W. Tozer has an interesting theory that I’ve pondered for many years: “It is my own belief (and here I shall not feel bad if no one follows me) that every good and beautiful thing which man has produced in the world has been the result of his faulty and sin-blocked response to the creative Voice sounding over the earth. The moral philosophers who dreamed their high dreams of virtue, the religious thinkers who speculated about God and immortality, the poets and artists who created out of common stuff pure and lasting beauty: how can we explain them? It is not enough to say simply, “It was genius.” What then is genius? Could it be that a genius is a man haunted by the speaking Voice, laboring and striving like one possessed to achieve ends which he only vaguely understands?” https://www.the-highway.com/voice_Tozer.html

Many times, we think ideas come up and surface from the depths of ourselves. Sometimes, that’s true. Our subconscious mind goes to work on a problem, and ideas will bubble up from the depths of our minds. But sometimes, an idea is just grand enough that we recognize it’s not from within, but from Him. I know I am a smart person, but I know when I have an idea that is much wiser than I am. When those wise ideas come, I’ve learned to thank God for His speaking Voice, lean into them, write them down, and obey. When speaking to our internal familiar voices, He introduces wisdom, thoughts, and insights that we may have not previously considered. He speaks to our internal mind as He interweaves His own.

My Prayer for us all

My prayer is that each of us would untether ourselves from the expectation that God only “speaks” in audible words that we perceive with our natural ears. I pray we will pick up the Greek definition of “speak” and look for the ways God makes known, makes plain, unfolds, explains, and exhorts. May we all develop the spiritual sensitivity to “hear” with our spiritual ears, perceive when He leans on our familiar internal voice, and receive when He implants us with His wisdom and ideas. May we all be “haunted by the speaking Voice” of God.

Please, leave a comment, share a testimony, or let us know if you found this helpful in any way.

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