WAYS TO HEAR GOD'S VOICE

The first principle to be understood is that every believer can discern biblical truth. The Lord has hidden this truth from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to babes- Matt. 11:25. This truth can only be discerned through grace. God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble- Jam.4:6. No one can properly understand the truths, scriptures, prophecy or the will of God unless through humility- 1 Cor. 8:1.

The Christian walk is a straight and narrow path that must be sailed on with care. We must continually cast ourselves to God's grace to keep and preserve us in this race, otherwise the knowledge that would set us free can hasten our downfall by resulting in pride. Hence one of the ways of haring from God is through His word.

It is thence crucial that we learn to abide in the Holy spirit and the scriptures. The Holy spirit is easily grieved by sin which can be a barometer of our pride. He will depart if we do not walk uprightly. We will only be able to receive biblical knowledge when we are sensitive and not puffed up because the presence of the Holy spirit in our lives is as important as biblical truth- Matt. 22:29; 1 Cor. 2:9-11.

Also to hear from God, we must be guided by the Holy spirit and committed to knowing the scriptures. The scriptures are used for truth, establishment of doctrine and for keeping us in line with the will of God while the voice of God gives us day to day guidance and reveals the strategic will of God to us.

The Lord is much more than just knowing His works. How many people can we recognize by mere looking at their hands? How often do we devote our attention to seeking the ''hand of the Lord''- what we can receive from Him rather than seeking His face or hearing His voice- Ex. 32:12-23. True Christianity is a restored, living relationship with the Lord. It is more than just a doctrine, rather it is obedience to the voice of the Lord-Ex. 15:16; Deut. 4:29-30.

Also another way the Lord can speak to His children is by prompting another Christian. Often, the Lord's voice will come to us through a person and He will require that we humble ourselves to receive it. Throughout the scriptures, the Lord brought forth His word in a way that required humility on the path of those who receive it. Pride caused the fall of man in the first place, and we must be delivered from the consequences of the fall through humility. Jesus came in such a way that only those who do not care about appearance receive Him- Isa. 58:1-3. Hence, we must not think that when renowned and prestigious men and women acknowledge God, it would help us promote the gospel, because true humility must be extended to obedience. One cannot hear Go's voice unless one is humble.

Also God's voice can come to us through dreams and visions- Num.12:6; Heb. 1:1-2; Joel 2:28-29. The Lord uses dreams and visions to introduce us to His ways- which are not our ways and His language which is not our language. Dreams and visions are the language of the Spirit and they convey much more than just facts. Many spiritual truths cannot be limited by human definitions. We do not have the language to express them, or a mental capacity to fully comprehend them. But the big question remains how do you discern if a dream or vision is truly from the Lord.

One of the primary goals is to become spiritually alert, otherwise dreams and visions will seem foolish to us.  Being spiritual makes us to be led by the spirit of truth Himself and this will help us differentiate if the dreams and visions we have is from the Lord or our mental thought. Becoming spiritual means having the fruit of the spirit. If unrighteous anger and fear instead of love influences us, we will be opened to receive messages that are sent by the spirit of anger and fear.

Another way to discern the dream and vision is to realize that they are never given to us to establish a doctrine. Most dreams and visions from God are given for specific personal guidance.

Also, spiritual gifts and calling is needed for close intimacy with God. Most times, the Lord does not do anything without sharing with it with His close friends or prophets and the only criterion for this benefit is creating an intimate relationship with Him, so that He can reveal His secrets to us, and this is achieved by constant communication.

Each significant revelation is like one piece of puzzle that must be properly fitted with pieces that have been given to others- Is. 28:9-10. No single denomination has the whole truth and no prophet has the whole revelation- 1 Cor. 2:16. We all have them in parts and these parts must be properly joined to the rest of the body to compose the true mind of Christ. Sometimes the Lord gives the pieces of revelations that we need to someone we hate or dislike, hence unity is necessary as the body of Christ is not divided. We need to be very alert and distinguish the enemy's voice because sometimes, he tries to counterfeit God's voice to give his messages. And how to overcome him is by being intimate with God and acquainted with His voice-m Jn. 10:27.

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