It is all about Relationship

In Part 1 & 2 we discussed how God has, by His design, given us a choice. Also, we saw the need to respect Him because He is Holy, and to Fear Him. We saw that we need to make a choice to read God’s Word daily so that we can learn from Him and be growing in the grace and knowledge of Yeshua our Master.

[Click to go back to Part 1 It is all about Relationship]

Earlier we spent some time examining the need for being familiar with God’s Word. However, there is another reason for really knowing God’s Word. It relates to a simple question: How do we know we are hearing from God if we do not know His written Word? If you get a thought in your head that is not your own, how do you know it is from God and not from the adversary?

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s discuss if anyone can "hear" YHVH today.

What Does God’s Word say about it?

Consider the following verses about hearing God:

The above verse, as sobering as it is, has another interesting point you should be aware of. The word "words" in Greek is "Rhema". (Strongs number 4487). The primary definition is: 1) that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing spoken, word.

I find it interesting that John is referring directly to God’s spoken Word, by voice. Other verses that use this same Greek word are:

The above verse (Romans 10:17) is noteworthy as faith is gained by hearing the spoken word of God. I understand that originally the spoken words of God were written down for us to read later, and certainly that can apply. However, Greek has another word, "Logos", for "written word" versus "Rhema" for spoken word. Why did the writer (in this case Paul) choose to write down "Rhema" instead of "Logos"?

Let’s continue; through the above verses we can expect to "hear" God today. Conversely, if you do not expect to ever "hear" God, then you will never hear, unless YHVH chooses to speak for a special purpose. So you see there is also an element of faith. If I do not believe God speaks to His people today, then I should not expect to hear from God today.

Okay, let’s say you do believe God speaks today; then listen. We do need to be careful how we listen, as we can accidentally listen to voices that are not from God, or listen with "spiritual ear plugs", causing us to not hear quite right (more on that later). Again, we need to be familiar with God’s written word, to be familiar with God’s spoken word. Yes, God does want you to listen and obey.

Do you desire a relationship with God? One where God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth communes with you, His created being?

First and foremost understand that it is thru the Holy Spirit that we hear;

The Spirit of Yeshua indwelling us will do its work of leading and guiding us with His love. It was Yeshua that came to baptize us with His Spirit (John 1:29-34). To begin, we each must have that baptism.

Mark Virkler, in his book "Dialogue with God" made this comment when he finally began to "hear" God:

"I realized that I had received much more than I expected.

I was looking for a voice; I found a Person. I was looking for

guidance; I found a Shepherd. I was looking for the will of

God; I found a relationship with the Son of God."

First let me state that God will "speak" to us through His Word.

Almost everyone who has read God’s word knows and understands this. Why? Because many of us have either personally experienced this or know someone who has. I keep referring to the importance of the written word because this is our foundation stone to which we compare all other "truths". Okay, so how else does one "hear" God? We all need to understand the different methods God uses to get information to us. Additionally, we need to understand that God does not "talk" to everyone in the same way.

In the Bible, YHVH uses at least 3 forms of delivery:

1) Sending a person to another person to deliver God’s message.

2) Sending an angel to deliver God’s message.

3) God speaking directly to a person.

You may not realize it but YHVH still uses all 3 methods today. The plan is to focus on number 3 (God speaking directly to a person), which He accomplishes in several ways.

1) God speaks in dreams and visions (See Genesis 15:1, Daniel 2:1, Isaiah 1:1).

2) God speaks directly to a person in an audible form (See Exodus 3:4-6, Exodus 33:11)

3) God speaks to us in the form of thoughts; YHVH will place a thought in our head. This is the most common way God speaks to His people today. This can be simple and quick, where a thought suddenly pops into our head. Here is an example of this, which may have happened to many of us: We are usually doing some mundane task, like freeway driving (I do not recommend letting your mind wander while driving) when all of a sudden a thought pops into our head. This thought "prompts" us to pray for someone, or "prompts" us to call another person. This thought is usually "out of the blue" and quite often can be attributed to God.

4) God speaks to a person through intuition, or gut feelings.

5) God speaks in complete sentences and paragraphs (all in your head).

The purpose of this article is not to teach how to hear God; this of course requires study and prayer. There are also many good resources on the internet which teach the basics of hearing God.

Also, be warned that we not only hear from God but we also hear from Satan, our adversary, who accuses us before our Heavenly Father. He can plant thoughts and ideas in our minds just like God can. We, of course, can also "hear" our own thoughts; even hear things that have happened to us in the past like old tapes playing over and over. We need to be able to discern between all these sources of thought. Again, beware; God will never speak against His written Word.

If you perceive God is asking you to do something big, i.e. like leave your job, you should test this by getting two or three witnesses.

You may accomplish this by asking another spiritually minded person you trust to pray about your direction. Additionally, God would never ask you to divorce your wife and go marry another. This would be against the principles in His word.

I know that God speaks differently to different people, or differently to the same person depending on the situation. The gift of hearing God (notice I said it is a gift which is from God) can be removed for various reasons such as disobedience. There can also be spiritual or even physical blockages which can and often do interfere with communion with our Heavenly Father.

Know that God does not speak to a person so that they become famous or proud. Instead He will speak to a person to let them know what they need to change in their lives, how to get rid of all the junk in their lives (and perhaps the junk in their house) and how to help or serve others. God wants to talk to us to improve our relationship with Him.

YHVH can be very specific, giving all details for a particular task He wants us to serve in, or YHVH can be vague, giving hints or clues, desiring us to search out the matter. God is very loving and merciful.

Many times when we delay or don’t want to do something, God patiently waits for us to grow and learn, but He will stretch us too, asking us to do new things we may never have thought we would do. However if we exhibit any sort of deliberate resistance, rebellion, or any sort of pride, He will strongly correct, even to the point where we can no longer hear Him; even if it is only temporary, while we get our priorities straight. You see, we have a choice. We can choose to have a relationship with God; or we can choose to resist God. It is our choice.

God tends to speak to me in terms of cognitive thought; He will give me a thought and it seems to be my own thought. The difficulty that I can have with this, of course, is I don’t always pick up on it as communication from God, and therefore don’t realize I need to really listen. I am still growing in this. God chooses when and how He speaks to me; I have difficulty discerning or separating God’s thoughts from my own. By the way, Satan also speaks to me using the same method. This is usually a little easier to discern, but sometimes he is very subtle, and I have at times fallen into his trap.

Let me give an example from scripture of God speaking in cognitive thought:

Notice that Peter’s "good thought" was actually from outside of himself. God gave it to him. The fact that Yeshua (Jesus) had to point it out indicates that the very same thing probably happens to us all the time. God speaks to us, drops ideas, thoughts, and conclusions into our minds, and we assume we’re the ones who thought them up. In other words, God sometimes just inserts thoughts into our minds that fit right in with our own thoughts. In my case, they are usually so subtle that I fail to distinguish them from my own ideas, and thus fail to give God the glory or thanks. It appears to me that men, as a generalization, more commonly hear from God in this manner.

My wife, on the other hand, has been gifted with hearing from God in a different enough way that she is able to discern it as God’s "voice"; she usually keeps a prayer diary, writing down her prayers to God, and then writing God’s answer. This gift is from God and the skill to recognize God has developed over time and required a bit of practice to develop; just like learning to ride a bicycle.

I do not want to make it sound as if YHVH cannot speak to us unless we are skilled and well practiced, but it is practice that is required to hone our listening skills; listening is an art. My wife is still improving in this and has certainly not "arrived". She is currently able to hold a 2 way conversation with YHVH, writing down her prayers and YHVH’s answers. She will usually write 1 to 5 full size notebook pages of direct communication with God daily. It is from hers and others prayer diaries that I will be quoting (when I quote YHVH) in the rest of this series.

Remember it is Yeshua that says;

"He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said…"

End Part 3 [click to go to Part 4 God wants our Hearts]