Many people struggle to hear the voice of God in their lives. This often happens because they don\u2019t truly know the One they are praying to or perhaps because of how they were taught by their spiritual leaders.<\/p>\n
Some have been told that when God speaks, it will sound like another person\u2019s voice inside them, giving instructions and that this experience only comes once someone reaches a certain \u201cspiritual level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because of this, many people strive and struggle to reach that point trying to hear the Holy Spirit as if He were speaking audibly within them. But sadly, most end up hearing nothing, grow discouraged, and conclude that God doesn\u2019t speak to them or that He is difficult to reach.<\/p>\n
Yet the Lord reminds us in His Word:<\/p>\n
\nIsaiah 65:12 (NIV)<\/strong>
\u201cFor when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen. You did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nDo you see that?
God speaks to everyone He calls, but we don\u2019t respond. The problem isn\u2019t that God is silent; it\u2019s that we don\u2019t recognize His voice. We want God to speak on our<\/em> terms how we<\/em> expect Him to but we aren\u2019t willing to listen on His<\/em> terms. And that\u2019s where we miss Him.<\/p>\nThe primary way God speaks to His people is through His Word<\/strong>. If the Word of God doesn\u2019t live in you, it will be difficult to recognize His voice. He may speak but you won\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why the first thing God does in someone\u2019s life is to fill them with His Word so that when He speaks, they can hear and understand clearly.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s look at a few examples from everyday life.<\/p>\n
\nExample 1: Rachel\u2019s Story<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Imagine a woman named Rachel<\/strong>. She has worked faithfully in the same position for years, yet she\u2019s often overlooked, criticized, and treated unfairly. She prays with tears, asking God to promote her to lift her higher.<\/p>\n
But soon after praying, things at work get even worse. The mistreatment increases, her workload doubles, her boss dislikes her more, and yet her salary stays the same. Rachel begins to think, \u201cGod hasn\u2019t heard my prayers.\u201d Discouraged, she gives up.<\/p>\n
But what was God\u2019s plan for Rachel?<\/p>\n
At home, Rachel is a married Christian woman with two children and a housemaid who helps with household chores. Rachel loves her family\u2014but she treats her maid harshly. She wakes her up very early, gives her too much work, scolds her often, and never appreciates her efforts. The maid works late into the night but never receives extra pay or rest.<\/p>\n
Now notice: the same way Rachel treats her maid is exactly how she is being treated at work.<\/p>\n
When Rachel prayed, God answered but not in the way she expected. He allowed her to experience what her maid experiences, so that she might learn through His Word.<\/p>\n
If Rachel had paused to reflect on Scripture, she might have heard God saying:<\/p>\n
\nMatthew 7:12 (NIV)<\/strong>
\u201cSo in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\nLuke 6:38 (NIV)<\/strong>
\u201cGive, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nThat was God\u2019s voice<\/strong> to Rachel. Because He loved her, He answered her prayer according to His Word.<\/p>\n
If she had recognized His voice, she would have repented treated her maid kindly, allowed her time to rest, and raised her pay. And without striving or struggling, she would have soon seen transformation at work: favor with her boss, promotion, peace, and blessing.<\/p>\n
God\u2019s Word proves true:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cFor with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nExample 2: The Single Woman<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Another woman prays earnestly for a husband someone who is loving, God-fearing, and mature. Shortly after, she hears a sermon about how Christian women should dress modestly, in a way that pleases God. The preacher reads:<\/p>\n
\n1 Timothy 2:9\u201310 (NIV)<\/strong>
\u201cI also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nBut she brushes it off, thinking, \u201cThat\u2019s old-fashioned.\u201d
What she doesn\u2019t realize is that God is speaking to her preparing her heart and character to become the kind of woman a godly man is praying for.<\/p>\nMeanwhile, somewhere else, a man of God is praying for a modest, humble woman who lives in holiness. Because she ignores God\u2019s gentle correction, she misses that opportunity and continues to struggle in singleness\u2014or ends up with the wrong partner.<\/p>\n
The problem isn\u2019t that God didn\u2019t answer; it\u2019s that she didn\u2019t recognize His voice when He spoke.<\/p>\n
\nExample 3: The Sick Man<\/strong><\/h3>\n
A man is suffering from a chronic illness say HIV. He prays in faith, goes from one preacher to another, even travels to different countries seeking healing but nothing happens. Eventually he loses hope and thinks, \u201cGod isn\u2019t listening.\u201d<\/p>\n
But soon after he first prayed, he heard a sermon on the radio that said, \u201cThe root of all suffering is sin. The root of sickness is sin.\u201d The preacher urged repentance and holiness, encouraging people to turn from sin and surrender their lives fully to Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
That message stirred his heart but he dismissed it as just another \u201creligious talk,\u201d not realizing that it was God\u2019s voice<\/strong> calling him to repentance, which was the doorway to his healing.<\/p>\n
If he had known God\u2019s Word, he might have remembered:<\/p>\n
\nProverbs 3:7\u20138 (NIV)<\/strong>
\u201cDo not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\nJeremiah 30:17 (NIV)<\/strong>
\u201cBut I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,\u201d declares the Lord.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nSometimes illnesses are tied to spiritual covenants that can only be broken through the new covenant in the blood of Jesus. Many people ask God for healing, deliverance, or success\u2014but they ignore the way He speaks. They want Him to respond according to their<\/em> ways, not His<\/em>.<\/p>\n
But God always works according to His Word.<\/p>\n
Unless you are a true follower of Christ one who stands firmly in His Word you will not recognize His voice. You may pray daily, fast, and cry, yet receive nothing. The issue isn\u2019t with God it\u2019s with you.<\/p>\n
Listen again to what God says:<\/p>\n
\nIsaiah 66:4 (NIV)<\/strong>
\u201cI also will choose harsh treatment for them and will bring on them what they dread. For when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, no one listened. They did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nA Call to You<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Dear friend, hear the voice of God speaking to you today.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Do you want to be part of the Rapture?\u00a0 Repent!<\/strong> Let your sins be washed by the blood of Jesus and live a holy life.
Do you want healing? Turn away from sin!<\/strong>
Do you want deliverance?\u00a0 Abandon fornication, pornography, drunkenness, gossip, bribery, theft, and immodest dressing!<\/strong><\/p>\nStop filling your life with things that don\u2019t build your spirit. Instead, start studying God\u2019s Word so that when He speaks, you can recognize His voice and understand His answers.<\/p>\n
Remember this truth:
Prayers are not answered through anointing oil, water, or salt God answers only through His Word.<\/strong><\/p>\nMay God bless you richly.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n