Isaiah 30:21 “And your ears shall hear a word behind you: “This is the way; walk in it,” when you would turn to the right or the left.” Today's episode talks about how God wants to talk with us, we are just often too busy to hear Him. In this episode, I go over and explain four different ways we can usually hear the Lord's voice. Music: "Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
I am Guided (Identity Series)
Isaiah 30:21 “And your ears shall hear a word behind you: “This is the way; walk in it,” when you would turn to the right or the left.”
This is a great verse because it explains that we are guided throughout our lives. However, it can also be misleading. Unfortunately, we can’t really take this verse literally. We do not have someone whispering into our ears each step of the way. Although that would be pretty cool. Imagine if you didn’t have to wonder if you were taking the right steps. Imagine if you didn’t have to worry about making the wrong decision because you had the Lord whispering in your ear telling you whether you were to turn left or right.
Although we don’t have someone behind us whispering in our ear at each turn, the Lord will lead us in the right direction if we take the time to ask Him and then listen to what He has to say. This can be tricky because many times, we will be good about asking God what we should do but then not take the time to listen to His answer. Other times, we are so excited about one of the choices that we jump in and choose that one without even pausing to ask God what He thinks. When we do either of these things, we are not giving the Lord a chance to guide us into the life He has planned for us.
Hearing the word of God is something we can all do. We just have to know how to do it. In my Encounter Ministries class last night they went over the various ways that you might “hear” God’s word. There are four ways:
See it: Sometimes people see visions, and that is how they get their answers. Sometimes, you might see a word above someone's head. You might see something that is not actually there in the natural world. I know when learning inner healing our teachers told us sometimes God may ask us to do a prophetic act. You might be praying over someone for inner healing, and while praying, you see that they have a spear through their heart. You might feel as though God is asking you to take it out. You are likely the only person who sees this spear. That doesn’t make it any less real. When you are looking for an answer from the Lord, ask Him the question and then close your eyes and see if He wants to reveal anything to you through your sight.
Hear it: Usually, when we hear God, it is not God’s voice. My teacher last night said she had heard the voice of God once, so that is pretty cool. However, I think it is rare that you hear the actual voice of God. In my experience, when I hear the voice of God, He sounds just like my voice. It is that “still small voice” in your head or in your heart that helps you know what you should do. I am sure you have heard this voice before. However, you might not have known that it was God talking to you. When you are seeking answers from the Lord, ask your questions and then sit quietly and listen to see what He has to say. If you ask, He will answer.
Feel it: Sometimes, the Lord speaks to us with our feelings. There is a woman in our prayer group who feels things from the Lord very frequently. She will get a word of prophecy and then will go on to say that she is getting this strong feeling from the Lord that He is sad and wants us to turn to Him more or that He has this deep longing. Last night, at the Encounter Summer Intensive, we were doing a guided meditation using the parable of the prodigal son, and she said she could just feel this overwhelming love that the Father has for us. She said she had never felt a love like this before. It was such a strong feeling. When you are looking for answers from the Lord, they may come in the form of a feeling, so pay attention to how you are feeling when asking the Lord what He thinks.
Think it: This is when a thought just pops into your head. Sometimes, it can be when you are sitting trying to listen to the Lord, and other times, it can just be out of the blue. Have you ever been going about your day, and all of a sudden, you get this thought to reach out to an old friend? Yep, me too! This is the Lord prompting you. A lot of times, we ignore these thoughts. However, when we obey and reach out to the person we find out that was exactly what they needed. I had been thinking about reaching out to someone I had met on retreat for several months and I just never did. I am not sure why I didn’t, but eventually, she reached out to me, and she was having a rough time. I bet she would have really appreciated it if I had reached out when the Lord first told me to. Last night, this woman was walking out the door to come to the summer intensive, and she got the thought to bring this specific prayer card with her, so she threw it in her purse. The prayer card was a prayer about entrusting your children to God and not worrying if they will come back to the church. Then, at the Summer Intensive, one of the ladies shared that she was worried about her kids never coming back to the church, so the woman gave her this prayer card. God has a plan, and sometimes, He will put thoughts in our heads to help Him with that plan.
The teacher who was talking about these four ways to hear God’s voice last night was saying that she was sitting in church one day, and the Lord brought a thought out of nowhere about a funeral she was at where there was a teen suicide. She did not understand why she would have this random thought in the middle of mass. Then God revealed to her that the teenage boy behind her was contemplating suicide. Sometimes, you never know the impact of what you did for someone else. Sometimes, you might get a prompting to call someone, and you do. You could have a very nice conversation and yet you don’t feel like there was any great purpose in the call. However, we don’t know the effects it might have had. There was a purpose for God putting that thought in your head, that I am sure of!
I hope that you find these four ways of hearing the Lord’s voice helpful. If we want to grow in our ability to hear the Lord’s voice, we need to practice, just like anything else in life. If you want to be better at a sport, you need to play that sport. If you want to be better at cooking, you need to cook. If you want to become better at hearing the Lord’s voice, you need to sit down and listen often. I promise you the Lord wants to talk to you. God didn’t just pick a few of His children to talk to. He wants to talk to all of His children. He wants to sit down with you as you drink your morning coffee or tea and have a chat with you. A real back-and-forth chat. Your heavenly Father loves you, and He longs to communicate with you. Why not give it a try? What do you have to lose?
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, help us to hear you communicating with us. No matter the method, Lord, we just want to have a relationship with you. We want you to whisper in our ear and lead us down the correct path. Tell us whether we should turn right or turn left, Lord. Help us to make time for you, to listen to you. We want to hear your Word, Lord; please help us. We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in July 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “My children, my love follows you always to wherever you go. If you fall into darkness, I am there with you. If you rejoice with me, I delight with you. Nothing can break our union. For my love, the love of your good, good God is the bond.”