AskAnything.sg

Answer:

The first thing to do is to make sure that we belong to God. In John 10:27, Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”, which means that the key prerequisite for hearing from God is that we belong to Him, that we are the sheep of His pasture. To do this, we need to repent, believe the good news of the Gospel, and follow Jesus.

Secondly, we need to make sure that we are not grieving the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 4:30 tells us not to “grieve the Holy Spirit of God”. The rest of the chapter unpacks that further and explains that grieving the Spirit means acting in a sinful manner. It includes lying (4:25), being angry (4:26-27), stealing (4:28), cursing (4:29), being bitter (4:31), being unforgiving (4:32) and being sexually immoral (5:3-5). If we are living in a way that is contrary to the character of God, and God’s desire for our lives, than we cannot really expect God to speak clearly to us. We also need to repent, believe the good news of the Gospel, and follow Jesus first!

Thirdly, we need to make sure that we are in the Bible. We sometimes limit what we mean by ‘hearing from God’ to some kind of supernatural audible message. While God does speak to us in that way, the primary and clearest way He speaks to us is through the Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God…” The Bible is God’s voice, His ‘breath’. Just as air carries our voices to physical ears, so the Bible carries God’s voice to spiritual ears. You need to read it on a consistent basis, study it, and get help in understanding what it means. Don’t be content with knowing a few of your favourite verses. Get a sense of what the Bible, and hence God, is saying as a whole.

Fourthly, we need to make sure that we are in community of God’s people, the Church. Another way that God speaks to us is through His people. Hebrews 10:24-25 urges us to “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, rwith thankfulness in your hearts to God”. Hence, we need to be in fellowship with other believers, meeting up, encouraging one another, teaching one another, admonishing one another with God’s Word. Join a local church, one that values God’s Word, and the living presence of the Holy Spirit.

Finally, ask God to speak to you. Come to Him in prayer. Spend time with Him. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says that we should ‘pray without ceasing’, continually being aware that we are in the presence of God, speaking to Him and listening for His voice. He is a good God who delights to hear the prayers of His children.

Also, see our answer to “What can cause me to not hear God speaking?”