I didn’t grow up knowing God could speak. I believed He existed ‘somewhere out there’ but didn’t know Him personally. But when we look at Scripture, from cover to cover, we see a God speaking directly to His people.
- “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21)
- ”…so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)
- Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak. If you have anything to say, answer me; speak up, for I want to vindicate you. But if not, then listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom. (Job 33:31-33)
- “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”(Jeremiah 33:3)
- “I am the good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me…They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” (John 10:14, 16)
- “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth… he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” (John 16:13)
Knowing God is not meant to be a one-sided relationship with one-way communication. Rather, it is God’s heart and plan to have a two-way relationship with his people, each and every one. These verbal exchanges in both directions is called reciprocity. As Richard Foster argues, this was part of God’s original design and intended plan all along:
“The truth of the matter is that the great God of the universe, the Creator of all things desires our fellowship. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve talked with God and God talked with them—they were in communion.”
That same God eagerly desires to talk with us, His children, and Jesus provided the pathway for such intimate access. Jesus says,
“I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
Jesus is the way to the Father, so our listening for His voice begins there – accepting him as our Lord and Savior. Have you done that? Perhaps you’ve attended church for many years, but have yet to invite Him into your heart personally and fully. Or perhaps you long for deeper connection with God, but don’t know how to go about it. We must settle the Jesus question. Paul states it so clearly this way,
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:9
Then there is Jesus himself who says,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
John 5:24
And Peter,
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit..”
1 Peter 3:18
This is the good news! Jesus brings us to the Father and positions us to receive direct words of love and guidance from Him. But once we’ve accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior and our new life in Him begins, how in fact do we hear God speak?
We will answer that question in Part II…