#13 The Voice of the Lord

When I was a young mother, I would get upset with my kids when they wouldn’t listen to me.  Didn’t they understand that what I was telling them was for their own good; to build good character; that they needed to do the right thing?  But then who was I?  I didn’t listen to my parents all the time either.

Isaiah 30:21

God wants us to listen to Him.  He wants us to listen for Him.  Sometimes we wonder if God is listening to our prayers; prayers that are the most important to us; prayers that are said in a state of pain, anxiety, or desperation.  But really, are we listening for God?  He may have given an answer and it flew right over our heads. He may be telling us something about the answer and we are not listening.

Who can hear God?  Mark 4:23 says “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”  If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior, we can hear from God. We have to listen so we can hear God speak to our spirit. When things are going crazy in our lives and don’t make sense, read God’s Word and God will speak.

John 10:27 says “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.” So when God speaks, we listen to His voice.  But we have to be paying attention. 

How can we hear God’s voice?  Mark 6:31-32 says “And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)  They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.”

 If we want to hear from God, we have to separate ourselves from all the noise in our lives.  It’s not any different with people.  If I want to hear the Professor give his lecture and someone is trying to talk to me at the same time, or people behind me are talking, then I can’t hear.  I’m going to miss the important lecture that I need to hear to pass my exam or to write my paper. 

So it is with God.  When we need to hear from God, we have to go to a place that’s quiet; a place where we can read God’s Word and pray.  The disciples went to a secluded place to rest a while.  Our minds get so overwhelmed with the busyness of our day. We need to rest our mind and relax our spirit.  It is then that we can be ready to hear from God.  

How does God speak?  God can speak through His Word, Jesus Christ, creation, other believers, music, circumstances, Holy Spirit, and prayer.  The key is that in all these ways, we are paying attention.  Another believer may give us advice that can help our situation, but if we don’t give that person’s advice any thought, we miss what God had to say through someone else.  Some people are only waiting for God’s voice to come from heaven before they make a decision.  But that is what the Bible is for, what other people are for, and what the Holy Spirit is for.  Sometimes people call it intuition or luck, but it’s the Holy Spirit speaking into our spirit, prompting us to take a step of faith.

God can be working behind the scenes and He is holding back the answer to our prayers until everything is ready.  I think about a wife preparing her husband’s special meal and making the dining room very inviting.  She has cooked all day to make his favorite foods. She will be so excited when he sees all that she has done to make his evening special.  He comes home and is so grateful for all her hard work and for how much she loves him.  He didn’t know that she was putting this wonderful evening together.

God is preparing something for us.  He has to put all the right pieces in place before He presents it to us.  We may be anxiously waiting for an answer but when everything is “just right”, God will answer and we will be so grateful for what He has done for us.

Psalm 29 is titled “The Voice of the Lord in the Storm.” 

Verses 3-9 speak about the strength of the voice of the Lord.

3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
The God of glory thunders,
The Lord is over [d]many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful,
The voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
Yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord hews out [e]flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord [f]shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer to calve
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

There have been times that I have asked God, “Where are you taking me on this journey of widowhood?”  It doesn’t make sense to me that God would bring the man I needed to share my life with and then for it to end in death.  God is working something out behind the scenes and when it is time for me to know, I will be grateful for what God has done for me.  It takes faith. It takes prayer. It takes patience. It takes trust.  And it takes time. That is the hardest part, the waiting.  But when my prayer is answered, it would be worth the wait as long as I continue to listen for the voice of the Lord.

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.

Sound of Your Voice by Third Day