There are millions of voices crying out to get our attention, but we desperately need to listen to the Voice of God, for “the voice of the divine rules out a multitude of human opinions.” (Thomas A’Kemis). The question is: How can we discipline ourselves into the habit of listening and being available to the Lord always:
There are Seven Ways:
- Wait for God in Silence – We spend most of our time talking to God rather than waiting in silence to hear what the Lord may be saying to us. God commands that we “be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10). God is constantly speaking through the Holy Spirit to His people, but most of us are so busy, so rushed, so involved in the trivia of modern life that we do not and cannot hear Him. We need to wake up and take time to wait upon the Lord in silence. This would mean that we must empty our minds of worldly thoughts and concentrate on His Word.
- Ask God to Speak to You -If it is proper to ask God for other things, it is certainly proper to ask that He speak to us. “You have not because you ask not” applies to God speaking as to other matters.
- Listen for The “Still Small Voice” – (1 Kings 19:11-13). Most people today are uncomfortable with silence, especially if they are alone. I knew a man quite well who let his radio play all night in order to salve his guilty conscience of a sinful relationship in his life. But God’s people throughout history have found that God often speaks during the night even more than in day light. But how does He speak? Judging from such modern worship, many moderns believe he speaks in loud noises, flashing lights, in a theatrical atmosphere.
Elijah, the prophet, was amazed to discover that God was not “in the wind,” “the fire,” earthquake,” but in “a still small voice.” After being threatened by Queen Jezebel, Elijah escaped to a cave where the Lord spoke to him:
“Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind and earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:11-13).
Thus he spoke to Elijah 1800 years ago, and He is still speaking primarily in a “small voice,” provided we have disciplined ourselves to hear Him.
- “Let The Praise of God Be Continually in Your Mouth” – (Psalm 34:1). Most people praise the Lord when they experience an unexpected blessing. But God is good all the time and is worthy of our praise at all times and under every circumstances, for we do not praise the Lord on the basis of our circumstances but on the basis of WHO He is. We do not praise the Lord because of the way we feel, but because of WHO He is and the way He feels about us.
In Psalms 103:1-5, David summons his soul to praise the Lord, and he first praised the Lord for who He is and then praised Him for “all His benefits,” but not until He had first praised Him for Who He is.
God is enthroned on the praises of His people, and as the song goes, “It’s amazing what praising will do,” provided we have a lifestyle of praising the Lord, not complaining.
- Have A Heart So Pure That You Can See God in All of Life – Of course God is invisible to the natural eye, but not to the spiritual eye. “By faith, Moses…persevered because He saw Him who is “invisible.” (Heb. 11:27). Jesus Himself declares that one of the foremost blessings of life is to see God. “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:6). God is at work in many ways all the time. What a thrill to see Him working, even in the worst of times.
- Use Every Opportunity to Speak A Word of Encouragement to Others – “The power of death and life are in the tongue” (Prov. 18:21). “Do not let one bad word proceed out of your mouth, but only those which will edify the hearers.” Ephes. 4:29. As a mentor of men, I have learned that the right word at the right time is like a medicine to the soul of even strong guys. 25:11, “Words fitly spoken are like apples of gold in pitchers of silver.”
- Learn to Make Worship A Continual Priority Every Day of Your Life – If our worship is confined to an hour or two on Sundays, we have missed the will of God and cheated our own lives. Paul commands us to present our bodies to the Lord and transform our minds by His Word until our whole lives will be a “spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1-2). Our word worship comes from an old Anglo-Saxon word which means, “worthy to be worshipped above all.” God is “worthy to be worshipped” above all things, not just two hours a week, but all the time. And the fact is that if we don’t worship on the weekdays, our worship on Sunday will be very limited.
We call our meetings of worship “services” when in fact they are but preparations for service. I read of a Baptist who attended church with his Quaker friends and was amazed that for a long while there was total silence, no one speaking, not a sound, whereupon the Baptist brother whispered to his Quaker friend, “When does the service begin, “ and he replied, “The service will begin after the worship is over.”
O that evangelicals could learn this truth!